FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
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FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT effective as of
February 7, 1996, ("Agreement") by and between State Street Research Investment
Services, Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts having its place of business in Boston, Massachusetts (the
"Distributor"), and State Street Research Financial Trust, a Massachusetts
business trust having its principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts
(the "Trust"), which Trust offers shares of beneficial interest in different
series representing interests in separate portfolios of assets (each series
being referred to herein as a "Fund" and such series being referred to herein
collectively as the "Funds").
WITNESSETH:
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In consideration of the agreements herein contained and for other good
and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged by the parties, it is agreed:
1. Appointment of Distributor.
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(a) Appointment. The Trust hereby appoints the Distributor as its
agent to sell and distribute shares of the State Street Research Government
Income Fund, Strategic Portfolios: Conservative, Strategic Portfolios: Moderate,
Strategic Portfolios: Aggressive (the "Initial Fund(s)") and the Distributor
hereby accepts such appointment and agrees during the term of this Agreement to
provide the services and to assume the obligations herein set forth. In the
event that the Trust establishes one or more series of shares other than the
Initial Funds with respect to which it desires to retain the Distributor to
serve as distributor and principal underwriter hereunder, it shall so notify the
Distributor in writing. If the Distributor is willing to render such services,
it shall so notify the Trust in writing, whereupon such series of shares shall
become a Fund hereunder. In such event a writing signed by both the Trust and
the Distributor shall be annexed hereto as a part hereof indicating that such
additional series of shares has become a Fund hereunder.
(b) Sales of Shares. Shares of each Fund shall be sold at the
offering price thereof as from time to time determined in the manner herein
provided. The Trust agrees that it will not, without the Distributor's consent,
sell or agree to sell any shares of a Fund otherwise than through the
Distributor, except that the Trust may (a) sell shares for not less than the net
asset value thereof as an investment to such persons or classes of persons as
may be indicated in the Prospectus of the Trust as amended and in effect from
time to time; (b) issue or sell shares for not less than the net asset value
thereof
directly to holders of shares of any Fund upon such terms and for such
consideration, if any, as it may determine, whether in connection with the
distribution of subscription or purchase rights, the payment or reinvestment of
distributions or dividends, the exercise of any applicable reinvestment
privilege, or otherwise; (c) issue or sell shares for not less than the net
asset value thereof of any Fund to the shareholders of any other Fund or
investment company in connection with the exercise of exchange privileges
offered by the Trust; and (d) issue shares for not less than the net asset value
thereof in connection with a merger, consolidation or acquisition of assets on
such basis as may be authorized or permitted under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the "1940 Act").
2. Basis of Sale of Shares; Selected Dealers. The Distributor does not
agree to sell any specific number of shares. Shares will be sold by the
Distributor as agent for the Funds and the Trust only against orders therefor.
The Distributor will not purchase shares except as agent for the Trust.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Trust may terminate,
suspend or withdraw the offering of shares whenever, in its sole discretion, it
deems such action desirable. In connection with its performance of services
hereunder, the Distributor may engage other persons to act as selected dealers.
3. Compensation.
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(a) Offering Price/Sales Charge. The offering price for shares of
any Fund of the Trust shall be the "net asset value per share" for that Fund
determined in accordance with the Master Trust Agreement of the Trust, as
amended (the "Master Trust Agreement"), plus a sales charge, if any, payable to
the Distributor as set forth in the Trust's Prospectus as from time to time
amended and in effect. The Distributor may reallow such portions of such sales
charges as dealer concessions to dealers through whom sales are made as the
Distributor may determine consistent with the terms of the Trust's Prospectus as
from time to time amended and in effect; provided, however, that the sales
charge to each purchaser of shares shall not exceed that set forth for such
category of purchaser in the Trust's Prospectus as from time to time amended and
in effect. The Distributor may also pay from its own funds a commission, if any,
with respect to sales to the extent consistent with and as contemplated by the
Trust's Prospectus as from time to time amended and in effect. The net asset
value per share for each Fund shall be determined at such time and on such days
as are established by the Board of Trustees of the Trust from time to time.
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(b) 12b-1 Expenses. In the event that the Trust has in effect a
distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the "12b-1
Plan"), the Distributor agrees to fulfill any obligations it may have under the
12b-1 Plan.
4. Manner of Offering. The Distributor will comply with the securities
laws of any jurisdiction in which it sells, directly or indirectly, any shares
of the Trust. The Distributor also agrees to furnish to the Trust sufficient
copies of any sales literature it intends to use in connection with any sales of
shares in adequate time for the Trust to review such sales literature. The
Distributor agrees that it will be responsible for filing and clearing all such
sales literature with the proper authorities before the same is put in use to
the extent required by applicable law, and not to use the same until so filed
and cleared.
The Distributor and the Trust each shall have the right to accept or
reject orders for the purchase of shares of the Trust. Any consideration which
the Distributor may receive in connection with a rejected purchase order will be
returned promptly to the prospective purchaser. The Distributor agrees promptly
to issue confirmations of all accepted purchase orders and to transmit a copy of
such confirmations to the Trust, or, if so directed, to any duly appointed
transfer or shareholder servicing agent of the Trust. If the originating dealer,
if any, shall fail to make timely settlement of its purchase order in accordance
with the rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or other
applicable requirements, the Distributor shall have the right to cancel such
purchase order and to hold the originating dealer responsible. The Distributor
agrees promptly to reimburse the Trust for any amount by which the Trust's
losses attributable to any such cancellations or to accepted purchase orders
exceed gains realized by the Trust for either of such reasons in respect of
other purchase orders. The Trust shall register or cause to be registered all
shares sold by the Distributor pursuant to the provisions hereof in such name or
names and amounts as the Distributor may request from time to time.
The Distributor agrees that if any person tenders to the Trust for
redemption of any shares purchased from the Trust within seven days of the
redemption request, the Distributor will promptly pay to the Trust the full
sales commission paid, if any, with respect to the shares so tendered for
redemption (in the case of sales by selected dealers, if any, such payment shall
be made promptly after the Distributor's receipt of the same from the selected
dealer responsible for the sale).
The Distributor hereby agrees to act as agent for the Trust in
connection with any share repurchase arrangements from time to time offered by
the Trust in accordance with the terms of the Trust's Prospectus as from time to
time amended.
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5. Securities Law. The Trust has delivered to the Distributor a copy of
its current Prospectus. The Trust agrees that it will use its best efforts to
continue the effectiveness of its Registration Statement under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the 1940 Act. The Trust
further agrees to prepare and file any amendments to such Registration Statement
and any supplemental data as may be necessary in order to comply with the
Securities Act and the 1940 Act. The Trust is presently registered under the
1940 Act as an investment company, and it will use its best efforts to maintain
such registration and to comply with the requirements of said Act.
At the Distributor's request, the Trust will take such steps as may be
necessary and feasible to qualify shares of the Funds for sale in states,
territories or dependencies of the United States of America, in the District of
Columbia and in foreign countries, in accordance with the laws thereof, and to
renew and extend any such qualification; provided, however, that the Trust shall
not be required to qualify shares or to maintain the qualification of shares in
any state, territory, dependency, district or country where it shall deem such
qualification disadvantageous to the Trust.
The Distributor agrees that it will (i) not use, distribute or
disseminate or authorize the use, distribution or dissemination by others in
connection with the sale of shares of the Funds, any statement, other than those
contained in the Trust's current Prospectus, except such supplemental literature
or advertising as shall be approved by the Trust, (ii) conform to the
requirements of all state and federal laws and the Rules of Fair Practice of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. relating to the sale of shares
of the Trust (including, without limitation, the maintenance of effective
broker-dealer registrations as required), and (iii) observe and be bound by all
the provisions of the Master Trust Agreement (and of any fundamental policies
adopted by the Trust pursuant to the 1940 Act, notice of which shall have been
given to the Distributor) which at the time in any way require, limit, restrict
or prohibit or otherwise regulate any action on the part of the Distributor.
The Distributor further agrees that:
(a) the Distributor shall furnish to the Trust any information with
respect to the Distributor within the purview of any reports or registrations
required to be filed with any governmental authority; and
(b) the Distributor will not make any representations inconsistent
with the Registration Statement of the Trust filed under the Securities Act, as
from time to time amended and in effect.
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6. Allocation of Expenses.
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(a) The Funds, either directly or through their investment adviser
or investment advisers, will be responsible for, and shall pay their allocable
portions of the expenses of:
(i) providing all necessary services, including fees and
disbursements of counsel, related to the preparation, setting in type, printing
and filing of any registration statement and/or prospectus required under the
Securities Act or the 1940 Act or under state securities laws covering their
shares, and all amendments and supplements thereto, the mailing of any such
prospectus to existing shareholders, and preparing, setting in type, printing
and mailing of periodic reports to existing shareholders;
(ii) the cost of all registration or qualification fees relating
to the Funds' shares, including the fees or expenses of qualifying the Trust as
a broker or dealer under laws of any state, if any;
(iii) the cost of preparing temporary and permanent share
certificates for shares, if any; and
(iv) any and all federal and state issue and/or transfer taxes
payable upon the issue by or (in the case of treasury shares) transfer from a
Fund of the shares distributed hereunder.
(b) The Distributor agrees that, after the Trust's Prospectus and
periodic reports have been set in type, it will bear the expense of printing and
distributing any copies thereof which are to be used in connection with the
offering of shares to prospective investors. The Distributor further agrees that
it will bear the expenses of preparing, printing and distributing any other
literature used by the Distributor or furnished by it for use in connection with
the offering of the shares for sale to the public, and any expenses of
advertising in connection with such offering. The Distributor will also pay fees
and expenses related to its registrations as a broker dealer and fees for
services rendered by the Trust's transfer agent on behalf of the Distributor.
(c) The Funds will be responsible for, and shall pay the expenses
of, maintaining shareholder accounts and furnishing or causing to be furnished
to each shareholder a statement of his account.
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7. Distributor Is Independent Contractor. The Distributor shall be an
independent contractor. The Distributor is responsible for its own conduct, for
the employment, control and conduct of its agents and employees and for injury
to such agents or employees or to others through its agents or employees. The
Distributor assumes full responsibility for its agents and employees under
applicable laws and agrees to pay all employer taxes relating thereto.
8. Term and Termination; Amendment.
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(a) Term and Termination. This Agreement shall become effective as
of the effective date noted above with respect to each Initial Fund; and, with
respect to any additional Fund, (i) on the date of receipt by the Trust of
notice from the Distributor in accordance with Section 1(a) hereof that the
Distributor is willing to serve as Distributor with respect to such Fund, or
(ii) such other date with respect to an additional Fund as the Trust and the
Distributor mutually agree. Unless terminated as herein provided, this Agreement
shall remain in full force and effect with respect to each Initial Fund until
November 30, 1996 and, with respect to each additional Fund, for two years from
the date on which such Fund becomes a Fund hereunder. Subsequent to such initial
periods of effectiveness this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect,
subject to the last sentence of this Section 8(a), for successive one-year
periods with respect to each Fund so long as such continuance with respect to
such Fund is approved at least annually (a) by either the Trustees of the Trust
or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the
0000 Xxx) of such Fund, and (b) in either event, by the vote of a majority of
the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this Agreement or "interested
persons" (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of any such party of the Trust and who
have no direct or indirect interest in the operation of any 12b-1 Plan or this
Agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
approval. This Agreement may be terminated with respect to the Trust or any Fund
at any time, without payment of any penalty, by a vote of (a) a majority of the
Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the 0000
Xxx) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of
any 12b-1 Plan or this Agreement or (b) a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Trust or that Fund, or by the Distributor, as the case may be,
in each case on sixty (60) days' prior written notice of the other party.
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(b) Amendment. Any amendment to this Agreement shall become
effective with respect to a Fund upon approval in writing of the Distributor and
the Trust (subject in the latter case to approval by a majority of the Trustees
and a majority of the Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as
defined in the 0000 Xxx) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest
in the operation of any 12b-1 Plan; provided, however, that amendments relating
to any 12b-1 Plan shall not require the consent of the Distributor.
(c) Approval, Amendment or Termination by Individual Fund. Any
approval, amendment or termination of this Agreement with respect to any Fund
shall be effective to continue, amend or terminate this Agreement with respect
to such Fund notwithstanding (i) that such action has not been approved with
respect to any other Fund affected thereby, and (ii) that such action has not
been approved by the shareholders of such Fund, unless such action shall be
required by any applicable law or otherwise.
9. Assignment. The Distributor may not make any assignment, as defined
under the 1940 Act, of this Agreement and this Agreement shall automatically
terminate in the event of an attempted assignment by the Distributor; provided,
however, that the Distributor may employ or enter into agreements with such
other person, persons, corporation or corporations, as it shall determine in
order to assist it in carrying out this Agreement, including, without
limitation, selected dealers as contemplated by Section 2.
10. Indemnification by Distributor. The Distributor agrees to indemnify
and hold harmless the Trust or any other person who has been, is, or may
hereafter be an officer, Trustee, employee or agent of the Trust against any
loss, damage or expense reasonably incurred by any of them in connection with
any claim or in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which any of
them may be a party, which arises out of or is alleged to arise out of or is
based upon any violation of any of its representations or covenants herein
contained or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact, or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact necessary to
make the statements made not misleading, on the part of the Distributor or any
agent or employee of the Distributor or any other person for whose acts the
Distributor is responsible or is alleged to be responsible (such as any selected
dealer or person through whom sales are made pursuant to an agreement with the
Distributor), whether made orally or in writing, unless such statement or
omission was made in or in reliance upon written information furnished by the
Trust. The term "expenses" for purposes of this and the next paragraph includes
reasonable attorneys' fees and amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments or in
settlements which are made with the Distributor's consent. The foregoing rights
of indemnification shall be in addition to
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any other rights to which any of the foregoing indemnified parties may be
entitled as a matter of law.
11. Indemnification by Trust. The Trust agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless the Distributor and each person who has been, is, or may hereafter be
an officer, director, employee or agent of the Distributor against any loss,
damage or expense reasonably incurred by any of them in connection with any
claim or in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which any of them
may be party, which arises out of or is alleged to arise out of or is based upon
a violation of any of its covenants herein contained or any untrue or alleged
untrue statement of material fact, or the omission or alleged omission to state
a material fact necessary to make the statements made not misleading, in a
Registration Statement or Prospectus of the Trust, or any amendment or
supplement thereto, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon
written information furnished by the Distributor. The foregoing rights of
indemnification shall be in addition to any other rights to which any of the
foregoing indemnified parties may be entitled as a matter of law. Nothing
contained herein shall relieve the Distributor of any liability to the Trust or
its shareholders to which the Distributor would otherwise be subject by reason
of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its
duties or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder.
12. Non-Exclusive Agreement. The services of the Distributor to the
Trust hereunder shall not be deemed to be exclusive, and the Distributor shall
be free to (a) render similar services to, and act as underwriter or distributor
in connection with the distribution of shares of, other investment companies,
and (b) engage in any other businesses and activities from time to time.
13. Governing Law; Counterparts. This Agreement shall be construed in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This Agreement
may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to
be an original, but such counterparts shall, together, constitute only one
instrument.
14. Prior Agreements Superseded; Construction. This Agreement
supersedes any prior agreement relating to the subject matter hereof between the
parties hereto. Where the context of this Agreement so permits, each of the
masculine, feminine and neuter genders shall be deemed to denote the other two
genders, the singular to denote the plural and the plural to denote the
singular. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, all references to
the Trust's Prospectus shall include all Prospectuses thereunder.
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15. Notices. Notices under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall
be addressed, and delivered or mailed postage prepaid, to the other party at
such address as such other party may designate from time to time for the receipt
of such notices. Until further notice to the other party, the address of each
party to this Agreement for this purpose shall be Xxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000.
16. Limitation of Liability. The term "State Street Research Financial
Trust" means and refers to the Trustees from time to time serving under the
First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement of the Trust dated June 1,
1993 as the same may subsequently have been, or subsequently may be, amended. It
is expressly agreed that the obligations of the Trust hereunder shall not be
binding upon any of the Trustees, shareholders, nominees, officers, agents or
employees of the Trust as individuals or personally, but shall bind only the
trust property of the Trust, as provided in the Master Trust Agreement of the
Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by the
Trustees of the Trust and signed by an officer of the Trust, acting as such, and
neither such authorization nor such execution and delivery shall be deemed to
have been made individually or to impose any personal liability, but shall bind
only the trust property of the Trust as provided in its Master Trust Agreement.
The Master Trust Agreement of the Trust further provides, and it is expressly
agreed, that each Fund of the Trust shall be solely and exclusively responsible
for the payment of its debts, liabilities and obligations and that no other Fund
shall be responsible or liable for the same.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed for the
Distributor and the Trust by their duly authorized officers, as of the date
first set forth above.
State Street Research Investment
Services, Inc.
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxx
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State Street Research Financial
Trust
By: /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxx
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