FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT ALPS/WESTPORT RESOURCES HEDGED HIGH INCOME FUND
Exhibit (d)(33)
ALPS/WESTPORT RESOURCES HEDGED HIGH INCOME FUND
This Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of this 19th day of December, 2013, by and between ALPS Advisors, Inc., a Colorado corporation (the “Co-Adviser”), and Financial Investors Trust, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Trust”), regarding the Funds listed in Appendix A (the “Fund” or the “Funds”).
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end, management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”); and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has approved this Agreement, and the Co-Adviser is willing to furnish certain investment advisory services upon the terms and conditions herein set forth.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed between the parties hereto as follows:
1. Appointment of the Co-Adviser. The Trust desires to employ the Fund’s capital by investing and reinvesting in investments of the kind and in accordance with the limitations specified in its Declaration of Trust, and in such Fund’s Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information as from time to time in effect (the “Prospectus”), and in the manner and to the extent as may from time to time be approved by the Board. The Trust desires to employ and hereby appoints the Co-Adviser to act as co-investment adviser to the Fund. The Co-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services described herein for the compensation set forth below.
2. Delivery of Fund Documents. The Trust has furnished the Co-Adviser with copies, properly certified or authenticated, of each of the following:
a. Declaration of Trust;
b. Bylaws;
c. Resolutions of the Board of Trustees of the Trust selecting ALPS Advisors, Inc. as Co-Adviser to the Fund and approving the form of this Agreement; and
d. the Trust’s Form N-1A Registration Statement.
The Trust will furnish the Co-Adviser from time to time with copies, properly certified or authenticated, of all amendments of or supplements to the foregoing, if any.
3. Services provided by the Co-Adviser. Subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, the Co-Adviser will: (a) act in strict conformity with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust, the Trust’s Bylaws, the 1940 Act and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”); (b) provide the Fund with investment research and statistical data, advice and supervision, data processing and clerical services; (c) provide the Trust with access to certain office facilities, which may be the Co-Adviser’s own offices; (d) review asset allocations and investment policies with the Board as needed; (e) jointly with another co-investment adviser retained by the Board in connection with the Funds (the “Second Co-Adviser”), monitor the services provided by one or more investment sub-advisers retained for the Fund; (f) advise and assist the officers of the Trust in taking such steps as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the decisions of the Board and its committees with respect to the foregoing matters and the conduct of the business of the Fund; and (g) furnish whatever statistical information the Trust may reasonably request with respect to the securities that the Fund may hold or contemplate purchasing.
4. Termination of Second Co-Adviser. In the event the Second Co-Adviser’s engagement is terminated with respect to a Fund, the Co-Adviser shall be responsible for furnishing the Fund with the following services, either directly or indirectly by employing suitable Sub-Advisers, in each case subject to the supervision and direction of the Board: (a) act in strict conformity with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust, the Trust’s Bylaws, the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act; (b) manage the Fund and furnish a continual investment program for the Fund in accordance with such Fund’s investment objective and policies as described in the Fund’s Prospectus; (c) make investment decisions for the Fund; (d) provide the Fund with investment research and statistical data, advice and supervision, data processing and clerical services; (e) provide the Trust with access to certain office facilities, which may be the Adviser’s own offices; (f) determine what securities shall be purchased for the Fund; what securities shall be held or sold by the Fund, and allocate assets of the Fund to separate sub-accounts of the approved Sub-Advisers, and determine what portion of the Fund’s assets shall be held uninvested; (g) review asset allocations and investment policies with the Board every quarter; and (h) advise and assist the officers of the Trust in taking such steps as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the decisions of the Board and its committees with respect to the foregoing matters and the conduct of the business of the Fund. In addition, the Adviser will furnish the Trust with whatever statistical information the Trust may reasonably request with respect to the securities that the Fund may hold or contemplate purchasing. The appointment of sub-advisers shall be subject to approval by the Board and, to the extent required by the 1940 Act or any other law or regulation, approval of the shareholders of the Trust.
5. Allocation of Charges and Expenses. The Co-Adviser will make available, without expense to the Trust or the Fund, the services of such of its officers, directors and employees as may be duly elected as officers or trustees of the Trust, subject to the individual consent of such persons to serve and to any limitations imposed by law. The Co-Adviser will pay all expenses incurred in performing its co-investment advisory services under this Agreement, including compensation of and office space for officers and employees of the Co-Adviser connected with management of the Fund. The Co-Adviser will not be required to pay any investment advisory related expenses of the Fund other than those specifically allocated to it in this paragraph. In particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Fund will be required to pay
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brokerage and other expenses of executing Fund transactions; taxes or governmental fees; interest charges and other costs of borrowing funds; litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.
6. Compensation of the Co-Adviser. In consideration for the services to be performed under this Agreement, the Co-Adviser shall receive from the Trust an annual management fee, payable monthly as soon as practicable after the last day of each month, equal to the greater of: (i) 0.20% of the Fund’s daily net assets, accrued daily at the rate of 1/365th (or 1/366th in any year in which the month of February has 29 days) of the applicable advisory fee rate, or (ii) $150,000.
7. Services to other Accounts. The Trust understands that, in the event the Co-Adviser assumes the responsibilities of the Second Co-Adviser pursuant to Section 4 of this Agreement, the Co-Adviser acts as investment adviser to other managed accounts, and the Trust has no objection to the Co-Adviser so acting, provided that whenever the Fund and one or more other accounts advised by the Co-Adviser are prepared to purchase or sell the same security, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in accordance with the written policies of the Co-Adviser and in a manner believed by the Co-Adviser to be equitable to each entity under the specific circumstances. The Trust recognizes that in some cases this procedure may affect adversely the price paid or received by the Fund or the size of the position purchased or sold by the Fund. In addition, the Trust understands that the persons employed by the Co-Adviser to provide service to the Fund in connection with the performance of the Co-Adviser’s duties under this Agreement will not devote their full time to that service. Moreover, nothing contained in this Agreement will be deemed to limit or restrict the right of the Co-Adviser or any “affiliated person” of the Co-Adviser to engage in and devote time and attention to other businesses or to render services of whatever kind or nature to other persons or entities, including serving as investment adviser to, or employee, officer, director or trustee of, other investment companies.
8. Brokerage and Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest. In connection with purchases or sales of Fund securities for the account of the Fund, to the extent applicable to the Fund, neither the Co-Adviser nor any of its trustees, officers or employees will act as a principal or agent or receive any commission with respect to such purchases or sales. The Co-Adviser or its agents shall arrange for the placing of all orders for the purchase and sale of Fund securities for the Fund’s account with brokers or dealers selected by the Co-Adviser. In the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Co-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek for the Fund the most favorable execution and net price available and will consider all factors the Co-Adviser deems relevant in making such decisions including, but not limited to, price (including any applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, and operational facilities of the firm involved and the firm’s risk in positioning a block of securities.
The parties agree that it is in the interests of the Fund that the Co-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analyses provided by brokers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to such Fund than may result when brokerage is allocated to other brokers on the basis of the best price and execution. The Co-Adviser is authorized to place orders for the purchase and sale of securities for the Fund with such brokers, subject to review by the Board from time to time. In selecting brokers or dealers to
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execute a particular transaction and in evaluating the best price and execution available, the Adviser may consider the brokerage and research services (as such terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion. The parties acknowledge and agree that the provisions of this Section 8 shall only apply in the event the Co-Adviser assumes the responsibilities of the Second Co-Adviser pursuant to Section 4 of this Agreement.
9. Standard of Care; Limitation of Liability. The Co-Adviser will exercise its best judgment in rendering the services described herein. The Co-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust or the Fund in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by the Adviser of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to receipt of compensation for services (in which case any award of damages shall be limited to the period and amount set forth in Section 36(b)(3) of the 1940 Act).
10. Voting. The Co-Adviser will take any action and provide any advice with respect to the voting of securities held by the Fund in accordance with the Fund’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, as amended and revised from time to time.
11. Duration and Termination of this Agreement. This Agreement shall remain in force for an initial term of two years and from year to year thereafter, but only so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons of the Co-Adviser, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by a vote of the Board or of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust. The requirement that continuance of this Agreement be specifically approved at least annually shall be construed in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. This Agreement may, on sixty (60) days written notice, be terminated at any time without the payment of any penalty, by the Board, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, individually, or by the Co-Adviser. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. In interpreting the provisions of this Agreement, the definitions contained in Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act (particularly the definitions of “interested person”, “assignment” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities”), as from time to time amended, shall be applied, subject, however, to such exemptions as may be granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission by any rule, regulation or order.
12. Amendment of this Agreement. A provision of this Agreement may be amended, changed, waived, discharged or terminated only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against whom enforcement of the amendment, change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought. An amendment to this Agreement shall not be effective until approved by the Board, including a majority of the directors who are not interested persons of the Adviser or of the Trust. To the extent legal counsel to the Trust concludes that shareholder approval of a particular amendment to this Agreement is required under the 1940 Act, such amendment will not be effective until the required shareholder approval has been obtained.
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13. Notice. Any notice, advice or report to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered or mailed:
To the Adviser at:
ALPS Advisors, Inc.
0000 Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx, XX 00000
To the Trust or the Fund at:
0000 Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx, XX 00000
14. Governing Law. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties, shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and shall be governed by Colorado law in a manner not in conflict with the provisions of the 1940 Act.
15. Miscellaneous. Neither the holders of shares of the Fund nor the officers or trustees of the Trust in their capacities as such shall be personally liable hereunder. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or limit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
16. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the day and year first above written.
| ALPS ADVISORS, INC. |
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| By: |
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx |
By: |
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||||
| Name: |
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx |
Name: |
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||||
| Title: |
President |
Title: |
President | |||||
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Appendix A
ALPS/Westport Resources Hedged High Income Fund
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