Exhibit d(1)
MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
between
FIDELITY ABERDEEN STREET TRUST:
FIDELITY FREEDOM 2040 FUND
and
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
AGREEMENT made this 20th day of July 2000, by and between Fidelity
Aberdeen Street Trust, a Delaware business trust which may issue one
or more series of shares of beneficial interest (hereinafter called
the "Fund"), on behalf of Fidelity Freedom 2040 Fund (hereinafter
called the "Portfolio"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc., a Massachusetts
corporation (hereinafter called the "Adviser") as set forth in its
entirety below.
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 allocate the Portfolio's assets among the various
underlying Fidelity funds in which the Portfolio may invest and to
otherwise buy, sell, lend and otherwise trade in any stocks, bonds and
other securities and investment instruments on behalf of the Portfolio
as permitted under the Portfolio's investment policies. The Adviser
shall from time to time make recommendations to the Fund's Board of
Trustees with respect to the Portfolio's investment policies provided
that 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, 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 undertakes to pay, either itself or through an
affiliated company, all expenses involved in the operation of the
Portfolio, except the following, which shall be paid by the Portfolio:
(i) taxes; (ii) the fees and expenses of all Trustees of the Fund who
are not "interested persons" of the Fund or of the Adviser; (iii)
brokerage fees and commissions; (iv) redemption fees and other
shareholder charges associated with investments in other mutual funds;
(v) interest expenses with respect to borrowings by the Portfolio; and
(vi) such non-recurring and extraordinary expenses as may arise,
including actions, suits or proceedings to which the Portfolio is or
is threatened to be a party and the legal obligation that the
Portfolio may have to indemnify the Fund's Trustees and officers with
respect thereto. It is understood that service charges billed
directly to shareholders of the Portfolio, including charges for
exchanges, redemptions, sub-accounting or other services, shall not be
payable by the Adviser, but may be received and retained by the
Adviser or its affiliates.
(d) The Adviser, either itself or through an affiliated company or
through the Portfolio's custodian, shall place all orders for the
purchase and sale of Fidelity mutual fund shares for the Portfolio's
account with such underlying funds' transfer agents. With respect to
portfolio securities other than Fidelity mutual fund shares, the
Adviser, either itself or through an affiliated company, shall place
all purchase and sale orders 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 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. 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, at the annual
rate of 0.10% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio
(computed in the manner set forth in the Fund's Trust Instrument)
throughout the month; provided that the fee, so computed, shall be
reduced by the compensation, including reimbursement of expenses, paid
by the Portfolio to those Trustees who are not "interested persons" of
the Fund or the Adviser.
In case of initiation or 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. 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 or other investment
instrument.
5. (a) Subject to prior termination as provided in sub-paragraph (d)
of this paragraph 5, this Contract shall continue in force until July
31, 2001 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 subject to the
provisions of Section 15 of the 1940 Act, as modified by or
interpreted by any applicable order or orders of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") or any rules or regulations
adopted by, or interpretative releases of, the Commission.
(c) In addition to the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of
this paragraph 5, 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
persons 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.
6. The Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of
shareholder liability as set forth in the Fund's Trust Instrument or
other organizational documents 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
Trust Instrument or other organizational documents are separate and
distinct from those of any and all other Portfolios.
7. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance
with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving
effect to the choice of laws provisions thereof.
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 Commission.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have caused this instrument to be
signed in their behalf by their respective officers thereunto duly
authorized, and their respective seals to be hereunto affixed, all as
of the date written above.
FIDELITY ABERDEEN STREET TRUST
on behalf of FIDELITY FREEDOM 2040 FUND
By /s/Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Senior Vice President
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By /s/Xxxxxxx Xxx Xxxxxx III
Xxxxxxx Xxx Xxxxxx III
President
