Exhibit 5(g)
MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
between
VARIABLE INSURANCE PRODUCTS FUND III:
Growth & Income Portfolio
and
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH COMPANY
MODIFICATION made this 1st day of January, 1997, by and between Variable
Insurance Products Fund III, a Massachusetts business trust which may issue
one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (hereinafter called the
"Fund"), on behalf of Growth & Income Portfolio, (hereinafter called the
"Portfolio"), and Fidelity Management & Research Company, a Massachusetts
corporation (hereinafter called the "Adviser").
1. (a) Investment Advisory Services. The Adviser undertakes to act as
investment adviser of the Portfolio and shall, subject to the supervision
of the Fund's Board of Trustees, direct the investments of the Portfolio in
accordance with the investment objective, policies and limitations as
provided in the Portfolio's Prospectus or other governing instruments, as
amended from time to time, the Investment Company Act of 1940 and rules
thereunder, as amended from time to time (the "1940 Act"), and such other
limitations as the Portfolio may impose by notice in writing to the
Adviser. The Adviser shall also furnish for the use of the Portfolio
office space and all necessary office facilities, equipment and personnel
for servicing the investments of the Portfolio; and shall pay the salaries
and fees of all officers of the Fund, of all Trustees of the Fund who are
"interested persons" of the Fund or of the Adviser and of all personnel of
the Fund or the Adviser performing services relating to research,
statistical and investment activities. The Adviser is authorized, in its
discretion and without prior consultation with the Portfolio, to buy, sell,
lend and otherwise trade in any stocks, bonds and other securities and
investment instruments on behalf of the Portfolio. The investment policies
and all other actions of the Portfolio are and shall at all times be
subject to the control and direction of the Fund's Board of Trustees.
(b) Management Services. The Adviser shall perform (or arrange for the
performance by its affiliates of) the management and administrative
services necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Adviser shall,
subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, perform various
services for the Portfolio, including but not limited to: (i) providing
the Portfolio with office space, equipment and facilities (which may be its
own) for maintaining its organization; (ii) on behalf of the Portfolio,
supervising relations with, and monitoring the performance of, custodians,
depositories, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, attorneys,
underwriters, brokers and dealers, insurers and other persons in any
capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable; (iii) preparing all general
shareholder communications, including shareholder reports; (iv) conducting
shareholder relations; (v) maintaining the Fund's existence and its
records; (vi) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining
the registration and qualification of the Portfolio's shares under federal
and state law; and (vii) investigating the development of and developing
and implementing, if appropriate, management and shareholder services
designed to enhance the value or convenience of the Portfolio as an
investment vehicle.
The Adviser shall also furnish such reports, evaluations, information or
analyses to the Fund as the Fund's Board of Trustees may request from time
to time or as the Adviser may deem to be desirable. The Adviser shall make
recommendations to the Fund's Board of Trustees with respect to Fund
policies, and shall carry out such policies as are adopted by the Trustees.
The Adviser shall, subject to review by the Board of Trustees, furnish such
other services as the Adviser shall from time to time determine to be
necessary or useful to perform its obligations under this Contract.
(c) The Adviser, at its own expense, shall place all orders for the
purchase and sale of portfolio securities for the Portfolio's account with
brokers or dealers selected by the Adviser, which may include brokers or
dealers affiliated with the Adviser. The Adviser shall use its best
efforts to seek to execute portfolio transactions at prices which are
advantageous to the Portfolio and at commission rates which are reasonable
in relation to the benefits received. In selecting brokers or dealers
qualified to execute a particular transaction, brokers or dealers may be
selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms
are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the
Portfolio and/or the other accounts over which the Adviser or its
affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Adviser is authorized to
pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services as
a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the Portfolio which
is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would
have charged for effecting that transaction if the Adviser determines in
good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the
value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or
dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that
particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Adviser
and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise
investment discretion. The Trustees of the Fund shall periodically review
the commissions paid by the Portfolio to determine if the commissions paid
over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation to the
benefits to the Portfolio.
The Adviser shall, in acting hereunder, be an independent contractor. The
Adviser shall not be an agent of the Portfolio.
2. It is understood that the Trustees, officers and shareholders of the
Fund are or may be or become interested in the Adviser as directors,
officers or otherwise and that directors, officers and stockholders of the
Adviser are or may be or become similarly interested in the Fund, and that
the Adviser may be or become interested in the Fund as a shareholder or
otherwise.
3. Management Fee. The Adviser will be compensated on the following basis
for the services and facilities to be furnished hereunder. The Adviser
shall receive a monthly management fee, payable monthly as soon as
practicable after the last day of each month which shall be computed as
follows:
(a) Group Fee Rate. The Group fee rate shall be based upon the monthly
average of the net assets of the registered investment companies having
Advisory and Service or Management Contracts with the Adviser (computed in
the manner set forth in the charter of each investment company) determined
as of the close of business on each business day throughout the month. The
group fee rate shall be determined on a cumulative basis pursuant to the
following schedule:
Average Net Assets Annualized Fee Rate (for each level)
0 - $ 3 billion .5200%
3 - 6 .4900
6 - 9 .4600
9 - 12 .4300
12 - 15 .4000
15 - 18 .3850
18 - 21 .3700
21 - 24 .3600
24 - 30 .3500
30 - 36 .3450
36 - 42 .3400
42 - 48 .3350
48 - 66 .3250
66 - 84 .3200
84 - 102 .3150
102 - 138 .3100
138 - 174 .3050
174 - 210 .3000
210 - 246 .2950
246 - 282 .2900
282 - 318 .2850
318 - 354 .2800
354 - 390 .2750
390 - 426 .2700
426 - 462 .2650
462 - 498 .2600
498 - 534 .2550
Over - 534 .2500
(b) Individual Fund Fee Rate. The Individual fund fee rate shall be .20%.
The sum of the Group fee rate, calculated as described above to the
nearest millionth, and the Individual Fund fee rate shall constitute the
annual management fee rate. One-twelfth of the annual management fee rate
shall be applied to the average of the net assets of the Portfolio
(computed in the manner set forth in the Declaration of Trust of the Fund)
determined as of the close of business on each business day throughout the
month.
In case of termination of this Contract during any month, the fee for that
month shall be reduced proportionately on the basis of the number of
business days during which it is in effect, and the fee computed upon the
average net assets for the business days it is so in effect for that month.
4. It is understood that the Portfolio will pay all its expenses other
than those expressly stated to be payable by the Adviser hereunder, which
expenses payable by the Portfolio shall include, without limitation, (i)
interest and taxes; (ii) brokerage commissions and other costs in
connection with the purchase or sale of securities and other investment
instruments; (iii) fees and expenses of the Fund's Trustees other than
those who are "interested persons" of the Fund or the Adviser; (iv) legal
and audit expenses; (v) custodian, registrar and transfer agent fees and
expenses; (vi) fees and expenses related to the registration and
qualification of the Fund and the Portfolio's shares for distribution under
state and federal securities laws; (vii) expenses of printing and mailing
reports and notices and proxy material to shareholders of the Portfolio;
(viii) all other expenses incidental to holding meetings of the Portfolio's
shareholders, including proxy solicitations therefor; (ix) a pro rata
share, based on relative net assets of the Portfolio and other registered
investment companies having Advisory and Service or Management Contracts
with the Adviser, of 50% of insurance premiums for fidelity and other
coverage; (x) its proportionate share of association membership dues; (xi)
expense of typesetting for printing Prospectuses and Statements of
Additional Information and supplements thereto; (xii) expenses of printing
and mailing Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information and
supplements thereto sent to existing shareholders; and (xiii) such
non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including those
relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Portfolio is a party
and the legal obligation which the Portfolio may have to indemnify the
Fund's Trustees and officers with respect thereto.
5. The services of the Adviser to the Portfolio are not to be deemed
exclusive, the Adviser being free to render services to others and engage
in other activities, provided, however, that such other services and
activities do not, during the term of this Contract, interfere, in a
material manner, with the Adviser's ability to meet all of its obligations
with respect to rendering services to the Portfolio hereunder. In the
absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless
disregard of obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Adviser,
the Adviser shall not be subject to liability to the Portfolio or to any
shareholder of the Portfolio for any act or omission in the course of, or
connected with, rendering services hereunder or for any losses that may be
sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security.
6. (a) Subject to prior termination as provided in sub-paragraph (d) of
this paragraph 6, this Contract shall continue in force until July 31, 1993
and indefinitely thereafter, but only so long as the continuance after such
date shall be specifically approved at least annually by vote of the
Trustees of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Portfolio.
(b) This Contract may be modified by mutual consent, such consent on the
part of the Fund to be authorized by vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities of the Portfolio.
(c) In addition to the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this
paragraph 6, the terms of any continuance or modification of this Contract
must have been approved by the vote of a majority of those Trustees of the
Fund who are not parties to the Contract or interested person of any such
party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
approval.
(d) Either party hereto may, at any time on sixty (60) days' prior written
notice to the other, terminate this Contract, without payment of any
penalty, by action of its Trustees or Board of Directors, as the case may
be, or with respect to the Portfolio by vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio. This Contract shall
terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
7. The Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of
shareholder liability as set forth in the Fund's Declaration of Trust and
agrees that the obligations assumed by the Fund pursuant to this Contract
shall be limited in all cases to the Portfolio and its assets, and the
Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the
shareholders or any shareholder of the Portfolio or any other Portfolios of
the Fund. In addition, the Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such
obligations from the Trustees or any individual Trustee. The Adviser
understands that the rights and obligations of any Portfolio under the
Declaration of Trust are separate and distinct from those of any and all
other Funds.
The terms "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities,"
"assignment," and "interested persons," when used herein, shall have the
respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act, as now in effect or as
hereafter amended, and subject to such orders as may be granted by the SEC.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have caused this instrument to be signed in
their behalf by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized all as
of the date written above.
VARIABLE INSURANCE PRODUCTS FUND III
on behalf of Growth & Income Portfolio
By /s/ J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Senior Vice President
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH COMPANY
By /s/ J. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
President
