SELLING GROUP AGREEMENT ▇▇▇▇▇▇ DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Dear Financial Services Firm:
As principal underwriter and distributor, we invite you to
join a Selling Group for the distribution of shares of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Mutual Funds (herein called "Funds"), but only in those states in
which the shares of the respective Funds may legally be offered
for sale. As exclusive agent of each of the Funds, we offer to
sell to you shares of the Funds on the following terms:
1. In all sales of these shares to the public you shall act
as dealer for your own account, and in no transaction shall you
have any authority to act as agent for the issuer, for us, or
for any other member of the Selling Group.
2. Orders received from you will be accepted by us only at
the public offering price applicable to each order, as
established by the Prospectus of each Fund, subject to the
discount, commission or other concession, if any, as provided in
such Prospectus. Upon receipt from you of any order to purchase
shares of a Fund, we shall confirm to you in writing or by wire
to be followed by a confirmation in writing. Additional
instructions may be forwarded to you from time to time. All
orders are subject to acceptance or rejection by us in our sole
discretion.
3. You may offer and sell shares to your customers only at
the public offering price determined in the manner described in
the applicable Prospectus. The public offering price is the net
asset value per share as provided in the applicable Prospectus
plus, with respect to certain Funds, a sales charge from which
you shall receive a discount equal to a percentage of the
applicable offering price as provided in the applicable
Prospectus. You shall receive a sales commission, with respect to
certain Funds, equal to a percentage of the amount invested as
provided in the applicable Prospectus. You shall receive a
distribution service fee, for certain Funds for which such fees
are available, as provided in the applicable Prospectus which fee
shall be payable with respect to such assets, for such periods
and at such intervals as are from time to tome specified by us.
The discounts or other concessions to which you may be entitled
in connection with sales to your customers pursuant to any
special features of a Fund (such as cumulative discounts, letters
of intent, etc., the terms of which shall be as described in the
applicable Prospectus and related forms) shall be in accordance
with the terms of such features. You may receive an
administrative service fee, with respect to certain Funds for
which such fees are available, as provided in the applicable
Prospectus, which fee shall be payable with respect to such
assets, for such periods and at such intervals as are from time
to time specified by us.
4. By accepting this agreement, you agree:
(a) To purchase shares only from us or from your
customers.
(b) That you will purchase shares from us only to cover
purchase orders already received from your customers, or for your
own bona fide investments.
(c) That you will not purchase shares from your
customers at a price lower than the bid price then quoted by or
for the Fund involved. You may, however, sell shares for the
account of your customer to the Fund, or to us as agent for the
Fund, at the bid price currently quoted by or for the Fund and
charge your customer a fair commission for handling the
transaction.
(d) That you will not withhold placing with us orders
received from your customers so as to profit yourself as a result
of such withholding.
5. We will not accept from you any conditional orders for
shares.
6. If any shares confirmed to you under the terms of this
agreement are repurchased by the issuing Fund or by us as agent
for the Fund, or are tendered for repurchase, within seven
business days after the date of our confirmation of the original
purchase order, you shall forthwith refund to us the full
discount, commission, finder's fee or other concession, if any,
allowed or paid to you on such shares.
7. Payment for shares ordered from us shall be in New York
clearing house funds and must be received by the appropriate
Fund's shareholder service agent within seven days after our
acceptance of your order (or such shorter time period as may be
required by applicable regulations). If such payment is not
received, we reserve the right, without notice, forthwith to
cancel the sale or, at our option, to sell the shares ordered
back to the Fund, in which case we may hold you responsible for
any loss, including loss of profit suffered by us as a result of
your failure to make such payment.
8. Shares sold to you hereunder shall be available in
negotiable form for delivery at the appropriate Fund's
shareholder services agent, against payment, unless other
instructions have been given.
9. All sales will be made subject to our receipt of shares
from the Fund. We reserve the right, in our discretion, without
notice, to suspend sales or withdraw the offering of shares
entirely. We reserve the right to modify, cancel or change the
terms of this agreement, upon 15 days prior written notice to
you. Also, the sales charges, discounts, commissions or other
concessions, service fees of any kind provided for hereunder are
subject to change at any time by the Funds and us.
10. All communications to us should be sent to the address
in the heading above. Any notice to you shall be duly given if
mailed or telegraphed to you at the address specified by you
below.
11. This agreement shall be construed in accordance with the
laws of Illinois. This agreement is subject to the Prospectuses
of the Funds from time to time in effect, and, in the event of a
conflict, the terms of the Prospectuses shall control. References
herein to the "Prospectus" of a Fund shall mean the prospectus
and statement of additional information of such Fund as from time
to time in effect. Any changes, modifications or additions
reflected in any such Prospectus shall be effective on the date
of such Prospectus (or supplement thereto) unless specified
otherwise.
12. This agreement is subject to the Additional Stipulations
and Conditions on the reverse side hereof, all of which are a
part of this agreement.
▇▇▇▇▇▇ Distributors, Inc.
By
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Authorized Signature
Title
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We have read the foregoing agreement and accept and agree to the
terms and conditions thereof.
Firm
-------------------------
Witness
------------------------ By
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Authorized Representative
Dated Title
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ADDITIONAL STIPULATIONS AND CONDITIONS
13. No person is authorized to make any representations
concerning shares of any Fund except those contained in the
Prospectus of such Fund and in printed information subsequently
issued by the Fund or by us as information supplemental to such
Prospectus. If you wish to use your own advertising with respect
to a Fund, all such advertising must be approved by us or by the
Fund prior to use. You shall be responsible for any required
filing of such advertising.
14. Your acceptance of this agreement constitutes a
representation (i) that you are a registered security dealer and
a member in good standing of the National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. and that you agree to comply with all
state and federal laws, rules and regulations applicable to
transactions hereunder and to the Rules of Fair Practice of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., including
specifically Section 26, Article III thereof, or (ii) if you are
offering and selling shares of the Funds only in jurisdictions
outside of the several states, territories and possessions of the
United States and are not otherwise required to be a member of
the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., that you
nevertheless agree to conduct your business in accordance with
the spirit of the Rules of Fair Practice of the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and to observe the laws
and regulations of the applicable jurisdiction. You likewise
agree that you will not offer to sell shares of any Fund in any
state or other jurisdiction in which they may not lawfully be
offered for sale.
15. You shall make available an investment management
account for your customers through the Funds and shall provide
such office space and equipment, telephone facilities, personnel
and literature distribution as is necessary or appropriate for
providing information and services to your customer. Such
services and assistance may include, but not be limited to,
establishment and maintenance of shareholder accounts and
records, processing purchase and redemption transactions,
answering routine inquiries regarding the Funds, and such other
services as may be agreed upon from time to time and as may be
permitted by applicable statute, rule, or regulation. You agree
to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Funds, us and our
respective representatives and agents from any and all direct or
indirect liabilities or losses resulting from requests,
directions, actions or inactions of or by you, your officers,
employees or agents regarding the purchase, redemption or
transfer of registration of shares of the Funds for accounts of
you, your customers and other shareholders or from any
unauthorized or improper use of any on-line computer facilities.
You shall prepare such periodic reports for us as shall
reasonably be requested by us. You shall immediately inform the
Funds or us of all written complaints received by you from Fund
shareholders relating to the maintenance of their accounts and
shall promptly answer all such complaints and other similar
correspondence. You shall provide the Funds and us on a timely
basis with such information as may be required to complete
various regulatory forms.
16. As a result of the necessity to compute the amount of
any contingent deferred sales charge due with respect to the
redemption of shares, you may not hold shares of a Fund imposing
such a charge in an account registered in your name or in the
name of your nominee for the benefit of certain of your customers
except with our prior written consent. Except as otherwise
permitted by us, shares of such a Fund owned by a shareholder
must be in a separate identifiable account for such shareholder.
17. Shares of certain Funds have been divided into separate
classes: Class A Shares, Class B Shares and Class C Shares.
Class A shares are offered at net asset value plus an initial
sales charge. Class B Shares are offered at net asset value
without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent
deferred sales charge and a Rule 12b-1 fee and have a conversion
feature. Class C Shares are offered at net asset value without an
initial sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge but are
subject to a Rule 12b-1 fee and have no conversion feature.
Please see the appropriate Prospectuses for a more complete
description of the distinctions between the classes of shares.
It is important to investors not only to choose Funds
appropriate for their investment objectives, but also to choose
the appropriate distribution arrangement, based on the amount
invested and the expected duration of the investment. To assist
investors in these decisions, we have instituted the following
policies with respect to orders for shares of the Funds. The
following policies and procedures with respect to sales of
classes of shares of the Funds apply to each broker/dealer that
distributes shares of the Funds.
1. All purchase orders for $500,000 or more (not including
street name or omnibus accounts) should be for class A Shares.
2. Any purchase order of less than $500,000 may be for
either Class A, Class B or Class C Shares in light of the
relevant facts and circumstances, including:
a. the specific purchase order dollar amount;
b. the length of time the investor expects to hold the
shares; and
c. any other relevant circumstances such as the
availability of purchases under a Letter of Intent, Combined
Purchases or Cumulative Discount Privilege.
There are instances when one pricing structure may be more
appropriate than another. For example, investors who would
qualify for a reduced sales charge on Class A Shares may
determine that payment of a reduced front-end sales charge is
preferable to payment of an ongoing Rule 12b-1 fee. On the other
hand, investors whose orders would not qualify for such a
discount and who plan to hold their investment for more than six
years may wish to defer the sales charge and would consider Class
B Shares. Investors who prefer not to pay an initial sales charge
and who plan to redeem their shares within six years might
consider Class C Shares.
Appropriate supervisory personnel within your organization
must ensure that all employees receiving investor inquiries about
the purchase of shares of the Funds advise the investor of the
available pricing structures offered by the Funds and the impact
of choosing one method over another, including breakpoints and
the availability of Letters of Intent, Combined Purchases and
Cumulative Discounts. In some instances it may be appropriate
for a supervisory person to discuss a purchase with the investor.
18. This agreement shall be in substitution of any prior
selling group agreement between you and us regarding these
shares. This agreement shall not be applicable to the provision
of services for Cash Equivalent Fund, Tax-Exempt California Money
Market Fund, Tax Exempt New York Money Market Fund, Investors
Cash Trust and similar wholesale money market funds. The payment
of related distribution and services fees, shall be subject to
separate services agreements.
