1
Exhibit 5b
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
-----------------------------
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT, dated January 18, 1994, between Gabelli
Global Series Funds, Inc. (the "Company"), a Maryland corporation, and Gabelli
Funds, Inc. (the "Adviser"), a Delaware Corporation.
In consideration of the mutual promises and agreements herein contained
and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby
acknowledged, it is agreed by and between the parties hereto as follows:
1. In General
----------
The Adviser agrees, all as more fully set forth herein, to act as
investment adviser to the Company with respect to the investment of the assets
of the Company allocated to The Gabelli Global Interactive Couch Potato Fund
Stock (the "Fund") and to supervise and arrange the purchase and sale of assets
held in the investment portfolios of the Fund.
2. Duties and obligations of the Adviser with
respect to investments of assets of the Fund
--------------------------------------------
(a) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this paragraph and
subject to the direction and control of the Company's Board of Directors, the
Adviser shall (i) act as investment adviser for and supervise and manage the
investment and reinvestment of the Fund's assets and in connection therewith
have complete discretion in purchasing and selling securities and other assets
for the Fund and in voting, exercising consents and exercising all other rights
appertaining to such securities and other assets on behalf of the Fund; (ii)
arrange for the purchase and sale of securities and other assets held in the
investment portfolio of the Fund and (iii) oversee the administration of all
aspects of the Fund's business and affairs and provide, or arrange for others
whom it believes to be competent to provide, certain services as specified in
subparagraph (b) below. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to restrict
the Company's right to hire its own employees or to contract for administrative
services to be performed by
123
2
third parties, including but not limited to, the calculation of the net asset
value of the Fund's shares.
(b) The specific services to be provided or arranged for by
the Adviser for the Fund are (i) maintaining the Fund's books and records, such
as journals, ledger accounts and other records in accordance with applicable
laws and regulations to the extent not maintained by the Fund's custodian,
transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent; (ii) transmitting purchase and
redemption orders for the Fund's shares to the extent not transmitted by the
Fund's distributor or others who purchase and redeem shares; (iii) initiating
all money transfers to the Fund's custodian and from the Fund's custodian for
the payment of the Fund's expenses, investments, dividends and share
redemptions; (iv) reconciling account information and balances among the Fund's
custodian, transfer agent, distributor, dividend disbursing agent and the
Adviser; (v) providing the Fund, upon request, with such office space and
facilities, utilities and office equipment as are adequate for the Fund's needs;
(vi) preparing, but not paying for, all reports by the Company, on behalf of the
Fund, to their shareholders and all reports and filings required to maintain the
registration and qualification of the Fund's shares under federal and state law
including periodic updating of the Company's registration statement and
Prospectus (including its Statement of Additional Information); (vii)
supervising the calculation of the net asset value of the Fund's shares; and
(viii) preparing notices and agendas for meetings of the Fund's shareholders and
the Company's Board of Directors as well as minutes of such meetings in all
matters required by applicable law to be acted upon by the Board of Directors.
(c) In the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the
Adviser shall at all times use all reasonable efforts to conform to, and act in
accordance with, any requirements imposed by (i) the provisions of the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act"), and of any rules or regulations in
force thereunder; (ii) any other applicable provision of law; (iii) the
provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, as amended, and By-Laws of the
Company, as such documents are amended from time to time; (iv) the investment
objectives, policies and restrictions applicable to the Fund as set forth in the
Company's Registration Statement on Form N-1A and (v) any
124
3
policies and determinations of the Board of Directors of the Company with
respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser will seek to provide qualified personnel to
fulfill its duties hereunder and will bear all costs and expenses (including any
overhead and personnel costs) incurred in connection with its duties hereunder
and shall bear the cost of any salaries or directors fees of any officers or
directors of the Company who are affiliated persons (as defined in the Act) of
the Adviser. If in any fiscal year the Fund's aggregate expenses (excluding
interest, taxes, distribution expenses, brokerage commissions and extraordinary
expenses) exceed the most restrictive expense limitation imposed by the
securities law of any state in which the shares of the Fund are registered or
qualified for sale, the Adviser will reimburse the Company for the amount of
such excess up to the amount of fees accrued for such fiscal year hereunder. The
amount of such reimbursement shall be calculated monthly and an appropriate
amount shall be held back or released to the Adviser each month so that the
aggregate amount held back at any particular time shall equal the net amount of
the reimbursement on a cumulative year-to-date basis. As of the end of the year
the final amount of the total reimbursement shall be calculated and the
appropriate amount released to the Fund or the Adviser or paid to the Fund by
the Adviser. Subject to the foregoing, the Company shall be responsible for the
payment of all the Fund's other expenses, including (i) payment of the fees
payable to the Adviser under paragraph 4 hereof; (ii) organizational expenses;
(iii) brokerage fees and commissions; (iv) taxes; (v) interest charges on
borrowings; (vi) the costs of liability insurance or fidelity bond coverage for
the Company officers and employees, and directors' and officers' errors and
omissions insurance coverage; (vii) legal, auditing and accounting fees and
expenses; (viii) charges of the Fund's custodian, transfer agent and dividend
disbursing agent; (ix) the Fund's pro rata portion of dues, fees and charges of
any trade association of which the Company is a member; (x) the expenses of
printing, preparing and mailing proxies, stock certificates and reports,
including the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, and
notices to shareholders; (xi) filing fees for the registration or qualification
of the Fund and its shares under federal or state securities laws; (xii) the
fees and expenses involved in registering
125
4
and maintaining registration of the Fund's shares with the Securities and
Exchange Commission; (xiii) the expenses of holding shareholder meetings; (xiv)
the compensation, including fees, of any of the Company's directors, officers or
employees who are not affiliated persons of the Adviser; (xv) all expenses of
computing the Fund's net asset value per share, including any equipment or
services obtained solely for the purpose of pricing shares or valuing the Fund's
investment portfolio; (xvi) expenses of personnel performing shareholder
servicing functions and all other distribution expenses payable by the Company;
and (xvii) litigation and other extraordinary or non-recurring expenses and
other expenses properly payable by the Fund.
(e) The Adviser shall give the Fund the benefit of its best
judgment and effort in rendering services hereunder, but neither the Adviser nor
any of its officers, directors, employees, agents or controlling persons shall
be liable for any act or omission or for any loss sustained by the Fund in
connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates, except a loss
resulting from 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; provided, however, that the
foregoing shall not constitute a waiver of any rights which the Company may have
which may not be waived under applicable law.
(f) Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Adviser or any
director, officer, employee or other affiliate thereof from acting as investment
adviser for any other person, firm or corporation, or from engaging in any other
lawful activity, and shall not in any way limit or restrict the Adviser or any
of its directors, officers, employees or agents from buying, selling or trading
any securities for its or their own accounts or for the accounts of others for
whom it or they may be acting.
3. Portfolio Transactions
----------------------
In the course of the Adviser's execution of portfolio transactions for
the Fund, it is agreed that the Adviser shall employ securities brokers and
dealers which, in its judgment, will be able to satisfy the
126
5
policy of the Fund to seek the best execution of its portfolio transactions at
reasonable expenses. For purposes of this agreement, "best execution" shall mean
prompt, efficient and reliable execution at the most favorable price obtainable.
Under such conditions as may be specified by the Company's Board of Directors in
the interest of its shareholders and to ensure compliance with applicable law
and regulations, the Adviser may (a) place orders for the purchase or sale of
the Fund's portfolio securities with its affiliate, Gabelli & Company, Inc.; (b)
pay commissions to brokers other than its affiliate which are higher than might
be charged by another qualified broker to obtain brokerage and/or research
services considered by the Adviser to be useful or desirable in the performance
of its duties hereunder and for the investment management of other advisory
accounts over which it or its affiliates exercise investment discretion; and (c)
consider sales by brokers (other than its affiliate distributor) of shares of
the Fund and any other mutual fund for which it or its affiliates act as
investment adviser, as a factor in its selection of brokers and dealers for the
Fund's portfolio transactions.
4. Compensation of the Adviser
---------------------------
(a) Subject to paragraph 2(b), the Company agrees to pay to
the Adviser out of the Fund's assets and the Adviser agrees to accept as full
compensation for all services rendered by or through the Adviser (other than any
amounts payable to the Adviser pursuant to paragraph 4(b)) a fee computed daily
and Payable monthly in an amount equal on an annualized basis to 1.0% of the
Fund's daily average net asset value. For any period less than a month during
which this Agreement is in effect, the fee shall be prorated according to the
proportion which such period bears to a full month of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days, as
the case may be.
(b) The Company will pay the Adviser separately for any costs
and expenses incurred by the Adviser in connection with distribution of the
Fund's shares in accordance with the terms (including proration or nonpayment as
a result of allocations of payments) of a Plan of Distribution (the "Plan")
adopted for the Fund pursuant to rule 12b-1 under the Act as such Plan may be in
effect from time to time; provided, however, that no
127
6
payments shall be due or paid to the Adviser hereunder unless and until this
Agreement shall have been approved by Director Approval and Disinterested
Director Approval (as such terms are defined in such Plan). The Company reserves
the right to modify or terminate such Plan at any time as specified in the Plan
and Rule 12b-1, and this subparagraph shall thereupon be modified or terminated
to the same extent without further action of the parties. The persons authorized
to direct the payment of the funds pursuant to this Agreement and the Plan shall
provide to the Company's Board of Directors, and the Directors shall review, at
least quarterly a written report of the amount so paid and the purposes for
which such expenditures were made.
(c) For purposes of this Agreement, the net asset of the Fund
shall be calculated pursuant to the procedures adopted by resolutions of the
Directors of the Company for calculating the net asset value of the Fund's
shares.
5. Indemnity.
----------
(a) The Company hereby agrees to indemnify the Adviser and
each of the Adviser's directors, officers, employees, and agents (including any
individual who serves at the Adviser's request as director, officer, partner,
trustee or the like of another corporation) and controlling persons (each such
person being an "indemnitee") against any liabilities and expenses, including
amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and
penalties, and counsel fees (all as provided in accordance with applicable
corporate law) reasonably incurred by such indemnitee in connection with the
defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or
criminal, before any court or administrative or investigative body in which he
may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which he may be
or may have been threatened, while acting in any capacity set forth above in
this paragraph or thereafter by reason of his having acted in any such capacity,
except with respect to any matter as to which he shall have been adjudicated not
to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the
best interest of the Company and furthermore, in the case of any criminal
proceeding, so long as he had no reasonable cause to believe that the conduct
was unlawful,
128
7
provided, however, that (i) no indemnitee shall be indemnified hereunder against
any liability to the Company or its shareholders or any expense of such
indemnitee arising by reason of (i) willful misfeasance, (ii) bad faith, (iii)
gross negligence (iv) reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct
of his position (the conduct referred to in such clauses (i) through (v) being
sometimes referred to herein as "disabling conduct"), (2) as to any matter
disposed of by settlement or a compromise payment by such indemnitee, pursuant
to a consent decree or otherwise, no indemnification either for said payment or
for any other expenses shall be provided unless there has been a determination
that such settlement or compromise is in the best interests of the Company and
that such indemnitee appears to have acted in good faith in the reasonable
belief that his action was in the best interest of the Company and did not
involve disabling conduct by such indemnitee and (3) with respect to any action,
suit or other proceeding voluntarily prosecuted by any indemnitee as plaintiff,
indemnification shall be mandatory only if the prosecution of such action, suit
or other proceeding by such indemnitee was authorized by a majority of the full
Board of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing the Company shall not be
obligated to provide any such indemnification to the extent such provision would
waive any right which the Company cannot lawfully waive.
(b) The Company shall make advance payments in connection with
the expenses of defending any action with respect to which indemnification might
be sought hereunder if the Company receives a written affirmation of the
indemnitee's good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for
indemnification has been met and a written undertaking to reimburse the Company
unless it is subsequently determined that he is entitled to such indemnification
and if the directors of the Company determine that the facts then known to them
would not preclude indemnification. In addition, at least one of the following
conditions must be met: (A) the indemnitee shall provide a security for his
undertaking, (B) the Company shall be insured against losses arising by reason
of any lawful advances, or (C) a majority of a quorum of directors of the
Company who are neither "interested persons" of the Company (as defined in
Section 2(a)(19) of the Act) nor parties to the proceeding ("Disinterested
Non-Party Directors") or an
129
8
independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based on a
review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry),
that there is reason to believe that the indemnitee ultimately will be found
entitled to indemnification.
(c) All determinations with respect to indemnification
hereunder shall be made (1) by a final decision on the merits by a court or
other body before whom the proceeding was brought that such indemnitee is not
liable by reason of disabling conduct or, (2) in the absence of such a decision,
by (i) a majority vote of a quorum of the Disinterested Non-party Directors of
the Company, or (ii) if such a quorum is not obtainable or even, if obtainable,
if a majority vote of such quorum so directs, independent legal counsel in a
written opinion.
The rights accruing to any indemnitee under these provisions shall not
exclude any other right to which he may be lawfully entitled.
6. Duration and Termination
------------------------
This Agreement shall become effective upon on the date hereof and shall
continue in effect for a period of two years and thereafter from year to year,
but only so long as such continuation is specifically approved at least annually
in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
This Agreement may be terminated by the Adviser at any time without
penalty upon giving the Company sixty days written notice (which notice may be
waived by the Company) and may be terminated by the Company at any time without
penalty upon giving the Adviser sixty days notice (which notice may be waived by
the Adviser), provided that such termination by the Company shall be directed or
approved by the vote of a majority of the Directors of the Company in office at
the time or by the vote of the holders of a "majority of the voting securities"
(as defined in the Act) of the Fund at the time outstanding and entitled to vote
or, with respect to paragraph 4(b), by a majority of the Directors of the
Company who are not "interested persons" of the Company and who have no direct
or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreements
related to the Plan. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event
of
130
9
its assignment (as "assignment" is defined in the Act and the rules thereunder.)
It is understood and hereby agreed that the word "Gabelli" is the
property of the Adviser for copyright and other purposes. The Company further
agrees that the word "Gabelli" in its name is derived from the name of ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and such name may freely be used by the Adviser for other investment
companies, entities or products. The Company further agrees that, in the event
that the Adviser shall cease to act as investment adviser to the Company with
respect to the investment of assets allocated to the Fund, both the Company and
the Fund shall promptly take all necessary and appropriate action to change
their names to names which do not include the word "Gabelli"; provided, however,
that the Company and the Fund may continue to use the word "Gabelli" if the
Adviser consents in writing to such use.
7. Notices
-------
Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing to the other party
at such address as the other party may designate from time to time for the
receipt of such notice and shall be deemed to be received on the earlier of the
date actually received or on the fourth day after the postmark if such notice is
mailed first class postage prepaid.
8. Governing Law
-------------
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the
State of New York for contracts to be performed entirely therein and in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the Act.
131
10
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused the foregoing
instrument to be executed by their duly authorized officers, all as of the day
and the year first above written.
GABELLI GLOBAL SERIES FUNDS, INC.
By /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
--------------------------------
Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Title: Vice President
GABELLI FUNDS, INC.
By /s/ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Jr.
--------------------------------
Name: ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Jr.
Title: SVP and General Counsel
132
