SUB ITEM 77Q(1)(e)
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT, dated this 29th day of June, 2007,
by and between MFS INVESTMENT
GRADE MUNICIPAL TRUST, a StateMassachusetts business trust (the "Trust")
, and MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL
SERVICES COMPANY, a StateplaceDelaware corporation (the "Adviser").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Trust is engaged in business as an investment
company registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940; and
WHEREAS, the Adviser is willing to provide services to the
Trust on the terms and conditions
hereinafter set forth;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants
and agreements of the parties hereto
as herein set forth, the parties covenant and agree as follows:
Article 1. Duties of the Adviser. (a) The Adviser shall
provide the Trust with such
investment advice and supervision as the latter may from time to time
consider necessary for the proper
supervision of its assets. The Adviser shall act as investment adviser
to the Trust and as such shall
furnish continuously an investment program and shall determine from
time to time what securities or
other instruments shall be purchased, sold or exchanged and what
portion of the assets of the Trust
shall be held uninvested, subject always to the restrictions of the
Trust's Declaration of Trust, dated
March 16, 1989, and By-Laws, each as amended from time to time
(respectively, the "Declaration" and the
"By-Laws"), to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940
and the Rules, Regulations and
orders thereunder and to the Trust's then-current Prospectus and
Statement of Additional Information.
The Adviser also shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent
to corporate actions and any other
rights pertaining to the Trust's portfolio securities in accordance
with the Advisers policies and
procedures as presented to the Trustees of the Trust from time to
time. Should the Trustees at any
time, however, make any definite determination as to the investment
policy and notify the Adviser
thereof in writing, the Adviser shall be bound by such determination
for the period, if any, specified
in such notice or until similarly notified that such determination
shall be revoked.
(b) The Adviser shall take, on behalf of the Trust, all actions
which it deems necessary to
implement the investment policies determined as provided above, and in
particular to place all orders
for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities or other instruments
for the Trust's account with
brokers or dealers selected by it, and to that end, the Adviser is author
ized as the agent of the Trust
to give instructions to the Custodian of the Trust as to the
deliveries of securities or other
instruments and payments of cash for the account of the Trust. In
connection with the selection of such
brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Adviser
is directed to seek for the Trust the
best overall price and execution available from responsible
brokerage firms, taking account of all
factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration: price;
the size of the transaction; the
nature of the market for the security; the amount of the commission;
the timing and impact of the
transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the
reputation, experience and financial
stability of the broker or dealer involved; and the quality of services
rendered by the broker or dealer
in other transactions. In fulfilling this requirement, the Adviser
shall not be deemed to have acted
unlawfully or to have breached any duty, created by this Agreement or
otherwise, solely by reason of its
having caused the Trust to pay a broker or dealer an amount of commission
for effecting a securities
transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or
dealer would have charged for
effecting that transaction, if the Adviser determined in good faith
that such amount of commission was
reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research
services provided by such broker or
dealer, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the
Adviser's overall responsibilities
with respect to the Trust and to other clients of the Adviser
as to which the Adviser exercises
investment discretion.
(c) Subject to the general supervision and control of the
Trustees of the Trust and under the
terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Trust
acknowledges and agrees that it is
contemplated that Adviser may, at its own expense, select and
contract with one or more investment
advisers (Sub-Advisers) to manage the investment operations and
composition of the Trust and render
investment advice for the Trust, including the purchase, retention,
and disposition of the investments,
securities and cash contained in the Trust, subject always to
the restrictions of the Trusts
Declaration and the By-Laws, to the provisions of the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and the Rules,
Regulations and orders thereunder and to the Trusts then-current
Prospectus and Statement of Additional
Information; provided, that any contract with an Sub-Adviser
(a Sub-Advisory Agreement) shall be in
compliance with and approved as required by the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and the Rules,
Regulations and orders thereunder or in accordance with exemptive
relief granted by the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
(d) Subject always to the direction and control of the Trustees
of the Trust, Adviser will
have (i) overall supervisory responsibility for the general management
and investment of the Trusts
assets; (ii) full discretion to select new or additional Sub-Advisers
for the Trust; (iii) full
discretion to enter into and materially modify existing Sub-Advisory
Agreements with Sub-Advisers; (iv)
full discretion to terminate and replace any Sub-Adviser; and (v) full
investment discretion to make all
determinations with respect to the investment of the Trusts assets not
then managed by an Sub-Adviser.
In connection with Advisers responsibilities herein, Adviser will assess
the Trusts investment focus
and will seek to implement decisions with respect to the allocation and
reallocation of the Trusts
assets among one or more current or additional Sub-Advisers from
time to time, as Adviser deems
appropriate, to implement the Trusts investment policies determined
as provided above. In addition,
Adviser (in conjunction with the Trusts Independent Chief Compliance
Officer) will oversee (or, in the
event that the Adviser does not require a Sub-Advisor to assume
responsibility therefore under the
Sub-Advisory Agreement, shall be responsible for) compliance of each
Sub-Adviser with the investment
objectives, policies and restrictions of the Trust
(or portions of the Trust) under the management of
such Sub-Adviser, and review and report to the
Trustees of the Trust on the performance of each
Sub-Adviser. Adviser will furnish, or cause the
appropriate Sub-Adviser(s) to furnish, to the Trust such
statistical information, with respect to the investments that
the Trust (or portions of the Trust) may
hold or contemplate purchasing, as the Trust may reasonably
request. Further, Adviser (in conjunction
with the Trusts Independent Chief Compliance Officer) will
oversee compliance of each Sub-Adviser with
the compliance program of the Trust (or portions of the Trust)
under the management of such Sub-Adviser,
as well as the compliance program of the Sub-Adviser as such
program relates to the Sub-Advisers
management of the Trust. On Advisers own initiative, Adviser
will apprise, or cause the appropriate
Sub-Adviser(s) to apprise, the Trust of important developments
materially affecting the Trust (or any
portion of the Trust that they advise) and will furnish
the Trust, from time to time, with such
information as may be appropriate for this purpose. Further,
Adviser agrees to furnish, or cause the
appropriate Sub-Adviser(s) to furnish, to the Trustees of the
Trust such periodic and special reports as
the Trustees of the Trust may reasonably request. In addition,
Adviser agrees to cause the appropriate
Sub-Adviser(s) to furnish to third-party data reporting
services all currently available standardized
performance information and other customary data as may be appropriate.
(e) Subject to the provisions of Article 6, the Adviser
shall not be liable for any error of
judgment or mistake of law by any Sub-adviser or for any loss arising
out of any investment made by any
Sub-adviser or for any act or omission in the execution and management
of the Trust by any Sub-adviser.
Article 2. Allocation of Charges and Expenses. (a) The
Adviser shall furnish at its own
expense investment advisory and administrative services, office space,
equipment and clerical personnel
necessary for servicing the investments of the Trust and maintaining
its organization, and investment
advisory facilities and executive and supervisory personnel for
managing the investments and effecting
the portfolio transactions of the Trust. The Adviser shall arrange,
if desired by the Trust, for
directors, officers and employees of the Adviser to serve as Trustees,
officers or agents of the Trust
if duly elected or appointed to such positions and subject to their
individual consent and to any
limitations imposed by law.
(b) It is understood that the Trust will pay all of its own expenses
incurred in its operations and
the offering of the Trusts shares, unless specifically provided
otherwise
in this Agreement or except
to the extent that the Adviser agrees in a written instrument
executed by the Adviser (specifically
referring to this Article 2(b)) to assume or otherwise pay
for specified expenses of the Trust,
including, without limitation: compensation of Trustees
"not affiliated" with the Adviser; governmental
fees; interest charges; taxes; membership dues in the
Investment Company Institute allocable to the
Trust; fees and expenses of independent auditors,
of legal counsel, and of any transfer agent,
registrar or dividend disbursing agent of the Trust;
expenses of repurchasing and redeeming shares and
servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of preparing,
printing and mailing stock certificates,
shareholder reports, notices, proxy statements and reports to
governmental officers and commissions;
brokerage and other expenses connected with the execution,
recording and settlement of portfolio
security transactions; insurance premiums; fees and expenses
of the custodian for all services to the
Trust, including safekeeping of funds and securities and
maintaining required books and accounts;
expenses of calculating the net asset value of shares of the
Trust; organizational and start up costs;
such non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise,
including those relating to actions, suits
or proceedings to which the Trust is a party or otherwise
may have an exposure, and the legal
obligation which the Trust may have to indemnify the Trust's
Trustees and officers with respect
thereto; and expenses relating to the issuance, registration and
qualification of shares of the Trust
and the preparation, printing and mailing of prospectuses for such
purposes (except to the extent that
any Distribution Agreement to which the Trust is a party provides
that another party is to pay some or
all of such expenses).
(c) The payment or assumption by the Adviser of any
expenses of the Trust that the Adviser is
not obligated by this Agreement or otherwise to pay or assume
shall not obligate the Adviser to pay or
assume the same or any similar expenses of the Trust on any
subsequent occasion.
Article 3. Compensation of the Adviser. For the services
to be rendered and the facilities
provided, the Trust shall pay to the Adviser an investment advisory
fee computed and paid monthly as set
forth in Appendix A attached hereto. If the Adviser shall serve
for less than the whole of any period
specified in this Article 3, the compensation paid to the Adviser
will be prorated.
Article 4. Additional Services. Should the Trust have
occasion to request the Adviser or its
affiliates to perform administrative or other additional services
not herein contemplated or to request
the Adviser or its affiliates to arrange for the services of others,
the Adviser or its affiliates will
act for the Trust upon request to the best of its ability, with
compensation for the services to be
agreed upon with respect to each such occasion as it arises. No
such agreement for additional services
shall expand, reduce or otherwise alter the obligations of the
Adviser, or the compensation that the
Adviser is due, under this Agreement.
Article 5. Covenants of the Adviser. The Adviser agrees
that it will not deal with itself, or
with the Trustees of the Trust or the Trust's distributor, if any,
as principals in making purchases or
sales of securities or other property for the account of the
Trust, except as permitted by the
Investment Company Act of 1940 and any rules, regulations or
orders of the Securities and Exchange
Commission thereunder, will not take a long or short position
in the shares of the Trust except as
permitted by the applicable law, and will comply with all other
provisions of the Declaration and the
By-Laws and the then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional
Information of the Trust relative to
the Adviser and its directors and officers.
Article 6. Limitation of Liability of the Adviser.
The Adviser shall not be liable for any
error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising
out of any investment or for any act or
omission in the execution and management of the Trust, except for
willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross
negligence or reckless disregard of its duties and obligations
hereunder. As used in this Article 6,
the term "Adviser" shall include directors, officers and employees
of the Adviser as well as that
corporation itself.
Article 7. Activities of the Adviser. (a) The Trust
acknowledges that the services of the
Adviser to the Trust are not exclusive, the Adviser being free
to render investment advisory and/or
other services to others. The Trust further acknowledges that it
is possible that, based on their
investment objectives and policies, certain funds or accounts
managed by the Adviser or its affiliates
may at times take investment positions or engage in investment
techniques which are contrary to
positions taken or techniques engaged in on behalf of the Trust.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Adviser will at all times endeavor to treat all of its clients in a
fair and equitable manner.
(b) The Trust acknowledges that whenever the Trust and
one or more other funds or accounts
advised by the Adviser have available monies for investment,
investments suitable and appropriate for
each shall be allocated in a manner believed by the Adviser
to be fair and equitable to each entity.
Similarly, opportunities to sell securities or other investments shall be
allocated in a manner believed
by the Adviser to be fair and equitable to each entity. The Trust
acknowledges that in some instances
this may adversely affect the size of the position that may be
acquired or disposed of for the Trust.
(c) It is understood that the Trustees, officers and
shareholders of the Trust are or may be
or become interested in the Adviser, as directors, officers,
employees, or otherwise and that directors,
officers and employees of the Adviser are or may become similarly
interested in the Trust, and that the
Adviser may be or become interested in the Trust as a shareholder
or otherwise.
Article 8. MFS Name. The Trust acknowledges that the
names "Massachusetts Financial
Services," "MFS" or any derivatives thereof or logos associated with
those names (collectively, the MFS
Marks) are the valuable property of the Adviser and its affiliates.
The Adviser grants the Trust a
non-exclusive and non-transferable right and sub-license to use
the MFS Marks only so long as the
Adviser serves as investment adviser to the Trust. The Trust agrees
that if the Adviser for any reason
no longer serves as investment adviser to the Trust, and the Adviser
so requests, that the Trust
promptly shall cease to use the MFS Marks and promptly shall amend its
registration statement to delete
any references to the MFS Marks. Likewise, the Trust agrees that
if the Adviser for any reason no
longer serves as investment adviser to the Trust, and the Adviser so
requests, the Trust promptly shall
cease to use the MFS Marks and promptly shall amend its Declaration of
Trust to delete any references to
the MFS Marks. The Trust acknowledges that the Adviser may permit
other clients to use the MFS Marks in
their names or other material. For purposes of this Article,
the Trust shall be deemed to have taken
the required action promptly if such action is taken within 90
days of the Adviser no longer serving
as the investment adviser to the Trust, or from the date of the
Advisers request, as the case may be.
Article 9. Duration, Termination and Amendment of this Agreement.
(a) This Agreement shall
become effective with respect to the Trust on the date first
written above if approved by the
shareholders of the Trust, on the Effective Date for the Trust,
as set forth in Appendix A attached
hereto. Thereafter, this Agreement will remain in effect with
respect to the Trust for a period of two
years from the Trust's Effective Date as set forth in Appendix A,
on which date it will terminate for
the Trust unless its continuance is "specifically approved at
least annually" (i) by the vote of a
majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not "interested persons"
of the Trust or of the Adviser at
a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such
approval, and (ii) by the Board of
Trustees of the Trust, or by "vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities" of the applicable
Trust.
(b) This Agreement may be terminated as to the Trust
at any time without the payment of any
penalty by the Trustees or by "vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities" of the
applicable Trust, or by the Adviser, in each case on not more
than sixty days' nor less than thirty
days' written notice to the other party. This Agreement shall
automatically terminate in the event of
its "assignment".
(c) This Agreement may be amended with respect
to the Trust only if such amendment is in
writing signed by or on behalf of the Trust and the Adviser
and is approved by "vote of a majority of
the outstanding voting securities" of the applicable Trust
(if such shareholder approval is required by
the Investment Company Act of 1940).
Article 10. Scope of Trusts Obligations. A copy of the Trusts
Declaration of Trust is on file with the Secretary of
State of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Adviser acknowledges
that the obligations of or arising
out of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trusts Trustees,
officers, employees, agents or
shareholders individually, but are binding solely upon the assets and
property of the Trust. If this
Agreement is executed by the Trust, the Adviser further acknowledges
that the assets and liabilities of
the Trust are separate and distinct and that the obligations of or
arising out of this Agreement
concerning the Trust are binding solely upon the assets or property
of the Trust and not upon the assets
or property of any other Trust.
Article 11. Definitions and Interpretations. The terms
"specifically approved at least
annually," "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities,"
"assignment," "affiliated person,"
and "interested person," when used in this Agreement, shall have the
respective meanings specified, and
shall be construed in a manner consistent with, the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder. Any question of interpretation
of any term or provision of this
Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from a
term or provision of the Investment
Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Securities
Act of 1933, or the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (collectively, the "Federal Securities Acts")
shall be resolved by reference to
such term or provision of the Federal Securities Acts and to
interpretations thereof, if any, by United
States federal courts or, in the absence of any controlling
decisions of any such court, by rules or
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Where
the effect of a requirement of the Federal
Securities Acts reflected in any provision of this Agreement
is revised by rule or regulation of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, such provisions shall be deemed
to incorporate the effect of such
rule or regulation.
Article 12. Record Keeping. The Adviser will maintain records
in a form acceptable to the Trust and in compliance with
the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including but not limited to
records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and the rules
thereunder, which at all times will be the property of the Trust and
will be available for inspection
and use by the Trust.
Article 13. Miscellaneous. (a) This Agreement
contains the entire understanding and
agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Headings in this Agreement are for ease of reference
only and shall not constitute a part
of the Agreement.
(c) Should any portion of this Agreement for any reason
be held void in law or equity, the
remainder of the Agreement shall be construed to the extent possible
as if such voided portion had never
been contained herein.
(d) This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of
the PlaceTypeplaceCommonwealth of
placeMassachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws
provisions thereof, except that questions
of interpretation shall be resolved in accordance with the provisions
of Article 11 above.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be executed and delivered
in their names and on their behalf by the undersigned officers
thereunto duly authorized, all as of the
day and year first above written. The undersigned officer of
the Trust has executed this Agreement not
individually, but as an officer under the Declaration and the
obligations of this Agreement are not
binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the
Trust, individually, but bind only the
trust estate.
MFS INVESTMENT GRADE MUNICIPAL TRUST
By: _MARK N. POLEBAUM____
Name: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
Title: Secretary
MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL
SERVICES COMPANY
By:_ROBERT J. MANNING____
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Appendix A
Compensation to the Adviser
The investment advisory fee payable by the Trust shall be computed
and paid monthly in an amount equal
to the sum of 0.65% of the Trusts average daily net assets including
assets applicable to the auction
preferred shares (average daily net assets being computed for this
purpose without deducting any
liability for money borrowed for investment in accordance with the
Trusts investment objective and
policies).
