TAX-FREE FUND OF COLORADO
SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT, made as of June 29, 1998 by and between
AQUILA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (the "Manager"), 000 Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, and KPM INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT, INC. (the "Sub-Adviser"), One Norwest Center, 0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxx, XX 00000.
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, Tax-Free Fund of Colorado (the "Fund") is a
Massachusetts business trust which is registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") as an open-end, non-
diversified management investment company;
WHEREAS, the Manager has entered into an Advisory and
Administration Agreement as of the date hereof with the Fund (the
"Advisory and Administration Agreement") pursuant to which the
Manager shall act as investment adviser with respect to the Fund;
WHEREAS, pursuant to paragraph 2 of the Advisory and
Administration Agreement, the Manager wishes to retain the Sub-
Adviser for purposes of rendering investment advisory services to
the Manager in connection with the Fund upon the terms and
conditions hereinafter set forth;
WHEREAS, on the date of this Agreement, payments are being
made as contemplated by the Distribution Plan (the "Current
Distribution Plan") in effect on that date, which plan has been
approved by shareholders of the Fund on June 8, 1994 and has been
amended by the Board of the Trustees from time to time in a
manner consistent with the requirements of the Investment Company
Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") and rules thereunder;
WHEREAS, on June 7, 1995 shareholders of the Fund have also
approved, but the Fund has not implemented, another Distribution
Plan (the "New Distribution Plan") which has been amended by the
Board of the Trustees from time to time in a manner consistent
with the requirements of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder; and
WHEREAS, the fee payable to the Sub-Adviser is to be reduced
at such time as the New Distribution Plan is implemented, which
implementation requires approval of the Board of Trustees of the
Fund;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and
agreements herein contained and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the
parties hereto agree as follows:
1. In General
The Manager hereby appoints the Sub-Adviser to render, to
the Manager and to the Fund, investment research and advisory
services as set forth below under the supervision of the Manager
and subject to the approval and direction of the Board of
Trustees of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser shall, all as more fully
set forth herein, act as managerial investment adviser to the
Fund with respect to the investment of the Fund's assets, and
supervise and arrange the purchase of securities for and the sale
of securities held in the portfolio of the Fund.
2. Duties and Obligations of the Sub-Adviser With Respect To
Investment of the Assets of the Fund
(a) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section and
subject to the direction and control of the Manager and the Board
of Trustees of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(i) supervise continuously the investment program of the
Fund and the composition of its portfolio;
(ii) determine what securities shall be purchased or sold by
the Fund;
(iii) arrange for the purchase and the sale of securities
held in the portfolio of the Fund;
(iv) at its expense provide for pricing of the Fund's
portfolio daily using a pricing service or other source of
pricing information satisfactory to the Fund and, unless
otherwise directed by the Board of Trustees, provide for
pricing of the Fund's portfolio at least quarterly using
another such source satisfactory to the Fund; and
(v) consult with the Manager in connection with its duties
hereunder.
(b) Any investment program furnished by the Sub-Adviser
under this section shall at all times conform to, and be in
accordance with, any requirements imposed by: (1) the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") and any rules or regulations in
force thereunder; (2) any other applicable laws, rules and
regulations; (3) the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws of the Fund
as amended from time to time; (4) any policies and determinations
of the Board of Trustees of the Fund; and (5) the fundamental
policies of the Fund, as reflected in its registration statement
under the Act or as amended by the shareholders of the Fund.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall give to the Manager and to the
Fund the benefit of its best judgment and effort in rendering
services hereunder, but the Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for
any loss sustained by reason of the adoption of any investment
policy or the purchase, sale or retention of any security,
whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been
based upon (i) its own investigation and research or (ii)
investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or
corporation, if such purchase, sale or retention shall have been
made and such other individual, firm or corporation shall have
been selected in good faith by the Sub-Adviser.
(d) Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Sub-Adviser
or any affiliated person (as defined in the Act) of the Sub-
Adviser from acting as investment adviser or manager for any
other person, firm or corporation and shall not in any way limit
or restrict the Sub-Adviser or any such affiliated person from
buying, selling or trading any securities for its own or their
own accounts or for the accounts of others for whom it or they
may be acting, provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser expressly
represents that, while acting as Sub-Adviser, it will undertake
no activities which, in its judgment, will adversely affect the
performance of its obligations to the Fund under this Agreement.
(e) In connection with its duties to arrange for the
purchase and sale of the Fund's portfolio securities, the Sub-
Adviser shall select such broker-dealers ("dealers") as shall, in
the Sub-Adviser's judgment, implement the policy of the Fund to
achieve "best execution," i.e., prompt, efficient, and reliable
execution of orders at the most favorable net price. The Sub-
Adviser shall cause the Fund to deal directly with the selling or
purchasing principal or market maker without incurring brokerage
commissions unless the Sub-Adviser determines that better price
or execution may be obtained by paying such commissions; the Fund
expects that most transactions will be principal transactions at
net prices and that the Fund will incur little or no brokerage
costs. The Fund understands that purchases from underwriters
include a commission or concession paid by the issuer to the
underwriter and that principal transactions placed through
dealers include a spread between the bid and asked prices. In
allocating transactions to dealers, the Sub-Adviser is authorized
to consider, in determining whether a particular dealer will
provide best execution, the dealer's reliability, integrity,
financial condition and risk in positioning the securities
involved, as well as the difficulty of the transaction in
question, and thus need not pay the lowest spread or commission
available if the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that the
amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of
the brokerage and research services provided by the dealer,
viewed either in terms of the particular transaction or the Sub-
Adviser's overall responsibilities. If, on the foregoing basis,
the transaction in question could be allocated to two or more
dealers, the Sub-Adviser is authorized, in making such
allocation, to consider (i) whether a dealer has provided
research services, as further discussed below; and (ii) whether a
dealer has sold shares of the Fund. Such research may be in
written form or through direct contact with individuals and may
include quotations on portfolio securities and information on
particular issuers and industries, as well as on market,
economic, or institutional activities. The Fund recognizes that
no dollar value can be placed on such research services or on
execution services and that such research services may or may not
be useful to the Fund and may be used for the benefit of the Sub-
Adviser or its other clients.
(f) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain, and to preserve for
the periods prescribed, such books and records with respect to
the portfolio transactions of the Fund as are required by
applicable law and regulation, and agrees that all records which
it maintains for the Fund on behalf of the Manager shall be the
property of the Fund and shall be surrendered promptly to the
Fund or the Manager upon request.
(g) The Sub-Adviser agrees to furnish to the Manager and to
the Board of Trustees of the Fund such periodic and special
reports as each may reasonably request.
(h) It is agreed that the Sub-Adviser shall have no
responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of
the Fund's Registration Statement under the Act and the
Securities Act of 1933, except for information supplied by the
Sub-Adviser for inclusion therein. The Sub-Adviser shall
promptly inform the Fund as to any information concerning the
Sub-Adviser appropriate for inclusion in such Registration
Statement, or as to any transaction or proposed transaction which
might result in an assignment (as defined in the Act) of this
Agreement.
(i) The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error in
judgment or for any loss suffered by the Fund or its security
holders in connection with the matters to which this Agreement
relates, except a loss resulting from wilful misfeasance, bad
faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its
duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and
duties under this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall, or
shall be construed to, waive or limit any rights which the Fund
may have under federal and state securities laws which may impose
liability under certain circumstances on persons who act in good
faith.
(j) To the extent that the Manager is indemnified under the
Fund's Declaration of Trust with respect to the services provided
hereunder by the Sub-Adviser, the Manager agrees to provide the
Sub-Adviser the benefits of such indemnification.
3. Allocation of Expenses
The Sub-Adviser shall bear all of the expenses it incurs in
fulfilling its obligations under this Agreement. In particular,
but without limiting the generality of the foregoing: the Sub-
Adviser shall furnish, at the Sub-Adviser's expense, all office
space, facilities, equipment and clerical personnel necessary for
carrying out its duties under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser
shall supply, or cause to be supplied, to any investment adviser,
administrator or principal underwriter of the Fund all necessary
financial information in connection with such adviser's,
administrator's or principal underwriter's duties under any
agreement between such adviser, administrator or principal
underwriter and the Fund. The Sub-Adviser will also pay all
compensation of the Fund's officers, employees, and Trustees, if
any, who are affiliated persons of the Sub-Adviser.
4. Compensation of the Sub-Adviser
The Manager agrees to pay the Sub-Adviser, and the Sub-
Adviser agrees to accept as full compensation for all services
rendered by the Sub-Adviser as such, a management fee payable
monthly and computed on the net asset value of the Fund as of the
close of business each business day at the annual rate of 0.20 of
1% of such net asset value; provided, however, that for any day
that the Fund pays or accrues a fee under the part of the
Distribution Plan which applies only to the Front-Payment Class
("Class A") of shares of the Fund (regardless of whether such
class is so designated or is redesignated by some other name),
the annual management fee shall be payable as follows:
(a) on any day that such fee under the Current Distribution
Plan is paid or accrued then the management fee shall be
payable at the annual rate of 0.20 of 1% of such net asset
value up to $250 million and at the annual rate of 0.16 of
1% of such net asset value above that amount; and
(b) on any day that such fee under the Distribution Plan is
paid or accrued under the New Distribution Plan, then the
management fee shall be payable at the annual rate of 0.16
of 1% of such net asset value.
5. Duration and Termination
(a) This Agreement shall become effective on the day it is
approved by the shareholders of the Fund and shall, unless
terminated as hereinafter provided, continue in effect until the
April 30 next preceding the first anniversary of the effective
date of this Agreement, and from year to year thereafter, but
only so long as such continuance is specifically approved at
least annually (1) by a vote of the Fund's Board of Trustees,
including a vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not
parties to this Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in
the Act) of any such party, with votes cast in person at a
meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, or (2)
by a vote of the holders of a "majority" (as so defined) of the
outstanding voting securities of the Fund and by such a vote of
the Trustees.
(b) This Agreement may be terminated by the Sub-Adviser at
any time without penalty upon giving the Manager and the Fund
sixty days' written notice (which notice may be waived). This
Agreement may be terminated by the Manager or the Fund at any
time without penalty upon giving the Sub-Adviser sixty days'
written notice (which notice may be waived by the Sub-Adviser),
provided that such termination by the Fund shall be directed or
approved by a vote of a majority of its Trustees in office at the
time or by a vote of the holders of a majority (as defined in the
Act) of the voting securities of the Fund outstanding and
entitled to vote. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in
the event of its assignment (as defined in the Act) or the
termination of the Advisory and Administration Agreement.
6. Notices of Meetings
The Manager agrees that notice of each meeting of the Board
of Trustees of the Fund will be sent to the Sub-Adviser and that
Sub-Adviser will make appropriate arrangements for the attendance
(as persons present by invitation) of such person or persons as
the Sub-Adviser may designate.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused the
foregoing instrument to be executed by their duly authorized
officers and their seals to be hereunto affixed, all as of the
day and year first above written.
ATTEST: AQUILA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
By:
ATTEST: KPM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.
By
