EXHIBIT NO. 99.5(b)
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT, dated this 30th day of August, 1993, by
and between MFS SERIES TRUST VIII, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"),
on behalf of MFS WORLD GROWTH FUND (the "Fund"), a series of the Trust, and
MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY, a Delaware corporation (the
"Adviser").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Trust is engaged in business as an open-end investment
company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940; and
WHEREAS, the Adviser is willing to provide business services to the
Fund on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements
of the parties hereto as herein set forth, the parties covenant and agree as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. Duties of the Adviser. The Adviser shall provide the Fund
with such investment advice and supervision as the latter may from time to time
consider necessary for the proper supervision of its funds. The Adviser shall
act as Adviser to the Fund and as such shall furnish continuously an investment
program and shall determine from time to time what securities shall be
purchased, sold or exchanged and what portion of the assets of the Fund shall be
held uninvested, subject always to the restrictions of the Declaration of Trust
of the Trust, dated July 31, 1987, as amended and restated May 6, 1991, and
By-Laws, each as amended from time to time (respectively, the "Declaration" and
the "By-Laws"), to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the
Rules, Regulations and orders thereunder and to the Fund's then-current
Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Adviser shall also make
recommendations as to the manner in which voting rights, rights to consent to
corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Fund's portfolio
securities shall be exercised. Should the Trustees at any time, however, make
any definite determination as to the investment policy and notify the Adviser
thereof in writing, the Adviser shall be bound by such determination for the
period, if any, specified in such notice or until similarly notified that such
determination shall be revoked. The Adviser shall take, on behalf of the Fund,
all actions which it deems necessary to implement the investment policies
determined as provided above, and in particular to place all orders for the
purchase or sale of portfolio securities for the Fund's account with brokers or
dealers selected by it, and to that end, the Adviser is authorized as the agent
of the Fund to give instructions to the Custodian of the Fund as to the
deliveries of securities and
payments of cash for the account of the Fund. In connection with the selection
of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Adviser is
directed to seek for the Fund execution at the most reasonable price by
responsible brokerage firms at reasonably competitive commission rates. In
fulfilling this requirement the Adviser shall not be deemed to have acted
unlawfully or to have breached any duty, created by this Agreement or otherwise,
solely by reason of its having caused the Fund to pay a broker or dealer an
amount of commission for effecting a securities transaction in excess of the
amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting
that transaction, if the Adviser determined in good faith that such amount of
commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research
services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either that
particular transaction or the Adviser's overall responsibilities with respect to
the Fund and to other clients of the Adviser as to which the Adviser exercises
investment discretion.
The Adviser may from time to time enter into sub-investment advisory
agreements with one or more investment advisers with such terms and conditions
as the Adviser may determine provided that such sub-investment advisory
agreements have been approved by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are
not "interested persons" of the Trust, or the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser and by
"vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" of the Fund. Subject
to the provisions of Article 5, the Adviser shall not be liable for any error of
judgment or mistake of law by any sub-advisor or for any loss arising out of any
investment made by any sub-advisor or for any act or omission in the execution
and management of the Fund by any sub-advisor.
ARTICLE 2. Allocation of Charges and Expenses. The Adviser shall
furnish at its own expense investment advisory and administrative services,
office space, equipment and clerical personnel necessary for servicing the
investments of the Fund and maintaining its organization, and investment
advisory facilities and executive and supervisory personnel for managing the
investments and effecting the portfolio transactions of the Fund. The Adviser
shall arrange, if desired by the Trust, for Directors, officers and employees of
the Adviser to serve as Trustees, officers or agents of the Trust if duly
elected or appointed to such positions and subject to their individual consent
and to any limitations imposed by law. It is understood that the Fund will pay
all of its own expenses including, without limitation, compensation of Trustees
"not affiliated" with the Adviser; governmental fees; interest charges; taxes;
membership dues in the Investment Company Institute allocable to the Fund; fees
and expenses of independent auditors, of legal counsel, and of any transfer
agent, registrar or dividend disbursing agent of the Fund; expenses of
repurchasing and redeeming shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses
of preparing, printing and mailing stock certificates, shareholder reports,
notices, proxy statements and reports to governmental officers and commissions;
brokerage and other expenses connected with the execution, recording and
settlement of portfolio security transactions; insurance premiums; fees and
expenses of the custodian for all services to the Fund, including safekeeping of
funds and securities and maintaining required books and accounts; expenses of
calculating the net asset value of shares of the Fund; expenses of shareholders'
meetings; and expenses relating to the issuance, registration and qualification
of shares of the Fund and the preparation, printing and mailing of prospectuses
for such purposes (except to the extent that any Distribution Agreement to which
the Trust is a party on behalf of the Fund provides that another party is to pay
some or all of such expenses).
ARTICLE 3. Compensation of the Adviser. For the services to be
rendered and the facilities provided, the Fund shall pay to the Adviser an
investment advisory fee computed and paid monthly at an annual rate equal to
0.90% of the Fund's average daily net assets on an annualized basis. If the
Adviser shall serve for less than the whole of any period specified in this
Article 3, the compensation payable to the Adviser with respect to the Fund will
be prorated.
ARTICLE 4. Covenants of the Adviser. The Adviser agrees that it will
not deal with itself, or with the Trustees of the Trust or the Trust's
distributor, if any, as principals in making purchases or sales of securities or
other property for the account of the Fund, except as permitted by the
Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Rules, Regulations or orders thereunder,
will not take a long or short position in the shares of the Fund except as
permitted by the Declaration, and will comply with all other provisions of the
Declaration and the By-Laws and the then-current Prospectus and Statement of
Additional Information of the Fund relative to the Adviser and its Directors and
officers.
ARTICLE 5. Limitation of Liability of the Adviser. The Adviser shall
not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss
arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution and
management of the Fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence in the performance of its duties and obligations hereunder. As used
in this Article 5, the term "Adviser" shall include Directors, officers and
employees of the Adviser as well as that corporation itself.
ARTICLE 6. Activities of the Adviser. The services of the Adviser to
the Fund are not deemed to be exclusive, the Adviser being free to render
investment advisory and/or other services to others. The Adviser may permit
other fund clients to use the initials "MFS" in their names. The Fund agrees
that if the Adviser shall for any reason no longer serve as the Adviser to the
Fund, the Fund will change its name so as to delete the initials "MFS". It is
understood that the Trustees, officers and shareholders of the Trust are or may
be or become interested in the Adviser, as Directors, officers, employees, or
otherwise and that Directors, officers and employees of the Adviser are or may
become similarly interested in the Trust, and that the Adviser may be or become
interested in the Fund as a shareholder or otherwise.
ARTICLE 7. Duration, Termination and Amendment of this Agreement. This
Agreement shall become effective on the date first above written and shall
govern the relations between the parties hereto thereafter, and shall remain in
force until August 1, 1995 on which date it will terminate unless its
continuance after August 1, 1995 is specifically approved at least annually (i)
by the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not "interested
persons" of the Trust or of the Adviser at a meeting specifically called for the
purpose of voting on such approval, and (ii) by the Board of Trustees of the
Trust, or by "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" of the
Fund.
This Agreement may be terminated at any time without the payment of any
penalty by the Trustees or by "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities" of the Fund, or by the
Adviser, in each case on not more than sixty days' nor less than thirty days'
written notice to the other party. This Agreement shall automatically terminate
in the event of its "assignment".
This Agreement may be amended only if such amendment is approved by
"vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" of the Fund.
The terms "specifically approved at least annually", "vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities", "assignment", "affiliated
person", and "interested person", when used in this Agreement, shall have the
respective meanings specified, and shall be construed in a manner consistent
with, the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Rules and Regulations
promulgated thereunder, subject, however, to such exemptions as may be granted
by the Securities and Exchange Commission under said Act.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be
executed and delivered in their names and on their behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, and their respective seals to be hereto affixed, all
as of the day and year first written above. The undersigned Trustee of the Trust
has executed this Agreement not individually, but as Trustee under the
Declaration and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of
the Trustees or shareholders of the Trust, individually, but bind only the trust
estate applicable to the Fund.
MFS Series Trust VIII on behalf of
the MFS World Growth Fund
By: A. XXXXX XXXXXXX
A. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx,
Chairman
MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY
By: A. XXXXX XXXXXXX
A. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx,
Chairman
