MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
THIS AGREEMENT dated as of this 1st day of December, 2004 (as amended,
effective January 1, 2007, to reduce the management fee payable pursuant to
Section 8) between Pioneer Equity Opportunity Fund, a Delaware statutory trust
(the "Trust"), and Pioneer Investment Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the "Manager").
W I T N E S S E T H
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"),
and has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") a
registration statement for the purpose of registering its shares for public
offering under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act").
WHEREAS, the parties hereto deem it mutually advantageous that the
Manager should be engaged, subject to the supervision of the Trust's Board of
Trustees and officers, to manage the Trust.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and benefits
set forth herein, the Trust and the Manager do hereby agree as follows:
1. The Manager will regularly provide the Trust with investment
research, advice and supervision and will furnish continuously an investment
program for the Trust, consistent with the investment objective and policies of
the Trust. The Manager will determine from time to time what securities shall be
purchased for the Trust, what securities shall be held or sold by the Trust and
what portion of the Trust's assets shall be held uninvested as cash, subject
always to the provisions of the Trust's Certificate of Trust, Agreement and
Declaration of Trust, By-laws and its registration statements under the 1940 Act
and under the 1933 Act covering the Trust's shares, as filed with the
Commission, and to the investment objective, policies and restrictions of the
Trust, as each of the same shall be from time to time in effect, and subject,
further, to such policies and instructions as the Board of Trustees of the Trust
may from time to time establish. To carry out such determinations, the Manager
will exercise full discretion and act for the Trust in the same manner and with
the same force and effect as the Trust itself might or could do with respect to
purchases, sales or other transactions, as well as with respect to all other
things necessary or incidental to the furtherance or conduct of such purchases,
sales or other transactions.
2. The Manager will, to the extent reasonably required in the conduct
of the business of the Trust and upon the Trust's request, furnish to the Trust
research, statistical and advisory reports upon the industries, businesses,
corporations or securities as to which such requests shall be made, whether or
not the Trust shall at the time have any investment in such industries,
businesses, corporations or securities. The Manager will use its best efforts in
the preparation of such reports and will endeavor to consult the persons and
sources believed by it to have information available with respect to such
industries, businesses, corporations or securities.
3. The Manager will maintain all books and records with respect to the
Trust's securities transactions required by subparagraphs (b)(5), (6), (9) and
(10) and paragraph (f) of Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act (other than those
records being maintained by the custodian or transfer agent appointed by the
Trust) and preserve such records for the periods prescribed
therefor by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager will also provide to the
Board of Trustees such periodic and special reports as the Board may reasonably
request.
4. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Manager, at its own
expense, shall furnish to the Trust office space in the offices of the Manager,
or in such other place as may be agreed upon from time to time, and all
necessary office facilities, equipment and personnel for managing the Trust's
affairs and investments, and shall arrange, if desired by the Trust, for members
of the Manager's organization to serve as officers or agents of the Trust.
5. The Manager shall pay directly or reimburse the Trust for: (i) the
compensation (if any) of the Trustees who are "affiliated persons" (as defined
in the 0000 Xxx) of the Manager and all officers of the Trust as such; and (ii)
all expenses not hereinafter specifically assumed by the Trust where such
expenses are incurred by the Manager or by the Trust in connection with the
management of the affairs of, and the investment and reinvestment of the assets
of, the Trust.
6. The Trust shall assume and shall pay: (i) charges and expenses for
fund accounting, pricing and appraisal services and related overhead, including,
to the extent such services are performed by personnel of the Manager or its
affiliates, office space and facilities, and personnel compensation, training
and benefits; (ii) the charges and expenses of auditors; (iii) the charges and
expenses of any custodian, transfer agent, plan agent, dividend disbursing
agent, registrar or any other agent appointed by the Trust; (iv) issue and
transfer taxes chargeable to the Trust in connection with securities
transactions to which the Trust is a party; (v) insurance premiums, interest
charges, dues and fees for membership in trade associations and all taxes and
corporate fees payable by the Trust to federal, state or other governmental
agencies; (vi) fees and expenses involved in registering and maintaining
registrations of the Trust and/or its shares with federal regulatory agencies,
state or blue sky securities agencies and foreign jurisdictions, including the
preparation of prospectuses and statements of additional information for filing
with such regulatory authorities; (vii) all expenses of shareholders' and
Trustees' meetings and of preparing, printing and distributing prospectuses,
notices, proxy statements and all reports to shareholders and to governmental
agencies; (viii) charges and expenses of legal counsel to the Trust and the
Trustees; (ix) any fees paid by the Trust in accordance with Rule 12b-1
promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the 1940 Act; (x) compensation of
those Trustees of the Trust who are not affiliated with, or "interested persons"
(as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of, the Manager, the Trust (other than as
Trustees), Pioneer Investment Management USA Inc. or Pioneer Funds Distributor,
Inc.; (xi) the cost of preparing and printing share certificates; (xii) interest
on borrowed money, if any; and (xiii) any other expense that the Trust, the
Manager or any other agent of the Trust may incur (A) as a result of a change in
the law or regulations, (B) as a result of a mandate from the Board of Trustees
with associated costs of a character generally assumed by similarly structured
investment companies or (C) that is similar to the expenses listed above, and
that is approved by the Board of Trustees (including a majority of the
Independent Trustees) as being an appropriate expense of the Trust.
7. In addition to the expenses described in Section 6 above, the Trust
shall pay all brokers' and underwriting commissions chargeable to the Trust in
connection with securities transactions to which the Trust is a party.
8. For periods prior to January 1, 2007, the Trust shall pay to the
Manager, as compensation for the Manager's services and expenses assumed
hereunder, a fee at the annual rate of 0.75% of the Trust's average daily net
assets.
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Effective January 1, 2007, the Trust shall pay to the Manager, as
compensation for the Manager's services and expenses assumed hereunder, a fee at
the annual rate of 0.75% of the Trust's average daily net assets up to $1
billion, and 0.70% of the Trust's average daily net assets on assets over $1
billion.
9. The management fee payable hereunder shall be computed daily and
paid monthly in arrears. In the event of the termination of this Agreement, the
provided in Section 8 shall be computed on the basis of the period ending on the
last business day on which this Agreement is in effect subject to a pro rata
adjustment based on the number of days elapsed in the current month as a
percentage of the total number of days in such month.
10. The Manager may from time to time agree not to impose all or a
portion of its fee otherwise payable hereunder (in advance of the time such fee
or a portion thereof would otherwise accrue) and/or undertake to pay or
reimburse the Trust for all or a portion of its expenses not otherwise required
to be borne or reimbursed by the Manager. Any such fee reduction or undertaking
may be discontinued or modified by the Manager at any time.
11. It is understood that the Manager may employ one or more
sub-investment advisers (each a "Subadviser") to provide investment advisory
services to the Trust by entering into a written agreement with each such
Subadviser; provided, that any such agreement first shall be approved by the
vote of a majority of the Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are
not "interested persons" of the Trust, the Manager or any such Subadviser, and
otherwise approved in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act or an
exemption therefrom. The authority given to the Manager in Sections 1 through 13
hereof may be delegated by it under any such agreement; provided, that any
Subadviser shall be subject to the same restrictions and limitations on
investments and brokerage discretion as the Manager. The Trust agrees that the
Manager shall not be accountable to the Trust or the Trust's shareholders for
any loss or other liability relating to specific investments directed by any
Subadviser, even though the Manager retains the right to reverse any such
investment; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not in any way limit the
Manager's other responsibilities under this Agreement, including, the
supervision of the Subadviser's compliance with the Trust's investment policies
and restrictions.
12. The Manager will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake
of law or for any loss sustained by reason of the adoption of any investment
policy or the purchase, sale, or retention of any security on the recommendation
of the Manager, whether or not such recommendation shall have been based upon
its own investigation and research or upon investigation and research made by
any other individual, firm or corporation, but nothing contained herein will be
construed to protect the Manager against any liability to the Trust or its
shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in
the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its
obligations and duties under this Agreement.
13. Nothing in this Agreement will in any way limit or restrict the
Manager or any of its officers, directors, or employees from buying, selling or
trading in any securities for its or their own accounts or other accounts. The
Manager may act as an investment adviser to any other person, firm or
corporation, and may perform management and any other services for any other
person, association, corporation, firm or other entity pursuant to any contract
or otherwise, and take any action or do any thing in connection therewith or
related thereto; and no such
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performance of management or other services or taking of any such action or
doing of any such thing shall be in any manner restricted or otherwise affected
by any aspect of any relationship of the Manager to or with the Trust or deemed
to violate or give rise to any duty or obligation of the Manager to the Trust
except as otherwise imposed by law. The Trust recognizes that the Manager, in
effecting transactions for its various accounts, may not always be able to take
or liquidate investment positions in the same security at the same time and at
the same price.
14. In connection with purchases or sales of securities for the account
of the Trust, neither the Manager nor any of its directors, officers or
employees will act as a principal or agent or receive any commission except as
permitted by the 1940 Act. The Manager shall arrange for the placing of all
orders for the purchase and sale of securities for the Trust's account with
brokers or dealers selected by the Manager. In the selection of such brokers or
dealers and the placing of such orders, the Manager is directed at all times to
seek for the Trust the most favorable execution and net price available except
as described herein. It is also understood that it is desirable for the Trust
that the Manager have access to supplemental investment and market research and
security and economic analyses provided by brokers who may execute brokerage
transactions at a higher cost to the Trust than may result when allocating
brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and
efficient execution. Therefore, the Manager is authorized to place orders for
the purchase and sale of securities for the Trust with such brokers, subject to
review by the Trust's Trustees from time to time with respect to the extent and
continuation of this practice. It is understood that the services provided by
such brokers may be useful to the Manager in connection with its or its
affiliates' services to other clients.
15. On occasions when the Manager deems the purchase or sale of a
security to be in the best interest of the Trust as well as other clients, the
Manager may, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations,
aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased in order to obtain the best
execution and lower brokerage commissions, if any. 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 Manager in the manner it considers to be the
most equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to the Trust and to
such clients.
16. This Agreement shall become effective on the date hereof and shall
remain in force until December 31, 2005 and from year to year thereafter, but
only so long as its continuance is approved in accordance with the requirements
of the 1940 Act or an exemption therefrom, subject to the right of the Trust and
the Manager to terminate this contract as provided in Section 17 hereof.
17. Either party hereto may, without penalty, terminate this Agreement
by vote of its Board of Trustees or Directors, as the case may be, or by vote of
a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the 0000 Xxx)
of the Trust or the Manager, as the case may be, and the giving of sixty (60)
days' written notice to the other party.
18. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its
assignment. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "assignment" shall have the
meaning given it by Section 2(a)(4) of the 1940 Act.
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19. The Trust agrees that in the event that neither the Manager nor any
of its affiliates acts as an investment adviser to the Trust, the name of the
Trust will be changed to one that does not contain the name "Pioneer" or
otherwise suggest an affiliation with the Manager.
20. The Manager is an independent contractor and not an employee of the
Trust for any purpose. If any occasion should arise in which the Manager gives
any advice to its clients concerning the shares of the Trust, the Manager will
act solely as investment counsel for such clients and not in any way on behalf
of the Trust.
21. This Agreement states the entire agreement of the parties hereto,
and is intended to be the complete and exclusive statement of the terms hereof.
It may not be added to or changed orally and may not be modified or rescinded
except by a writing signed by the parties hereto and in accordance with the 1940
Act, when applicable.
22. This Agreement and all performance hereunder shall be governed by
and construed in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
23. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or
unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective
to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid
or unenforceable the remaining terms or provisions of this Agreement or
affecting the validity or enforceability of any of the terms or provisions of
this Agreement in any other jurisdiction.
24. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two (2) or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed by their duly authorized officers and their seal to be hereto affixed
as of the day and year first above written.
ATTEST: PIONEER EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxx, Xx.
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxx X. Xxxxx, Xx.
Secretary President
ATTEST: PIONEER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.
/s/ Xxxxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx /s/Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
Vice President-Senior Counsel Senior Vice President and Secretary
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