BY-LAWS OF
OBERWEIS EMERGING GROWTH FUND
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Section 1. Agreement and Declaration of
Trust and Principal Office
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1.1 Agreement and Declaration of Trust. These By-Laws shall be subject to the
Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as from time to time in effect (the
"Declaration of Trust"), of OBERWEIS EMERGING GROWTH FUND, the Massachusetts
business trust established by the Declaration of Trust (the "Trust").
1.2 Principal Office of the Trust; Resident Agent. The principal office of the
Trust shall be located in Aurora, Illinois. Its resident agent in Massachusetts
shall be CT Corporation System, 0 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx, or such
other person as the Trustees may from time to time select.
Section 2. Shareholders
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2.1 Shareholder Meetings. Meetings of the shareholders may be called at any time
by the Trustees, by the President, or if the Trustees and the President shall
fail to call any meeting of shareholders for a period of 30 days after written
application of one or more shareholders who hold at least twenty-five percent
(25%) of all shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting
(or 10% if the purpose of the meeting is to determine if a trustee shall be
removed from office), then such shareholders may call such meeting. Each call of
a meeting shall state the place, date, hour and purposes of the meeting.
2.2 Place of Meetings. All meetings of the shareholders shall be held at the
principal office of the Trust, or to the extent permitted by the Declaration of
Trust, at such other place within the United States as shall be designated by
the Trustees or the President of the Trust.
2.3 Notice of Meetings. A written notice of each meeting of shareholders,
stating the place, date and hour and the purposes of the meeting, shall be given
at least seven days before the meeting to each shareholder entitled to vote
thereat by leaving such notice with him or at his residence or usual place of
business, or by mailing it, postage prepaid, and addressed to such shareholder
at his address as it appears in the records of the Trust. Such notice shall be
given by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary or by an officer designated by
the Trustees. No notice of any meeting of shareholders need be given to a
shareholder if a written waiver of notice, executed before or after the meeting
by such shareholder or his attorney thereunto duly authorized, is filed with the
records of the meeting.
2.4 Ballots. No ballot shall be required for any election unless requested by a
shareholder present or represented at the meeting and entitled to vote in the
election.
2.5 Proxies and Voting. Shareholders entitled to vote may vote either in person
or by proxy in writing dated not more than six months before the meeting named
therein, which proxies shall be filed with the Secretary or other person
responsible to record the proceedings of the meeting before being voted. Unless
otherwise specifically limited by their terms, such proxies shall entitle the
holders thereof to vote at any adjournment of such meeting, but shall not be
valid after the final adjournment of such meeting. At all meetings of
shareholders, unless the voting is conducted by inspectors, all questions
relating to the qualification of voters, the validity of proxies and the
acceptance or rejection of votes shall be decided by the chairman of the
meeting.
Section 3. Trustees
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3.1 Committees and Advisory Board. The Trustees may appoint from their number an
executive committee and other committees. Any such committee may be abolished
and reconstituted at any time and from time to time by the Trustees. Except as
the Trustees may otherwise determine, any such committee may make rules for
conduct of its business. The Trustees may appoint an advisory board to consist
of not less than two nor more than five members. The members of the advisory
board shall be compensated in such manner as the Trustees may determine and
shall confer with and advise the Trustees regarding the investments and other
affairs of the Trust. Each member of the advisory board shall hold office until
the first meeting of the Trustees following the meeting of the shareholders, if
any, next following his appointment and until his successor is appointed and
qualified, or until he sooner dies, resigns, is removed, or becomes disqualified
or until the advisory board is sooner abolished by the Trustees.
3.2 Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Trustees may be held without call
or notice at such places and at such times as the Trustees may from time to time
determine, provided that notice of the first regular meeting following any such
determination shall be given to absent Trustees. A regular meeting or the
Trustees may be held without call or notice immediately after and at the same
place as any meeting of the shareholders.
3.3 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Trustees may be held at any time
and at any place designated in the call of the meeting when called by the
Chairman of the Board or by two or more Trustees, sufficient notice thereof
being given to each Trustee by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary, or by
the officer or one of the Trustees calling the meeting.
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3.4 Notice. It shall be sufficient notice to a Trustee to send notice by mail at
least three days or by telegram at least twenty-four hours before the meeting
addressed to the Trustee at his or her usual or last known business or
residence address, or to give notice to him or her in person or by telephone at
least twenty-four hours before the meeting. Notice of a meeting need not be
given to any Trustee if a written waiver of notice, executed by him or her
before or after the meeting, is filed with the records of the meeting, or to
any Trustee who attends the meeting without protesting prior thereto or at its
commencement the lack of notice to him or her. Neither notice of a meeting nor a
waiver of a notice need specify the purposes of the meeting.
3.5 Quorum. At any meeting of the Trustees, one-third of the Trustees then in
office shall constitute a quorum; provided, however, a quorum (unless the Board
of Trustees consists of two or fewer persons) shall not be less than two. Any
meeting may be adjourned from time to time by a majority of the votes cast upon
the question, whether or not a quorum is present, and the meeting may be held as
adjourned without further notice.
Section 4. Officers and Agents
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4.1 Enumeration; Qualification. The officers of the Trust shall be a President,
a Treasurer, a Secretary, and such other officers, if any, as the Trustees from
time to time may in their discretion elect or appoint. The Trust may also have
such agents, if any, as the Trustees from time to time may in their discretion
appoint. Any officer may be, but none need be, a Trustee or shareholder. Any two
or more offices may be held by the same person.
4.2 Powers. Subject to the other provisions of these By-Laws, each officer shall
have, in addition to the duties and powers herein and in the Declaration of
Trust set forth, such duties and powers as are commonly incident to his or her
office as if the Trust were organized as a Massachusetts business corporation,
and such other duties and powers as the Trustees may from time to time
designate.
4.3 Election. The President, Treasurer, and Secretary shall be elected annually
by the Trustees at their first meeting in each calendar year or at such later
meeting in such year as the Trustees shall determine. Other officers or agents,
if any, may be elected or appointed by the Trustees at said meeting or
at any other time.
4.4 Tenure. The President, Treasurer and Secretary shall hold office until the
first meeting of Trustees in each calendar year and until their respective
successors are chosen and qualified or in each case until he or she sooner
dies, resigns, is removed, or becomes disqualified. Each other officer shall
hold office
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and each agent shall retain his or her authority at the pleasure of the
Trustees.
4.5 Chairman of the Board. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, if one is
so appointed, shall be chosen from among the Trustees and may hold office only
so long as he continues to be a Trustee. The Chairman of the Board, if any is so
appointed, shall preside at all meetings of the shareholders and of the Trustees
at which he is present, and shall have the such other duties and powers
specified herein and as may be assigned to him by the Trustees.
4.6 President and Vice Presidents. The President shall be the chief executive
officer of the Trust. The President shall, subject to the control of the
Trustees, have general charge and supervision of the Trust, and shall perform
such other duties and have such other powers as the Trustees shall prescribe
from time to time. Any Vice President shall, at the request or in the absence or
disability of the President, exercise the powers of the President and perform
such other duties and have such other powers as shall be designated from time to
time by the Trustees.
4.7 Treasurer and Controller. The Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer
of the Trust and subject to any arrangement made by the Trustees with a bank
or trust company or other organization as custodian or transfer or shareholder
services agent, shall be in charge of its valuable papers, and shall have such
other duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees
or by the President. If at any time there shall be no Controller, the Treasurer
shall also be the chief accounting officer of the Trust and shall have the
duties and power prescribed herein for the Controller. Any Assistant Treasurer
shall have such duties and powers as shall be designated from time to time by
the Trustees.
The Controller, if any be elected, shall be the chief accounting officer of the
Trust and shall be in charge of its books of account and accounting records. The
Controller shall be responsible for preparation of financial statements of the
Trust and shall have such other duties and powers as may be designated from time
to time by the Trustees or the President.
4.8 Secretary and Assistant Secretaries. The Secretary shall record all
proceedings of the shareholders and the Trustees in books to be kept therefor,
which books shall be kept at the principal office of the Trust. In the absence
of the Secretary from any meeting of shareholders or Trustees, an Assistant
Secretary, or if there be none or he or she is absent, a temporary clerk chosen
at the meeting shall record the proceedings thereof in the aforesaid books.
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Section 5. Resignations and Removals
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Any Trustee may resign his trust or retire as a Trustee in accordance with
procedures set forth in the Declaration of Trust. Any officer or advisory board
member may resign at any time by delivering his or her resignation in writing to
the Chairman of the Board; the President, or the Secretary, or to a meeting of
the Trustees. The Trustees may remove any officer or advisory board member
elected or appointed by them with or without cause by the vote of a majority of
the Trustees then in office. Except to the extent expressly provided in a
written agreement with the Trust, no Trustee, officer or advisory board member
resigning, and no officer or advisory board member removed, shall have any right
to any compensation for any period following his or her resignation or removal,
or any right to damages on account of such removal.
Section 6. Vacancies
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A vacancy in the office of the Trustee shall be filled in accordance with the
Declaration of Trust. Vacancies resulting from the death, resignation,
incapacity or removal of any officer may be filled by the Trustees. Each
successor of any such officer shall hold office for the unexpired term, and in
the case of the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary, until his or her
successor is chosen and qualified, or in each case until he or she sooner dies,
resigns, is removed, or becomes disqualified.
Section 7. Shares of Beneficial Interest
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7.1 Share Certificates. No certificates certifying the ownership of shares shall
be issued except as the Trustees may otherwise authorize. In the event that the
Trustees authorize the issuance of share certificates, subject to the provisions
of Section 7 3, each shareholder shall be entitled to a certificate stating the
number of shares owned by him or her, in such form as shall be prescribed from
time to time by the Trustees. Such certificate shall be signed by the President
or a Vice President, and by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer, Secretary or
Assistant Secretary. Such signatures may be facsimiles if the certificate is
signed by a transfer or shareholder services agent or by a registrar, other than
a Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust. In case any officer who has signed
or whose facsimile signature has been placed on such certificate shall have
ceased to be such officer before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by
the Trust with the same effect as if he or she were the officer at the time of
its issue.
In lieu of issuing certificates for shares, the Trustees, or the transfer or
shareholder services agent, may either issue receipts therefor or may keep
accounts upon the books of the Trust for the record holders of such shares, who
shall in either case be deemed, for all purposes hereunder, to be the holders of
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certificates for such shares as if they had accepted such certificates and shall
be held to have expressly assented and agreed to the terms hereof.
7.2 Loss of Certificates. In the case of the alleged loss or destruction or the
mutilation of a share certificate, a duplicate certificate may be issued in
place thereof, upon such terms as the Trustees may prescribe.
7.3 Discontinuance of Issuance of Certificates. The Trustees may at any time
discontinue the issuance of share certificates, and may, by written notice to
each shareholder, require the surrender of share certificates to the Trust for
cancellation. Such surrender and cancellation shall not affect the ownership of
shares in the Trust.
Section 8. Record Date
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The Trustees may fix in advance a time, which shall not be more than 60 days
before the date of any meeting of shareholders or the date for the payment of
any dividend or making of any other distribution to shareholders as the record
date for determining the shareholders having the right to notice and to vote at
such meeting and any adjournment thereof or the right to receive such dividend
or distribution, and in such case only shareholders of record on such record
date shall have such right, notwithstanding any transfer of shares on the books
of the Trust after the record date.
Section 9. Seal
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The seal of the Trust shall, subject to alteration by the Trustees, consist of a
flat-faced circular die with the word "Massachusetts", together with the name of
the Trust and the year of its organization, cut or engraved thereon, but unless
otherwise required by the Trustees, the seal shall not be necessary to be placed
on, and its absence shall not impair the validity of, any document, instrument,
or other paper executed and delivered by or on behalf of the Trust.
Section 10. Execution of Papers
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Except as the Trustees may generally or in particular cases authorize the
execution thereof in some other manner, all deeds, leases, transfers, contracts,
bonds, notes, checks, drafts and other obligations made, accepted or endorsed by
the Trust shall be signed, and any transfers of securities standing in the name
of the Trust shall be executed by the President or by one of the Vice Presidents
or by the Treasurer, or by whomsoever else shall be designated for that purpose
by the vote of the Trustees and need not bear the seal of the Trust.
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Section 11. Fiscal Year
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The fiscal year of the Trust shall end on such date in each year as the
Trustees shall from time to time determine.
Section 12. Amendments
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These By-Laws may be amended or repealed, in whole or in part, by a majority of
the Trustees then in office at any meeting of the Trustees, or by one or more
writings signed by such majority.
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