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SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT
This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT is dated as of May 23, 2000 by and between
SUNAMERICA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP., a Delaware corporation (the "Adviser"), and
FRED ALGER MANAGEMENT, INC., a New York corporation (the "Subadviser").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Adviser and Seasons Series Trust, a Massachusetts business
trust (the "Trust"), have entered into an Investment Advisory and Management
Agreement dated as of January 1, 1999, as amended from time to time (the
"Advisory Agreement"), pursuant to which the Adviser has agreed to provide
investment management, advisory and administrative services to the Trust; and
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended (the "Act"), as an open-end management investment company and may
issue shares of beneficial interest, par value $.01 per share, in separately
designated portfolios representing separate funds with their own investment
objectives, policies and purposes; and
WHEREAS, the Subadviser is engaged in the business of rendering investment
advisory services and is registered as an investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended; and
WHEREAS, the Adviser desires to retain the Subadviser to furnish investment
advisory services to the investment portfolio or portfolios of the Trust listed
on Schedule A attached hereto (the "Portfolio(s)"), and the Subadviser is
willing to furnish such services;
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed between the parties hereto as follows:
1. DUTIES OF THE SUBADVISER. (a) The Adviser hereby engages the services of
the Subadviser in furtherance of its Investment Advisory and Management
Agreement with the Trust. Pursuant to this Subadvisory Agreement and subject to
the oversight and review of the Adviser, the Subadviser will manage the
investment and reinvestment of a portion of the assets of each Portfolio listed
on Schedule A attached hereto. The Subadviser will determine, in its discretion
and subject to the oversight and review of the Adviser, the securities to be
purchased or sold, will provide the Adviser with records concerning its
activities which the Adviser or the Trust is required to maintain, and will
render regular reports to the Adviser and to officers and Trustees of the Trust
concerning its discharge of the foregoing responsibilities. The Subadviser shall
discharge the foregoing responsibilities subject to the control of the officers
and the Trustees of the Trust and in compliance with such policies as the
Trustees of the Trust may from time to time establish and communicate to the
Subadviser, and in compliance with (a) the objectives, policies, and limitations
for the Portfolio(s) set forth in the Trust's current prospectus and statement
of additional information as furnished to the Subadviser, and (b) applicable
laws and regulations.
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The Subadviser represents and warrants to the Adviser that the portion
of assets allocated to it (including assets deposited in the custody of
institutions designated by the Trust) of each of the Portfolios set forth in
Schedule A will at all times be operated and managed (1) in compliance with all
applicable federal and state laws governing its operations and investments; (2)
so as not to jeopardize either the treatment of the Seasons variable annuity
contracts issued by Variable Annuity Account Five (File No. 33-08859;
hereinafter "Contracts") as annuity contracts for purposes of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), or the eligibility of the
Contracts to qualify for sale to the public in any state where they may
otherwise be sold; and (3) to minimize any taxes and/or penalties payable by the
Trust or such Portfolio. Without limiting the foregoing and subject to Section 9
hereof, the Subadviser represents and warrants compliance with (a) the
provisions of the Act and rules adopted thereunder; (b) the diversification
requirements specified in the Internal Revenue Service's regulations under
Section 817(h) of the Code; (c) applicable state insurance laws; (d) applicable
federal and state securities, commodities and banking laws (other than state
securities laws relating to the amount of Portfolio shares that may be sold in a
particular state) and provided that for purposes of Section 17 of the Act
Subadviser shall effect compliance only in relation to its own affiliates and
affiliates identified to the Subadviser by the Adviser; and (e) the distribution
requirements necessary to avoid payment of any excise tax pursuant to Section
4982 of the Code. The Adviser agrees that it, and not the Subadviser, shall be
solely responsible for insuring that each Portfolio set forth in Schedule A
managed by the Subadviser (i) qualifies as a "regulated investment company"
under Subchapter M, chapter I of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
(the "Code"); and (ii) complies with any limits in its current prospectus or
statement of additional information concerning concentration of investments or
the amount of assets that may be invested by the Portfolio in any one or more
securities. Should the Adviser determine that the Portfolio is not in compliance
with Subchapter M, chapter I of the Code, the Subadviser agrees to follow
instructions of the Adviser to remedy such non-compliance. Subadviser also
agrees to furnish information to the Adviser, as requested, for purposes of
compliance with the distribution requirements necessary to avoid payment of any
excise tax pursuant to Section 4982 of the Code. The Subadviser further
represents and warrants that to the extent that any statements or omissions made
in any Registration Statement for the Contracts or shares of the Trust, or any
amendment or supplement thereto, are made in reliance upon and in conformity
with information furnished by the Subadviser expressly for use therein, such
Registration Statement and any amendments or supplements thereto will, when they
become effective, conform in all material respects to the requirements of the
Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder (the "1933 Act") and the Act and will not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
The Subadviser accepts such employment and agrees, at its own expense,
to render the services set forth herein and to provide the office space,
furnishings, equipment and personnel required by it to perform such services on
the terms and for the compensation provided in this Agreement.
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(b) The Subadviser agrees: (i) to maintain a level of errors and
omissions or professional liability insurance coverage that, at all times during
the course of this Agreement, is appropriate given the nature of its business,
and (ii) from time to time and upon reasonable request, to supply evidence of
such coverage to the Adviser.
2. PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS. (a) The Subadviser is responsible for, decisions
to buy or sell securities and other investments for its portion of the assets of
each Portfolio, selection of broker-dealers and futures commission merchants',
and negotiation of brokerage commission and futures commission merchants' rates.
As a general matter, in executing portfolio transactions, the Subadviser may
employ or deal with such broker-dealers or futures commission merchants as may,
in the Subadviser's best judgement, provide prompt and reliable execution of the
transactions at favorable prices and reasonable commission rates. In selecting
such broker-dealers or futures commission merchants, the Subadviser shall
consider all relevant factors including price (including the applicable
brokerage commission, dealer spread or futures commission merchant rate), the
size of the order, the nature of the market for the security or other
investment, the timing of the transaction, the reputation, experience and
financial stability of the broker-dealer or futures commission merchant
involved, the quality of the service, the difficulty of execution, the execution
capabilities and operational facilities of the firm involved, and, in the case
of securities, the broker-dealers's or futures commission merchant's risk in
positioning a block of securities. Subject to such policies as the Trustees may
determine and consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the"1934 Act"), the Subadviser shall not be deemed to have
acted unlawfully or to have breached any duty created by this Agreement or
otherwise solely by reason of the Subadviser's having caused a Portfolio to pay
a member of an exchange, broker or dealer an amount of commission for effecting
a securities transaction in excess of the amount of commission another member of
an exchange, broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction,
if the Subadviser 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 member of an exchange, broker or dealer viewed in terms of
either that particular transaction or the Subadviser's overall responsibilities
with respect to such Portfolio and to other clients as to which the Subadviser
exercises investment discretion. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934
Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and subject to any other applicable laws and
regulations including Section 17(e) of the Act and Rule 17e-1 thereunder, the
Subadviser may engage its affiliates, the Adviser and its affiliates or any
other subadviser to the Trust and its respective affiliates, as broker-dealers
or futures commission merchants to effect portfolio transactions in securities
and other investments for a Portfolio. The Subadviser will promptly communicate
to the Adviser and to the officers and the Trustees of the Trust such
information relating to portfolio transactions as they may reasonably request.
To the extent consistent with applicable law, the Subadviser may aggregate
purchase or sell orders for the Portfolio with contemporaneous purchase or sell
orders of other clients of the Subadviser or its affiliated persons. In such
event, allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the
expenses incurred in the transaction, will be made by the Subadviser in the
manner the Subadviser determines to be equitable and consistent with its and its
affiliates' fiduciary obligations to the Portfolio and to such other clients.
The Adviser hereby acknowledges that such aggregation of orders may not result
in more favorable pricing or lower brokerage commissions in all instances.
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(b) The Adviser agrees that, subject to the foregoing, the Subadviser
has the right to direct brokerage to whomever it deems appropriate, including,
but not limited to its affiliate, Fred Alger & Company, Inc., a member of the
New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Subadviser represents and warrants that any
affiliated brokerage will comply with, the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rule
17e-1, Section 17 of the Act and any and all applicable laws, rules and
regulations.
3. COMPENSATION OF THE SUBADVISER. The Subadviser shall not be entitled to
receive any payment from the Trust and shall look solely and exclusively to the
Adviser for payment of all fees for the services rendered, facilities furnished
and expenses paid by it hereunder. As full compensation for the Subadviser under
this Agreement, the Adviser agrees to pay to the Subadviser a fee at the annual
rates set forth in Schedule A hereto with respect to the portion of the assets
managed by the Subadviser for each Portfolio listed thereon. Such fee shall be
accrued daily and paid monthly as soon as practicable after the end of each
month (i.e., the applicable annual fee rate divided by 365 applied to each prior
days' net assets in order to calculate the daily accrual). For purposes of
calculating the Subadviser's fee, the average daily net asset value of a
Portfolio shall mean the average daily net assets for which the Subadviser
actually provides advisory services, and shall be determined by taking an
average of all determinations of such net asset value during the month. If the
Subadviser shall provide its services under this Agreement for less than the
whole of any month, the foregoing compensation shall be prorated.
4. OTHER SERVICES. At the request of the Trust or the Adviser, the
Subadviser in its discretion may make available to the Trust, office facilities,
equipment, personnel and other services in order to facilitate meetings or other
similar functions. Such office facilities, equipment, personnel and services
shall be provided for or rendered by the Subadviser and billed to the Trust or
the Adviser at the Subadviser's cost.
5. REPORTS. The Trust, the Adviser and the Subadviser agree to furnish to
each other, if applicable, current prospectuses, statements of additional
information, proxy statements, reports of shareholders, certified copies of
their financial statements, and such other information with regard to their
affairs and that of the Trust as each may reasonably request.
6. STATUS OF THE SUBADVISER. The services of the Subadviser to the Adviser
and the Trust are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Subadviser shall be free
to render similar services to others. The Subadviser shall be deemed to be an
independent contractor and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or
authorized, have no authority to act for or represent the Trust in any way or
otherwise be deemed an agent of the Trust.
7. CERTAIN RECORDS. The Subadviser hereby undertakes and agrees to
maintain, in the form and for the period required by Rule 31a-2 under the Act,
all records relating to the investments of the Portfolio(s) that are required to
be maintained by the Trust pursuant to the requirements of Rule 31a-1 of that
Act. Any records required to be maintained and preserved pursuant to the
provisions of Rule 31a-1 and Rule 31a-2 promulgated under the Act which are
prepared or maintained by the Subadviser on behalf of the Trust are the property
of the Trust and will be surrendered promptly to the Trust or the Adviser on
request.
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The Subadviser agrees that all accounts, books and other records
maintained and preserved by it as required hereby shall be subject at any time,
and from time to time, to such reasonable periodic, special and other
examinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Trust's auditors,
the Trust or any representative of the Trust, the Adviser, or any governmental
agency or other instrumentality having regulatory authority over the Trust.
8. REFERENCE TO THE SUBADVISER. Neither the Trust nor the Adviser or any
affiliate or agent thereof shall make reference to or use the name of the
Subadviser or any of its affiliates in any advertising or promotional materials
without the prior approval of the Subadviser, which approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld.
9. LIABILITY OF THE SUBADVISER. (a) In the absence of willful misfeasance,
bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties
("Disabling Conduct") hereunder on the part of the Subadviser (and its officers,
directors/trustees, agents, employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any
other person or entity affiliated with the Subadviser) the Subadviser shall not
be subject to liability to the Adviser (and its officers, directors/trustees,
agents, employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any other person or
entity affiliated with the Adviser) or to the Trust (and its officers,
directors/trustees, agents, employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any
other person or entity affiliated with the Trust) for any act or omission in the
course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder, including without
limitation, any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by
any of them in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates,
except to the extent specified in Section 36(b) of the Act concerning loss
resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of
compensation for services. Except for such Disabling Conduct, the Adviser shall
indemnify the Subadviser (and its officers, directors, partners, agents,
employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any other person or entity
affiliated with the Subadviser) from any and all losses, claims, damages,
liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses)
arising from Subadviser's rendering of services under this Agreement due to
Adviser's Disabling Conduct under this Agreement.
(b) The Subadviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser
(and its officers, directors/trustees, agents, employees, controlling persons,
shareholders and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser) against
any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including
reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Adviser or its affiliates or
such directors, officers or controlling person may become subject under the 1933
Act, under other statutes, at common law or otherwise, which may be based upon
(i) any Disabling Conduct or breach of this Agreement by the Subadviser, or (ii)
any material failure by the Subadviser to comply with the representations and
warranties set forth in Section 1 of this Agreement; provided, however, that in
no case is the Subadviser's indemnity in favor of any person deemed to protect
such other persons against any liability to which such person would otherwise be
subject by reasons of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the
performance of his, her or its duties or by reason of his, her or its reckless
disregard of obligation and duties under this Agreement.
(c) The Subadviser shall not be liable to the Adviser, the Trust or
their shareholders for (i) any acts of the Adviser or any other subadviser to
the Portfolio with respect to the portion of the assets of a Portfolio not
managed by Subadviser and (ii) acts of the Subadviser
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which result from or are based upon acts of the Adviser, including, but not
limited to: (A), a failure of the Adviser to provide accurate and current
information with respect to any records maintained by Adviser or any other
subadviser to a Portfolio, which records are not also maintained by or otherwise
available to the Subadviser upon reasonable request; and (B) acts of the
Subadviser that were made in reasonable reliance upon information provided to it
by the Adviser. The Adviser agrees that Subadviser shall manage the portion of
the assets of a Portfolio allocated to it as if it was a separate operating
portfolio and shall comply with subsections (a) and (b) of Section 1 of this
Subadvisory Agreement (including, but not limited to, the investment objectives,
policies and restrictions applicable to a Portfolio and qualifications of a
Portfolio as a regulated investment company under the Code) only with respect to
the portion of assets of a Portfolio allocated to Subadviser. The Adviser shall
indemnify the Subadviser (and its officers, directors, partners, agents,
employees, controlling persons, shareholders and any other person or entity
affiliated with the Subadviser) from any and all losses, claims, damages,
liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses)
arising from the Disabling Conduct of the Adviser, the Trust and any other
subadviser with respect to the portion of a Portfolio's assets not allocated to
Subadviser.
10. PERMISSIBLE INTERESTS. Trustees and agents of the Trust are or may be
interested in the Subadviser (or any successor thereof) as directors, partners,
officers, or shareholders, or otherwise; directors, partners, officers, agents,
and shareholders of the Subadviser are or may be interested in the Trust as
trustees, or otherwise; and the Subadviser (or any successor) is or may be
interested in the Trust in some manner.
11. TERM OF THE AGREEMENT. This Agreement shall continue in full force and
effect with respect to each Portfolio until two years from the date hereof, and
from year to year thereafter so long as such continuance is specifically
approved at least annually (i) by the vote of a majority of those Trustees of
the Trust who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any
such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
approval, and (ii) by the Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio voting separately from any other
series of the Trust.
With respect to each Portfolio, this Agreement may be terminated at any
time, without payment of a penalty by the Portfolio or the Trust, by vote of a
majority of the Trustees, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities (as defined in the Act) of the Portfolio, voting separately from any
other series of the Trust, or by the Adviser, on not less than 30 nor more than
60 days' written notice to the Subadviser. With respect to each Portfolio, this
Agreement may be terminated by the Subadviser at any time, without the payment
of any penalty, on 90 days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. The
termination of this Agreement with respect to any Portfolio or the addition of
any Portfolio to Schedule A hereto (in the manner required by the Act) shall not
affect the continued effectiveness of this Agreement with respect to each other
Portfolio subject hereto. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the
event of its assignment (as defined by the Act).
This Agreement will also terminate in the event that the Advisory
Agreement by and between the Trust and the Adviser is terminated.
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12. SEVERABILITY. This agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between
the parties hereto. 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.
13. SURVIVAL. Section 9 and the right to receive amounts due under Section
3 shall survive termination of this Agreement.
14. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent in writing,
but the consent of the Trust must be obtained in conformity with the
requirements of the Act.
15. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the
laws of the State of New York and the applicable provisions of the Act. To the
extent the applicable laws of the State of New York, or any of the provisions
herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the Act, the latter shall
control.
16. PERSONAL LIABILITY. The Declaration of the Trust establishing the Trust
(the "Declaration"), is on file in the office of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and, in accordance with that Declaration, no
Trustee, shareholder, officer, employee or agent of the Trust shall be held to
any personal liability, nor shall resort be had to their private property for
satisfaction of any obligation or claim or otherwise in connection with the
affairs of the Trust, but the "Trust Property" only shall be liable.
17. SEPARATE SERIES. Pursuant to the provisions of the Declaration, each
Portfolio is a separate series of the Trust, and all debts, liabilities,
obligations and expenses of a particular Portfolio shall be enforceable only
against the assets of that Portfolio and not against the assets of any other
Portfolio or of the Trust as a whole.
18. NOTICES. All notices shall be in writing and deemed properly given when
delivered or mailed by United States certified or registered mail, return
receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
Subadviser: Fred Alger Management, Inc.
One World Trade Center - 93rd Floor
New York, New York 10048
Attention: Gregory S. Duch
Adviser: SunAmerica Asset Management Corp.
The SunAmerica Center
733 Third Avenue, Third Floor
New York, NY 10017-3204
Attention: Robert M. Zakem
Senior Vice President and
General Counsel
with a copy to: SunAmerica Inc.
1 SunAmerica Center
Century City
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6022
Attention: Mallary Reznik
Secretary
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused their respective duly
authorized officers to execute this Agreement as of the date first above
written.
SUNAMERICA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP.
By: /s/ Peter A. Harbeck
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Name: Peter A. Harbeck
Title: President
FRED ALGER MANAGEMENT, INC.
By: /s/ David D. Alger
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Name: David D. Alger
Title: President
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