DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
between
BEARGUARD FUNDS, INC.
and
XXXXXXXX CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of __________, 1999,
between Bearguard Funds, Inc. ("Fund"), a corporation
organized and existing under the laws of Maryland, and
Xxxxxxxx Capital Markets, Inc. ("RCM"), a corporation
organized and existing under the laws of the State of
New York.
WHEREAS, the Fund is registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940
Act"), as an open-end management investment company,
and has registered one or more distinct series and/or
classes of shares of common stock ("Shares") for sale
to the public under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended ("1933 Act"), and has qualified its shares for
sale to the public under various state securities laws;
and
WHEREAS, the Fund desires to retain RCM as
principal underwriter in connection with the offering
and sale of the Shares of each series listed on
Schedule A (as amended from time to time) to this
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement has been approved by a
vote of the Fund's board of directors ("Board") and its
disinterested directors in conformity with Section
15(c) under the 1940 Act; and
WHEREAS, RCM is willing to act as principal
underwriter for the Fund on the terms and conditions
hereinafter set forth;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises
and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed
between the parties hereto as follows:
1. Appointment. The Fund hereby appoints
RCM as its agent to be the principal underwriter so as
to hold itself out as available to receive and accept
orders for the purchase and redemption of the Shares on
behalf of the Fund, subject to the terms and for the
period set forth in this Agreement. RCM hereby accepts
such appointment and agrees to act hereunder. The Fund
understands that any active solicitation activities
conducted on behalf of the Fund will be conducted
primarily, if not exclusively, by employees of the
Fund's sponsor who shall become registered
representatives of RCM.
2. Services and Duties of RCM.
(a) RCM agrees to sell Shares on a best
efforts basis from time to time during the term of this
Agreement as agent for the Fund and upon the terms
described in the Registration Statement. As used in
this Agreement, the term "Registration Statement" shall
mean the currently effective registration statement of
the Fund, and any supplements thereto, under the 1933
Act and the 0000 Xxx.
(b) RCM will hold itself available to
receive purchase and redemption orders satisfactory to
RCM for Shares and will accept such orders on behalf of
the Fund. Such purchase orders shall be deemed
effective at the time and in the manner set forth in
the Registration Statement.
(c) RCM, with the operational assistance of
the Fund's transfer agent, shall make Shares available
through the National Securities Clearing Corporation's
Fund/SERV System.
(d) RCM shall provide to investors and
potential investors only such information regarding the
Fund as the Fund shall provide or approve. RCM shall
review and file in a reasonably prompt manner all
proposed advertisements and sales literature with
appropriate regulators and consult with the Fund
regarding any comments provided by regulators with
respect to such materials. No employee of RCM shall
make any oral statements or representations regarding
the Fund, provided, however, that this provision shall
not apply to any registered representative who is an
employee of the Fund's sponsor.
(e) The offering price of the Shares shall
be the price determined in accordance with, and in the
manner set forth in, the most-current Prospectus. The
Fund shall make available to RCM a statement of each
computation of net asset value and the details of
entering into such computation.
(f) RCM at its sole discretion may
repurchase Shares offered for sale by the shareholders.
Repurchase of Shares by RCM shall be at the price
determined in accordance with, and in the manner set
forth in, the most-current Prospectus. At the end of
each business day, RCM shall notify, by any appropriate
means, the Fund and its transfer agent of the orders
for repurchase of Shares received by RCM since the last
such report, the amount to be paid for such Shares, and
the identity of the shareholders offering Shares for
repurchase. RCM reserves the right either to
repurchase such Shares or to act as agent for the Fund
to receive and transmit promptly to the Fund's transfer
agent shareholder requests for redemption of Shares.
(g) RCM shall not be obligated to sell any
certain number of Shares.
(h) In connection with the distribution
services provided hereunder and with respect to any
payments received under a Rule 12b-1 Plan, RCM shall
prepare reports for the Board regarding its activities
under this Agreement as from time to time shall be
reasonably requested by the Board and conduct its
activities in accordance with such Plan.
(i) RCM shall in all material respects
conform its activities hereunder to the requirements of
applicable state and federal laws and all applicable
rules of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. ("NASD").
3. Duties of the Fund.
(a) The Fund shall keep RCM fully informed
of its affairs and shall provide to RCM from time to
time copies of all information, financial statements,
and other papers that RCM
may reasonably request for
use in connection with the distribution of Shares,
including, without limitation, certified copies of any
financial statements prepared for the Fund by its
independent public accountant and such reasonable
number of copies of the most current Prospectus,
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"), and annual
and interim reports as RCM may request, and the Fund
shall fully cooperate in the efforts of RCM to sell and
arrange for the sale of Shares.
(b) The Fund shall maintain a currently
effective Registration Statement on Form N-1A with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"),
maintain qualification with applicable states and file
such reports and other documents as may be required
under applicable federal and state laws. The Fund
shall notify RCM in writing of the states in which the
Shares may be sold and shall notify RCM in writing of
any changes to such information. The Fund (or its
sponsor) shall bear all expenses related to preparing
and typesetting such Prospectuses, SAI and other
materials required by law and such other expenses,
including printing and mailing expenses, related to the
Fund's communication with persons who are shareholders.
(c) The Fund shall not use any
advertisements or other sales materials that have not
been (i) submitted to RCM for its review and approval,
and (ii) filed with the appropriate regulators.
(d) The Fund represents and warrants that
its Registration Statement and any advertisements and
sales literature (excluding statements relating to RCM
and the services it provides that are based upon
written information furnished by RCM expressly for
inclusion therein) of the Fund shall not contain any
untrue statement of material fact or omit to state any
material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading, and that all statements or information
furnished to RCM, pursuant to Section 3(a) hereof,
shall be true and correct in all material respects.
4. Other Broker-Dealers. RCM in its discretion
may enter into agreements to sell Shares to such
registered and qualified retail dealers, as reasonably
requested by the Fund. In making agreements with such
dealers, RCM shall act only as principal and not as
agent for the Fund and shall pay any compensation to
such persons. The form of any such dealer agreement
shall be mutually agreed upon and approved by the Fund
and RCM.
5. Withdrawal of Offering. The Fund reserves
the right at any time to withdraw all offerings of any
or all Shares by written notice to RCM at its principal
office. No Shares shall be offered by either RCM or
the Fund under any provisions of this Agreement and no
orders for the purchase or sale of Shares hereunder
shall be accepted by the Fund if and so long as
effectiveness of the Registration Statement then in
effect or any necessary amendments thereto shall be
suspended under any of the provisions of the 1933 Act,
or if and so long as a current prospectus as required
by Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act is not on file with
the SEC.
6. Services Not Exclusive. The services
furnished by RCM hereunder are not to be deemed
exclusive and RCM shall be free to furnish similar
services to others so long as its services under this
Agreement are not impaired thereby.
7. Expenses of the Fund. The Fund (or its
sponsor) shall bear all costs and expenses of
registering the Shares with the SEC and state and other
regulatory bodies, and shall assume expenses related to
communications with shareholders of the Fund including,
but not limited to, (i) fees and disbursements of its
counsel and independent public accountant; (ii) the
preparation, filing, and printing of Registration
Statements and/or Prospectuses or SAIs; (iii) the
preparation and mailing of annual and interim reports,
Prospectuses, SAIs, and proxy materials to
shareholders; (iv) such other expenses related to the
communications with persons who are shareholders of the
Fund; and (v) the qualifications of Shares for sale
under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as
shall be selected by the Fund pursuant to Paragraph
3(b) hereof, and the costs and expenses payable to each
such jurisdiction for continuing qualification therein.
In addition, the Fund (or its sponsor) shall bear all
costs of preparing, printing, mailing and filing any
advertisements and sales literature. RCM does not
assume responsibility for any expenses not assumed in
this Agreement.
8. Compensation. Pursuant to the terms of the
Fund's Rule 12b-1 Plan, the Fund may pay RCM the fee
set forth in Schedule B to this Agreement.
9. Share Certificates. The Fund shall not issue
certificates representing Shares.
10. Status of RCM. RCM is an independent
contractor and shall be agent of the Fund only with
respect to the sale and redemption of Shares. RCM is a
duly licensed broker-dealer with the SEC and all
applicable state securities commissions, a member of
the NASD and authorized to sell shares of open-end
investment companies. Neither RCM or any "affiliated
person" (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) is ineligible
pursuant to Section 9 of the 1940 Act to serve as an
underwriter to any registered investment company.
11. Indemnification.
(a) The Fund agrees to indemnify, defend,
and hold RCM, its officers and directors, and any
person who controls RCM within the meaning of Section
15 of the 1933 Act, free and harmless from and against
any and all claims, demands, liabilities, and expenses
(including the cost of investigating or defending such
claims, demands, or liabilities and any reasonable
counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) that
RCM, its officers, directors, or any such controlling
person may incur under the 1933 Act, or under common
law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon any (i)
alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained
in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, SAI or sales
literature, (ii) alleged omission to state a material
fact required to be stated in the Registration
Statement, Prospectus, SAI or sales literature or
necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading, or (iii) failure by the Fund to comply with
any material terms of the Agreement; provided, that in
no event shall anything contained herein be so
construed as to protect RCM against any liability to
the Fund or its shareholders to which RCM would
otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance,
bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of
its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of
its obligations under this Agreement.
(b) The Fund shall not be liable to RCM
under this Agreement with respect to any claim made
against RCM or any person indemnified unless RCM or
other such person shall have notified the Fund in
writing of the claim within a reasonable time after the
summons or other first written notification giving
information of the nature of the claim shall have been
served upon
RCM or such other person (or after RCM or
the person shall have received notice of service on any
designated agent). However, failure to notify the Fund
of any claim shall not relieve the Fund from any
liability that it may have to RCM or any person against
whom such action is brought otherwise than on account
of this Agreement.
(c) The Fund shall be entitled to
participate at its own expense in the defense or, if it
so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to
enforce any claims subject to this Agreement. If the
Fund elects to assume the defense of any such claim,
the defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the
Fund and satisfactory to indemnified defendants in the
suit whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
In the event that the Fund elects to assume the defense
of any suit and retain counsel, the indemnified
defendants shall bear the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel retained by them. If the Fund does
not elect to assume the defense of a suit, it will
reimburse the indemnified defendants for the reasonable
fees and expenses of any counsel retained by the
indemnified defendants. The Fund agrees to promptly
notify RCM of the commencement of any litigation or
proceedings against it or any of its officers or
directors in connection with the issuance or sale of
any of its Shares.
(d) RCM agrees to indemnify, defend, and
hold the Fund, its officers and directors, and any
person who controls the Fund within the meaning of
Section 15 of the 1933 Act, free and harmless from and
against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, and
expenses (including the cost of investigating or
defending against such claims, demands, or liabilities
and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection
therewith) that the Fund, its directors or officers, or
any such controlling person may incur under the 1933
Act, or under common law or otherwise, resulting from
(i) RCM's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence in the performance of its obligations and
duties under this Agreement, (ii) arising out of or
based upon any alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in information furnished in writing by
RCM to the Fund for use in the Registration Statement,
Prospectus or SAI arising out of or based upon any
alleged omission to state a material fact in connection
with such information required to be stated in either
thereof or necessary to make such information not
misleading, or (iii) failure by RCM to comply with any
material terms of this Agreement.
(e) RCM shall be entitled to participate, at
its own expense, in the defense or, if it so elects, to
assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce the
claim, but if RCM elects to assume the defense, the
defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by RCM and
satisfactory to the indemnified defendants whose
approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the
event that RCM elects to assume the defense of any suit
and retain counsel, the defendants in the suit shall
bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel
retained by them. If RCM does not elect to assume the
defense of any suit, it will reimburse the indemnified
defendants in the suit for the reasonable fees and
expenses of any counsel retained by them. RCM agrees
to promptly notify the Fund of (i) the commencement of
any litigation or proceedings against it or any of its
personnel regarding the issuance or sale of its shares
of the Fund, or (ii) any regulatory inspection,
examination or proceeding materially affecting RCM's
ability to act as principal underwriter under this
Agreement.
12. Duration and Termination.
(a) This Agreement shall become effective on
the date first written above or such later date as
indicated in Schedule A and, unless sooner terminated
as provided herein, will continue in effect for two
years from the above written date. Thereafter, if not
terminated this Agreement shall continue in effect for
successive annual periods, provided that such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually
(i) by a vote of a majority of the Fund's Board who are
neither interested persons (as defined in the 0000 Xxx)
of the Fund ("Independent directors") or RCM, cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval, and (ii) by the Board or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the
Fund.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, this
Agreement may be terminated in its entirety at any
time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of
the Board, by vote of a majority of the Independent
directors, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities of the Fund on sixty days' written
notice to RCM or by RCM at any time, without the
payment of any penalty, on sixty days' written notice
to the Fund. This Agreement will automatically
terminate in the event of its "assignment" (within the
meaning of the 1940 Act).
13. Amendment of this Agreement. No provision of
this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged, or
terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing
signed by the party against which enforcement of the
change, waiver, discharge, or termination is sought.
This Agreement may be amended with the approval of the
Board or of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Fund; provided, that in either case,
such amendment also shall be approved by a majority of
the Independent directors.
14. Notice. Any notice required or permitted to
be given by either party to the other shall be deemed
sufficient upon receipt in writing at the other party's
principal offices.
15. Miscellaneous. 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. 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. This
Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective
successors. As used in this Agreement, the terms
"majority of the outstanding voting securities,"
"interested person," and "assignment" shall have the
same meaning as such terms have in the 1940 Act.
16. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
New York and the 1940 Act (without regard, however, to
the conflicts of law principles). To the extent that
the applicable laws of the State of New York conflict
with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the
latter shall control.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused
this Agreement to be executed by their officers
designated as of the day and year first above written.
BEARGUARD FUNDS, INC.
By:_________________________
Its:________________________
XXXXXXXX CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
By:_________________________
Its:________________________
SCHEDULE A
to the
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
between
BEARGUARD FUNDS, INC.
and
XXXXXXXX CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
Pursuant to section 1 of the Distribution
Agreement between Bearguard Funds, Inc. ("Fund") and
Xxxxxxxx Capital Markets, Inc. ("RCM"), the Fund hereby
appoints RCM as its agent to be the principal
underwriter of Fund with respect to its following
series:
Bearguard Fund
Investor Class
Institutional Class
Dated: ______ ____, 1999
SCHEDULE B
to the
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
between
BEARGUARD FUNDS, INC.
and
XXXXXXXX CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
As compensation pursuant to section 8 of the
Distribution Agreement between Bearguard Funds, Inc.
(the "Fund") and Xxxxxxxx Capital Markets, Inc.
("RCM"), the Fund shall pay to RCM the sum of:
1. an annual fee of $15,000 for the first series of
the Fund and $3,000 for each series or class thereafter
or .01% of the average daily net assets of each series
or class, computed daily and paid monthly, whichever is
greater;
2. the ongoing licensing fees and incidental costs of
those employees of the Fund's sponsor who are
designated by the Fund's sponsor to become registered
representatives of RCM;
3. the compensation, if any, paid by RCM to such
registered representatives in accordance with
compensation schedules, as agreed upon by RCM and the
Fund's sponsor from time to time;
4. the reasonable fees associated with listing and
maintaining shares on the National Securities Clearing
Corporation's Fund/SERV System;
5. incidental expenses associated with printing and
distributing advertising and sales literature, such as
filings with the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc.; and
6. any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including
travel expenses and retention of records.
In no event shall fees or expenses attributable to and
payable by the Fund's Investor Class under this
Agreement exceed the permissible payments authorized
under the Investors Class's Distribution Plan pursuant
to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. The Fund shall not
be obligated to pay any of the foregoing fees/expenses
with respect to any series or class of shares for which
the Fund does not have a Rule 12b-1 Plan in effect.
Dated: ______ ____, 1999
