EXHIBIT 22(h)(4)(j)
AMENDED AND RESTATED EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
GARTMORE VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
AMENDED AND RESTATED EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT, effective as of May
1, 2004, by and between GARTMORE MUTUAL FUND CAPITAL TRUST (the "Investment
Adviser") and GARTMORE VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST (the "Trust"), a Massachusetts
business trust, on behalf of each of the funds listed on Exhibit A (each, a
"Fund").
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open end management company of the
series type, and each Fund is a series of the Trust; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Investment Adviser have entered into an
Investment Advisory Agreement (the "Advisory Agreement"), pursuant to which the
Investment Adviser will render investment advisory services to the Fund for
compensation based on the value of the average daily net assets of the Fund; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Investment Adviser have determined that it
is appropriate and in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to
maintain the expenses of the Fund at a level below the level to which the Fund
would be subject.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Expense Limitation.
1.1. Applicable Expense Limit. To the extent that the aggregate
expenses of every character incurred by a Fund or a class of a Fund in any
fiscal year, including but not limited to investment advisory fees of the
Investment Adviser (but excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, short
sale dividend expenses, and other expenditures which are capitalized in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and other extraordinary
expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund's business) ("Fund
Operating Expenses"), exceed the Operating Expense Limit, as defined in Section
1.2 below, such excess amount (the "Excess Amount") shall be the liability of
the Investment Adviser.
1.2. Operating Expense Limit. The Operating Expense Limit in any year
shall be a percentage of the average daily net assets of each class of the Fund
as described in Exhibit A, or such other rate as may be agreed to in writing by
the parties. The parties hereby agree that Operating Expense Limit described in
Exhibit A will not be increased before the date listed on Exhibit A.
1.3. Method of Computation. To determine the Investment Adviser's
liability with respect to the Excess Amount, each day the Fund Operating
Expenses shall be annualized as of that day for each class of a Fund. If the
annualized Fund Operating Expenses for any day exceed the Operating Expense
Limit of a Fund class, the Investment Adviser shall (i) on a daily basis waive
or reduce its advisory fee by an amount sufficient to reduce the annualized Fund
Operating Expenses to an amount which does not exceed the Operating Expense
Limit, and/or (ii) on a monthly basis remit to a Fund an amount that, together
with the waived or reduced advisory fee, is sufficient to satisfy such Excess
Amount.
1.4. Year-End Adjustment. If necessary, on or before the last day of
the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the
appropriate party in order that the
amount of the advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the
Investment Adviser to a Fund with respect to the previous fiscal year shall
equal the Excess Amount.
2. Reimbursement of Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements.
2.1. Reimbursement. If in any fiscal year during which total Fund
assets are greater than $100 million and in which the Investment Advisory
Agreement is still in effect, the estimated aggregate Fund Operating Expenses
for the fiscal year are less than the Operating Expense Limit for that year,
subject to quarterly approval by the Trust's Board of Trustees as provided in
Section 2.2 below, the Investment Adviser shall be entitled to reimbursement by
a Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the advisory fees waived or
reduced and other payments remitted by the Investment Adviser to the Fund
pursuant to Section 1 hereof. The total amount of reimbursement to which the
Investment Adviser may be entitled (the "Reimbursement Amount") shall equal, at
any time, the sum of all advisory fees previously waived or reduced by the
Investment Adviser and all other payments remitted by the Investment Adviser to
a Fund, pursuant to Section 1 hereof, less any reimbursement previously paid by
such Fund to the Investment Adviser, pursuant to Sections 2.2 or 2.3 hereof,
with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments; provided, however, that
no Reimbursement Amount shall be paid at a date more than three (3) years after
the fiscal year when the Investment Adviser waived investment advisory fees or
reimbursed other expenses to a Fund for the corresponding Excess Amount pursuant
to Section 1. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges
or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement
Amount.
2.2. Board Approval. No reimbursement shall be paid to the Investment
Adviser pursuant to this provision in any fiscal year, unless the Trust's Board
of Trustees has determined that the payment of such reimbursement is appropriate
in light of the terms of this Agreement. The Trust's Board of Trustees shall
determine quarterly in advance whether any portion of the Reimbursement Amount
may be paid to the Investment Adviser in such quarter.
2.3. Method of Computation. To determine a Fund's payments, if any, to
reimburse the Investment Adviser for all or any portion of the Reimbursement
Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses for each Fund class shall be
annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund Operating
Expenses for any month are less than the Operating Expense Limit, a Fund, only
with the prior approval of the Board, shall pay to the Investment Adviser an
amount sufficient to increase the annualized Fund Operating Expenses to an
amount no greater than the Operating Expense Limit, provided that such amount
paid to the Investment Adviser will not exceed the total Reimbursement Amount.
If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses for a Fund are greater than the
Operating Expense Limit for one or more months in a quarter and less than the
remaining month(s), the calculation described in this section will be made on a
monthly basis and the net amount of the monthly calculations will be presented
to the Board for approval.
2.4. Year-End Adjustment. If necessary, on or before the last day of
the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the
appropriate party in order that the actual Fund Operating Expenses for the prior
fiscal year (including any reimbursement payments hereunder with respect to such
fiscal year) do not exceed the Operating Expense Limit.
3. Term and Termination of Agreement.
This Agreement shall initially continue in effect for the period listed
on Exhibit A for any Fund covered by the Agreement and from year to year
thereafter provided such continuance is
2
specifically approved by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who (i) are not
"interested persons" of the Trust or any other party to this Agreement, as
defined in the 1940 Act, and (ii) have no direct or indirect financial interest
in the operation of this Agreement ("Non-Interested Trustees"), provided
however, that the reimbursements described in Section 2 will not continue to
accrue for more than three years after the fiscal year when the Investment
Adviser waived investment advisory fees or reimbursed other expenses to a Fund
for the corresponding Excess Amount pursuant to Section 1. The parties hereby
agree that the initial Operating Expense Limits describe herein shall remain in
place until at least the date listed on Exhibit A.
4. Miscellaneous.
4.1. Captions. The captions in this Agreement are included for
convenience of reference only and in no other way define or delineate any of the
provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.
4.2. Interpretation. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
require the Trust or a Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Agreement
and Declaration of Trust or By-Laws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory
requirement to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or
deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for and control of
the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4.3. Definitions. Any question of interpretation of any term or
provision of this Agreement, including but not limited to the investment
advisory fee, the computations of net asset values, and the allocation of
expenses, having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and
provisions of the Advisory Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same
meaning as and be resolved by reference to such Advisory Agreement or the 1940
Act.
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed
by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized and their respective
corporate seals to be hereunto affixed, as of the day and year first above
written.
GARTMORE VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
By:_______________________________
Name:
Title:
GARTMORE MUTUAL FUND CAPITAL TRUST
By:_______________________________
Name:
Title:
4
EXHIBIT A
to the Expense Limitation Agreement between
GARTMORE VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
and
GARTMORE MUTUAL FUND CAPITAL TRUST
As of October 15, 2002
(as amended May 1, 2004)
Name of Fund/Class Expense Limitation for Fund/Class
------------------ ---------------------------------
Gartmore GVIT Money Market Fund Class V 0.55%*
Class IV 0.50%**
* Effective until at least April 30, 2005.
** Effective until at least October 1, 2004. These expense limitations may be
revised after the expiration of the agreed upon term, if mutually agreed upon by
the parties. They may also be revised to increase the limitations at any time if
mutually agreed upon by the parties.
5
