Exhibit e
PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT
September 13, 1993
The Landmark Funds Broker-Dealer Services, Inc.
c/o Signature Financial Group (Cayman), Ltd.
Elizabethan Square, 2nd Floor
Xxxxxx Town, Grand Cayman, BWI
Gentlemen:
This is to confirm that, in consideration of the agreements hereinafter
contained, the undersigned, THE PREMIUM PORTFOLIOS (the "Portfolio"), an
open-end diversified management investment company registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), organized as a New
York trust, has agreed that The Landmark Funds Broker-Dealer Services, Inc.
("LFBDS") shall be the exclusive placement agent (the "Placement Agent") of
beneficial interests of the Portfolio and of each of its series ("Portfolio
Interests").
SERVICES AS PLACEMENT AGENT.
1.1 LFBDS will act as exclusive Placement Agent of the Portfolio Interests
covered by each registration statement then in effect under the 1940 Act.
In acting as Placement Agent under this Placement Agent Agreement, neither
LFBDS nor its employees nor any agents thereof shall make any offer or
sale of Portfolio Interests in a manner which would require the Interests
to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933
Act").
1.2 All activities by LFBDS and its agents and employees as Placement Agent of
Portfolio Interests shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and
regulations, including, without limitation, all rules and regulations
adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act by the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "Commission").
1.3 LFBDS shall perform such specified activities and conduct all of its
activities as Placement Agent of Portfolio Interests, including any
activities described herein, as set forth in the Operating Policies and
Procedures (the "Operating Procedures") of the Portfolio (in such form as
may be approved from time to time by the Portfolio's Board of Trustees).
To the extent that any provision of this Agreement shall conflict with any
provision of the Operating Procedures, the applicable provision of the
Operating Procedures shall be deemed to govern.
1.4 Nothing herein shall be construed to require the Portfolio to accept any
offer to purchase any Portfolio Interests, all of which shall be subject
to approval by the Portfolio's Board of Trustees.
1.5 The Portfolio shall furnish from time to time for use in connection with
the sale of Portfolio Interests such information with respect to the
Portfolio and Portfolio Interests as LFBDS may reasonably request. The
Portfolio shall also furnish LFBDS upon request with: (a) unaudited
semiannual statements of the Portfolio's books and accounts prepared by
the Portfolio, and (b) from time to time such additional information
regarding the Portfolio's financial or regulatory condition as LFBDS may
reasonably request.
1.6 The Portfolio represents to LFBDS that all registration statements filed
by the Portfolio with the Commission under the 1940 Act with respect to
Portfolio Interests have been prepared in conformity with the requirements
of such statute and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder. As used in this Agreement the term "registration statement"
shall mean any registration statement filed with the Commission as
modified by any amendments thereto that at any time shall have been filed
with the Commission by or on behalf of the Portfolio or by the Portfolio
on behalf of any series thereof. The Portfolio represents and warrants to
LFBDS that any registration statement will contain all statements required
to be stated therein in conformity with both such statute and the rules
and regulations of the Commission; that all statements of fact contained
in any registration statement will be true and correct in all material
respects at the time of filing of such registration statements or
amendments thereto; and that no registration statement will include an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein
not misleading to a purchaser of Portfolio Interests. The Portfolio may
but shall not be obligated to propose from time to time such amendment to
any registration statement as in the light of future developments may, in
the opinion of the Portfolio's counsel, be necessary or advisable. If the
Portfolio shall not propose such amendment and/or supplement within
fifteen days after receipt by the Portfolio of a written request from
LFBDS to do so, LFBDS may, at its option, terminate this Agreement. The
Portfolio shall not file any amendment to any registration statement
without giving LFBDS reasonable notice thereof in advance; provided,
however, that nothing contained in this Agreement shall in any way limit
the Portfolio's right to file at any time such amendment to any
registration statement as the Portfolio may deem advisable, such right
being in all respects absolute and unconditional.
1.7 The Portfolio agrees to indemnify, defend and hold LFBDS, its several
officers and directors, and any person who controls LFBDS within the
meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934 (the "1934 Act") (for purposes of this paragraph 1.7,
collectively, "Covered Persons") free and harmless from and against any
and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the cost of
investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any
counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which any Covered Person
may incur under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, common law or otherwise,
arising out of or based on any untrue statement of a material fact
contained in any registration statement, private placement memorandum or
other offering material ("Offering Material") or arising out of or based
on any omission to state a material fact required to be stated in any
Offering Material or necessary to make the statements in any Offering
Material not misleading; provided, however, that the Portfolio's agreement
to indemnify Covered Persons shall not be deemed to cover any claims,
demands, liabilities or expenses arising out of any financial and other
statements as arc furnished in writing to the Portfolio by LFBDS in its
capacity as Placement Agent for use in the answers to any items of any
registration statement or in any statements made in any Offering Material,
or arising out of or based on any omission or alleged omission to state a
material fact in connection with the giving of such information required
to be stated in such answers or necessary to make the answers not
misleading; and further provided that the Portfolio's agreement to
indemnify LFBDS and the Portfolio's representations and warranties herein
before set forth in paragraph 1.6 shall not be deemed to cover any
liability to the Portfolio or its investors to which a Covered Person
would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or
gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of a
Covered Person's reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under
this Agreement. The Portfolio shall be notified of any action brought
against a Covered Person, such notification to be given by letter or by
telegram addressed to the Portfolio, c/o Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq., gingham,
Xxxx & Xxxxx, 15() Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000, with a
copy to Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx, 6 St. Xxxxx Avenue, 9th floor. Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 promptly after the summons or other first legal
process shall have been duly and completely served upon such Covered
Person. The failure to so notify the Portfolio of any such action shall
not relieve the Portfolio from any liability except to the extent that the
Portfolio shall have been prejudiced by such failure, or from any
liability that the Portfolio may have to the Covered Person against whom
such action is brought by reason of any such untrue statement or omission,
otherwise than on account of the Portfolio's indemnity agreement contained
in this paragraph. The Portfolio will be entitled to assume the defense of
any suit brought to enforce any such claim, demand or liability, but in
such case such defense shall be conducted by counsel of good standing
chosen by the Portfolio and approved by LFBDS, which approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld. In the event the Portfolio elects to assume the
defense of any such suit and retain counsel of good standing approved by
LFBDS, the defendant or defendants in such suit shall bear the fees and
expenses of any additional counsel retained by any of them; but in case
the Portfolio does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in
case LFBDS reasonably does not approve of counsel chosen by the Portfolio,
the Portfolio will reimburse the Covered Person named as defendant in such
suit, for the fees and expenses of any counsel retained by LFBDS or such
Covered Person. The Portfolio's indemnification agreement contained in
this paragraph and the Portfolio's representations and warranties in this
Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless
of any investigation made by or on behalf of Covered Persons, and shall
survive the delivery of any Portfolio Interests. This agreement of
indemnity will inure exclusively to Covered Persons and their successors.
The Portfolio agrees to notify LFBDS promptly of the commencement of any
litigation or proceedings against the Portfolio or any of its officers or
Trustees in connection with the issue and sale of any Portfolio Interests.
1.8 LFBDS agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the Portfolio, its several
officers and trustees, and any person who controls the Portfolio within
the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act
(for purposes of this paragraph 1.8, collectively, "Covered Persons") free
and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and
expenses (including the costs of investigating or defending such claims,
demands, liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection
therewith) that Covered Persons may incur under the 1933 Act, the 1934
Act, or common law or otherwise, but only to the extent that such
liability or expense incurred by a Covered Person resulting from such
claims or demands shall arise out of or be based on any untrue statement
of a material fact contained in information furnished in writing by LFBDS
in its capacity as Placement Agent to the Portfolio for use in the answers
to any of the items of any registration statement or in any statements in
any Offering Material or shall arise out of or be based on any omission to
state a material fact in connection with such information furnished in
writing by LFBDS to the Portfolio required to be stated in such answers or
necessary to make such information not misleading. LFBDS shall be notified
of any action brought against a Covered Person, such notification to be
given by letter or telegram addressed to LFBDS at 0 Xx. Xxxxx Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx, promptly after
the summons or other first legal process shall have been duly and
completely served upon such Covered Person. LFBDS shall have the right of
first control of the defense of the action with counsel of its own
choosing satisfactory to the Portfolio if such action is based solely on
such alleged misstatement or omission on LFBDS's part, and in any other
event each Covered Person shall have the right to participate IN the
defense or preparation of the defense of any such action. The failure to
so notify LFBDS of any such action shall not relieve LFBDS from any
liability except to the extent that LFBDS shall have been prejudiced by
such failure, or from any liability that LFBDS may have to Covered Persons
by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement, or omission or
alleged omission, otherwise than on account of LFBDS's indemnity agreement
contained in this paragraph.
1.9 No Portfolio Interests shall be offered by either LFBDS or the Portfolio
under any of the provisions of this Agreement and no orders for the
purchase or sale of Portfolio interests hereunder shall be accepted by the
Portfolio if and so long as the effectiveness of the registration
statement or any necessary amendments thereto shall be suspended under any
of the provisions of the 1940 Act; provided, however, that nothing
contained in this paragraph shall in any way restrict or have an
application to or bearing on the Portfolio's obligation to redeem
Portfolio Interests from any investor in accordance with the provisions of
the Portfolio's registration statement or Declaration of Trust, as amended
from time to time.
1.10 The Portfolio agrees to advise LFBDS as soon as reasonably practical by a
notice in writing delivered to LFBDS or its counsel:
(a) of any request by the Commission for amendments to the registration
statement then in effect or for additional information;
(b) in the event of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement then in effect
or the initiation by service of process on the Portfolio of any proceeding
for that purpose;
(c) of the happening of any event that makes untrue any statement of a
material fact made in the registration statement then in effect or that
requires the making of a change in such registration statement in order to
make the statements therein not misleading; and
(d) of all action of the Commission with respect to any amendment to any
registration statement that may from time to time be filed with the
Commission.
For purposes of this paragraph 1.10, informal requests by or acts of the Staff
of the Commission shall not be deemed actions of or requests by the Commission.
1.11 LFBDS agrees on behalf of itself and its employees to treat confidentially
and as proprietary information of the Portfolio all records and other
information not otherwise publicly available relative to the Portfolio and
its prior, present or potential investors and not to use such records and
information for any purpose other than performance of its responsibilities
and duties hereunder, except after prior notification to and approval in
writing by the Portfolio, which approval shall not be unreasonably
withheld and may not be withheld where LFBDS may be exposed to civil or
criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, when requested to
divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or when so
requested by the Portfolio.
1.12 In addition to LFBDS's duties as Placement Agent, the Portfolio
understands that LFBDS may, in its discretion, perform additional
functions in connection with transactions in Portfolio Interests.
The processing of Portfolio Interest transactions may include, but is not
limited to, compilation of all transactions from LFBDS's various offices;
creation of a transaction tape and timely delivery of it to the Portfolio or
its designated agent for processing; reconciliation of all transactions
delivered to the Portfolio or its designated agent and the recording and
reporting of these transactions executed by the Portfolio or its designated
agent in customer statements; rendering of periodic customer statements; and
the reporting of IRS Form 1099 information at year end if required.
LFBDS may also provide other investor services, such as communicating with
Portfolio investors and other functions in administering customer accounts for
Portfolio investors.
LFBDS understands that these services may result in cost savings to the
Portfolio or to the Portfolio's investment manager and neither the Portfolio
nor the Portfolio's investment manager will compensate LFBDS for all or a
portion of the costs incurred in performing functions in connection with
transactions in Portfolio Interests. Nothing herein is intended, nor shall be
construed, as requiring LFBDS to perform any of the foregoing functions.
2. TERM.
This Agreement shall become effective on the date first above written and,
unless sooner terminated as provided herein, shall continue until September
13,1994 and thereafter shall continue automatically for successive annual
periods, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually
by (i) the Portfolio's Board of Trustees or (ii) by a vote of a majority (as
defined in the 0000 Xxx) of the Portfolio's outstanding voting securities,
provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by the majority
of the Portfolio's Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the
0000 Xxx) of the Portfolio and who have no direct or indirect financial
interest in this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the
purpose of voting on such approval. This Agreement is terminable without
penalty, on not less than 60 days' notice, by the Portfolio's Board of
Trustees, by vote of a majority (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of the Portfolio's
outstanding voting securities, or by LFBDS. This Agreement will also terminate
automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act and
the rules thereunder).
3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.
LFBDS and the Portfolio each hereby represents and warrants to the other that
it has all requisite authority to enter into, execute, deliver and perform its
obligations under this Agreement and that, with respect to it, this Agreement
is legal, valid and binding, and enforceable in accordance with its terms.
4. CONCERNING APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF LAW, ETC.
This Agreement shall be subject to all applicable provisions of law, including
the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and to the extent that any provisions
herein contained conflict with any such applicable provisions of law, the
latter shall control.
This Agreement is executed and delivered at a location or locations outside the
United States, and the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall, except
to the extent that any applicable provisions of Federal Law shall be
controlling, govern the construction, validity and effect of this Agreement,
without reference to principles of conflicts of law.
If the contract set forth herein is acceptable to you, please so indicate by
executing the enclosed copy of this Agreement and returning the same to the
undersigned, whereupon this Agreement shall constitute a binding contract
between the parties hereto effective at the closing of business on the date
hereof.
The undersigned Trustee or officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not
individually, but as Trustee or officer under the Trust's Declaration of Trust,
dated September 13, 1993, as amended, and the obligations of this Agreement are
not binding upon any of the Trustees or officers of the Trust individually.
Yours very truly,
THE PREMIUM PORTFOLIOS
By: Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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Accepted:
THE LANDMARK FUNDS BROKER-DEALER SERVICES, INC.
By: Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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