GENERAL DISTRIBUTOR'S AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
XXXXXXXXXXX INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANY FUND
AND
OPPENHEIMERFUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
Dated: ____________, 1997
OPPENHEIMERFUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Dear Sirs:
XXXXXXXXXXX INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANY FUND, a Massachusetts
business trust (the "Fund"), is registered as an investment company
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act"), and an
indefinite number of one or more classes of its shares of
beneficial interest ("Shares") have been registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") to be offered for sale to
the public in a continuous public offering in accordance with the
terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus and Statement of
Additional Information ("SAI") included in the Fund's Registration
Statement as it may be amended from time to time (the "current
Prospectus and/or SAI").
In this connection, the Fund desires that your firm (the
"General Distributor") act in a principal capacity as General
Distributor for the sale and distribution of Shares which have been
registered as described above and of any additional Shares which
may become registered during the term of this Agreement. You have
advised the Fund that you are willing to act as such General
Distributor, and it is accordingly agreed by and between us as
follows:
1. Appointment of the Distributor. The Fund hereby appoints
you as the sole General Distributor, pursuant to the aforesaid
continuous public offering of its Shares, and the Fund further
agrees from and after the date of this Agreement, that it will not,
without your consent, sell or agree to sell any Shares otherwise
than through you, except (a) the Fund may itself sell shares
without sales charge as an investment to the officers, trustees or
directors and bona fide present and former full-time employees of
the Fund, the Fund's Investment Adviser and affiliates thereof, and
to other investors who are identified in the current Prospectus
and/or SAI as having the privilege to buy Shares at net asset
value; (b) the Fund may issue shares in connection with a merger,
consolidation or acquisition of assets on such basis as may be
authorized or permitted under the 1940 Act; (c) the Fund may issue
shares for the reinvestment of dividends and other distributions of
the Fund or of any other Fund if permitted by the current
Prospectus and/or SAI; and (d) the Fund may issue shares as
underlying securities of a unit investment trust if such unit
investment trust has elected to use Shares as an underlying
investment; provided that in no event as to any of the foregoing
exceptions shall Shares be issued and sold at less than the then-
existing net asset value.
2. Sale of Shares. You hereby accept such appointment and
agree to use your best efforts to sell Shares, provided, however,
that when requested by the Fund at any time because of market or
other economic considerations or abnormal circumstances of any
kind, or when agreed to by mutual consent of the Fund and the
General Distributor, you will suspend such efforts. The Fund may
also withdraw the offering of Shares at any time when required by
the provisions of any statute, order, rule or regulation of any
governmental body having jurisdiction. It is understood that you
do not undertake to sell all or any specific number of Shares.
3. Sales Charge. Shares shall be sold by you at net asset
value plus a front-end sales charge not in excess of 8.5% of the
offering price, but which front-end sales charge shall be
proportionately reduced or eliminated for larger sales and under
other circumstances, in each case on the basis set forth in the
Fund's current Prospectus and/or SAI. The redemption proceeds of
shares offered and sold at net asset value with or without a front-
end sales charge may be subject to a contingent deferred sales
charge ("CDSC") under the circumstances described in the current
Prospectus and/or SAI. You may reallow such portion of the front-
end sales charge to dealers or cause payment (which may exceed the
front-end sales charge, if any) of commissions to brokers through
which sales are made, as you may determine, and you may pay such
amounts to dealers and brokers on sales of shares from your own
resources (such dealers and brokers shall collectively include all
domestic or foreign institutions eligible to offer and sell the
Shares), and in the event the Fund has more than one class of
Shares outstanding, then you may impose a front-end sales charge
and/or a CDSC on Shares of one class that is different from the
charges imposed on Shares of the Fund's other class(es), in each
case as set forth in the current Prospectus and/or SAI, provided
the front-end sales charge and CDSC to the ultimate purchaser do
not exceed the respective levels set forth for such category of
purchaser in the Fund's current Prospectus and/or SAI.
4. Purchase of Shares.
(a) As General Distributor, you shall have the right to
accept or reject orders for the purchase of Shares
at your discretion. Any consideration which you
may receive in connection with a rejected purchase
order will be returned promptly.
(b) You agree promptly to issue or to cause the duly
appointed transfer or shareholder servicing agent
of the Fund to issue as your agent confirmations of
all accepted purchase orders and to transmit a copy
of such confirmations to the Fund. The net asset
value of all Shares which are the subject of such
confirmations, computed in accordance with the
applicable rules under the 1940 Act, shall be a
liability of the General Distributor to the Fund to
be paid promptly after receipt of payment from the
originating dealer or broker (or investor, in the
case of direct purchases) and not later than eleven
business days after such confirmation even if you
have not actually received payment from the
originating dealer or broker or investor. In no
event shall the General Distributor make payment to
the Fund later than permitted by applicable rules
of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
Inc.
(c) If the originating dealer or broker shall fail to
make timely settlement of its purchase order in
accordance with applicable rules of the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or if a
direct purchaser shall fail to make good payment
for shares in a timely manner, you shall have the
right to cancel such purchase order and, at your
account and risk, to hold responsible the
originating dealer or broker, or investor. You
agree promptly to reimburse the Fund for losses
suffered by it that are attributable to any such
cancellation, or to errors on your part in relation
to the effective date of accepted purchase orders,
limited to the amount that such losses exceed
contemporaneous gains realized by the Fund for
either of such reasons with respect to other
purchase orders.
(d) In the case of a canceled purchase for the account
of a directly purchasing shareholder, the Fund
agrees that if such investor fails to make you
whole for any loss you pay to the Fund on such
canceled purchase order, the Fund will reimburse
you for such loss to the extent of the aggregate
redemption proceeds of any other shares of the Fund
owned by such investor, on your demand that the
Fund exercise its right to claim such redemption
proceeds. The Fund shall register or cause to be
registered all Shares sold to you pursuant to the
provisions hereof in such names and amounts as you
may request from time to time and the Fund shall
issue or cause to be issued certificates evidencing
such Shares for delivery to you or pursuant to your
direction if and to the extent that the shareholder
account in question contemplates the issuance of
such certificates. All Shares when so issued and
paid for, shall be fully paid and non-assessable by
the Fund (which shall not prevent the imposition of
any CDSC that may apply) to the extent set forth in
the current Prospectus and/or SAI.
5. Repurchase of Shares.
(a) In connection with the repurchase of Shares, you
are appointed and shall act as Agent of the Fund.
You are authorized, for so long as you act as
General Distributor of the Fund, to repurchase,
from authorized dealers, certificated or
uncertificated shares of the Fund ("Shares") on the
basis of orders received from each dealer
("authorized dealer") with which you have a dealer
agreement for the sale of Shares and permitting
resales of Shares to you, provided that such
authorized dealer, at the time of placing such
resale order, shall represent (i) if such Shares
are represented by certificate(s), that
certificate(s) for the Shares to be repurchased
have been delivered to it by the registered owner
with a request for the redemption of such Shares
executed in the manner and with the signature
guarantee required by the then-currently effective
prospectus of the Fund, or (ii) if such Shares are
uncertificated, that the registered owner(s) has
delivered to the dealer a request for the
redemption of such Shares executed in the manner
and with the signature guarantee required by the
then-currently effective prospectus of the Fund.
(b) You shall (a) have the right in your discretion to
accept or reject orders for the repurchase of
Shares; (b) promptly transmit confirmations of all
accepted repurchase orders; and (c) transmit a copy
of such confirmation to the Fund, or, if so
directed, to any duly appointed transfer or
shareholder servicing agent of the Fund. In your
discretion, you may accept repurchase requests made
by a financially responsible dealer which provides
you with indemnification in form satisfactory to
you in consideration of your acceptance of such
dealer's request in lieu of the written redemption
request of the owner of the account; you agree that
the Fund shall be a third party beneficiary of such
indemnification.
(c) Upon receipt by the Fund or its duly appointed
transfer or shareholder servicing agent of any
certificate(s) (if any has been issued) for
repurchased Shares and a written redemption request
of the registered owner(s) of such Shares executed
in the manner and bearing the signature guarantee
required by the then-currently effective Prospectus
or SAI of the Fund, the Fund will pay or cause its
duly appointed transfer or shareholder servicing
agent promptly to pay to the originating authorized
dealer the redemption price of the repurchased
Shares (other than repurchased Shares subject to
the provisions of part (d) of Section 5 of this
Agreement) next determined after your receipt of
the dealer's repurchase order.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of part (c) of
Section 5 of this Agreement, repurchase orders
received from an authorized dealer after the
determination of the Fund's redemption price on a
regular business day will receive that day's
redemption price if the request to the dealer by
its customer to arrange such repurchase prior to
the determination of the Fund's redemption price
that day complies with the requirements governing
such requests as stated in the current Prospectus
and/or SAI.
(e) You will make every reasonable effort and take all
reasonably available measures to assure the
accurate performance of all services to be
performed by you hereunder within the requirements
of any statute, rule or regulation pertaining to
the redemption of shares of a regulated investment
company and any requirements set forth in the then-
current Prospectus and/or SAI of the Fund. You
shall correct any error or omission made by you in
the performance of your duties hereunder of which
you shall have received notice in writing and any
necessary substantiating data; and you shall hold
the Fund harmless from the effect of any errors or
omissions which might cause an over- or under-
redemption of the Fund's Shares and/or an excess or
non-payment of dividends, capital gains
distributions, or other distributions.
(f) In the event an authorized dealer initiating a
repurchase order shall fail to make delivery or
otherwise settle such order in accordance with the
rules of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc., you shall have the right to cancel
such repurchase order and, at your account and
risk, to hold responsible the originating dealer.
In the event that any cancellation of a Share
repurchase order or any error in the timing of the
acceptance of a Share repurchase order shall result
in a gain or loss to the Fund, you agree promptly
to reimburse the Fund for any amount by which any
loss shall exceed then-existing gains so arising.
6. 1933 Act Registration. The Fund has delivered to you a
copy of its current Prospectus and SAI. The Fund agrees that it
will use its best efforts to continue the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement under the 1933 Act. The Fund further agrees
to prepare and file any amendments to its Registration Statement as
may be necessary and any supplemental data in order to comply with
the 1933 Act. The Fund will furnish you at your expense with a
reasonable number of copies of the Prospectus and SAI and any
amendments thereto for use in connection with the sale of Shares.
7. 1940 Act Registration. The Fund has already registered
under the 1940 Act as an investment company, and it will use its
best efforts to maintain such registration and to comply with the
requirements of the 1940 Act.
8. State Blue Sky Qualification. At your request, the Fund
will take such steps as may be necessary and feasible to qualify
Shares for sale in states, territories or dependencies of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico and in foreign countries, in accordance with the laws thereof,
and to renew or extend any such qualification; provided, however,
that the Fund shall not be required to qualify shares or to
maintain the qualification of shares in any jurisdiction where it
shall deem such qualification disadvantageous to the Fund.
9. Duties of Distributor. You agree that:
(a) Neither you nor any of your officers will take any
long or short position in the Shares, but this
provision shall not prevent you or your officers
from acquiring Shares for investment purposes only;
and
(b) You shall furnish to the Fund any pertinent
information required to be inserted with respect to
you as General Distributor within the purview of
the Securities Act of 1933 in any reports or
registration required to be filed with any
governmental authority; and
(c) You will not make any representations inconsistent
with the information contained in the current
Prospectus and/or SAI; and
(d) You shall maintain such records as may be
reasonably required for the Fund or its transfer or
shareholder servicing agent to respond to
shareholder requests or complaints, and to permit
the Fund to maintain proper accounting records, and
you shall make such records available to the Fund
and its transfer agent or shareholder servicing
agent upon request; and
(e) In performing under this Agreement, you shall
comply with all requirements of the Fund's current
Prospectus and/or SAI and all applicable laws,
rules and regulations with respect to the purchase,
sale and distribution of Shares.
10. Allocation of Costs. The Fund shall pay the cost of
composition and printing of sufficient copies of its Prospectus and
SAI as shall be required for periodic distribution to its
shareholders and the expense of registering Shares for sale under
federal securities laws. You shall pay the expenses normally
attributable to the sale of Shares, other than as paid under the
Fund's Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act,
including the cost of printing and mailing of the Prospectus (other
than those furnished to existing shareholders) and any sales
literature used by you in the public sale of the Shares and for
registering such shares under state blue sky laws pursuant to
paragraph 8.
11. Duration. This Agreement shall take effect on the date
first written above, and shall supersede any and all prior General
Distributor's Agreements by and among the Fund and you. Unless
earlier terminated pursuant to paragraph 12 hereof, this Agreement
shall remain in effect until November 30, 1996. This Agreement
shall continue in effect from year to year thereafter, provided
that such continuance shall be specifically approved at least
annually: (a) by the Fund's Board of Trustees or by vote of a
majority of the voting securities of the Fund; and (b) by the vote
of a majority of the Trustees, who are not parties to this
Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined the 0000 Xxx) of any
such person, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval.
12. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated (a) by the
General Distributor at any time without penalty by giving sixty
days' written notice (which notice may be waived by the Fund); (b)
by the Fund at any time without penalty upon sixty days' written
notice to the General Distributor (which notice may be waived by
the General Distributor); or (c) by mutual consent of the Fund and
the General Distributor, provided that such termination by the Fund
shall be directed or approved by the Board of Trustees of the Fund
or by the vote of the holders of a "majority" of the outstanding
voting securities of the Fund. In the event this Agreement is
terminated by the Fund, the General Distributor shall be entitled
to be paid the CDSC under paragraph 3 hereof on the redemption
proceeds of Shares sold prior to the effective date of such
termination.
13. Assignment. This Agreement may not be amended or changed
except in writing and shall be binding upon and shall enure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors;
however, this Agreement shall not be assigned by either party and
shall automatically terminate upon assignment.
14. Disclaimer of Shareholder Liability. The General
Distributor understands and agrees that the obligations of the Fund
under this Agreement are not binding upon any Trustee or
shareholder of the Fund personally, but bind only the Fund and the
Fund's property; the General Distributor represents that it has
notice of the provisions of the Declaration of Trust of the Fund
disclaiming Trustee and shareholder liability for acts or
obligations of the Fund.
15. Section Headings. The heading of each section is for
descriptive purposes only, and such headings are not to be
construed or interpreted as part of this Agreement.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, so
indicate by signing in the space provided below.
XXXXXXXXXXX INTERNATIONAL SMALL
COMPANY FUND
By:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Secretary
Accepted:
OPPENHEIMERFUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
By:
Xxxxxxxxx X. Xxxx
Vice President & Secretary
OFMI\815
