(a)
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The Investment Manager, or an affiliate of the Investment Manager (“Investment Manager Affiliate”), to the extent permitted by applicable laws, rules and regulatory interpretations, agrees to furnish continuously an investment program for the Fund as a fund of funds. In this regard the Investment Manager will manage the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets, determine what investments will be purchased, held, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion, if any, of the assets of the Fund will be held uninvested, and continuously review, supervise and administer the investment program of the Fund.
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(b)
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The Investment Manager agrees that it will discharge its responsibilities under this Agreement subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees of the Trust and in accordance with the terms hereof, the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Bylaws, the investment objectives, policies, guidelines and restrictions of the Fund, the Investment Company Act, the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other applicable federal and state laws, and any policies determined by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, all as from time to time in effect.
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(c)
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Subject to the prior approval of a majority of the Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund and, to the extent required by the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, subject to any applicable guidance, exemptive order or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff, by the shareholders of the Fund, the Investment Manager may, from time to time, delegate to a sub-adviser any of the Investment Manager’s duties under this Agreement, including the management of all or a portion of the assets being managed. In all instances, however, the Investment Manager must oversee the provision of delegated services, the Investment Manager must bear the separate costs of employing any sub-adviser (provided that the Fund will remain responsible for its own expenses, as described in Section 4 below), and no delegation will relieve the Investment Manager of any of its obligations under this Agreement. The Investment Manager agrees that it will not exercise investment power with respect to any investments in equity securities, including any equity securities within the meaning of Rule 13d-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, made on the Fund’s behalf by any sub-adviser retained by the Investment Manager in accordance with this Section 2(c).
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(a)
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Other than as specifically indicated in this Agreement, the Investment Manager shall not be required to pay any expenses of the Fund. The Investment Manager shall bear its own operating and overhead expenses attributable to its duties hereunder (such as salaries, bonuses, rent, office and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, and auditing expenses); provided, however, that the Fund, and not the Investment Manager, shall bear travel expenses (or an appropriate portion thereof) of Trustees or Fund officers who are partners, directors, trustees, or employees of the Investment Manager to the extent that such expenses relate to attendance at meetings of the Board or any committees thereof or advisers thereto; further provided, however, that the Fund may bear all or a portion of the expenses related to the Fund’s chief compliance officer, as may be approved by the Board from time to time. The Fund is not responsible for the overhead expenses of the Investment Manager.
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(b)
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The Fund will bear all of the legal and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the organization of the Fund and the offering of its shares. The Fund will bear all of its own expenses, including, but not limited to, ordinary administrative and operating expenses, including the Management Fee and all expenses associated with the pricing of Fund assets; risk management expenses; ordinary and recurring investment expenses, including all fees and expenses directly related to portfolio transactions and positions for the Fund’s account (including brokerage, clearing, and settlement costs), custodial costs, and interest charges; professional fees (including, without limitation, expenses of consultants, experts, and specialists); fees and expenses in connection with repurchase offers and any repurchases or redemptions of Fund shares of beneficial interest; compensation of members of the Fund’s Board of Trustees who are not directors, officers or employees of the Investment Manager or of any “affiliated person” (other than a registered investment company) of the Investment Manager; legal expenses; accounting and auditing expenses incurred in preparing, printing and delivering all reports (including such expenses incurred in connection with any Fund document) and tax information for shareholders and regulatory authorities; and all filing costs, fees, travel expenses and any other expenses which are directly related to the investment of the Fund’s assets. The Fund will pay any extraordinary expenses it may incur, including any litigation expenses. Nothing in this paragraph 4(b) shall limit the generality of the first sentence of paragraph 4(a) of this Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the term “affiliated person” has the meaning set forth in the Investment Company Act.
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(c)
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The Investment Manager will place orders either directly with the issuer or with brokers or dealers selected by the Investment Manager. In the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Investment Manager will use its best efforts to obtain for the Fund the most favorable price and execution available, except to the extent it may be permitted to pay higher brokerage commissions for brokerage and research services as described below. In using its best efforts to obtain for the Fund the most favorable price and execution available, the Investment Manager, bearing in mind the Fund’s best interests at all times, will consider all factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration, price, the size of the transaction, the nature of the market for the security, the amount of the commission, the timing of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends, the reputation, experience and financial stability of the broker or dealer involved and the quality of service rendered by the broker or dealer in other transactions. The Investment Manager will 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 that provides brokerage and research services to the Investment Manager an amount of commission for effecting a portfolio investment transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the Investment Manager determines 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 Investment Manager’s overall responsibilities with respect to the Fund and/or to other clients of the Investment Manager as to which the Investment Manager exercises investment discretion. In no instance, however, will the Fund’s securities be purchased from or sold to the Investment Manager, or any “affiliated person” thereof, except to the extent permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by applicable law.
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(a)
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The Investment Manager and its affiliates and any of their respective members, partners, officers, and employees shall devote so much of their time to the affairs of the Fund as in the judgment of the Investment Manager the conduct of its business shall reasonably require, and none of the Investment Manager or its affiliates shall be obligated to do or perform any act or thing in connection with the business of the Fund not expressly set forth herein.
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(b)
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The services of the Investment Manager to the Fund are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Investment Manager is free to render similar services to others so long as its services to the Fund are not impaired thereby. To the extent that affiliates of, or other accounts managed by, the Investment Manager invest in underlying funds or other investment opportunities that limit the amount of assets and the number of accounts that they will manage, the Investment Manager may be required to choose between the Fund and other accounts or affiliated entities in making allocation decisions. The Investment Manager will make allocation decisions in a manner it believes to be equitable to each account. It is recognized that in some cases this may adversely affect the price paid or received by the Fund or the size or position obtainable for or disposed by the Fund. Nothing herein contained in this Section 5 shall be deemed to preclude the Investment Manager or its affiliates from exercising investment responsibility, from engaging directly or indirectly in any other business or from directly or indirectly purchasing, selling, holding or otherwise dealing with any securities of underlying funds or other investment opportunities for the account of any such other business, for their own accounts, for any of their family members or for other clients.
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(c)
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It is understood that any of the shareholders, Trustees, officers and employees of the Fund may be a shareholder, director, officer or employee of, or be otherwise interested in, the Investment Manager, and in any person controlled by or under common control with the Investment Manager, and that the Investment Manager and any person controlled by or under common control with the Investment Manager may have an interest in the Fund. It is also understood that the Investment Manager and any person controlled by or under common control with the Investment Manager may have advisory, management, service or other contracts with other organizations and persons and may have other interests and business.
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(a)
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The Fund and the Investment Manager agree to furnish to each other, if applicable, current prospectuses, proxy statements, reports to shareholders, certified copies of their financial statements, and such other information with respect to their affairs as each may reasonably request. The Investment Manager further agrees to furnish to the Fund, if applicable, the same such documents and information pertaining to any sub-adviser as the Fund may reasonably request.
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(b)
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Any records required to be maintained and preserved pursuant to the provisions of Rule 31a-1 and 31a-2 under the Investment Company Act which are prepared or maintained by the Investment Manager (or any sub-adviser) on behalf of the Fund are the property of the Fund and will be surrendered promptly to the Fund on request. The Investment Manager further agrees to preserve the necessary records for the periods prescribed in Rule 31a-2 under the Investment Company Act.
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(a)
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In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Investment Manager and any Investment Manager Affiliate, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder, the Investment Manager and any Investment Manager Affiliate shall not be subject to any liability to the Fund or to any shareholder of the Fund, for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder. The Fund shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, indemnify and save harmless the Investment Manager, the Investment Manager Affiliate, their affiliates and any of their respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees or shareholders (the “Indemnitees”) from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, that are incurred by any Indemnitee and that arise out of or in connection with the performance or non-performance of or by the Indemnitee of any of the Investment Manager’s or Investment Manager Affiliate’s responsibilities hereunder, provided that an Indemnitee shall be entitled to indemnification hereunder only if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Fund; provided, however, that no Indemnitee shall be indemnified against any liability to the Fund or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Indemnitee’s duties under this Agreement (“disabling conduct”). An Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification hereunder only upon (i) a final decision on the merits by a court or other body before whom the proceeding was brought that the Indemnitee was not liable by reason of disabling conduct or, (ii) in the absence of such a decision, a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), that the Indemnitee was not liable by reason of disabling conduct by either (A) the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the proceeding or (B) legal counsel selected by a vote of a majority of the Board, further provided that such counsel's determination be written and provided to the Board.
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(b)
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Expenses, including reasonable counsel fees incurred by the Indemnitee (but excluding amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines or penalties), shall be paid from time to time by the Fund in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding upon receipt by the Fund of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay amounts so paid to the Fund if it is ultimately determined that indemnification of such expenses is not authorized under this Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the term “interested person” shall have the same meaning set forth in the Investment Company Act.
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(a)
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unless otherwise terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect for two years from the date of execution, and from year to year thereafter so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board of Trustees of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, and (ii) by vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Trustees of the Fund who are not “interested persons” of the Fund or the Investment Manager, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval;
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(b)
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this Agreement may at any time be terminated on sixty days’ written notice to the Investment Manager either by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund;
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(c)
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this Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its assignment; and
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(d)
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this Agreement may be terminated by the Investment Manager on sixty days’ written notice to the Fund.
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This Agreement shall not be amended, nor shall any provision of this Agreement be considered modified or waived, unless evidenced by a writing signed by the parties hereto, and in compliance with applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act.
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STONE RIDGE ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC | |
By: /s/ Ross Stevens | |
Name: Ross Stevens | |
Title: Managing Member | |
STONE RIDGE TRUST, solely with respect to its series,
Stone Ridge Global Equity Variance Risk Premium Master
Fund
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By: /s/ Jane Korach | |
Name: Jane Korach | |
Title: Secretary |