Ex. 5
U.S. GLOBAL LEADERS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
[FUND NAME]
THIS INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT is made as of the ___ day
of ___________, 199__, by and between U.S. GLOBAL LEADERS VARIABLE INSURANCE
TRUST, a Delaware business trust (hereinafter called the "Trust"), on behalf of
the following series of the Trust, U.S. Global Leaders Growth Variable Insurance
Fund (the "Fund") and Xxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx, a New York corporation
(hereinafter called the "Advisor").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Trust is an open-end management investment
company, registered as such under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
(the "Investment Company Act"); and
WHEREAS, the Fund is a series of the Trust having
separate assets and liabilities; and
WHEREAS, the Advisor is registered as an investment adviser
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and is engaged in the
business of supplying investment advice as an independent contractor; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Advisor to render
advice and services to the Fund pursuant to the terms and provisions of this
Agreement, and the Advisor desires to furnish said advice and services;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants and the
mutual promises hereinafter set forth, the parties to this Agreement, intending
to be legally bound hereby, mutually agree as follows:
1. Appointment of Advisor. The Trust hereby employs
the Advisor and the Advisor hereby accepts such employment, to
render investment advice and related services with respect to the
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assets of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement,
subject to the supervision and direction of the Trust's Board of Trustees.
2. Duties of Advisor.
(a) General Duties. The Advisor shall act as
investment adviser to the Fund and shall supervise investments of the Fund on
behalf of the Fund in accordance with the investment objectives, policies and
restrictions of the Fund as set forth in the Fund's and Trust's governing
documents, including, without limitation, the Trust's Agreement and Declaration
of Trust and By-Laws; the Fund's prospectus, statement of additional information
and undertakings; and such other limitations, policies and procedures as the
Trustees may impose from time to time in writing to the Advisor. In providing
such services, the Advisor shall at all times adhere to the provisions and
restrictions contained in the federal securities laws, applicable state
securities laws, the Internal Revenue Code, the Uniform Commercial Code and
other applicable law.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Advisor
shall: (i) furnish the Funds with advice and recommendations with respect to the
investment of the Fund's assets and the purchase and sale of portfolio
securities for the Fund, including the taking of such steps as may be necessary
to implement such advice and recommendations (i.e., placing the orders); (ii)
manage and oversee the investments of the Funds, subject to the ultimate
supervision and direction of the Trust's Board of Trustees; (iii) vote proxies
for the Fund, file Section 13 ownership reports for the Fund, and take other
actions on behalf of the Fund; (iv) maintain the books and records required to
be maintained by the Fund except to the extent arrangements have been made for
such books and records to be maintained by the administrator or another agent of
the Fund; (v) furnish reports, statements and other data on securities, economic
conditions and other matters related to the investment of the Fund's assets
which the Fund's administrator or distributor or the officers of the Trust may
reasonably request; and (vi) render to the Trust's Board of Trustees such
periodic and special reports with respect to each Fund's investment activities
as the Board may reasonably request, including at least one in-person appearance
annually before the Board of Trustees.
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(b) Brokerage. The Advisor shall be responsible
for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund, for broker-dealer
selection, and for negotiation of brokerage commission rates, provided that the
Advisor shall not direct order to an affiliated person of the Advisor without
general prior authorization to use such affiliated broker or dealer for the
Trust's Board of Trustees. The Advisor's primary consideration in effecting a
securities transaction will be execution at the most favorable price. In
selecting a broker-dealer to execute each particular transaction, the Advisor
may take the following into consideration: the best net price available; the
reliability, integrity and financial condition of the broker-dealer; the size of
and difficulty in executing the order; and the value of the expected
contribution of the broker-dealer to the investment performance of the Fund on a
continuing basis. The price to the Fund in any transaction may be less favorable
than that available from another broker-dealer if the difference is reasonably
justified by other aspects of the portfolio execution services offered.
Subject to such policies as the Board of Trustees of the Trust
may determine, the Advisor shall not be deemed to have acted unlawfully or to
have breached any duty created by this Agreement or otherwise solely by reason
of its having caused the Fund to pay a broker or dealer that provides (directly
or indirectly) brokerage or research services to the Advisor an amount of
commission for effecting a portfolio transaction in excess of the amount of
commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that
transaction, if the Advisor determines in good faith that such amount of
commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research
services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either that
particular transaction or the Advisor's overall responsibilities with respect to
the Trust. The Advisor is further authorized to allocate the orders placed by it
on behalf of the Fund to such brokers or dealers who alsO provide research or
statistical material, or other services, to the Trust, the Advisor, or any
affiliate of either. Such allocation shall be in such amounts and proportions as
the Advisor shall determine, and the Advisor shall report on such allocations
regularly to the Trust, indicating the broker-dealers to whom such allocations
have been made and the basis therefor. The Advisor is also authorized to
consider sales of shares as a factor in the selection of brokers or dealers to
execute portfolio transactions, subject to the requirements of best execution,
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i.e., that such brokers or dealers are able to execute the order promptly and at
the best obtainable securities price.
On occasions when the Advisor deems the purchase or sale of a
security to be in the best interest of one or more of the Fund as well as of
other clients, the Advisor, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and
regulations, may aggregate the securities to be so purchased or sold in order to
obtain the most favorable price or lower brokerage commissions and the most
efficient execution. In such event, allocation of the securities so purchased or
sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction, will be made by the
Advisor in the manner it considers to be the most equitable and consistent with
its fiduciary obligations to the Funds and to such other clients.
3. Representations of the Advisor.
(a) The Advisor shall use its best judgment and
efforts in rendering the advice and services to the Funds as
contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) The Advisor shall maintain all licenses and
registrations necessary to perform its duties hereunder in good
order.
(c) The Advisor shall conduct its operations at
all times in conformance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the
Investment Company Act of 1940, and any other applicable state and/or
self-regulatory organization regulations.
(d) The Advisor shall maintain errors and
omissions insurance in an amount at least equal to $_____________, with a
deductible not to exceed $___________, throughout the term of this Agreement.
4. Independent Contractor. The Advisor shall, for all purposes
herein, be deemed to be an independent contractor, and shall, unless otherwise
expressly provided and authorized to do so, have no authority to act for or
represent the Trust or the Fund in any way, or in any way be deemed an agent for
the Trust or for the Fund. It is expressly understood and agreed that the
services to be rendered by the Advisor to the Funds under the provisions of this
Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Advisor shall be free to
render similar or different services
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to others so long as its ability to render the services provided for in this
Agreement shall not be impaired thereby.
5. Advisor's Personnel. The Advisor shall, at its own expense,
maintain such staff and employ or retain such personnel and consult with such
other persons as it shall from time to time determine to be necessary to the
performance of its obligations under this Agreement. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the staff and personnel of the Advisor shall be
deemed to include persons employed or retained by the Advisor to furnish
statistical information, research, and other factual information, advice
regarding economic factors and trends, information with respect to technical and
scientific developments, and such other information, advice and assistance as
the Advisor or the Trust's Board of Trustees may desire and reasonably request.
6. Expenses.
(a) With respect to the operation of the Fund,
the Advisor shall be responsible for (i) providing the personnel, office space
and equipment reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, (ii) the
expenses of printing and distributing extra copies of the Fund's prospectus,
statement of additional information, and sales and advertising materials (but
not the legal, auditing or accounting fees attendant thereto) to prospective
investors (but not to existing shareholders), and (iii) the costs of any special
Board of Trustees meetings or shareholder meetings convened for the primary
benefit of the Advisor. If the Advisor has agreed to limit the operating
expenses of the Fund, the Advisor shall also be responsible on a monthly basis
for any operating expenses that exceed the agreed upon expense limit.
(b) The Fund is responsible for and has assumed
the obligation for payment of all of its expenses, other than as stated in
Subparagraph 6(a) above, including but not limited to: fees and expenses
incurred in connection with the issuance, registration and transfer of its
shares; brokerage and commission expenses; all expenses of transfer, receipt,
safekeeping, servicing and accounting for the cash, securities and other
property of the Trust for the benefit of the Fund including all fees and
expenses of its custodian, shareholder services agent and accounting services
agent; interest charges on any borrowings; costs and expenses of pricing and
calculating its
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daily net asset value and of maintaining its books of account required under the
Investment Company Act; taxes, if any; a pro rata portion of expenditures in
connection with meetings of the Fund's shareholders and the Trust's Board of
Trustees that are properly payable by the Fund; salaries and expenses of
officers and fees and expenses of members of the Trust's Board of Trustees or
members of any advisory board or committee who are not members of, affiliated
with or interested persons of the Advisor; insurance premiums on property or
personnel of each Fund which inure to its benefit, including liability and
fidelity bond insurance; the cost of preparing and printing reports, proxy
statements, prospectuses and statements of additional information of the Fund or
other communications for distribution to existing shareholders; legal, auditing
and accounting fees; trade association dues; fees and expenses (including legal
fees) of registering and maintaining registration of its shares for sale under
federal and applicable state and foreign securities laws; all expenses of
maintaining and servicing shareholder accounts, including all charges for
transfer, shareholder recordkeeping, dividend disbursing, redemption, and other
agents for the benefit of the Funds, if any; and all other charges and costs of
its operation plus any extraordinary and non-recurring expenses, except as
herein otherwise prescribed.
(c) The Advisor may voluntarily absorb certain
Fund expenses or waive the Advisor's own advisory fee.
(d) To the extent the Advisor incurs any costs by
assuming expenses which are an obligation of a Fund as set forth herein, the
Fund shall promptly reimburse the Advisor for such costs and expenses, except to
the extent the Advisor has otherwise agreed to bear such expenses. To the extent
the services for which a Fund is obligated to pay are performed by the Advisor,
the Advisor shall be entitled to recover from such Fund to the extent of the
Advisor's actual costs for providing such services. In determining the Advisor's
actual costs, the Advisor may take into account an allocated portion of the
salaries and overhead of personnel performing such services.
7. Investment Advisory and Management Fee.
(a) The Fund shall pay to the Advisor, and the
Advisor agrees to accept, as full compensation for all investment management and
advisory services furnished or provided to such Fund pursuant to this Agreement,
an annual management fee equal
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to 1.00% of the Fund's daily net assets, computed on the value of the net assets
of the Fund as of the close of business each day.
(b) The management fee shall be accrued daily by
each Fund and paid to the Advisor on or before the tenth business
day of the succeeding month.
(c) The initial fee under this Agreement shall be
payable on or before the tenth business day of the first month following the
effective date of this Agreement and shall be prorated as set forth below. If
this Agreement is terminated prior to the end of any month, the fee to the
Advisor shall be prorated for the portion of any month in which this Agreement
is in effect which is not a complete month according to the proportion which the
number of calendar days in the month during which the Agreement is in effect
bears to the number of calendar days in the month, and shall be payable within
ten (10) days after the date of termination.
(d) The fee payable to the Advisor under this
Agreement will be reduced to the extent of any receivable owed by the Advisor to
the Fund and as required under any expense limitation applicable to a Fund.
(e) The Advisor voluntarily may reduce any
portion of the compensation or reimbursement of expenses due to it pursuant to
this Agreement and may agree to make payments to limit the expenses which are
the responsibility of a Fund under this Agreement. Any such reduction or payment
shall be applicable only to such specific reduction or payment and shall not
constitute an agreement to reduce any future compensation or reimbursement due
to the Advisor hereunder or to continue future payments. Any such reduction will
be agreed to prior to accrual of the related expense or fee and will be
estimated daily and reconciled and paid on a monthly basis.
(f) Any fee withheld or voluntarily reduced and
any Fund expense absorbed by the Advisor voluntarily or pursuant to an agreed
upon expense cap shall be reimbursed by the Fund to the Advisor, if so requested
by the Advisor, in the first, second or third (or any combination thereof)
fiscal year next succeeding the fiscal year of the withholding, reduction or
absorption if the aggregate amount actually paid by the Fund toward the
operating expenses for such fiscal year (taking into account the reimbursement)
do not exceed the applicable limitation on Fund
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expenses. Such reimbursement may be paid prior to the Fund's payment of current
expenses if so requested by the Advisor even if such practice may require the
Advisor to waive, reduce or absorb current Fund expenses.
(g) The Advisor may agree not to require payment
of any portion of the compensation or reimbursement of expenses otherwise due to
it pursuant to this Agreement. Any such agreement shall be applicable only with
respect to the specific items covered thereby and shall not constitute an
agreement not to require payment of any future compensation or reimbursement due
to the Advisor hereunder.
8. No Shorting; No Borrowing. The Advisor agrees that neither
it nor any of its officers or employees shall take any short position in the
shares of the Funds. This prohibition shall not prevent the purchase of such
shares by any of the officers or employees of the Advisor or any trust, pension,
profit-sharing or other benefit plan for such persons or affiliates thereof, at
a price not less than the net asset value thereof at the time of purchase, as
allowed pursuant to rules promulgated under the Investment Company Act. The
Advisor agrees that neither it nor any of its officers or employees shall borrow
from the Fund or pledge or use the Fund's assets in connection with any
borrowing not directly for the Fund's benefit. For this purpose, failure to pay
any amount due and payable to the Fund for a period of more than thirty (30)
days shall constitute a borrowing.
9. Conflicts with Trust's Governing Documents and Applicable
Laws. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund
to take any action contrary to the Trust's Agreement and Declaration of Trust,
By-Laws, or any applicable statute or regulation, or to relieve or deprive the
Board of Trustees of the Trust of its responsibility for and control of the
conduct of the affairs of the Trust and Funds. In this connection, the Advisor
acknowledges that the Trustees retain ultimate plenary authority over the Fund
and may take any and all actions necessary and reasonable to protect the
interests of shareholders.
10. Reports and Access. The Advisor agrees to supply
such information to the Fund's administrator and to permit such
compliance inspections by the Fund's administrator as shall be
reasonably necessary to permit the administrator to satisfy its
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obligations and respond to the reasonable requests of the
Trustees.
11. Advisor's Liabilities and Indemnification.
(a) The Advisor shall have responsibility for the
accuracy and completeness (and liability for the lack thereof) of the statements
in the Fund's offering materials (including the prospectus, the statement of
additional information, advertising and sales materials), except for information
supplied by the administrator or the Trust or another third party for inclusion
therein.
(b) The Advisor shall be liable to the Fund for
any loss (including brokerage charges) incurred by the Fund as a result of any
improper investment made by the Advisor.
(c) In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the obligations or duties
hereunder on the part of the Advisor, the Advisor shall not be subject to
liability to the Trust or the Fund or to any shareholder of the Fund 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 by the Funds.
(d) Each party to this Agreement shall indemnify
and hold harmless the other party and the shareholders, directors, officers and
employees of the other party (any such person, an "Indemnified Party") against
any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense (including the reasonable cost of
investigating and defending any alleged loss, liability, claim, damage or
expenses and reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) arising
out of the Indemnified Party's performance or non-performance of any duties
under this Agreement provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to
protect any Indemnified Party against any liability to which such Indemnified
Party would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or
negligence in the performance of duties hereunder or by reason of reckless
disregard of obligations and duties under this Agreement.
(e) No provision of this Agreement shall be
construed to protect any Trustee or officer of the Trust, or
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officer of the Advisor, from liability in violation of
Sections 17(h) and (i) of the Investment Company Act.
12. Non-Exclusivity; Trading for Advisor's Own Account. The
Trust's employment of the Advisor is not an exclusive arrangement. The Trust may
from time to time employ other individuals or entities to furnish it with the
services provided for herein. Likewise, the Advisor may act as investment
adviser for any other person, and shall not in any way be limited or restricted
from buying, selling or trading any securities for its or their own accounts or
the accounts of others for whom it or they may be acting, provided, however,
that the Advisor expressly represents that it will undertake no activities which
will adversely affect the performance of its obligations to the Fund under this
Agreement; and provided further that the Advisor will adhere to a code of ethics
governing employee trading and trading for proprietary accounts that conforms to
the requirements of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act
of 1940 and has been approved by the Trust' Board of Trustees.
13. Term.
(a) This Agreement shall become effective at the
time the Fund commences operations pursuant to an effective amendment to the
Trust's Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933 and shall remain
in effect for a period of two (2) years, unless sooner terminated as hereinafter
provided. This Agreement shall continue in effect thereafter for additional
periods not exceeding one (l) year so long as such continuation is approved for
the Fund at least annually by (i) the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the
vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund and (ii)
the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this
Agreement nor interested persons thereof, cast in person at a meeting called for
the purpose of voting on such approval. The terms "majority of the outstanding
voting securities" and "interested persons" shall have the meanings as set forth
in the Investment Company Act.
(b) The Fund may use the name "The [ ]
Fund" or any name derived from or using the name "[ ]" only for so long as this
Agreement or any extension, renewal or amendment hereof remains in effect.
Within sixty (60) days from such time as this Agreement shall no longer be in
effect, the
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Fund shall cease to use such a name or any other name connected with the
Advisor.
14. Termination; No Assignment.
(a) This Agreement may be terminated by the Trust
on behalf of the Fund at any time without payment of any penalty, by the Board
of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of a Fund, upon sixty (60) days' written notice to the Advisor, and
by the Advisor upon sixty (60) days' written notice to a Fund. In the event of a
termination, the Advisor shall cooperate in the orderly transfer of the Fund's
affairs and, at the request of the Board of Trustees, transfer any and all books
and records of the Fund maintained by the Advisor on behalf of the Fund.
(b) This Agreement shall terminate automatically
in the event of any transfer or assignment thereof, as defined in
the Investment Company Act.
15. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement
shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute or
rule, or shall be otherwise rendered invalid, the remainder of
this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
16. Notice of Declaration of Trust. The Advisor agrees that
the Trust's obligations under this Agreement shall be limited to the Funds and
to their assets, and that the Advisor shall not seek satisfaction of any such
obligation from the shareholders of the Funds nor from any trustee, officer,
employee or agent of the Trust or the Funds.
17. Captions. 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.
18. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware without giving
effect to the conflict of laws principles thereof; provided that nothing herein
shall be construed to preempt, or to be inconsistent with, any federal law,
regulation or rule, including the Investment Company Act and the Investment
Advisors Act of 1940 and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be duly executed by their duly authorized officers, all on the day
and year first above written.
U.S GLOBAL LEADERS VARIABLE XXXXXX, XXXX & XXXXXXXX
INSURANCE TRUST on behalf of
U.S. Global Leaders Growth
Variable Insurance Fund
By: By:
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