TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
between
WARBURG, XXXXXX STRATEGIC VALUE FUND, INC.
and
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
1A - Domestic/Corporation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. Terms of Appointment; Duties of the Bank....................1
2. Fees and Expenses...........................................3
3. Representations and Warranties of the Bank..................4
4. Representations and Warranties of the Fund..................4
5. Data Access and Proprietary Information.....................5
6. Indemnification.............................................6
7. Standard of Care............................................7
8. Covenants of the Fund and the Bank..........................7
9. Termination of Agreement....................................8
10. Assignment..................................................8
11. Amendment...................................................9
12. Massachusetts Law to Apply..................................9
13. Force Majeure...............................................9
14. Consequential Damages.......................................9
15. Merger of Agreement.........................................9
16. Counterparts...............................................10
17. Reproduction of Documents..................................10
TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made as of the ____ day of ________, 1996, by and between Warburg,
Xxxxxx Strategic Value Fund, Inc., a Maryland corporation, having its
principal office and place of business at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000-0000 (the "Fund"), and STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, a
Massachusetts trust company having its principal office and place of
business at 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 (the "Bank").
WHEREAS, the Fund desires to appoint the Bank as its transfer agent, dividend
disbursing agent, custodian of certain retirement plans and agent in connection
with certain other activities, and the Bank desires to accept such appointment;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the
parties hereto agree as follows:
l. Terms of Appointment; Duties of the Bank
1.1 Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the
Fund hereby employs and appoints the Bank to act as, and the Bank
agrees to act as its transfer agent for the Fund's authorized and
issued shares of its common stock, $.001 par value, ("Shares"),
dividend disbursing agent, custodian of certain retirement plans and
agent in connection with any accumulation, open-account or similar
plans provided to the shareholders of the Fund ("Shareholders") and
set out in the currently effective prospectus and statement of
additional information ("prospectus") of the Fund, including without
limitation any periodic investment plan or periodic withdrawal
program.
1.2 The Bank agrees that it will perform the following services:
(a) In accordance with procedures established from time to time
by agreement between the Fund and the Bank, the Bank shall:
(i) Receive for acceptance, orders for the purchase of
Shares, and promptly deliver payment and appropriate
documentation thereof to the Custodian of the Fund
authorized pursuant to the Articles of Incorporation
of the Fund (the "Custodian");
(ii) Pursuant to purchase orders, issue the appropriate
number of Shares and hold such Shares in the
appropriate Shareholder account;
(iii) Receive for acceptance redemption requests and
redemption directions and deliver the appropriate
documentation thereof to the Custodian;
(iv) In respect to the transactions in items (i), (ii)
and (iii) above, the Bank shall execute transactions
directly with broker-dealers authorized by the Fund
who shall thereby be deemed to be acting on behalf
of the Fund;
(v) At the appropriate time as and when it receives
monies paid to it by the Custodian with respect to
any redemption, pay over or cause to be paid over in
the appropriate manner such monies as instructed by
the redeeming Shareholders;
(vi) Effect transfers of Shares by the registered
owners thereof upon receipt of appropriate
instructions;
(vii) Prepare and transmit payments for dividends and
distributions declared by the Fund;
(viii) Issue replacement certificates for those
certificates alleged to have been lost, stolen or
destroyed upon receipt by the Bank of
indemnification satisfactory to the Bank and
protecting the Bank and the Fund, and the Bank at
its option, may issue replacement certificates in
place of mutilated stock certificates upon
presentation thereof and without such indemnity;
(ix) Maintain records of account for and advise the
Fund and its Shareholders as to the foregoing; and
(x) Record the issuance of shares of the Fund and
maintain pursuant to SEC Rule 17Ad-10(e) a record of
the total number of shares of the Fund which are
authorized, based upon data provided to it by the
Fund, and issued and outstanding. The Bank shall
also provide the Fund on a regular basis with the
total number of shares which are authorized and
issued and outstanding and shall have no obligation,
when recording the issuance of shares, to monitor
the issuance of such shares or to take cognizance of
any laws relating to the issue or sale of such
shares, which functions shall be the sole
responsibility of the Fund.
(b) In addition to and neither in lieu nor in contravention of the
services set forth in the above paragraph (a), the Bank shall:
(i) perform the customary services of a transfer agent,
dividend disbursing agent, custodian of certain retirement
plans and, as relevant, agent in connection with accumulation,
open-account or similar plans (including without limitation any
periodic investment plan or periodic withdrawal program),
including but not limited to: maintaining all Shareholder
accounts, preparing Shareholder meeting lists, mailing proxies,
mailing Shareholder reports and prospectuses to current
Shareholders, withholding taxes on U.S. resident and
non-resident alien accounts, preparing and filing U.S. Treasury
Department Forms 1099 and other appropriate forms required with
respect to dividends and distributions
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by federal authorities for all Shareholders, preparing and
mailing confirmation forms and statements of account to
Shareholders for all purchases and redemptions of Shares and
other confirmable transactions in Shareholder accounts,
preparing and mailing activity statements for Shareholders, and
providing Shareholder account information and (ii) provide a
system which will enable the Fund to monitor the total number
of Shares sold in each State.
(c) In addition, the Fund shall (i) identify to the Bank in writing
those transactions and assets to be treated as exempt from blue
sky reporting for each State and (ii) verify the establishment
of transactions for each State on the system prior to
activation and thereafter monitor the daily activity for each
State. The responsibility of the Bank for the Fund's blue sky
State registration status is solely limited to the initial
establishment of transactions subject to blue sky compliance by
the Fund and the reporting of such transactions to the Fund as
provided above.
(d) Procedures as to who shall provide certain of these services in
Section 1 may be established from time to time by agreement
between the Fund and the Bank per the attached service
responsibility schedule. The Bank may at times perform only a
portion of these services and the Fund or its agent may perform
these services on the Fund's behalf.
(e) The Bank shall provide additional services on behalf of the
Fund (i.e., escheatment services) which may be agreed upon in
writing between the Fund and the Bank.
2. Fees and Expenses
2.1 For the performance by the Bank pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund
agrees to pay the Bank an annual maintenance fee for each Shareholder
account as set out in the initial fee schedule attached hereto. Such
fees and out-of-pocket expenses and advances identified under Section
2.2 below may be changed from time to time subject to mutual written
agreement between the Fund and the Bank.
2.2 In addition to the fee paid under Section 2.1 above, the Fund agrees
to reimburse the Bank for out-of-pocket expenses, including but not
limited to confirmation production, postage, forms, telephone,
microfilm, microfiche, tabulating proxies, records storage, or
advances incurred by the Bank for the items set out in the fee
schedule attached hereto. In addition, any other expenses incurred by
the Bank at the request or with the consent of the Fund, will be
reimbursed by the Fund.
2.3 The Fund agrees to pay all fees and reimbursable expenses within five
days following the receipt of the respective billing notice. Postage
for mailing of dividends, proxies, Fund reports and other mailings to
all shareholder accounts shall be advanced to the Bank by the Fund at
least seven (7) days prior to the mailing date of such materials.
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3. Representations and Warranties of the Bank
The Bank represents and warrants to the Fund that:
3.1 It is a trust company duly organized and existing and in good
standing under the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
3.2 It is duly qualified to carry on its business in The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
3.3 It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Charter and By-Laws
to enter into and perform this Agreement.
3.4 All requisite corporate proceedings have been taken to authorize it
to enter into and perform this Agreement.
3.5 It has and will continue to have access to the necessary facilities,
equipment and personnel to perform its duties and obligations under
this Agreement.
4. Representations and Warranties of the Fund
The Fund represents and warrants to the Bank that:
4.1 It is a corporation duly organized and existing and in good standing
under the laws of Maryland.
4.2 It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Articles of
Incorporation and By-Laws to enter into and perform this Agreement.
4.3 All corporate proceedings required by said Articles of
Incorporation and By-Laws have been taken to authorize it to enter
into and perform this Agreement.
4.4 It is an open-end and diversified management investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
4.5 A registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
is currently effective and will remain effective, and appropriate
state securities law filings have been made and will continue to be
made, with respect to all Shares of the Fund being offered for sale.
5. Data Access and Proprietary Information
5.1 The Fund acknowledges that the data bases, computer programs, screen
formats, report formats, interactive design techniques, and
documentation manuals furnished to the Fund by the Bank as part of
the Fund's ability to access certain Fund-related data ("Customer
Data")
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maintained by the Bank on data bases under the control and ownership
of the Bank or other third party ("Data Access Services") constitute
copyrighted, trade secret, or other proprietary information
(collectively, "Proprietary Information") of substantial value to
the Bank or other third party. In no event shall Proprietary
Information be deemed Customer Data. The Fund agrees to treat all
Proprietary Information as proprietary to the Bank and further
agrees that it shall not divulge any Proprietary Information to any
person or organization except as may be provided hereunder. Without
limiting the foregoing, the Fund agrees for itself and its employees
and agents:
(a) to access Customer Data solely from locations as may be
designated in writing by the Bank and solely in accordance with
the Bank's applicable user documentation;
(b) to refrain from copying or duplicating in any way the
Proprietary Information;
(c) to refrain from obtaining unauthorized access to any portion of
the Proprietary Information, and if such access is
inadvertently obtained, to inform in a timely manner of such
fact and dispose of such information in accordance with the
Bank's instructions;
(d) to refrain from causing or allowing the data acquired hereunder
from being retransmitted to any other computer facility or
other location, except with the prior written consent of the
Bank;
(e) that the Fund shall have access only to those authorized
transactions agreed upon by the parties;
(f) to honor all reasonable written requests made by the Bank to
protect at the Bank's expense the rights of the Bank in
Proprietary Information at common law, under federal copyright
law and under other federal or state law.
Each party shall take reasonable efforts to advise its employees of their
obligations pursuant to this Section 5. The obligations of this Section shall
survive any earlier termination of this Agreement.
5.2 If the Fund notifies the Bank that any of the Data Access Services do
not operate in material compliance with the most recently issued user
documentation for such services, the Bank shall endeavor in a timely
manner to correct such failure. Organizations from which the Bank may
obtain certain data included in the Data Access Services are solely
responsible for the contents of such data and the Fund agrees to make
no claim against the Bank arising out of the contents of such
third-party data, including, but not limited to, the accuracy
thereof. DATA ACCESS SERVICES AND ALL COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SOFTWARE
SPECIFICATIONS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS IS,
AS AVAILABLE BASIS. THE BANK EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
EXCEPT THOSE EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
5
5.3 If the transactions available to the Fund include the ability to
originate electronic instructions to the Bank in order to (i) effect
the transfer or movement of cash or Shares or (ii) transmit
Shareholder information or other information, then in such event the
Bank shall be entitled to rely on the validity and authenticity of
such instruction without undertaking any further inquiry as long as
such instruction is undertaken in conformity with security procedures
established by the Bank from time to time.
6. Indemnification
6.1 The Bank shall not be responsible for, and the Fund shall indemnify
and hold the Bank harmless from and against, any and all losses,
damages, costs, charges, counsel fees, payments, expenses and
liability arising out of or attributable to:
(a) All actions of the Bank or its agent or subcontractors
required to be taken pursuant to this Agreement, provided
that such actions are taken in good faith and without
negligence or willful misconduct.
(b) The Fund's lack of good faith, negligence or willful
misconduct which arise out of the breach of any
representation or warranty of the Fund hereunder.
(c) The reliance on or use by the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors of information, records, documents or
services which (i) are received by the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors, and (ii) have been prepared, maintained or
performed by the Fund or any other person or firm on behalf
of the Fund including but not limited to any previous
transfer agent or registrar.
(d) The reliance on, or the carrying out by the Bank or
its agents or subcontractors of any instructions or
requests of the Fund.
(e) The offer or sale of Shares in violation of any requirement
under the federal securities laws or regulations or the
securities laws or regulations of any state that such Shares
be registered in such state or in violation of any stop
order or other determination or ruling by any federal agency
or any state with respect to the offer or sale of such
Shares in such state.
6.2 At any time the Bank may apply to any officer of the Fund for
instructions, and may consult with legal counsel with respect to any
matter arising in connection with the services to be performed by the
Bank under this Agreement, and the Bank and its agents or
subcontractors shall not be liable and shall be indemnified by the
Fund for any action taken or omitted by it in reliance upon such
instructions or upon the opinion of such counsel. The Bank, its
agents and subcontractors shall be protected and indemnified in
acting upon any paper or document furnished by or on behalf of the
Fund, reasonably believed to be genuine and to have been signed by
the proper person or persons, or upon any instruction, information,
data, records or documents provided the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors by machine readable input, telex, CRT data entry or
other similar means authorized by the Fund, and shall not be held to
6
have notice of any change of authority of any person, until receipt
of written notice thereof from the Fund. The Bank, its agents and
subcontractors shall also be protected and indemnified in recognizing
stock certificates which are reasonably believed to bear the proper
manual or facsimile signatures of the officers of the Fund, and the
proper countersignature of any former transfer agent or former
registrar, or of a co-transfer agent or co-registrar.
6.3 In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this
Section 6 shall apply, upon the assertion of a claim for which the
Fund may be required to indemnify the Bank, the Bank shall promptly
notify the Fund of such assertion, and shall keep the Fund advised
with respect to all developments concerning such claim. The Fund
shall have the option to participate with the Bank in the defense of
such claim or to defend against said claim in its own name or in the
name of the Bank. The Bank shall in no case confess any claim or make
any compromise in any case in which the Fund may be required to
indemnify the Bank except with the Fund's prior written consent.
7. Standard of Care
The Bank shall at all times act in good faith and agrees to use its
best efforts within reasonable limits to insure the accuracy of all
services performed under this Agreement, but assumes no
responsibility and shall not be liable for loss or damage due to
errors unless said errors are caused by its negligence, bad faith, or
willful misconduct or that of its employees.
8. Covenants of the Fund and the Bank
8.1 The Fund shall promptly furnish to the Bank the following:
(a) A certified copy of the resolution of the Board of Directors
of the Fund authorizing the appointment of the Bank and the
execution and delivery of this Agreement.
(b) A copy of the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the
Fund and all amendments thereto.
8.2 The Bank hereby agrees to establish and maintain facilities and
procedures reasonably acceptable to the Fund for safekeeping of stock
certificates, check forms and facsimile signature imprinting devices,
if any; and for the preparation or use, and for keeping account of,
such certificates, forms and devices.
8.3 The Bank shall keep records relating to the services to be performed
hereunder, in the form and manner as it may deem advisable. To the
extent required by Section 31 of the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended, and the Rules thereunder, the Bank agrees that all such
records prepared or maintained by the Bank relating to the services
to be performed by the Bank hereunder are the property of the Fund
and will be preserved, maintained and made
7
available in accordance with such Section and Rules, and will be
surrendered promptly to the Fund on and in accordance with its
request.
8.4 The Bank and the Fund agree that all books, records, information and
data pertaining to the business of the other party which are
exchanged or received pursuant to the negotiation or the carrying out
of this Agreement shall remain confidential, and shall not be
voluntarily disclosed to any other person, except as may be required
by law.
8.5 In case of any requests or demands for the inspection of the
Shareholder records of the Fund, the Bank will endeavor to notify the
Fund and to secure instructions from an authorized officer of the
Fund as to such inspection. The Bank reserves the right, however, to
exhibit the Shareholder records to any person whenever it is advised
by its counsel that it may be held liable for the failure to exhibit
the Shareholder records to such person.
9. Termination of Agreement
9.1 This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon one hundred
twenty (120) days written notice to the other.
9.2 Should the Fund exercise its right to terminate, all out-of-pocket
expenses associated with the movement of records and material will be
borne by the Fund. Additionally, the Bank reserves the right to
charge for any other reasonable expenses associated with such
termination and/or a charge equivalent to the average of three (3)
months' fees.
10. Assignment
10.1 Except as provided in Section 10.3 below, neither this Agreement nor
any rights or obligations hereunder may be assigned by either party
without the written consent of the other party.
10.2 This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
parties and their respective permitted successors and assigns.
10.3 The Bank may, without further consent on the part of the Fund,
subcontract for the performance hereof with (i) Boston Financial Data
Services, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation ("BFDS") which is duly
registered as a transfer agent pursuant to Section 17A(c)(2) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Section 17A(c)(2)"),
(ii) a BFDS subsidiary duly registered as a transfer agent pursuant
to Section 17A(c)(2) or (iii) a BFDS affiliate; provided, however,
that the Bank shall be as fully responsible to the Fund for the acts
and omissions of any subcontractor as it is for its own acts and
omissions.
11. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended or modified by a written agreement
executed by both parties and authorized or approved by a resolution
of the Board of Directors of the Fund.
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12. Massachusetts Law to Apply
This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof
interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
13. Force Majeure
In the event either party is unable to perform its obligations under
the terms of this Agreement because of acts of God, strikes,
equipment or transmission failure or damage reasonably beyond its
control, or other causes reasonably beyond its control, such party
shall not be liable for damages to the other for any damages
resulting from such failure to perform or otherwise from such causes.
14. Consequential Damages
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party
for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement or
for any consequential damages arising out of any act or failure to
act hereunder.
15. Merger of Agreement
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties
hereto and supersedes any prior agreement with respect to the subject
matter hereof whether oral or written.
16. Counterparts
This Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto on any number of
counterparts, and all of said counterparts taken together shall be
deemed to constitute one and the same instrument.
17. Reproduction of Documents
This Agreement and all schedules, exhibits, attachments and
amendments hereto may be reproduced by any photographic, photostatic,
microfilm, micro-card, miniature photographic or other similar
process. The parties hereto all/each agree that any such reproduction
shall be admissible in evidence as the original itself in any
judicial or administrative proceeding, whether or not the original is
in existence and whether or not such reproduction was made by a party
in the regular course of business, and that any enlargement,
facsimile or further reproduction of such reproduction shall likewise
be admissible in evidence.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed
in their names and on their behalf by and through their duly authorized
officers, as of the day and year first above written.
WARBURG, XXXXXX STRATEGIC
VALUE FUND, INC.
BY:__________________________
ATTEST:
______________________
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST
COMPANY
BY:__________________________
Executive Vice President
ATTEST:
______________________
STATE STREET BANK & TRUST COMPANY
FUND SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES*
Service Performed Responsibility
Bank Fund
1. Receives orders for the purchase
of Shares.
2. Issue Shares and hold Shares in
Shareholders accounts.
3. Receive redemption requests.
4. Effect transactions 1-3 above
directly with broker-dealers.
5. Pay over monies to redeeming
Shareholders.
6. Effect transfers of Shares.
7. Prepare and transmit dividends
and distributions.
8. Issue Replacement Certificates.
9. Reporting of abandoned property.
10. Maintain records of account.
11. Maintain and keep a current and
accurate control book for each
issue of securities.
12. Mail proxies.
13. Mail Shareholder reports.
14. Mail prospectuses to current
Shareholders.
15. Withhold taxes on U.S. resident
and non-resident alien accounts.
16. Prepare and file U.S. Treasury
Department forms.
Service Performed Responsibility
Bank Fund
17. Prepare and mail account and
confirmation statements for
Shareholders.
18. Provide Shareholder account
information.
19. Blue sky reporting.
* Such services are more fully described in Section 1.2 (a), (b)
and (c) of the Agreement.
WARBURG, XXXXXX STRATEGIC VALUE FUND, INC.
BY:____________________________
ATTEST:
_______________________________
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
BY:____________________________
Executive Vice President
ATTEST:
_______________________________
