SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT
This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT is dated as of August 1, 1999, by
and between SUNAMERICA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP., a Delaware corporation (the
"Adviser"), and EQSF ADVISERS, INC., a New York corporation (the "Subadviser").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Adviser and SunAmerica Style Select Series, Inc., a
Maryland corporation (the "Corporation"), have entered into an Investment
Advisory and Management Agreement dated as of January 1, 1999, (the "Advisory
Agreement") pursuant to which the Adviser has agreed to provide investment
management, advisory and administrative services to the Corporation; and
WHEREAS, the Corporation is registered under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, as amended (the "Act"), as an open-end management investment company
and may issue shares of common stock, par value $.0001 per share, in separately
designated series representing separate funds with their own investment
objectives, policies and purposes; and
WHEREAS, the Subadviser is engaged in the business of rendering
investment advisory services and is registered as an investment adviser under
the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended; and
WHEREAS, the Adviser desires to retain the Subadviser to furnish
investment advisory services to the investment series of the Corporation listed
on Schedule A attached hereto (the "Portfolio"), and the Subadviser is willing
to furnish such services;
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed between the parties hereto as
follows:
1. Duties of the Subadviser. The Adviser hereby engages the services of
the Subadviser in furtherance of its Investment Advisory and Management
Agreement with the Corporation. Pursuant to this Subadvisory Agreement and
subject to the oversight and review of the Adviser, the Subadviser will manage
the investment and reinvestment of a portion of the assets of each Portfolio
listed on Schedule A attached hereto. The Subadviser will determine in its
discretion, and subject to the oversight and review of the Adviser, the
securities to be purchased or sold, will provide the Adviser with records
concerning its activities which the Adviser or the Corporation is required to
maintain, and will render regular reports to the Adviser and to officers and
Directors of the Corporation concerning its discharge of the foregoing
responsibilities. The Subadviser shall discharge the foregoing responsibilities
subject to the control of the officers and the Directors of the Corporation and
in compliance with such policies as the Directors of the Corporation may from
time to time establish and communicate to Subadviser, and in compliance with (a)
the objectives, policies, and limitations for the Portfolio
set forth in the Corporation's current prospectus and statement of additional
information as provided to Subadviser, and (b) applicable laws and regulations.
The Subadviser represents and warrants to the Adviser that the
portion of each Portfolio set forth in Schedule A managed by it will at all
times be operated and managed in compliance with all applicable federal and
state laws governing its operations and investments. Without limiting the
foregoing and subject to Section 9(c) hereof, the Subadviser represents and
warrants (1) that the Subadviser's management of the assets of a Portfolio will
be designed to achieve qualification by each Portfolio to be treated as a
"regulated investment company" under subchapter M, chapter 1 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), and (2) compliance with (a) the
provisions of the Act and rules adopted thereunder that relate to the investment
of Portfolio assets, including depositing those assets in custody with
institutions designated by the Corporation; and (b) applicable federal and state
securities and commodities laws (other than state securities laws relating to
the amount of Portfolio shares that may be sold in a particular state); provided
that for purposes of Section 17(a), (d) and (e), the Subadviser shall effect
compliance only in relation to its own affiliates and to affiliated persons
identified to it by the Adviser. The Subadviser further represents and warrants
that only with respect to any statements or omissions made in any Registration
Statement for shares of the Corporation, or any amendment or supplement thereto,
made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished by the
Subadviser expressly for use therein, such Registration Statement and any
amendments or supplements thereto will, when they become effective, conform in
all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the "1933 Act") and the Act
and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading.
The Subadviser accepts such employment and agrees, at its own
expense, to render the services set forth herein and to provide the office
space, furnishings, equipment and personnel required by it to perform such
services on the terms and for the compensation provided in this Agreement.
2. Portfolio Transactions. The Subadviser is responsible for decisions,
and is hereby authorized, to buy or sell securities and other investments for
each Portfolio, broker-dealers and futures commission merchants' selection, and
negotiation of brokerage commission and futures commission merchants' rates. As
a general matter, in executing Portfolio transactions, the Subadviser may employ
or deal with such broker-dealers or futures commission merchants as may, in the
Subadviser's best judgement, provide prompt and reliable execution of the
transactions at favorable prices and reasonable commission rates. In selecting
such broker-dealers or futures commission merchants, the Subadviser shall
consider all relevant factors including price (including the applicable
brokerage commission, dealer spread or futures commission merchant rate), the
size of the order, the nature of the market for the security or other
investment, the timing of the transaction, the reputation, experience and
financial stability of the broker-dealer or futures commission merchant
involved, the quality of the service, the difficulty
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of execution, the execution capabilities and operational facilities of the firm
involved, and, in the case of securities, the firm's risk in positioning a block
of securities. Subject to such policies as the Directors may determine and
consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the "1934 Act"), the Subadviser shall not be deemed to have acted unlawfully or
to have breached any duty created by this Agreement or otherwise solely by
reason of the Subadviser's having caused a Portfolio to pay a member of an
exchange, broker or dealer an amount of commission for effecting a securities
transaction in excess of the amount of commission another member of an exchange,
broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the
Subadviser 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 member of an exchange, broker or dealer viewed in terms of
either that particular transaction or the Subadviser's overall responsibilities
with respect to such Portfolio and to other clients as to which the Subadviser
exercises investment discretion. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934
Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and subject to any other applicable laws and
regulations including Section 17(e) of the Act and Rule 17e-1 thereunder, the
Subadviser may engage its affiliates, the Adviser and its affiliates or any
other subadviser to the Corporation and its respective affiliates, as
broker-dealers or futures commission merchants to effect Portfolio transactions
in securities and other investments for a Portfolio. The Subadviser will
promptly communicate to the Adviser and to the officers and the Directors of the
Corporation such information relating to Portfolio transactions as they may
reasonably request. To the extent consistent with applicable law, the Subadviser
may aggregate purchase or sell orders for the Portfolio with contemporaneous
purchase or sell orders of other clients of the Subadviser or its affiliated
persons. 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 Subadviser
in the manner the Subadviser determines to be equitable and consistent with its
and its affiliates' fiduciary obligations to the Portfolio and to such other
clients. The Adviser hereby acknowledges that such aggregation of orders may not
result in more favorable pricing or lower brokerage commissions in all
instances.
3. Compensation of the Subadviser. The Subadviser shall not be entitled
to receive any payment from the Corporation and shall look solely and
exclusively to the Adviser for payment of all fees for the services rendered,
facilities furnished and expenses paid by it hereunder. As full compensation for
the Subadviser under this Agreement, the Adviser agrees to pay to the Subadviser
a fee at the annual rates set forth in Schedule A hereto with respect to the
portion of the assets managed by the Subadviser for each Portfolio listed
thereon. Such fee shall be accrued daily and paid monthly as soon as practicable
after the end of each month (i.e., the applicable annual fee rate divided by 365
applied to each prior days' net assets in order to calculate the daily accrual).
If the Subadviser shall provide its services under this Agreement for less than
the whole of any month, the foregoing compensation shall be prorated.
4. Other Services. At the request of the Corporation or the Adviser,
the Subadviser in its discretion may make available to the Corporation office
facilities, equipment, personnel and
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other services. Such office facilities, equipment, personnel and services shall
be provided for or rendered by the Subadviser and billed to the Corporation or
the Adviser at the Subadviser's cost.
5. Reports. The Corporation, the Adviser and the Subadviser agree to
furnish to each other, if applicable, current prospectuses, statements of
additional information, proxy statements, reports of shareholders, certified
copies of their financial statements, and such other information with regard to
their affairs and that of the Corporation as each may reasonably request.
6. Status of the Subadviser. The services of the Subadviser to the
Adviser and the Corporation are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Subadviser
shall be free to render similar services to others so long as its services to
the Corporation are not impaired thereby. The Subadviser shall be deemed to be
an independent contractor and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or
authorized, have no authority to act for or represent the Corporation in any way
or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Corporation.
7. Certain Records. The Subadviser hereby undertakes and agrees to
maintain, in the form and for the period required by Rule 31a-2 under the Act,
all records relating to the investments of the Portfolio that are required to be
maintained by the Corporation pursuant to the requirements of Rule 31a-1 of that
Act. Any records required to be maintained and preserved pursuant to the
provisions of Rule 31a-1 and Rule 31a-2 promulgated under the Act which are
prepared or maintained by the Subadviser on behalf of the Corporation are the
property of the Corporation and will be surrendered promptly to the Corporation
or the Adviser on request.
The Subadviser agrees that all accounts, books and other
records maintained and preserved by it as required hereby shall be subject at
any time, and from time to time, to such reasonable periodic, special and other
examinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Corporation's
auditors, the Corporation or any representative of the Corporation, the Adviser,
or any governmental agency or other instrumentality having regulatory authority
over the Corporation.
8. Reference to the Subadviser. Neither the Corporation nor the Adviser
or any affiliate or agent thereof shall make reference to or use the name or
logo of the Subadviser or any of its affiliates (including, without limitation,
Third Avenue Funds) in any advertising or promotional materials without the
prior approval of the Subadviser, which approval shall not be unreasonably
withheld. All such use shall cease upon the termination of this Agreement.
9. Liability of the Subadviser. (a) In the absence of willful
misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or
duties ("disabling conduct") hereunder on the part of the Subadviser (and its
officers, directors, agents, employees, controlling persons, shareholders and
any other person or entity affiliated with the Subadviser), the Subadviser shall
not be subject to liability to the Adviser, its officers, directors, agents,
employees, controlling persons or shareholders or to the Corporation or to any
shareholder of the Corporation for any act
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or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder,
including without limitation, any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any
loss suffered by any of them in connection with the matters to which this
Agreement relates, except to the extent specified in Section 36(b) of the Act
concerning loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the
receipt of compensation for services. Except for such disabling conduct, the
Adviser shall indemnify the Subadviser (and its officers, directors, partners,
agents, employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any other person or
entity affiliated with the Subadviser) (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties")
from any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including
reasonable legal and other expenses) arising from the Subadviser's providing
services under this Agreement or the sale of securities of the Corporation.
(b) The Subadviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the
Adviser and its affiliates and each of its directors and officers and each
person, if any, who controls the Adviser within the meaning of Section 15 of the
1933 Act against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation
(including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Adviser or its
affiliates or such directors, officers or controlling person may become subject
under the 1933 Act, under other statutes, at common law or otherwise, which may
be based upon breach of this Agreement by the Subadviser; provided, however,
that in no case is the Subadviser's indemnity in favor of any person deemed to
protect such other persons against any liability to which such person would
otherwise be subject by reasons of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross
negligence in the performance of his, her or its duties or by reason of his, her
or its reckless disregard of obligation and duties under this Agreement.
(c) The Subadviser shall not be liable to the Adviser its
officers, directors, agents, employees, controlling persons or shareholders or
to the Corporation or its shareholders for (i) any acts of the Adviser or any
other subadviser to the Portfolio with respect to the portion of the assets of a
Portfolio not managed by Subadviser and (ii) acts of the Subadviser which result
from or are based upon acts of the Adviser, including, but not limited to, a
failure of the Adviser to provide accurate and current information with respect
to any records maintained by Adviser or any other subadviser to a Portfolio,
which records are not also maintained by the Subadviser or, to the extent such
records relate to the portion of the assets managed by the Subadviser, otherwise
available to the Subadviser upon reasonable request. The Adviser agrees that
Subadviser shall manage the portion of the assets of a Portfolio allocated to it
as if it was a separate operating portfolio and shall comply with subsections
(a) and (b) of Section I of this Subadvisory Agreement (including, but not
limited to, the investment objectives, policies and restrictions applicable to a
Portfolio and qualifications of a Portfolio as a regulated investment company
under the Code) only with respect to the portion of assets of a Portfolio
allocated to Subadviser. The Adviser shall indemnify the Indemnified Parties
from any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including
reasonable legal and other expenses) arising from the conduct of the Adviser,
the Corporation and any other subadviser with respect to the portion of a
Portfolio's assets not allocated to the Subadviser and with respect to any other
portfolio of the Corporation.
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10. Permissible Interests. Directors and agents of the Corporation are
or may be interested in the Subadviser (or any successor thereof) as directors,
partners, officers, or shareholders, or otherwise; directors, partners,
officers, agents, and shareholders of the Subadviser are or may be interested in
the Corporation as Directors, or otherwise; and the Subadviser (or any
successor) is or may be interested in the Corporation in some manner.
11. Term of the Agreement. This Agreement shall continue in full force
and effect with respect to each Portfolio until two years from the date hereof,
and from year to year thereafter so long as such continuance is specifically
approved at least annually (i) by the vote of a majority of those Directors of
the Corporation who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of
any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval, and (ii) by the Directors of the Corporation or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio voting separately
from any other series of the Corporation.
With respect to each Portfolio, this Agreement may be
terminated at any time, without payment of a penalty by the Portfolio or the
Corporation, by vote of a majority of the Directors, or by vote of a majority of
the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the Act) of the Portfolio,
voting separately from any other series of the Corporation, or by the Adviser,
on not less than 30 nor more than 60 days' written notice to the Subadviser.
With respect to each Portfolio, this Agreement may be terminated by the
Subadviser at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on 90 days' written
notice to the Adviser and the Corporation. The termination of this Agreement
with respect to any Portfolio or the addition of any Portfolio to Schedule A
hereto (in the manner required by the Act) shall not affect the continued
effectiveness of this Agreement with respect to each other Portfolio subject
hereto. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its
assignment (as defined by the Act).
This Agreement will also terminate in the event that the Advisory
Agreement by and between the Corporation and the Adviser is terminated.
12. Severability. This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement
between the parties hereto. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or
made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of
this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
13. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent in
writing, but the consent of the Corporation must be obtained in conformity with
the requirements of the Act.
14. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with
the laws of the State of New York and the applicable provisions of the Act. To
the extent the applicable laws of the State of New York, or any of the
provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the Act, the
latter shall control.
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15. Separate Series. Pursuant to the provisions of the Articles of
Incorporation and the General Laws of the State of Maryland, each Portfolio is a
separate series of the Corporation, and all debts, liabilities, obligations and
expenses of a particular Portfolio shall be enforceable only against the assets
of that Portfolio and not against the assets of any other Portfolio or of the
Corporation as a whole.
16. Notices. All notices shall be in writing and deemed properly given
when delivered or mailed by United States certified or registered mail, return
receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
Subadviser: EQSF Advisers, Inc.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Xxx Xxxxxxxxx
Adviser: SunAmerica Asset Management Corp.
The SunAmerica Center
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Senior Vice President and
General Counsel
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused their respective duly
authorized officers to execute this Agreement as of the date first above
written.
SUNAMERICA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP.
By: /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
-------------------------------
Name: Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Title: President
EQSF ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxx
-------------------------------
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxx
Title: President
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