Exhibit (e)
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
DREYFUS U.S. TREASURY SHORT TERM FUND
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Xxxxx 00, 0000
Xxxxxxx Service Corporation
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This is to confirm that, in consideration of the agreements
hereinafter contained, the above-named investment company (the "Fund") has
agreed that you shall be, for the period of this agreement, the distributor of
(a) shares of each Series of the Fund set forth on Exhibit A hereto, as such
Exhibit may be revised from time to time (each, a "Series") or (b) if no Series
are set forth on such Exhibit, shares of the Fund. For purposes of this
agreement the term "Shares" shall mean the authorized shares of the relevant
Series, if any, and otherwise shall mean the Fund's authorized shares.
1. Services as Distributor
1.1 You will act as agent for the distribution of Shares covered by,
and in accordance with, the registration statement and prospectus then in effect
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will transmit promptly any
orders received by you for purchase or redemption of Shares to the Transfer and
Dividend Disbursing Agent for the Fund of which the Fund has notified you in
writing.
1.2 You agree to use your best efforts to solicit orders for the sale
of Shares. It is contemplated that you will enter into sales or servicing
agreements with securities dealers, financial institutions and other industry
professionals, such as investment advisers, accountants and estate planning
firms, and in so doing you will act only on your own behalf as principal.
1.3 You shall act as distributor of Shares in compliance with all
applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, all rules
and regulations made or adopted pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended, by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any securities
association registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
1.4 Whenever in their judgment such action is warranted by market,
economic or political conditions, or by abnormal circumstances of any kind, the
Fund's officers may decline to accept any orders for, or make any sales of, any
Shares until such time as they deem it advisable to accept such orders and to
make such sales and the Fund shall advise you promptly of such determination.
1.5 The Fund agrees to pay all costs and expenses in connection with
the registration of Shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all
expenses in connection with maintaining facilities for the issue and transfer of
Shares and for supplying information, prices and other data to be furnished by
the Fund hereunder, and all expenses in connection with the preparation and
printing of the Fund's prospectuses and statements of additional information for
regulatory purposes and for distribution to shareholders; provided, however,
that nothing contained herein shall be deemed to require the Fund to pay any of
the costs of advertising the sale of Shares.
1.6 The Fund agrees to execute any and all documents and to furnish
any and all information and otherwise to take all actions which may be
reasonably necessary in the discretion of the Fund's officers in connection with
the qualification of Shares for sale in such states as you may designate to the
Fund and the Fund may approve, and the Fund agrees to pay all expenses which may
be incurred in connection with such qualification. You shall pay all expenses
connected with your own qualification as a dealer under state or Federal laws
and, except as otherwise specifically provided in this agreement, all other
expenses incurred by you in connection with the sale of Shares as contemplated
in this agreement.
1.7 The Fund shall furnish you from time to time, for use in
connection with the sale of Shares, such information with respect to the Fund or
any relevant Series and the Shares as you may reasonably request, all of which
shall be signed by one or more of the Fund's duly authorized officers; and the
Fund warrants that the statements contained in any such information, when so
signed by the Fund's officers, shall be true and correct. The Fund also shall
furnish you upon request with: (a) semi-annual reports and annual audited
reports of the Fund's books and accounts made by independent public accountants
regularly retained by the Fund, (b) quarterly earnings statements prepared by
the Fund, (c) a monthly itemized list of the securities in the Fund's or, if
applicable, each Series' portfolio, (d) monthly balance sheets as soon as
practicable after the end of each month, and (e) from time to time such
additional information regarding the Fund's financial condition as you may
reasonably request.
1.8 The Fund represents to you that all registration statements and
prospectuses filed by the Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended, with respect to the Shares have been carefully prepared in
conformity with the requirements of said Acts and rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder. As used in this agreement the
terms "registration statement" and "prospectus" shall mean any registration
statement and prospectus, including the statement of additional information
incorporated by reference therein, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and any amendments and supplements thereto which at any time shall
have been filed with said Commission. The Fund represents and warrants to you
that any registration statement and prospectus, when such registration statement
becomes effective, will contain all statements required to be stated therein in
conformity with said Acts and the rules and regulations of said Commission; that
all statements of fact contained in any such registration statement and
prospectus will be true and correct when such registration statement becomes
effective; and that neither any registration statement nor any prospectus when
such registration statement becomes effective will include an untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Fund may
but shall not be obligated to propose from time to time such amendment or
amendments to any registration statement and such supplement or supplements to
any prospectus as, in the light of future developments, may, in the opinion of
the Fund's counsel, be necessary or advisable. If the Fund shall not propose
such amendment or amendments and/or supplement or supplements within fifteen
days after receipt by the Fund of a written request from you to do so, you may,
at your option, terminate this agreement or decline to make offers of the Fund's
securities until such amendments are made. The Fund shall not file any amendment
to any registration statement or supplement to any prospectus without giving you
reasonable notice thereof in advance; provided, however, that nothing contained
in this agreement shall in any way limit the Fund's right to file at any time
such amendments to any registration statement and/or supplements to any
prospectus, of whatever character, as the Fund may deem advisable, such right
being in all respects absolute and unconditional.
1.9 The Fund authorizes you to use any prospectus in the form
furnished to you from time to time, in connection with the sale of Shares. The
Fund agrees to indemnify, defend and hold you, your several officers and
directors, and any person who controls you within the meaning of Section 15 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, free and harmless from and against any
and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the cost of
investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any counsel
fees incurred in connection therewith) which you, your officers and directors,
or any such controlling person, may incur under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon any
untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement, of a material fact contained in
any registration statement or any prospectus or arising out of or based upon any
omission, or alleged omission, to state a material fact required to be stated in
either any registration statement or any prospectus or necessary to make the
statements in either thereof not misleading; provided, however, that the Fund's
agreement to indemnify you, your officers or directors, and any such controlling
person shall not be deemed to cover any claims, demands, liabilities or expenses
arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or
alleged omission made in any registration statement or prospectus in reliance
upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Fund by you
specifically for use in the preparation thereof. The Fund's agreement to
indemnify you, your officers and directors, and any such controlling person, as
aforesaid, is expressly conditioned upon the Fund's being notified of any action
brought against you, your officers or directors, or any such controlling person,
such notification to be given by letter or by telegram addressed to the Fund at
its address set forth above within ten days after the summons or other first
legal process shall have been served. The failure so to notify the Fund of any
such action shall not relieve the Fund from any liability which the Fund may
have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any such
untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission, otherwise
than on account of the Fund's indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph
1.9. The Fund will be entitled to assume the defense of any suit brought to
enforce any such claim, demand or liability, but, in such case, such defense
shall be conducted by counsel of good standing chosen by the Fund and approved
by you. In the event the Fund elects to assume the defense of any such suit and
retain counsel of good standing approved by you, the defendant or defendants in
such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by
any of them; but in case the Fund does not elect to assume the defense of any
such suit, or in case you do not approve of counsel chosen by the Fund, the Fund
will reimburse you, your officers and directors, or the controlling person or
persons named as defendant or defendants in such suit, for the fees and expenses
of any counsel retained by you or them. The Fund's indemnification agreement
contained in this paragraph 1.9 and the Fund's representations and warranties in
this agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of
any investigation made by or on behalf of you, your officers and directors, or
any controlling person, and shall survive the delivery of any Shares. This
agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to your benefit, to the benefit of
your several officers and directors, and their respective estates, and to the
benefit of any controlling persons and their successors. The Fund agrees
promptly to notify you of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings
against the Fund or any of its officers or Board members in connection with the
issue and sale of Shares.
1.10 You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Fund, its several
officers and Board members, and any person who controls the Fund within the
meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, free and
harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses
(including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands or
liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which the
Fund, its officers or Board members, or any such controlling person, may incur
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or under common law or otherwise,
but only to the extent that such liability or expense incurred by the Fund, its
officers or Board members, or such controlling person resulting from such claims
or demands, shall arise out of or be based upon any untrue, or alleged untrue,
statement of a material fact contained in information furnished in writing by
you to the Fund specifically for use in the Fund's registration statement and
used in the answers to any of the items of the registration statement or in the
corresponding statements made in the prospectus, or shall arise out of or be
based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state a material fact in
connection with such information furnished in writing by you to the Fund and
required to be stated in such answers or necessary to make such information not
misleading. Your agreement to indemnify the Fund, its officers and Board
members, and any such controlling person, as aforesaid, is expressly conditioned
upon your being notified of any action brought against the Fund, its officers or
Board members, or any such controlling person, such notification to be given by
letter or telegram addressed to you at your address set forth above within ten
days after the summons or other first legal process shall have been served. You
shall have the right to control the defense of such action, with counsel of your
own choosing, satisfactory to the Fund, if such action is based solely upon such
alleged misstatement or omission on your part, and in any other event the Fund,
its officers or Board members, or such controlling person shall each have the
right to participate in the defense or preparation of the defense of any such
action. The failure so to notify you of any such action shall not relieve you
from any liability which you may have to the Fund, its officers or Board
members, or to such controlling person by reason of any such untrue, or alleged
untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission, otherwise than on account of
your indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph 1.10. This agreement of
indemnity will inure exclusively to the Fund's benefit, to the benefit of the
Fund's officers and Board members, and their respective estates, and to the
benefit of any controlling persons and their successors.
You agree promptly to notify the Fund of the commencement of any
litigation or proceedings against you or any of your officers or directors in
connection with the issue and sale of Shares.
1.11 No Shares shall be offered by either you or the Fund under any of
the provisions of this agreement and no orders for the purchase or sale of such
Shares hereunder shall be accepted by the Fund if and so long as the
effectiveness of the registration statement then in effect or any necessary
amendments thereto shall be suspended under any of the provisions of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or if and so long as a current prospectus as
required by Section 10 of said Act, as amended, is not on file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission; provided, however, that nothing contained in
this paragraph 1.11 shall in any way restrict or have an application to or
bearing upon the Fund's obligation to repurchase any Shares from any shareholder
in accordance with the provisions of the Fund's prospectus or charter documents.
1.12 The Fund agrees to advise you immediately in writing:
(a) of any request by the Securities and Exchange Commission
for amendments to the registration statement or prospectus then in
effect or for additional information;
(b) in the event of the issuance by the Securities and
Exchange Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of
the registration statement or prospectus then in effect or the
initiation of any proceeding for that purpose;
(c) of the happening of any event which makes untrue any
statement of a material fact made in the registration statement or
prospectus then in effect or which requires the making of a change in
such registration statement or prospectus in order to make the
statements therein not misleading; and
(d) of all actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission
with respect to any amendments to any registration statement or
prospectus which may from time to time be filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
2. Offering Price
Shares of any class of the Fund offered for sale by you shall be
offered for sale at a price per share (the "offering price") approximately equal
to (a) their net asset value (determined in the manner set forth in the Fund's
charter documents) plus (b) a sales charge, if any and except to those persons
set forth in the then-current prospectus, which shall be the percentage of the
offering price of such Shares as set forth in the Fund's then-current
prospectus. The offering price, if not an exact multiple of one cent, shall be
adjusted to the nearest cent. In addition, Shares of any class of the Fund
offered for sale by you may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge as
set forth in the Fund's then-current prospectus. You shall be entitled to
receive any sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge in respect of the
Shares. Any payments to dealers shall be governed by a separate agreement
between you and such dealer and the Fund's then-current prospectus.
3. Term
This agreement shall continue until the date (the "Reapproval Date")
set forth on Exhibit A hereto (and, if the Fund has Series, a separate
Reapproval Date shall be specified on Exhibit A for each Series), and thereafter
shall continue automatically for successive annual periods ending on the day
(the "Reapproval Day") of each year set forth on Exhibit A hereto, provided such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Fund's Board
or (ii) vote of a majority (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940) of
the Shares of the Fund or the relevant Series, as the case may be, provided that
in either event its continuance also is approved by a majority of the Board
members who are not "interested persons" (as defined in said Act) of any party
to this agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval. This agreement is terminable without penalty, on 60
days' notice, (a) by vote of holders of a majority of the Fund's or, as to any
relevant Series, such Series' outstanding voting securities, or (b) by the
Fund's Board as to the Fund or the relevant Series, as the case may be, or (c)
by you. This agreement also will terminate automatically, as to the Fund or
relevant Series, as the case may be, in the event of its assignment (as defined
in said Act).
4. Miscellaneous
4.1 The Fund recognizes that from time to time your directors,
officers, and employees may serve as trustees, directors, partners, officers,
and employees of other business trusts, corporations, partnerships, or other
entities (including other investment companies) and that such other entities may
include the name "Dreyfus" as part of their name, and that your corporation or
its affiliates may enter into distribution or other agreements with such other
entities. If you cease to act as the distributor of the Fund's shares or if The
Dreyfus Corporation ceases to act as the Fund's investment adviser, the Fund
agrees that, at the request of The Dreyfus Corporation, the Fund will take all
necessary action to change the name of the Fund to a name not including
"Dreyfus" in any form or combination of words.
4.2 This agreement has been executed on behalf of the Fund by the
undersigned officer of the Fund in his or her capacity as an officer of the
Fund. The obligations of this agreement shall only be binding upon the assets
and property of the Fund and shall not be binding upon any Board member, officer
or shareholder of the Fund individually.
Please confirm that the foregoing is in accordance with your
understanding and indicate your acceptance hereof by signing below, whereupon it
shall become a binding agreement between us.
Very truly yours,
DREYFUS U.S. TREASURY SHORT
TERM FUND
By:
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Accepted:
DREYFUS SERVICE CORPORATION
By:
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EXHIBIT A
REAPPROVAL DATE REAPPROVAL DAY
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November 9, 2000 November 9th
