Exhibit 5(m)
SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH COMPANY
AND
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (U.K.) INC.
AND
VARIABLE INSURANCE PRODUCTS FUND
ON BEHALF OF GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
AGREEMENT made this 1st day of January, 1997, by and between Fidelity
Management & Research Company, a Massachusetts corporation with principal
offices at 00 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx (hereinafter called
the "Advisor"); Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (hereinafter
called the "Sub-Advisor"); and Variable Insurance Products Fund III, a
Massachusetts business trust which may issue one or more series of shares
of beneficial interest (hereinafter called the "Trust") on behalf of Growth
& Income Portfolio (hereinafter called the "Portfolio").
WHEREAS the Trust and the Advisor have entered into a Management Contract
on behalf of the Portfolio, pursuant to which the Advisor is to act as
investment manager of the Portfolio; and
WHEREAS the Sub-Advisor and its subsidiaries and other affiliated persons
have personnel in various locations throughout the world and have been
formed in part for the purpose of researching and compiling information and
recommendations with respect to the economies of various countries, and
securities of issuers located in such countries, and providing investment
advisory services in connection therewith;
NOW, THEREFORE in consideration of the promises and the mutual promises
hereinafter set forth, the Trust, the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor agree as
follows:
1. Duties: The Advisor may, in its discretion, appoint the Sub-Advisor
to perform one or more of the following services with respect to all or a
portion of the investments of the Portfolio. The services and the portion
of the investments of the Portfolio to be advised or managed by the
Sub-Advisor shall be as agreed upon from time to time by the Advisor and
the Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor shall pay the salaries and fees of all
personnel of the Sub-Advisor performing services for the Portfolio relating
to research, statistical and investment activities.
(a) INVESTMENT ADVICE: If and to the extent requested by the Advisor, the
Sub-Advisor shall provide investment advice to the Portfolio and the
Advisor with respect to all or a portion of the investments of the
Portfolio, and in connection with such advice shall furnish the Portfolio
and the Advisor such factual information, research reports and investment
recommendations as the Advisor may reasonably require. Such information
may include written and oral reports and analyses.
(b) INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: If and to the extent requested by the Advisor,
the Sub-Advisor shall, subject to the supervision of the Advisor, manage
all or a portion of the investments of the Portfolio in accordance with the
investment objective, policies and limitations provided in the Portfolio's
Prospectus or other governing instruments, as amended from time to time,
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") and rules thereunder,
as amended from time to time, and such other limitations as the Trust or
Advisor may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the
Sub-Advisor. With respect to the portion of the investments of the
Portfolio under its management, the Sub-Advisor is authorized to make
investment decisions on behalf of the Portfolio with regard to any stock,
bond, other security or investment instrument, and to place orders for the
purchase and sale of such securities through such broker-dealers as the
Sub-Advisor may select. The Sub-Advisor may also be authorized, but only
to the extent such duties are delegated in writing by the Advisor, to
provide additional investment management services to the Portfolio,
including, but not limited to services such as managing foreign currency
investments, purchasing and selling or writing futures and options
contracts, borrowing money or lending securities on behalf of the
Portfolio. All investment management and any other activities of the
Sub-Advisor shall at all times be subject to the control and direction of
the Advisor and the Trust's Board of Trustees.
(c) SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES: The Sub-Advisor may perform any or all
of the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of
its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as the Sub-Advisor shall
determine; provided, however, that performance of such services through
such subsidiaries or other affiliated persons shall have been approved by
the Trust to the extent required pursuant to the 1940 Act and rules
thereunder.
2. Information to be Provided to the Trust and the Advisor: The
Sub-Advisor shall furnish such reports, evaluations, information or
analyses to the Trust and the Advisor as the Trust's Board of Trustees or
the Advisor may reasonably request from time to time, or as the Sub-Advisor
may deem to be desirable.
3. Brokerage: In connection with the services provided under
subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this Agreement, the Sub-Advisor shall
place all orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities for the
Portfolio's account with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Advisor,
which may include brokers or dealers affiliated with the Advisor or
Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor shall use its best efforts to seek to execute
portfolio transactions at prices which are advantageous to the Portfolio
and at commission rates which are reasonable in relation to the benefits
received. In selecting brokers or dealers qualified to execute a
particular transaction, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide
brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section
28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the Portfolio and/or to
the other accounts over which the Sub-Advisor or Advisor exercise
investment discretion. The Sub-Advisor is authorized to pay a broker or
dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for
executing a portfolio transaction for the Portfolio which is in excess of
the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for
effecting that transaction if the Sub-Advisor determines in good faith that
such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the
brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This
determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction
or the overall responsibilities which the Sub-Advisor has with respect to
amounts over which it exercises investment discretion. The Trustees of the
Trust shall periodically review the commissions paid by the Portfolio to
determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time were
reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Portfolio.
4. Compensation: The Advisor shall compensate the Sub-Advisor on the
following basis for the services to be furnished hereunder.
(a) INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEE: For services provided under subparagraph (a)
of paragraph 1 of this Agreement, the Advisor agrees to pay the Sub-Advisor
a monthly Sub-Advisory Fee. The Sub-Advisory Fee shall be equal to 110% of
the Sub-Advisor's costs incurred in connection with rendering the services
referred to in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this Agreement. The
Sub-Advisory Fee shall not be reduced to reflect expense reimbursements or
fee waivers by the Advisor, if any, in effect from time to time.
(b) INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEE: For services provided under subparagraph
9b) of paragraph 1 of this Agreement, the Advisor agrees to pay the
Sub-Advisor a monthly Investment Management Fee. The Investment Management
Fee shall be equal to: (i) 50% of the monthly management fee rate
(including performance adjustments, if any) that the Portfolio is obligated
to pay the Advisor under its Management Contract with the Advisor,
multiplied by: (ii) the fraction equal to the net assets of the Portfolio
as to which the Sub-Advisor shall have provided investment management
services divided by the net assets of the Portfolio for that month. If in
any fiscal year the aggregate expenses of the Portfolio exceed any
applicable expense limitation imposed by any state or federal securities
laws or regulations, and the Advisor waives all or a portion of its
management fee or reimburses the Portfolio for expenses to the extent
required to satisfy such limitation, the Investment Management Fee paid to
the Sub-Advisor will be reduced by 50% of the amount of such waivers or
reimbursements multiplied by the fraction determined in (ii). If the
Sub-Advisor reduces its fees to reflect such waivers or reimbursements and
the Advisor subsequently recovers all or any portion of such waivers or
reimbursements, then the Sub-Advisor shall be entitled to receive from the
Advisor a proportionate share of the amount recovered. To the extent that
waivers and reimbursements by the Advisor required by such limitations are
in excess of the Advisor's management fee, the Investment Management Fee
paid to the Sub-Advisor will be reduced to zero for that month, but in no
event shall the Sub-Advisor be required to reimburse the Advisor for all or
a portion of such excess reimbursements.
(c) PROVISION OF MULTIPLE SERVICES: If the Sub-Advisor shall have
provided both investment advisory services under subparagraph (a) and
investment management services under subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) for
the same portion of the investments of the Portfolio for the same period,
the fees paid to the Sub-Advisor with respect to such investments shall be
calculated exclusively under subparagraph (b) of this paragraph 4.
5. Expenses: It is understood that the Portfolio will pay all of its
expenses other than those expressly stated to be payable by the Sub-Advisor
hereunder or by the Advisor under the Management Contract with the
Portfolio, which expenses payable by the Portfolio shall include, without
limitation, (i) interest and taxes; (ii) brokerage commissions and other
costs in connection with the purchase or sale of securities and other
investment instruments; (iii) fees and expenses of the Trust's Trustees
other than those who are "interested persons" of the Trust, the Sub-Advisor
or the Advisor; (iv) legal and audit expenses; (v) custodian, registrar and
transfer agent fees and expenses; (vi) fees and expenses related to the
registration and qualification of the Trust and the Portfolio's shares for
distribution under state and federal securities laws; (vii) expenses of
printing and mailing reports and notices and proxy material to shareholders
of the Portfolio; (viii) all other expenses incidental to holding meetings
of the Portfolio's shareholders, including proxy solicitations therefore;
(ix) a pro rata share, based on relative net assets of the Portfolio and
other registered investment companies having Advisory and Service or
Management Contracts with the Advisor, of 50% of insurance premiums for
fidelity and other coverage; (x) its proportionate share of association
membership dues; (xi) expenses of typesetting for printing Prospectuses and
Statements of Additional Information and supplements thereto; (xii)
expenses of printing and mailing Prospectuses and Statements of Additional
Information and supplements thereto sent to existing shareholders; and
(xiii) such non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including
those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Portfolio is a
party and the legal obligation which the Portfolio may have to indemnify
the Trust's Trustees and officers with respect thereto.
6. Interested Persons: It is understood that Trustees, officers, and
shareholders of the Trust are or may be or become interested in the Advisor
or the Sub-Advisor as directors, officers or otherwise and that directors,
officers and stockholders of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor are or may be
or become similarly interested in the Trust, and that the Advisor or the
Sub-Advisor may be or become interested in the Trust as a shareholder or
otherwise.
7. Services to Other Companies or Accounts: The services of the
Sub-Advisor to the Advisor are not to be deemed to be exclusive, the
Sub-Advisor being free to render services to others and engage in other
activities, provided, however, that such other services and activities do
not, during the term of this Agreement, interfere, in a material manner,
with the Sub-Advisor's ability to meet all of its obligations hereunder.
The Sub-Advisor shall for all purposes be an independent contractor and not
an agent or employee of the Advisor or the Trust.
8. Standard of Care: In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith,
gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties hereunder
on the part of the Sub-Advisor, the Sub-Advisor shall not be subject to
liability to the Advisor, the Trust or to any shareholder of the Portfolio
for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering
services hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase,
holding or sale of any security.
9. Duration and Termination of Agreement; Amendments:
(a) Subject to prior termination as provided in subparagraph (d) of this
paragraph 9, this Agreement shall continue in force until July 31, 1997 and
indefinitely thereafter, but only so long as the continuance after such
period shall be specifically approved at least annually by vote of the
Trust's Board of Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities of the Portfolio.
(b) This Agreement may be modified by mutual consent of the Advisor, the
Sub-Advisor and the Portfolio, such consent on the part of the Portfolio to
be authorized by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of
the Portfolio.
(c) In addition to the requirements of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this
paragraph 9, the terms of any continuance or modification of this Agreement
must have been approved by the vote of a majority of those Trustees of the
Trust who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any
such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval.
(d) Either the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor or the Portfolio may, at any time
on sixty (60) days' prior written notice to the other parties, terminate
this Agreement, without payment of any penalty, by action of its Board of
Trustees or Directors, or with respect to the Portfolio by vote of a
majority of its outstanding voting securities. This Agreement shall
terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
10. Limitation of Liability: The Sub-Advisor is hereby expressly put on
notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the
Declaration of Trust or other organizational document of the Trust and
agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Portfolio arising in
connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the
Portfolio and its assets, and the Sub-Advisor shall not seek satisfaction
of any such obligation from the shareholders or any shareholder of the
Portfolio. Nor shall the Sub-Advisor seek satisfaction of any such
obligation from the Trustees or any individual Trustee.
11. Governing Law: This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without
giving effect to the choice of laws provisions thereof.
The terms "registered investment company," "vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities," "assignment," and "interested persons,"
when used herein, shall have the respective meanings specified in the 1940
Act as now in effect or as hereafter amended.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be
signed in their behalf by their respective officers thereunto duly
authorized, and their respective seals to be hereunto affixed, all as of
the date written above.
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (U.K.) INC.
BY:/s/ J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Treasurer
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH COMPANY
BY:/s/ J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
President
VARIABLE INSURANCE PRODUCTS FUND III
ON BEHALF OF GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
BY:/s/ J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Senior Vice President
