TRANSFER AGENCY SERVICES AGREEMENT
Execution Version
TRANSFER AGENCY SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made, effective June 30, 2008, by and between PFPC INC., a Massachusetts corporation (“PFPC”), and IndexIQ Trust, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Fund”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined shall have the meanings set forth in Appendix A.
Background
A. The Fund is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
B. The Fund wishes to retain PFPC to serve as transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder servicing agent to its investment portfolios listed on Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof, as such Exhibit A may be amended from time to time by mutual agreement of the parties in accordance with this Agreement (each a “Portfolio”), and PFPC wishes to furnish such services.
Terms
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein contained, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereto agree to the statements made in the preceding paragraphs and as follows:
1. Appointment. The Fund hereby appoints PFPC to serve as transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder servicing agent to the Fund in accordance with the terms set forth in this Agreement. PFPC accepts such appointment and agrees to furnish such services. PFPC shall be under no duty to take any action hereunder on behalf of the Fund or any Portfolio except as specifically set forth herein or as may be specifically agreed to by PFPC and the Fund in a written amendment hereto. PFPC shall not bear, or otherwise be responsible for, any fees, costs or expenses charged by any third party service providers engaged by the Fund or by any other third party service provider to the Fund.
2. Instructions.
(a) Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, PFPC shall act only upon Oral Instructions or Written Instructions.
(b) PFPC shall be entitled to rely upon any Oral Instruction or Written Instruction it receives from an Authorized Person (or from a person reasonably believed by PFPC to be an Authorized Person) pursuant to this Agreement. PFPC may assume that any Oral Instruction or Written Instruction received hereunder is not in any way inconsistent with the provisions of organizational documents or this Agreement or of any vote, resolution or proceeding of the Fund’s Board of Directors or of the Fund’s shareholders, unless and until PFPC receives Written Instructions to the contrary.
-2-
(c) The Fund agrees to forward to PFPC Written Instructions confirming Oral Instructions so that PFPC receives the Written Instructions by the close of business on the same day that such Oral Instructions are received. The fact that such confirming Written Instructions are not received by PFPC or differ from the Oral Instructions shall in no way invalidate the transactions or enforceability of the transactions authorized by the Oral Instructions or PFPC’s ability to rely upon such Oral Instructions.
3. Right to Receive Advice.
(a) Advice of the Fund. If PFPC is in doubt as to any action it should or should not take, PFPC may request directions or advice, including Oral Instructions or Written Instructions, from the Fund.
(b) Advice of Counsel. If PFPC shall be in doubt as to any question of law pertaining to any action it should or should not take, PFPC may request advice from counsel of its own choosing (who may be counsel for the Fund, the Fund’s investment adviser or PFPC, at the option of PFPC).
(c) Conflicting Advice. In the event of a conflict between directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions PFPC receives from the Fund, and the advice it receives from counsel, PFPC may rely upon and follow the advice of counsel.
(d) No Obligation to Seek Advice. Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to impose an obligation upon PFPC (i) to seek such directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions, or (ii) to act in accordance with such directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions.
4. Records; Visits.
|
(a) |
The books and records pertaining to the Fund, which are in the possession or under the control of PFPC (“Fund Records”), shall be the property of the Fund. The Fund and Authorized Persons shall have access to the Fund Records at all times during PFPC’s normal business hours. Upon the reasonable request of the Fund, copies of Fund Records shall be provided by PFPC to the Fund or to an Authorized Person, at the Fund’s expense. |
|
(b) |
Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, all Records and all documents (including any tangible media) related to this Agreement or the services provided hereunder and containing Confidential Information (collectively, “Documents”) shall be handled as follows: |
-3-
|
(i) |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, each party may retain Documents, or a copy thereof, it is required by law to maintain or which it reasonably determines to be relevant to the audits, reviews or examinations that are reasonably likely to be conducted by governmental authorities, self-regulatory authorities, oversight boards, firms of independent auditors or accountants or similar bodies to make determinations or issue reports or certifications with respect to: compliance with rules, regulations, industry standards, policies and procedures or agreements; internal controls; or matters of similar import to the functioning of a transfer agent (“Retained Document”); |
|
(ii) |
Documents, or copies of Documents, not being retained pursuant to Section 4(b)(i) (“Non-Retained Documents”) shall be returned to the party who owns the Non-Retained Documents to the extent such party so requests within 30 days of the expiration or termination of this Agreement. Upon expiration or termination of the Agreement, a receiving party may return Non-Retained Documents to their owner or destroy them. To the extent an owner of Non-Retained Documents requests their return more than 30 days after expiration or termination of the Agreement, the receiving party shall comply with the request to the extent the Non-Retained Documents have not been destroyed; |
|
(iii) |
All Documents retained by a party after termination or expiration of this Agreement that contain Confidential Information of the other party shall be maintained subject to the provisions of Section 5 of this Agreement; |
|
(iv) |
Either party may request a copy of any Retained Document provided that the party making the request reimburses the other party for the reasonable copying and other costs related to the request; and |
|
(v) |
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 4(b), any Retained Document may be destroyed by the retaining party according to its normal records destruction schedule, provided that such schedule is consistent with applicable law. |
5. Confidentiality.
(a) Each party shall keep confidential any information relating to the other party’s business (“Confidential Information”). Confidential Information shall include:
(i) any data or information that is competitively sensitive material, and not generally known to the public, including, but not limited to, information about product plans, marketing strategies, finances, operations, customer relationships, customer profiles, customer lists, sales estimates, business plans, and internal
-4-
performance results relating to the past, present or future business activities of the Fund or PFPC, or their respective Affiliates and the customers, clients and suppliers of any of them;
(ii) any scientific or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula, or improvement that is commercially valuable and secret in the sense that its confidentiality affords the Fund or PFPC (or their respective Affiliates) a competitive advantage over its competitors;
(iii) all confidential or proprietary concepts, documentation, reports, data, specifications, computer software, source code, object code, flow charts, databases, inventions, know-how and trade secrets, whether or not patentable or copyrightable; and
(iv) anything designated as confidential.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, information shall not be Confidential Information and shall not be subject to such confidentiality obligations if it:
(i) is already known to the receiving party at the time it is obtained;
(ii) is or becomes publicly known or available through no act of the receiving party;
(iii) is rightfully received from a third party who, to the best of the receiving party’s knowledge, is not under a duty of confidentiality;
(iv) is released by the protected party to a third party without restriction;
(v) is requested or required to be disclosed by the receiving party pursuant to a court order, subpoena, governmental or regulatory agency request or law, provided that the receiving party provides the protected party notice of such request or requirement to enable the protected party to take action, at its own expense, to prevent the disclosure of the Confidential Information;
(vi) is relevant to the defense of any claim or cause of action asserted against the receiving party with respect to which the receiving party is entitled to claim indemnification hereunder or is relevant to the defense of any other claim or cause of action asserted against the receiving party and the protected party consents in writing to such disclosure, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed;
(vii) is relevant to an audit, review or examination being conducted by a governmental authority, self-regulatory authority, oversight board, firm of independent auditors or accountants or similar body for the purpose of making a
-5-
determination or issuing a report or certification with respect to: compliance with rules, regulations, industry standards, policies and procedures or agreements; internal controls; or matters of similar import to the functioning of a transfer agent;
(viii) is necessary or desirable for PFPC to release such information in connection with the provision of services under this Agreement; or
(viii) has been or is independently developed or obtained by the receiving party.
(c) The provisions of this Section 5 shall survive termination of this Agreement for a period of three (3) years after such termination.
6. Cooperation with Accountants. PFPC shall cooperate with the Fund’s independent public accountants and shall take all reasonable actions in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement to ensure that the necessary information is made available to such accountants for the expression of their opinion, as required by the Fund.
7. PFPC System. PFPC shall retain title to and ownership of any and all data bases, computer programs, screen formats, report formats, interactive design techniques, derivative works, inventions, discoveries, patentable or copyrightable matters, concepts, expertise, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and other related legal rights utilized by PFPC in connection with the services provided by PFPC to the Fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties acknowledge the Fund shall retain all ownership rights in Fund data which resides on the PFPC System.
8. Disaster Recovery. PFPC shall enter into and shall maintain in effect with appropriate parties one or more agreements making reasonable provisions for emergency use of electronic data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available. In the event of equipment failures, PFPC shall, at no additional expense to the Fund, take reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions. PFPC shall have no liability with respect to the loss of data or service interruptions caused by equipment failure, provided such loss or interruption is not caused by PFPC’s own intentional misconduct, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties or obligations under this Agreement.
9. Compensation.
(a) As compensation for services rendered by PFPC during the term of this Agreement, the Fund will pay to PFPC a fee or fees as may be agreed to from time to time in writing (the “Fee Letter”) by the Fund and PFPC. In addition, the Fund agrees to pay, and will be billed separately in arrears for, reasonable and ordinary expenses incurred by PFPC.
(b) PFPC shall establish certain cash management accounts (“Service Accounts”) required to provide services under this Agreement. The Fund acknowledges (i) PFPC may receive investment earnings from sweeping the funds in such Service Accounts into investment accounts including, but not limited, investment accounts maintained at an Affiliate or client of PFPC; (ii) balance credits earned with respect to the amounts in such Service Accounts
-6-
(“Balance Credits”) will be used to offset the banking service fees imposed by the cash management service provider (the “Banking Service Fees”); (iii) PFPC shall retain any excess Balance Credits for its own use; (iv) Balance Credits will be calculated and applied toward the Fund’s Banking Service Fees regardless of the Service Account balance sweep described in Sub-Section (i); and (v) PFPC may use the services of third-party vendors in connection with the issuance of redemption and distribution checks and shall retain any benefits obtained from any arrangements with such vendors, including any commission or return on float paid to it by any such vendors.
(c) The undersigned hereby represents and warrants to PFPC that (i) the terms of this Agreement, (ii) the fees and expenses associated with this Agreement, and (iii) any benefits accruing to PFPC or to the adviser or sponsor to the Fund in connection with this Agreement, including but not limited to any fee waivers, conversion cost reimbursements, up front payments, signing payments or periodic payments made or to be made by PFPC to such adviser or sponsor or any Affiliate of the Fund relating to the Agreement have been fully disclosed to the Board of Directors of the Fund and that, if required by applicable law, such Board of Directors has approved or will approve the terms of this Agreement, any such fees and expenses, and any such benefits.
(d) Notwithstanding the limitation of liability provisions of this Agreement or the termination of this Agreement, the Fund shall remain responsible for paying to PFPC the fees set forth in the Fee Letter.
10. Standard of Care/Limitation of Liability.
(a) Subject to the terms of this Section 11, PFPC shall be liable to the Fund (or any person or entity claiming through the Fund) for damages only to the extent caused by PFPC’s own intentional misconduct, bad faith, negligence or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement (“Standard of Care”). In the absence of a finding to the contrary, the acceptance, processing and/or negotiation of a fraudulent payment for the purchase of Shares shall be presumed not to have been a failure of PFPC to meet its Standard of Care.
(b) PFPC’s liability to the Fund and any person or entity claiming through the Fund for any loss, claim, suit, controversy, breach or damage of any nature whatsoever (including but not limited to those arising out of or related to this Agreement) and regardless of the form of action or legal theory (“Loss”) shall not exceed the fees received by PFPC for services provided hereunder during the twelve (12) months immediately prior to the date of such Loss.
(c) PFPC shall not be liable for damages (including without limitation damages caused by delays, failure, errors, interruption or loss of data) occurring directly or indirectly by reason of circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation acts of God; action or inaction of civil or military authority; national emergencies; public enemy; war; terrorism; riot; fire; flood; catastrophe; sabotage; epidemics; labor disputes; civil commotion; interruption, loss or malfunction of utilities, transportation, computer or communications capabilities; insurrection; elements of nature; non-performance by a third party; failure of the mails; or functions or malfunctions of the internet, firewalls, encryption systems or security devices caused by any of the above.
-7-
(d) PFPC shall not be under any duty or obligation to inquire into and shall not be liable for the validity or invalidity, authority or lack thereof, or truthfulness or accuracy or lack thereof, of any instruction, direction, notice, instrument or other information which PFPC reasonably believes to be genuine. PFPC shall not be liable for any damages that are caused by actions or omissions taken by PFPC in accordance with Written Instructions or advice of counsel. PFPC shall not be liable for any damages arising out of any action or omission to act by any prior service provider of the Fund or for any failure to discover any such error or omission.
(e) Neither PFPC nor its Affiliates shall be liable for any consequential, incidental, exemplary, punitive, special or indirect damages, whether or not the likelihood of such damages was known by PFPC or its Affiliates.
(f) Each party shall have a duty to mitigate damages for which the other party may become responsible.
(g) This Section 10 shall survive termination of this Agreement.
11. Indemnification. Absent PFPC’s failure to meet its Standard of Care (defined in Section 10 above), the Fund agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless PFPC and its Affiliates and their respective directors, trustees, officers, agents and employees from all claims, suits, actions, damages, losses, liabilities, obligations, costs and reasonable expenses (including attorneys’ fees and court costs, travel costs and other reasonable out-of-pocket costs related to dispute resolution) arising directly or indirectly from: (a) an act or omission of the Fund, a Fund contractor or subcontractor in connection with providing services to the Fund or a predecessor service provider; and (b) any action taken or omitted to be taken by PFPC in connection with the provision of services to the Fund. This Section 11 shall survive termination of this Agreement.
12. Description of Services.
(a) Services Provided on an Ongoing Basis, If Applicable.
(i) Calculate 12b-1 payments;
(ii) Maintain shareholder registrations;
(iii) Review new applications and correspond with shareholders to complete or correct information;
(iv) Direct payment processing of checks or wires;
(v) Prepare and certify shareholder lists in conjunction with proxy solicitations;
(vi) Countersign share certificates (in the event applicable);
-8-
(vii) Prepare and mail to shareholders confirmation of activity;
(viii) Provide toll-free lines for direct shareholder use, plus customer liaison staff for on-line inquiry response;
(ix) Mail duplicate confirmations to broker-dealers of their clients’ activity, whether executed through the broker-dealer or directly with PFPC;
(x) Provide periodic shareholder lists and statistics to the Fund;
(xi) Provide detailed data for underwriter/broker confirmations;
(xii) Prepare periodic mailing of year-end tax and statement information;
(xiii) Notify on a timely basis the investment adviser, accounting agent, and custodian of Share activity;
(xiv) Perform other participating broker-dealer shareholder services as may be agreed upon from time to time;
(xv) Accept and post daily Share purchases and redemptions;
(xvi) Accept, post and perform shareholder transfers and exchanges;
(xvii) Issue and cancel certificates (when requested in writing by the shareholder)(in the even applicable);
(xviii) Perform certain administrative and ministerial duties relating to opening, maintaining and processing transactions for shareholders or financial intermediaries that trade shares through the NSCC; and
(xix) Perform the reasonable and customary services associated with establishing records, communications and positions with the Depository Trust Company or its affiliates to reflect the book entry status of the Shares.
(b) Purchase of Shares. PFPC shall issue and credit an account of an investor, in the manner described in the Fund’s prospectus, once it receives:
(i) A purchase order in completed proper form;
(ii) Proper information to establish a shareholder account; and
(iii) Confirmation of receipt or crediting of funds for such order to the Fund’s custodian.
-9-
(c) Redemption of Shares. PFPC shall process requests to redeem Shares as follows:
(i) All requests to transfer or redeem Shares and payment therefor shall be made in accordance with the Fund’s prospectus, when the shareholder tenders Shares in proper form, accompanied by such documents as PFPC reasonably may deem necessary.
(ii) PFPC reserves the right to refuse to transfer or redeem Shares until it is satisfied that the endorsement on the instructions is valid and genuine and that the requested transfer or redemption is legally authorized, and it shall incur no liability for the refusal, in good faith, to process transfers or redemptions which PFPC, in its good judgment, deems improper or unauthorized, or until it is reasonably satisfied that there is no basis to any claims adverse to such transfer or redemption.
(iii) When Shares are redeemed, PFPC shall deliver to the Fund’s custodian (the “Custodian”) and the Fund or its designee a notification setting forth the number of Shares redeemed. Such redeemed Shares shall be reflected on appropriate accounts maintained by PFPC reflecting outstanding Shares of the Fund and Shares attributed to individual accounts.
(iv) PFPC shall, upon receipt of the monies provided to it by the Custodian for the redemption of Shares, pay such monies as are received from the Custodian, all in accordance with the procedures established from time to time between PFPC and the Fund.
(v) When a broker-dealer notifies PFPC of a redemption desired by a customer, and the Custodian provides PFPC with funds, PFPC shall prepare and send the redemption check to the broker-dealer and made payable to the broker-dealer on behalf of its customer, unless otherwise instructed in writing by the broker-dealer.
(vi) PFPC shall not process or effect any redemption requests with respect to Shares of the Fund after receipt by PFPC or its agent of notification of the suspension of the determination of the net asset value of the Fund.
(d) Dividends and Distributions. Upon resolution of the Fund’s Board of Directors declaring and authorizing the payment of a dividend or other distribution and receipt by PFPC of Written Instructions, PFPC shall issue Shares in payment of the dividend or distribution, or, upon shareholder election, pay such dividend or distribution in cash, if provided for in the Fund’s prospectus. Such issuance or payment, as well as payments upon redemption as described in sub-section (c) above, shall be made after deduction and payment of any and all amounts required to be withheld in accordance with any applicable tax laws or other laws, rules or regulations. PFPC shall (i) mail to the Fund’s shareholders such tax forms and other information, or permissible substitute notice, relating to dividends and distributions paid by the Fund as are required to be filed and mailed by applicable law, rule or regulation; and (ii) prepare, maintain and file with the IRS and other appropriate taxing authorities reports relating to all dividends by
-10-
the Fund paid to its shareholders (above threshold amounts stipulated by applicable law) as required by tax or other laws, rules or regulations; provided, however, notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 12(d) or this Agreement: (A) PFPC’s exclusive obligation with respect to any written statement that Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act may require to be issued with respect to the Fund shall be, upon receipt of specific Written Instructions to such effect, to receive from the Fund the information which is to be printed on the statement, to print such information on appropriate paper stock and to mail such statement to shareholders, and (B) PFPC’s sole obligation with respect to any dividend or distribution that Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act may require be accompanied by such a written statement shall be to act strictly in accordance with the first two sentences of this Section 12(d).
(e) Shareholder Account Services. PFPC may arrange, in accordance with the prospectus:
(i) for issuance of Shares obtained through:
(A) Any pre-authorized check plan; and
(B) Direct purchases through broker wire orders, checks and applications.
(ii) for a shareholder’s:
(A) Exchange of Shares for shares of another fund with which the Fund has exchange privileges;
(B) Automatic redemption from an account where that shareholder participates in an automatic redemption plan; and/or
(C) Redemption of Shares from an account with a checkwriting privilege.
(f) Communications to Shareholders. Upon timely Written Instructions, PFPC shall mail all communications by the Fund to its shareholders, including:
(i) Reports to shareholders;
(ii) Confirmations of purchases and sales of Fund shares;
(iii) Monthly or quarterly statements;
(iv) Dividend and distribution notices; and
(v) Tax form information.
(g) Records. PFPC shall maintain records of the accounts for each shareholder showing the following information:
-11-
(i) Name, address and United States Tax Identification or Social Security number;
(ii) Number and class of Shares held and number and class of Shares for which certificates, if any, have been issued, including certificate numbers and denominations;
(iii) Historical information regarding the account of each shareholder, including dividends and distributions paid and the date and price for all transactions on a shareholder’s account;
(iv) Any stop or restraining order placed against a shareholder’s account;
(v) Any correspondence relating to the current maintenance of a shareholder’s account;
(vi) Information with respect to withholdings; and
(vii) Any information required in order for PFPC to perform any calculations required by this Agreement.
(h) Lost or Stolen Certificates. PFPC shall place a stop notice against any certificate reported to be lost or stolen and comply with all applicable federal regulatory requirements for reporting such loss or alleged misappropriation. A new certificate shall be registered and issued only upon:
(i) The shareholder’s pledge of a lost instrument bond or such other appropriate indemnity bond issued by a surety company approved by PFPC; and
(ii) Completion of a release and indemnification agreement signed by the shareholder to protect PFPC and its Affiliates.
(i) Shareholder Inspection of Stock Records. Upon a request from any Fund shareholder to inspect stock records, PFPC will notify the Fund and the Fund will issue instructions granting or denying each such request. Unless PFPC has acted contrary to the Fund’s instructions, the Fund agrees to and does hereby release PFPC from any liability for refusal of permission for a particular shareholder to inspect the Fund’s stock records.
(j) Withdrawal of Shares and Cancellation of Certificates. Upon receipt of Written Instructions, PFPC shall cancel outstanding certificates surrendered by the Fund to reduce the total amount of outstanding shares by the number of shares surrendered by the Fund.
(k) Lost Shareholders. PFPC shall perform such services as are required in order to comply with Rule 17Ad-17 of the 1934 Act (the “Lost Shareholder Rule”), including, but not limited to, those set forth below. PFPC may, in its sole discretion, use the services of a third party to perform some of or all such services.
(i) documentation of search policies and procedures;
-12-
(ii) execution of required searches;
(iii) tracking results and maintaining data sufficient to comply with the Lost Shareholder Rule; and
(iv) preparation and submission of data required under the Lost Shareholder Rule.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, PFPC shall have no duty or obligation under this Section 12(k) to perform any services described in this Section 12(k) on any shareholder accounts which are broker-controlled accounts or omnibus accounts or are accounts which otherwise contain insufficient information to permit PFPC to identify and depict “RPO” status or otherwise perform the described services for persons holding through such accounts. Except as set forth above, PFPC shall have no responsibility for any escheatment services.
(l) Retirement Plans and Educational Savings Accounts.
(i) In connection with Traditional, SEP, Xxxx, and SIMPLE individual retirement accounts (“XXX accounts”), 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, money purchase and profit sharing plans and Single Participant “k” plan accounts (“Qualified Plans”) (collectively, the “Retirement Plans”) and Xxxxxxxxx educational savings accounts (“ESA Accounts”) all within the meaning of Section 408, 403(b)(7), 401, and 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) sponsored by the Fund for which contributions of the Fund’s shareholders (the “Participants”) are invested solely in Shares of the Fund, PFPC shall provide the following administrative services:
(A) Establish a record of types and reasons for distributions (i.e., attainment of age 59-1/2, disability, death, return of excess contributions, etc.);
(B) Record method of distribution requested and/or made;
(C) Receive and process designation of beneficiary forms requests;
(D) Examine and process requests for direct transfers between custodians/trustees; transfer and pay over to the successor assets in the account and records pertaining thereto as requested;
(E) Prepare any annual reports or returns required to be prepared and/or filed by a custodian of a Retirement Plan and ESA Accounts, including, but not limited to, an annual fair market value report, Forms 1099R and 5498; and file same with the Internal Revenue Service and provide same to Participant/Beneficiary, as applicable; and
-13-
(F) Perform applicable federal withholding and send Participants/Beneficiaries an annual TEFRA notice regarding required federal tax withholding.
(ii) PFPC shall arrange for PFPC Trust Company to serve as custodian for the Retirement Plans sponsored by the Fund.
(iii) With respect to the Retirement Plans, PFPC shall provide the Fund with the associated Retirement Plan documents for use by the Fund and PFPC shall be responsible for the maintenance of such documents in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(m) Print Mail. The Fund hereby engages PFPC as its exclusive print/mail service provider with respect to those items and for such fees as may be agreed to from time to time in writing by the Fund and PFPC.
(n) Proxy Advantage. The Fund hereby engages PFPC as its exclusive proxy solicitation service provider with respect to those items and for such fees as may be agreed to from time to time in writing by the Fund and PFPC.
13. Privacy. Each party hereto acknowledges and agrees that, subject to the reuse and re-disclosure provisions of Xxxxxxxxxx X-X, 00 XXX Part 248.11, it shall not disclose the non-public personal information of investors in the Fund obtained under this Agreement, except as necessary to carry out the services set forth in this Agreement or as otherwise permitted by law or regulation.
14. Anti-Money Laundering.
(a) To the extent the other provisions of this Agreement require PFPC to establish, maintain and monitor accounts of investors in the Fund consistent with securities laws, PFPC shall perform reasonable actions necessary to help the Fund be in compliance with Section 352 of the USA PATRIOT Act, as follows: PFPC shall: (a) establish and implement written internal policies, procedures and controls reasonably designed to help prevent the Fund from being used to launder money or finance terrorist activities; (b) provide for independent testing, by an employee who is not responsible for the operation of PFPC’s anti-money laundering (“AML”) program or by an outside party, for compliance with PFPC’s established AML policies and procedures; (c) designate a person or persons responsible for implementing and monitoring the operation and internal controls of PFPC’s AML program; and (d) provide ongoing training of PFPC personnel relating to the prevention of money-laundering activities.
(b) Upon the reasonable request of the Fund, PFPC shall provide to the Fund: (x) a copy of PFPC’s written AML policies and procedures (it being understood such information is to be considered confidential and treated as such and afforded all protections provided to confidential information under this Agreement); (y) at the option of PFPC, a copy of a written assessment or report prepared by the party performing the independent testing for compliance, or a summary thereof, or a certification that the findings of the independent party are satisfactory;
-14-
and (z) a summary of the AML training provided for appropriate PFPC personnel. PFPC agrees to permit inspections relating to its AML program by U.S. Federal departments or regulatory agencies with appropriate jurisdiction and to make available to examiners from such departments or regulatory agencies such information and records relating to its AML program as such examiners shall reasonably request.
(c) Without limiting or expanding the foregoing, the parties agree the provisions in this Section 14 relate only to Section 352 of the USA PATRIOT Act and do not apply other sections, including Section 326, of the USA PATRIOT Act or regulations promulgated thereunder.
15. Foreign Account Due Diligence.
(a) To help the Fund comply with its requirements to establish and implement a due diligence program for “foreign financial institution” accounts (which the Fund is required to have under regulations issued under Section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act), PFPC will do the following:
(i) Implement and operate a due diligence program that includes appropriate, specific, risk-based policies, procedures and controls that are reasonably designed to enable the Fund to detect and report, on an ongoing basis, any known or suspected money laundering activity conducted through or involving any correspondent account established, maintained, administered or managed by the Fund for a “foreign financial institution” (as defined in 31 CFR 103.175(h))(“Foreign Financial Institution”);
(ii) Conduct due diligence to identify and detect any Foreign Financial Institution accounts in connection with new accounts and account maintenance;
(iii) Assess the money laundering risk presented by each such Foreign Financial Institution account, based on a consideration of all appropriate relevant factors (as generally outlined in 31 CFR 103.176), and assign a risk category to each such Foreign Financial Institution account;
(iv) Apply risk-based procedures and controls to each such Foreign Financial Institution account reasonably designed to detect and report known or suspected money laundering activity, including a periodic review of the Foreign Financial Institution account activity sufficient to determine consistency with information obtained about the type, purpose and anticipated activity of the account;
(v) Include procedures to be followed in circumstances in which the appropriate due diligence cannot be performed with respect to a Foreign Financial Institution account;
-15-
(vi) Adopt and operate enhanced due diligence policies for certain Foreign Financial Institution accounts in compliance with 31 CFR 103.176(b);
(vii) Record due diligence program and maintain due diligence records relating to Foreign Financial Institution accounts; and
(viii) Report to the Fund about measures taken under (i)-(vii) above.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, and without expanding the scope of the express language in this Section 15, PFPC need not complete any due diligence beyond the requirements of the relevant Foreign Financial Institution due diligence program regulations and PFPC need not perform any task that need not be performed for the Fund to be in compliance with relevant Foreign Financial Institution due diligence program regulations.
(c) Without limiting or expanding the foregoing, the parties agree the provisions in this Section 15 relate only to Section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act and do not apply to other sections, including Section 326, of the USA PATRIOT Act or regulations promulgated thereunder.
16. Customer Identification Program (“CIP”) Services.
(a) To help the Fund comply with its Customer Identification Program (which the Fund is required to have under regulations issued under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act) PFPC will do the following:
(i) Implement procedures under which new accounts in the Fund are not established unless PFPC has obtained the name, date of birth (for natural persons only), address and government-issued identification number (collectively, the “Data Elements”) for each corresponding “Customer” (as defined in 31 CFR 103.131).
(ii) Use collected Data Elements to attempt to reasonably verify the identity of each new Customer promptly before or after each corresponding new account is opened. Methods of verification may consist of non-documentary methods (for which PFPC may use unaffiliated information vendors to assist with such verifications) and documentary methods (as permitted by 31 CFR 103.131), and may include procedures under which PFPC personnel perform enhanced due diligence to verify the identities of Customers the identities of whom were not successfully verified through the first-level (which will typically be reliance on results obtained from an information vendor) verification process(es).
(iii) Record the Data Elements and maintain records relating to verification of new Customers consistent with 31 CFR 103.131(b)(3).
-16-
(iv) Regularly report to the Fund about measures taken under (a)-(c) above.
(v) If PFPC provides services by which prospective Customers may subscribe for shares in the Fund via the Internet or telephone, work with the Fund to notify prospective Customers, consistent with 31 CFR 103.131(b)(5), about the Fund’s CIP.
(vi) Set forth on a separate fee schedule compensation amounts due for these CIP Services.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, and without expanding the scope of the express language in this Section 16, PFPC need not collect the Data Elements for (or verify) prospective customers (or accounts) beyond the requirements of relevant customer identification program regulations (for example, PFPC will not verify customers opening accounts through NSCC) and PFPC need not perform any task that need not be performed for the Fund to be in compliance with relevant customer identification program regulations.
(c) PFPC agrees to permit inspections relating to the CIP Services provided hereunder by U.S. Federal departments or regulatory agencies with appropriate jurisdiction and to make available to examiners from such departments or regulatory agencies such information and records relating to the CIP Services provided hereunder as such examiners shall reasonably request.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, PFPC need not perform any of the steps described in this Section 16 with respect to persons purchasing Shares via exchange privileges.
17. Duration and Termination.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective on the date first written above and unless terminated pursuant to its terms shall continue for a period of three (3) years (the “Initial Term”).
(b) Upon the expiration of the Initial Term, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive terms of one (1) year (“Renewal Terms”) each, unless the Fund or PFPC provides written notice to the other of its intent not to renew. Such notice must be received not less than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or the then current Renewal Term.
(c) If a party hereto is guilty of a material failure to perform its duties and obligations hereunder (a “Defaulting Party”) the other party (the “Non-Defaulting Party”) may give written notice thereof to the Defaulting Party, and if such material breach shall not have been remedied within thirty (30) days after such written notice is given, then the Non-Defaulting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving thirty (30) days written notice of such termination to the Defaulting Party. In all cases, termination by the Non-Defaulting Party shall not constitute a waiver by the Non-Defaulting Party of any other rights it might have under this Agreement or otherwise against the Defaulting Party.
-17-
(d) Upon any termination or expiration of the Agreement, PFPC shall undertake all reasonable efforts as promptly as practicable upon receiving the written request of the Fund to facilitate the conversion and transfer of the Fund’s data to the Fund’s successor service provider; provided, however, unless the cessation of services hereunder occurs by virtue of Section 17(c) and PFPC is the Defaulting Party, the Fund shall pay to PFPC, prior to the completion of such conversion if so requested by PFPC, all reasonable fees and charges imposed by PFPC with respect to the conversion services at commercially reasonable rates.
18. Policies and Procedures. The parties acknowledge that the services described in and to be provided under this Agreement involve processes, actions, functions, instructions, consents, choices, the exercise of rights or performance of obligations, communications and other components, both internal to PFPC and interactive between the parties, necessitated or made appropriate by business or by legal or regulatory considerations, or both, that in most cases are far too numerous and minutely detailed to expressly include in this Agreement and that, accordingly, the parties agree that PFPC shall perform the services provided for in this Agreement in accordance with the written policies, procedures, manuals, documentation and other operational guidelines of PFPC governing the services in effect at the time the services are performed (“written procedures” for purposes of this Section 18) and that such written procedures are expressly intended to supplement the description of services provided for herein, but that the express terms of this Agreement will always prevail in any conflict with PFPC’s written procedures.
19. Notices.
(a) Notices shall be addressed:
(i) if to PFPC, as follows: PFPC Inc., 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: President, with a copy to PFPC Inc., 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Senior Counsel – TA & SubAccounting (or such other address or addressee as PFPC may inform the Fund in writing);
(ii) if to the Fund, at IndexIQ Trust, 000 Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx X000, Xxx Xxxxx, XX 00000, Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx (or such other address as the Fund may inform PFPC in writing) or
(iii) if to neither of the foregoing, at such other address as shall have been given by like notice to the sender of any such notice or other communication by the other party.
(b) Notices shall be delivered: by hand (personal delivery by the Authorized Person to addressee); private messenger, with signature of recipient; U.S. Postal Service (with return receipt or other delivery verification provided); overnight national courier service, with signature of recipient, tested telegram, cable, telex or facsimile sending device providing for automatic confirmation of receipt. If notice is sent by confirming telegram, cable, telex or facsimile sending device, it shall be deemed to have been given immediately upon receipt. If notice is sent by any other permitted means, it shall be deemed to have been given on the day it is received by the receiving party.
-18-
20. Amendments. This Agreement, or any term thereof, may be changed or waived only by a written amendment, signed by the party against whom enforcement of such change or waiver is sought; provided, however, Exhibit A may be amended only by a writing signed by both parties hereto, PFPC shall have no duties, responsibilities or liabilities with respect to an investment portfolio of the Fund not listed on the Exhibit A dated June 30, 2008 unless and until PFPC shall enter into an amendment to Exhibit A containing such portfolio, and PFPC may for valid business reasons decline to accept some or all of the duties, responsibilities and liabilities hereunder with respect to additional portfolios.
21. Delegation; Assignment. PFPC may assign its rights and delegate its duties hereunder to any majority-owned direct or indirect subsidiary of PFPC or of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., provided that PFPC gives the Fund thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of such assignment or delegation. To the extent required by the rules and regulations of the NSCC and in order for PFPC to perform the NSCC-related services, the Fund agrees that PFPC may delegate its duties to any Affiliate of PFPC that is a member of the NSCC.
22. Facsimile Signatures; Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one more counterparts; such execution of counterparts may occur by manual signature, facsimile signature, manual signature transmitted by means of facsimile transmission or manual signature contained in an imaged document attached to an email transmission; and each such counterpart executed in accordance with the foregoing shall be deemed an original, with all such counterparts together constituting one and the same instrument. The exchange of executed copies of this Agreement or of executed signature pages to this Agreement by facsimile transmission or as an imaged document attached to an email transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery hereof and may be used for all purposes in lieu of a manually executed copy of this Agreement.
23. Further Actions. Each party agrees to perform such further acts and execute such further documents as are necessary to effectuate the purposes hereof.
24. Miscellaneous.
(a) Entire Agreement. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof, provided that the parties may embody in one or more separate documents their agreement, if any, with respect to delegated duties.
(b) Non-Solicitation. During the term of this Agreement and for one year thereafter, the Fund shall not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or hire any of PFPC’s employees, and the Fund shall cause the Fund’s sponsor and the Fund’s Affiliates to not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or hire any of PFPC’s employees. To “knowingly” solicit, recruit or hire within the meaning of this provision does not include, and therefore does not prohibit, solicitation, recruitment or hiring of a PFPC employee
-19-
by the Fund, the Fund’s sponsor or an Affiliate of the Fund if the PFPC employee was identified by such entity solely as a result of the PFPC employee’s response to a general advertisement by such entity in a publication of trade or industry interest or other similar general solicitation by such entity.
(c) No Changes that Materially Affect Obligations. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Fund agrees not to make any modifications to its registration statement or adopt any policies which would affect materially the obligations or responsibilities of PFPC hereunder without the prior written approval of PFPC, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The scope of services to be provided by PFPC under this Agreement shall not be increased as a result of new or revised regulatory or other requirements that may become applicable with respect to the Fund, unless the parties hereto expressly agree in writing to any such increase.
(d) Captions. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.
(e) Information. The Fund will provide such information and documentation as PFPC may reasonably request in connection with services provided by PFPC to the Fund.
(f) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be deemed to be a contract made in Delaware and governed by Delaware law, without regard to principles of conflicts of law.
(g) Partial Invalidity. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
(h) Parties in Interest. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Except as may be explicitly stated in this Agreement, (i) this Agreement is not for the benefit of any other person or entity and (ii) there shall be no third party beneficiaries hereof.
(i) No Representations or Warranties. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, PFPC hereby disclaims all representations and warranties, express or implied, made to the Fund or any other person, including, without limitation, any warranties regarding quality, suitability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or otherwise (irrespective of any course of dealing, custom or usage of trade), of any services or any goods provided incidental to services provided under this Agreement. PFPC disclaims any warranty of title or non-infringement except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement.
(j) Customer Identification Program Notice. To help the U.S. government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, U.S. Federal law requires each financial institution to obtain, verify, and record certain information that identifies each person who initially opens an account with that financial institution on or after October 1, 2003. Certain of
-20-
PFPC’s Affiliates are financial institutions, and PFPC may, as a matter of policy, request (or may have already requested) the Fund’s name, address and taxpayer identification number or other government-issued identification number, and, if such party is a natural person, that party’s date of birth. PFPC may also ask (and may have already asked) for additional identifying information, and PFPC may take steps (and may have already taken steps) to verify the authenticity and accuracy of these data elements.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the day and year first above written.
PFPC INC. |
|
|||
By: |
|
|
By: |
|
Name: |
|
|
Name: |
|
Title: |
|
|
Title: |
|
-21-
EXHIBIT A
(Dated: June 30, 2008)
THIS EXHIBIT A is Exhibit A to that certain Transfer Agency Services Agreement effective June 30, 2008, between PFPC Inc. and IndexIQ Trust.
Portfolios
IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy Fund
-22-
APPENDIX A
Definitions
As used in this Agreement:
(a) |
“1933 Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
(b) |
“1934 Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. |
(c) |
“Affiliate” means , when used with respect to any person, any other person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such person. A person shall be deemed to control another person if such person possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such other person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise. |
(d) |
“Authorized Person” means any officer of the Fund and any other person duly authorized by the Fund in a manner reasonably satisfactory to PFPC to give Oral Instructions or Written Instructions on behalf of the Fund. An Authorized Person’s scope of authority may be limited by setting forth such limitation in a written document signed by both parties hereto. |
(e) |
“Oral Instructions” means oral instructions received by PFPC from an Authorized Person or from a person reasonably believed by PFPC to be an Authorized Person. PFPC may, in its sole discretion in each separate instance, consider and rely upon instructions it receives from an Authorized Person via electronic mail as Oral Instructions. |
(f) |
“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
(g) |
“Securities Laws” means the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and the 1940 Act. |
(h) |
“Shares” means the shares of beneficial interest of any series or class of the Fund. |
(i) |
“Written Instructions” means (i) written instructions signed by an Authorized Person (or a person reasonably believed by PFPC to be an Authorized Person), addressed to and received by PFPC, and delivered by hand (personally delivery by the Authorized Person), private messenger, U.S. Postal Service, overnight national courier service, tested telegram, cable, telex or facsimile sending device providing for automatic confirmation of receipt, or (ii) trade instructions transmitted to and received by PFPC by means of an electronic transaction reporting system which requires use of a password or other authorized identifier in order to gain access. |
-23-