EXHIBIT (8)(YY)
RULE 22C-2 CUSTOMER INFORMATION AGREEMENT
ML Life Insurance Company of New York (hereinafter referred to as
"Intermediary") and Fidelity Distributors Corporation ("FDC") or an affiliate
have previously entered into a Participation Agreement to offer Fidelity Advisor
and Fidelity Retail Funds, as an investment option under Intermediary's variable
annuity and/or life insurance contracts. This Rule 22c-2 Customer Information
Agreement ("Customer Information Agreement") describes, among other things, the
rights and obligations of the parties hereto with respect to certain customer
information to be provided to Fund, or a Fund's transfer agent or other entity
designated in writing by Fund (collectively Fund's "Designee"), by or on behalf
of Intermediary in connection with the processing of Intermediary's customers'
purchase, redemption, transfer and exchange transactions in accounts maintained
with respect to the Fund subject to the Participation Agreement.
Prior to the effective date of this Customer Information Agreement, the
Fund and the Intermediary agree that any request made to the Intermediary by the
Fund for Customer transaction information, and the Intermediary's response to
such request, shall be governed by the practices the Fund and the Intermediary
had utilized in the absence of a formal agreement, if any, to govern such
requests.
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following
meanings, unless a different meaning is clearly required by the contexts:
The term "Intermediary" shall mean an insurance company separate account.
The term "Fund" shall mean an open-end management investment company that
is registered or required to register under Section 8 of the Investment Company
Act of 1940 and includes (i) an investment adviser to or administrator for the
Fund; or (ii) the principal underwriter or distributor for the Fund. The term
not does include any "excepted funds" as defined in SEC Rule 22c-2(b) under the
Investment Company Act of 1940.
The term "Shares" means the interests of Customers corresponding to the
redeemable securities of record issued by the Fund under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 that are held by the Intermediary.
The term "Customer" means the holder of interests in a variable annuity or
variable life insurance contract issued by the Intermediary ("Contract"), or a
participant in an employee benefit plan with a beneficial interest in a
contract.
The term "Customer-Initiated Transfer Purchase" means a transaction that
is initiated or directed by a Customer that results in a transfer of assets
within a Contract to a Fund, but does not include transactions that are
executed: (i) automatically pursuant to a contractual or systematic program or
enrollment such as transfer of assets within a Contract to a Fund as a result of
"dollar cost averaging" programs, insurance company
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approved asset allocation programs, or automatic rebalancing programs; (ii)
pursuant to a Contract death benefit; (iii) one-time step-up in Contract value
pursuant to a Contract death benefit; (iv) allocation of assets to a Fund
through a Contract as a result of payments such as loan repayments, scheduled
contributions, retirement plan salary reduction contributions, or planned
premium payments to the Contract; or (v) pre-arranged transfers at the
conclusion of a required free look period.
The term "Customer-Initiated Transfer Redemption" means a transaction that
is initiated or directed by a Customer that results in a transfer of assets
within a Contract out of a Fund, but does not include transactions that are
executed: (i) automatically pursuant to a contractual or systematic program or
enrollments such as transfers of assets within a Contract out of a Fund as a
result of annuity payments, loans, systematic withdrawal programs, insurance
company approved asset allocation programs and automatic rebalancing programs;
(ii) as a result of any deduction of charges or fees under a Contract; (iii)
within a Contract out of a Fund as a result of scheduled withdrawals or
surrenders from a Contract; or (iv) as a result of payment of a death benefit
from a Contract.
The term "written" includes electronic writings and facsimile
transmissions.
Accordingly, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained,
the parties hereto intending to be legally bound agree as follows:
1. CUSTOMER INFORMATION
(a) AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. Intermediary agrees to provide the
Fund or its Designee, upon written request, the taxpayer identification number
("TIN"), the Individual/International Taxpayer Identification Number ("ITIN"),
or other government-issued identifier ("GII") and the Contract owner number or
participant account number associated with the Customer, if known, of any or all
Customer(s) of the account, and the amount, date and transaction type (purchase,
redemption, transfer, or exchange) of every purchase, redemption, transfer, or
exchange of Shares held through an account maintained by the Intermediary during
the period covered by the request. Upon further request by the Fund,
Intermediary agrees to provide a numeric identifier of the Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
Financial Advisor listed as broker of record for the Contract (if known)
associated with any Shareholder(s) Contract which has been identified by the
Fund as having violated policies established by the Fund for the purpose of
eliminating or reducing any dilution of the value of the outstanding shares
issued by the Fund. Unless otherwise specifically requested by the Fund or
Fund's Designee in writing, the Intermediary shall only be required to provide
underlying Contract activity information relating to Customer-Initiated Transfer
Purchases or Customer-Initiated Transfer Redemptions.
(b) PERIOD COVERED BY REQUEST. The Fund or Fund's Designee may request in
writing transaction information as it deems necessary to investigate compliance
with policies established by the Fund for the purpose of eliminating or reducing
any dilution of the value of the outstanding shares issued by the Fund (the
"Market Timing Policies").
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(c) TIMING OF REQUESTS. Fund requests for Customer information shall be
made no more frequently than monthly except as the Fund deems necessary to
investigate compliance with the Fund's Market Timing Policies. Any requests made
more frequently than quarterly shall be made in writing.
(d) FORM AND TIMING OF RESPONSE.
(1) Intermediary agrees to provide, promptly upon written request of
the Fund or its designee, the requested information specified in 1(a). If such
request covers a period ninety (90) to one hundred eighty (180) days prior to
the date of the request, Intermediary agrees to provide the information
specified in 1(a) within five (5) to ten (10) business days. If Intermediary
determines during the course of investigation that due to the scope of the
request, Intermediary may need additional time to provide the requested
information, Intermediary shall promptly notify Fund and the parties shall
mutually agree to negotiate in good faith an extension. If requested by the Fund
or its Designee, Intermediary agrees to use best efforts to determine promptly
whether any specific person about whom it has received the identification and
transaction information specified in 1(a) is itself a financial intermediary
("indirect intermediary") and, upon further written request of the Fund or its
designee, promptly either: (i) provide (or arrange to have provided) the
information set forth in 1(a) for those Customers who hold an account with an
indirect intermediary; or (ii) restrict or prohibit the indirect intermediary
from purchasing, in nominee name on behalf of other persons, securities issued
by the Fund. Intermediary additionally agrees to inform the Fund whether it
plans to perform (i) or (ii).
(2) Responses required by this paragraph must be communicated in
writing and in a format mutually agreed upon by the Fund or Fund's Designee and
the Intermediary; and
(3) To the extent practicable, the format for any transaction
information provided to the Fund should be consistent with the NSCC Standardized
Data Reporting Format.
2. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION. The Fund agrees not to use the information
received pursuant to this Agreement for any purpose other than as necessary to
comply with the provisions of Rule 22c-2 or to fulfill other regulatory or legal
requirements subject to the privacy provisions of Title V of the
Xxxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Act (Public Law 106-102) and comparable state laws.
(a) Fund acknowledges that (i) the purpose for providing Intermediary's
confidential Customer Information (as defined in 1(a)) to Fund or Fund's
Designee is to better enable Fund and/or Fund's Designee to monitor for
compliance with the Fund's Market Timing Policies by Intermediary's customers,
and (ii) Fund or Fund's Designee is responsible for determining when Fund or the
Fund's Designee need Intermediary's assistance in monitoring and enforcing the
Fund's Market Timing Policies through a request for Customer Information
pursuant to paragraph 1 or an instruction to prohibit further purchases or
exchanges pursuant to paragraphs 5 and 6 hereunder.
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(b) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent Fund or
Fund's Designee receives Customer Information or any other Confidential
Information (as defined below, and together with the Customer Information
hereinafter referred to as the "Data"), Fund covenants for Fund, Fund's Designee
and any affiliate of either that: (i) Fund or Fund's Designee shall not use any
Data except to the extent necessary to carry out the purpose of this Agreement
and for no other purpose (including, without limitation, any marketing, sales or
other promotional efforts by any of the Fund's affiliates); (ii) Fund or Fund's
Designee shall not disclose any Data to any third party, including, without
limitation, either's third party service providers without Intermediary's prior
written consent and an agreement in writing from the third party to use or
disclose such Data only to the extent necessary to carry out the purpose of this
Agreement and for no other purposes; (iii) Fund and Fund's Designee, if any,
shall maintain, and shall require all third parties approved under clause (ii)
to maintain, effective information security measures to protect the Data from
unauthorized disclosure or use; and (iv) Fund and Fund's Designee, if any, shall
provide Intermediary with information regarding such security measures upon
Intermediary's reasonable request and promptly provide Intermediary with
information regarding any security breach related to the Data. For the purposes
of this Agreement, "Confidential Information" means the nonpublic personal
information (as defined in 15 U.S.C. Section 6809(4)) of Intermediary (and/or
Intermediary's parent, affiliated or subsidiary companies') customers or
prospective customers received by Fund or Fund's Designee under the terms of
this Agreement or any other agreement between Intermediary and Fund associated
with the distribution of, or services with respect to, the Funds, including, but
not limited to: (a) an individual's name, address, e-mail address, IP address,
social security number, and/or telephone number; (b) the fact that an individual
has a relationship with Intermediary and/or Intermediary's parent, affiliated or
subsidiary companies; or (c) an individual's other account information.
(c) Fund explicitly acknowledges that all of the Data is Intermediary's
exclusive property and shall remain so notwithstanding any release thereof in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(d) Fund and Fund's Designee shall safeguard and preserve as confidential
and not use, except as expressly provided herein, any or all information other
than the Data provided pursuant to, or in connection with, this Agreement to
Fund or Fund's Designee, including, but not limited to, Xxxxxxx Xxxxx xxxxxx
office names and identification numbers, Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Financial Advisor names,
as well as Xxxxxxx Xxxxx systems, business, plans and operations, which
information collectively shall include any such information that is orally
disclosed to Fund or Fund's Designee, or learned by Fund or Fund's Designee
while on Intermediary's premises or derived as a result of, or in connection
with, this Agreement and its subject matter or any other agreement between
Intermediary and Fund associated with the distribution of or services with
respect to the Funds (collectively, "Confidential Data").
(e) Except as expressly provided for herein, Fund will not, without first
obtaining Intermediary's prior written consent, disclose to any person, firm or
enterprise, or use for Fund's benefit, any Confidential Data. Fund and Fund's
Designee, if any, shall limit Fund's disclosure of the Confidential Data to as
few persons as possible and only to
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those persons with a need to know that are Fund's or Fund's Designee's employees
or independent contractors engaged by Fund or Fund's Designee and subject to an
agreement to maintain the confidentiality of information provided to such
independent contractors (the "Consultant(s)"). Fund and Fund's Designee, if any,
shall take all steps necessary to prevent disclosure of any Confidential Data in
a manner consistent with Fund's obligations under this Agreement. Fund and
Fund's Designee, if any, shall have no obligation with respect to particular
information to the extent, but only to the extent, that such information: (i) is
already rightfully known to Fund or Fund's Designee at the time it is obtained
from Intermediary, free from any obligation to keep such information
confidential, as demonstrated by competent evidence; (ii) is or becomes publicly
known through no wrongful act of Fund or Fund's Designee's or without breach of
any terms and conditions of this Agreement; (iii) is rightfully received from a
third party without restriction and without breach of any terms and conditions
of this Agreement, as demonstrated by competent evidence; or (iv) is required to
be disclosed by law, regulation, or court order (provided that Fund or Fund's
Designee shall promptly notify Intermediary of any such use or requirement prior
to disclosure in order to afford Intermediary an opportunity to seek a
protective order to prevent or limit public disclosure of the information).
(f) Upon Intermediary's request, Fund and Fund's Designee, if any, shall
promptly return the Confidential Data (and any copies, extracts, and summaries
thereof) to Intermediary, or, with Intermediary written consent, shall promptly
destroy, in a manner satisfactory to Intermediary, such materials (and any
copies, extracts, and summaries thereof) and shall further provide Intermediary
with written confirmation of same, unless any legislation, regulation or legal
action prevents Fund or Fund's Designee from doing so, in which case Fund on
behalf of Fund and Fund's Designee warrant to keep such Confidential Data secure
and confidential and no longer to actively make use of such Confidential Data.
3. REMEDIES. Fund and Fund's Designee acknowledge that in the event of a breach
or threatened breach of this Agreement, Intermediary may have no adequate remedy
at law, and, accordingly, shall be entitled to obtain an injunction against such
breach. However, no specification in this Agreement of a specific legal or
equitable remedy shall be construed as a waiver of or a prohibition against any
other legal or equitable remedies in the event of a breach of a provision of
this Agreement. Intermediary shall be entitled to legal damages and/or equitable
relief from Fund for any failure of Fund's Designee to act in accordance with
the provisions of this Agreement applicable to a Designee.
4. ADOPTION OF INTERMEDIARY'S MARKET TIMING POLICIES. If Fund considers, at any
time, the adoption of Intermediary's or Intermediary's affiliate(s) Market
Timing Policies in lieu of the Fund's Market Timing Policies for Customers
investing through Intermediary, Fund shall provide Intermediary written notice
of any such consideration at least 90 (ninety) days in advance of implementing
any such policy and secure Intermediary's prior written consent to such
arrangements.
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5. AGREEMENT TO RESTRICT TRADING. Intermediary agrees to execute written
instructions from the Fund to restrict or prohibit further purchases or
exchanges of Shares by a Customer that has been identified by the Fund as having
engaged in transactions of the Fund's Shares (directly or indirectly through the
Intermediary's account) that violate policies established by the Fund for the
purpose of eliminating or reducing any dilution of the value of the outstanding
Shares issued by the Fund. Unless otherwise directed by the Fund, any such
restrictions or prohibitions shall only apply to Customer-Initiated Transfer
Purchases or Customer-Initiated Transfer Redemptions that are effected directly
or indirectly through Intermediary.
At the time of execution of this Agreement, instructions shall be in writing and
sent to Intermediary at:
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Insurance Group Services, Inc.
Attention: Service Center Controller
0000 Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx.xxx or facsimile at 000-000-0000
with a copy to:
Financial Data Services, Inc.
Attention: President
0000 Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000
At the time of execution of this Agreement, the above contact information
has been provided to the Fund's operations group and any updates to the above
will be made through the Fund's operations group and not by amending this
Agreement.
6. FORM OF INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions must include the TIN, ITIN, or GII and the
specific individual Contract owner number or participant account number
associated with the Customer, if known, and the specific restriction(s) to be
executed, including how long the restriction(s) is(are) to remain in place. If
the TIN, ITIN, GII or the specific individual Contract owner number or
participant account number associated with the Customer is not known, the
instructions must include an equivalent identifying number of the Customer(s) or
account(s) or other agreed upon information to which the instruction relates.
Upon request of the Intermediary, Fund agrees to provide to the Intermediary,
along with any written instructions to prohibit further purchases or exchanges
of Shares by Customer, information regarding those trades of the contract holder
that violated the Fund's policies
7. TIMING OF RESPONSE. Intermediary agrees to execute instructions as soon as
reasonably practicable, but not later than five business days after receipt of
the instructions by the Intermediary.
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8. NOTICE. At the time of execution of this Agreement, all notices in connection
with this Agreement, not otherwise provided for in Section 6, shall be in
writing and sent to Intermediary at
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Insurance Group, Inc.
Attention: General Counsel
0000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
with a copy to:
Financial Data Services, Inc.
Attention: President
0000 Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000
, and sent to Fund at the address Fund has provided in the
Participation Agreement. Intermediary will update the Participation Agreement
with any future changes to the above addresses and not by amending this
Agreement.
9. CONSTRUCTION OF THE AGREEMENT; FUND PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS. The parties or
an affiliate have entered into one or more Fund Participation Agreements between
or among them for the purchase and redemption of shares of the Funds by the
accounts in connection with the Contracts. This Agreement supplements those Fund
Participation Agreements. To the extent the terms of this Agreement conflict
with the terms of a Fund Participation Agreement, the terms of this Agreement
shall control.
10. TERMINATION. This Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the Fund
Participation Agreements except as specifically provided in paragraph 15.
11. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions hereof
interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts without giving effect to provisions relating to conflict of laws.
14. SURVIVAL OF TERMINATION. The following paragraphs shall survive the
termination of this Agreement: 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, and this paragraph 15.
15. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement shall become effective as of the later of
dates set forth below, but no later than April 16, 2007.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused this Agreement to be
executed as of the date first above written.
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By: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Title: Vice President & Senior Counsel
ML Life Insurance Company of New York
Firm Name:
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By:
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Name
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Title
Address:
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Date:
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