DISTRIBUTION PLAN OF CLASS B SHARES
EVERGREEN EQUITY TRUST
Section 1. The Evergreen Equity Trust (the "Trust"), individually and/or on
behalf of its series (each a "Fund") referred to in Exhibit A to this 12b-1
Distribution Plan (the "Plan") may act as the distributor of certain securities
of which it is the issuer, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") according to the terms of this Plan.
Section 2. The Trust on behalf of each Fund may expend daily amounts at an
annual rate of 1.00% of the average daily net asset value of its Class B shares
("Shares") to finance any activity which is principally intended to result in
the sale of Shares including, without limitation, expenditures consisting of
payments to a principal underwriter of the Fund ("Principal Underwriter") or
others in order: (i) to enable payments to be made by the Principal Underwriter
or others for any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Shares,
including, without limitation,
(a) compensation to public relations consultants or other persons assisting in,
or providing services in connection with, the distribution of Shares, (b)
advertising, (c) printing and mailing of prospectuses and reports for
distribution to persons other than existing shareholders, (d) preparation and
distribution of advertising material and sales literature, (e) commission
payments, and principal and interest expenses associated with the financing of
commission payments, made by the Principal Underwriter in connection with the
sale of Shares and (f) conducting public relations efforts such as seminars;
(ii) to enable the Principal Underwriter or others to receive, pay or to have
paid to others who have sold Shares, or who provide services to holders of
Shares, a maintenance or other fee in respect of services provided to holders of
Shares, at such intervals as the Principal Underwriter or such others may
determine, in respect of Shares previously sold and remaining outstanding during
the period in respect of which such fee is or has been paid; and/or (iii) to
compensate the Principal Underwriter or such others for their efforts in respect
of sales of Shares since inception of the Plan or any predecessor plan.
Appropriate adjustments shall be made to the payments made pursuant to this
Section 2 to the extent necessary to ensure that no payment is made on behalf of
any Fund with respect to Class B Shares in excess of any limit imposed on asset
based, front end and deferred sales charges under any rule or regulations
adopted by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the "NASD
Rules"). In addition, to the extent any amounts paid hereunder fall within the
definition of an "asset based sales charge" under said NASD Rules such payments
shall be limited to .75 of 1% of the aggregate net asset value of the Shares on
an annual basis and, to the extent that any such payments are made in respect of
"shareholder services" as that term is defined in the NASD Rules, such payments
shall be limited to .25 of 1% of the aggregate net asset value of the Shares on
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an annual basis and shall only be made in respect of shareholder services
rendered during the period in which such amounts are accrued.
Section 3. This Plan shall not take effect with respect to any Fund until
it has been approved by votes of a majority of (a) the Trustees of the Trust,
and (b) those Trustees of the Trust who are not "interested persons" (as defined
in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest
in the operation of this Plan or any agreements of the Trust related hereto or
any other person related to this Plan ("Disinterested Trustees"), cast in person
at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. In addition, any
agreement related to this Plan and entered into by the Trust on behalf of the
Fund in connection therewith shall not take effect until it has been approved by
votes of a majority of (a) the Board of Trustees of the Trust, and (c) the
Disinterested Trustees of the Trust.
Section 4. Unless sooner terminated pursuant to Section 6, this Plan shall
continue in effect for a period of one year from the date it takes effect and
thereafter shall continue in effect for additional periods that shall not exceed
one year so long as such continuance is specifically approved by votes of a
majority of both (a) the Board of Trustees of the Trust and (b) the
Disinterested Trustees of the Trust, cast in person at a meeting called for the
purpose of voting on this Plan, provided that payments for services theretofore
provided or for reimbursement of expenses theretofore incurred or accrued prior
to termination of this Plan in accordance with Section 2 may be continued by the
Fund to the extent provided for in Section 6, below, as applicable.
Section 5. Any person authorized to direct the disposition of monies paid
or payable pursuant to this Plan or any related agreement shall provide to the
Trust's Board and the Board shall review at least quarterly a written report of
the amounts so expended and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
Section 6. Payments with respect to services provided by the Principal
Underwriter or others pursuant to Section 2, above, shall be authorized
hereunder, whether or not this Plan has been otherwise terminated, if such
payments are for services theretofore provided or for reimbursement of expenses
theretofore incurred or accrued prior to termination of this Plan in other
respects and if such payment is or has been so approved by the Board, including
the Disinterested Trustees, or agreed to on behalf of the Fund with such
approval, all subject to such specific implementation as the Board, including
the Disinterested Trustees, may approve; provided that, at the time any such
payment is made, whether or not this Plan has been otherwise terminated, the
making of such payment will not cause the limitation upon such payments
set forth in Section 2 to be exceeded. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, the Trust on behalf of any Fund may pay to, or on the order of, any
person who has
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served from time to time as Principal Underwriter amounts for distribution
services pursuant to a principal underwriting agreement or otherwise. Any such
principal underwriting agreement may, but need not, provide that such Principal
Underwriter may be paid for distribution services to Class B Shares and/or other
specified classes of shares of any Fund (together the "B-Class-of-Shares"), a
fee which may be designated a Distribution Fee and may be paid at a rate per
annum up to .75 % of the average daily net asset value of such B-Class-of-Shares
of the Fund and may, but need not, also provide: (i) that a Principal
Underwriter will be deemed to have fully earned its "Allocable Portion" of the
Distribution Fee upon the sale of the Commission Shares (as defined in the
Allocation Schedule) taken into account in determining its Allocable Portion;
(ii) that the Fund's obligation to pay such Principal Underwriter its Allocable
Portion of the Distribution Fee shall be absolute and unconditional and shall
not be subject to dispute, offset, counterclaim or any defense whatsoever (it
being understood that such provision is not a waiver of the Fund's right to
pursue such Principal Underwriter and enforce such claims against the assets of
such Principal Underwriter other than its right to its Allocable Portion of the
Distribution Fee and CDSCs (as defined below); (iii) that the Fund's obligation
to pay such Principal Underwriter its Allocable Portion of the Distribution Fee
shall not be changed or terminated except to the extent required by any change
in applicable law, including without limitation, the 1940 Act, the Rules
promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Business Conduct Rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.,
in each case enacted or promulgated after May 5, 1997, or in connection with a
"Complete Termination" (as hereinafter defined); (iv) that the Trust on behalf
of any Fund will not waive or change any contingent deferred sales charge
("CDSC") in respect of the Distributor's Allocable Portion thereof, except as
provided in the Fund's prospectus or statement of additional information without
the consent of the Principal Underwriter or any assignee of such Principal
Underwriter's rights to its Allocable Portion; (v) that the termination of
the Principal Underwriter, the principal underwriting agreement or this Plan
will not terminate such Principal Underwriter's rights to its Allocable
Portion of the CDSCs; and (vi) that any Principal Underwriter may
assign its rights to its Allocable Portion of the Distribution Fee and CDSCs
(but not such Principal Underwriter's obligations to the Fund under its
principal underwriting agreement) to raise funds to make expenditures described
in Section 2 above and in connection therewith, and upon receipt of notice of
such assignment, the Trust on behalf of any Fund shall pay to the assignee such
portion of the Principal Underwriter's Allocable Portion of the Distribution Fee
and CDSCs so assigned. For purposes of such principal underwriting agreement,
the term Allocable Portion of Distribution Fee as applied to any Principal
Underwriter may mean the portion of the Distribution Fee allocable to
Distributor Shares in accordance with the "Allocation Schedule" attached to such
Principal Underwriter's principal underwriting agreement. For purposes of such
principal underwriting agreement, the term Allocable Portion of CDSCs as applied
to any Principal Underwriter may mean the portion of the CDSCs
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allocable to Distributor Shares in accordance with the Allocation Schedule
attached to such Principal Underwriter's principal underwriting agreement. For
purposes of such principal underwriting agreement, the term "Complete
Termination" may mean a termination of this Plan involving the cessation of
payments of the Distribution Fee thereunder, the cessation of payments of
distribution fees pursuant to every other Rule 12b-1 plan of the Fund for every
existing or future B-Class-of-Shares and the cessation of the offering by the
Fund of existing or future B-Class-of-Shares, which conditions shall be deemed
to be satisfied when they are first complied with and so long thereafter as they
are complied with prior to the earlier of (i) the date upon which all of the B
Shares which are Distributor Shares pursuant to the Allocation Schedule shall
have been redeemed or converted or (ii) a specified date, after either of which
times such conditions need no longer be complied with. For purposes of such
principal underwriting agreement, the term "B-Class-of-Shares" may mean the B
Class of Shares of the Fund and each other class of shares of the Fund hereafter
issued which would be treated as "Shares" under such Allocation Schedule or
which has economic characteristics substantially similar to those of the B Class
of Shares taking into account the total sales charge, CDSC or other similar
charges borne directly or indirectly by the holder of the shares of such
classes.
The parties may agree that the existing C Class of Shares of the Fund does
not have substantially similar economic characteristics to the B Classes of
Shares taking into account the total sales charge, CDSC or other similar charges
borne directly or indirectly by the holder of such shares. For purposes of
clarity the parties to such principal underwriting agreement may state that they
intend that a new installment load class of shares which may be authorized by
amendments to Rule 6(c)-10 under the 1940 Act will not be considered to be a
B-Class-of-Shares if it has economic characteristics substantially similar to
the economic characteristics of the existing C Class of Shares taking into
account the total sales charge, CDSC or other similar charges borne directly or
indirectly by the holder of such shares and will not be considered to be a
B-Class-of-Shares if it has economic characteristics substantially similar to
the economic characteristics of the existing C Class of shares of the Fund
taking into account the total sales charge, CDSC or other similar charges borne
directly or indirectly by the holder of such shares. For purposes of such
principal underwriting agreement, "Allocation Schedule" may mean a schedule
which shall be approved by Trustees (as defined below) in connection with their
required approval of such principal underwriting agreement as assigning to each
Principal Underwriter of Shares the portion of the total Distribution Fee
payable by the Trust on behalf of each Fund under such principal underwriting
agreement which has been earned by such Principal Underwriter to the extent
necessary so that the continued payments thereof if such Principal Underwriter
ceases
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to serve in that capacity does not penalize the Fund by requiring the Trust on
behalf of such Fund to pay for services that have not been earned.
Section 7. This Plan may be terminated at any time with respect to any Fund
by vote of a majority of the Disinterested Trustees, or by vote of a majority of
the Shares of such Fund, provided that payments for services theretofore
provided or for reimbursement of expenses theretofore incurred or accrued prior
to termination of this Plan in accordance with Section 2 may be continued by the
Fund to the extent provided for in Section 6, above, as applicable.
Section 8. Any agreement of the Trust, with respect to any Fund, related to
this Plan shall be in writing and shall provide:
A. That such agreement may be terminated with respect to any Fund at any
time without payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Disinterested
Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares of such Fund on
not more than sixty days written notice to any other party to the agreement; and
B. That such agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its
assignment.
Section 9. This Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount
of distribution expenses provided for in Section 2 with respect to a Fund unless
such amendment is approved by a vote of at least a majority (as defined in the
1940 Act) of the outstanding Shares of such Fund, and no material amendment to
this Plan shall be made unless approved by votes of a majority of (a) the Board
of Trustees of the Trust, and (c) the Disinterested Trustees of the Trust, cast
in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such amendment.
Effective Date: October 1, 1997
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As of October 30, 2000
EXHIBIT A
EVERGREEN EQUITY TRUST
Domestic Growth Funds
Evergreen Aggressive Growth Fund Evergreen Capital Growth Fund
Evergreen Fund Evergreen Growth Fund Evergreen Masters Fund
Evergreen Omega Fund Evergreen Small Company Growth Fund
Evergreen Stock Selector Fund Evergreen Large Company Growth
Fund
(formerly Evergreen Strategic Growth Fund)
Evergreen Premier 20 Fund
Evergreen Tax Strategic Equity Fund
Balanced Funds
Evergreen Balanced Fund
Evergreen Foundation Fund
Evergreen Tax Strategic Foundation Fund
Growth and Income Funds
Evergreen Blue Chip Fund
Evergreen Equity Income Fund (formerly Evergreen Income and Growth Fund)
Evergreen Growth and Income Fund
Evergreen Small Cap Value Fund
Evergreen Value Fund
Sector Funds
Evergreen Healthcare Fund
Evergreen Technology Fund
Evergreen Utility Fund
