EXHIBIT 1.1
VAN KAMPEN FOCUS PORTFOLIOS
SERIES 234
TRUST AGREEMENT
Dated: June 23, 2000
This Trust Agreement among Van Kampen Funds Inc., as Depositor,
American Portfolio Evaluation Services, a division of Van Kampen Investment
Advisory Corp., as Evaluator, Josephthal & Co., Inc., as Supervisory Servicer,
and The Bank of New York, as Trustee, sets forth certain provisions in full and
incorporates other provisions by reference to the document entitled "Van Kampen
American Capital Equity Opportunity Trust, Series 87 and Subsequent Series,
Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust, Effective January 27, 1998" (herein
called the "Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust") and such provisions as are
set forth in full and such provisions as are incorporated by reference
constitute a single instrument. All references herein to Articles and Sections
are to Articles and Sections of the Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust.
WITNESSETH THAT:
In consideration of the premises and of the mutual agreements herein
contained, the Depositor, Evaluator, Supervisory Servicer and Trustee agree as
follows:
PART I
STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF TRUST
Subject to the provisions of Part II hereof, all the provisions
contained in the Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust are herein incorporated
by reference in their entirety and shall be deemed to be a part of this
instrument as fully and to the same extent as though said provisions had been
set forth in full in this instrument.
PART II
SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF TRUST
The following special terms and conditions are hereby agreed to:
1. The Securities defined in Section 1.01(24), listed in the Schedule
hereto, have been deposited in trust under this Trust Agreement.
2. The fractional undivided interest in and ownership of the Trust
represented by each Unit is an amount the numerator of which is one and the
denominator of which is the amount set forth under "Summary of Essential
Financial Information - Initial Number of Units" in the Prospectus. Such
fractional undivided interest may be (a) increased by the number of any
additional Units issued pursuant to Section 2.03, (b) increased or decreased in
connection with an adjustment to the number of Units pursuant to Section 2.03,
or (c) decreased by the number of Units redeemed pursuant to Section 5.02.
3. The terms "Capital Account Record Date" and "Income Account Record
Date" shall mean the "Record Dates" set forth under "Summary of Essential
Financial Information" in the Prospectus.
4. The terms "Capital Account Distribution Date" and "Income Account
Distribution Date" shall mean the "Distribution Dates" set forth under "Summary
of Essential Financial Information" in the Prospectus.
5. The term "Mandatory Termination Date" shall mean the "Mandatory
Termination Date" set forth under "Summary of Essential Financial Information"
in the Prospectus.
6. Sections 1.01 (1), (3) and (4) shall be replaced in their entirety
by the following:
(1) "Depositor" shall mean Van Kampen Funds Inc. and its
successors in interest, or any successor depositor appointed as
hereinafter provided.
(3) "Evaluator" shall mean American Portfolio Evaluation Services
(a division of a Van Kampen Investment Advisory Corp.) and its
successors in interest, or any successor evaluator appointed as
hereinafter provided.
(4) "Supervisory Servicer" shall mean Josephthal & Co., Inc. and
its successors in interest, or any successor portfolio supervisor
appointed as hereinafter provided.
7. Section 1.01(25) shall be replaced in its entirety by the following:
(25) "Special Redemption Period" shall mean the "Mandatory
Termination Date" set forth under "Summary of Essential Financial
Information" in the Prospectus.
8. The term "Rollover Notification Date" shall mean a date
approximately thirty days prior to the "Mandatory Termination Date" set forth
under "Summary of Essential Financial Information" in the Prospectus.
9. The first three paragraphs of Section 5.05 shall be replaced in
their entirety by the following:
"Section 5.05. Rollover of Units. (a) If the Depositor shall
offer a subsequent series of the Trusts (the "New Series"), the
Trustee shall, thirty days prior to the first day of the Special
Redemption Period, include a form of election (which may be included
in the notice sent to Unitholders specified in Section 8.02) whereby
Unitholders, whose redemption distribution would be in an amount
sufficient to purchase at least one Unit of the New Series, may elect
to have their Units redeemed in kind in the manner provided in Section
5.02, the Securities included in the redemption distribution sold, and
the cash proceeds applied by the Distribution Agent to purchase Units
of the New Series, all as hereinafter provided. The Trustee shall
honor properly completed election forms returned to the Trustee,
accompanied by any Certificate evidencing Units tendered for
redemption or a properly completed redemption request with respect to
uncertificated Units, by its close of business on the Rollover
Notification Date.
All Units so tendered by a Unitholder (a "Rollover Unitholder")
shall be redeemed and canceled on the date during the Special
Redemption Period instructed by such Rollover Unitholder provided that
such Rollover Unitholder has properly tendered such Units for
redemption pursuant to Section 5.02. Subject to payment by such
Rollover Unitholder of any tax or other governmental charges which may
be imposed thereon, such redemption is to be made in kind pursuant to
Section 5.02 by distribution of cash and/or Securities to the
Distribution Agent on the date instructed by such Rollover Unitholder
of the net asset value (determined on the basis of the Trust
Evaluation as of such date in accordance with Section 4.01) multiplied
by the number of Units being redeemed (herein called the "Rollover
Distribution"). Any Securities that are made part of the Rollover
Distribution shall be valued for purposes of the redemption
distribution as of the date of the Rollover Distribution.
All Securities included in a Unitholder's Rollover Distribution
shall be sold by the Distribution Agent during the Special Redemption
Period pursuant to the Depositor's direction, and the Distribution
Agent may employ the Depositor as broker or agent in connection with
such sales. For such brokerage services, the Depositor shall be
entitled to compensation at its customary rates, provided however,
that its compensation shall not exceed the amount authorized by
applicable Securities laws and regulations. In the event the Depositor
does not direct the manner in which Securities are to be sold, the
Securities shall be sold in such manner as the Distribution Agent, in
its sole discretion, shall determine. The Distribution Agent shall
have no responsibility for any loss or depreciation incurred by reason
of any sale made pursuant to this Section."
10. Section 6.01(e) is hereby replaced with the following:
(e) (1) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (2) of this
paragraph, the Trustee may employ agents, sub-custodians, attorneys,
accountants and auditors and shall not be answerable for the default
or misconduct of any such agents, sub-custodians, attorneys,
accountants or auditors if such agents, sub-custodians, attorneys,
accountants or auditors shall have been selected with reasonable care.
The Trustee shall be fully protected in respect of any action under
this Indenture taken or suffered in good faith by the Trustee in
accordance with the opinion of counsel, which may be counsel to the
Depositor acceptable to the Trustee, provided, however that this
disclaimer of liability shall not excuse the Trustee from the
responsibilities specified in subparagraph (2) below. The fees and
expenses charged by such agents, sub-custodians, attorneys,
accountants or auditors shall constitute an expense of the Trust
reimbursable from the Income and Capital Accounts of the affected
Trust as set forth in section 6.04 hereof.
(2) The Trustee may place and maintain in the care of an Eligible
Foreign Custodian (which is employed by the Trustee as a sub-custodian
as contemplated by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph (e) and which
may be an affiliate or subsidiary of the Trustee or any other entity
in which the Trustee may have an ownership interest) any investments
(including foreign currencies) for which the primary market is outside
the United States, and such cash and cash equivalents in amounts
reasonably necessary to effect the Trust's transactions in such
investments, provided that:
(a) The Trustee shall perform all duties assigned to the
Foreign Custody Manager by Rule 17f-5 under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR ss. 270.17f-5) ("Rule 17f-5"), as now
in effect or as such rule may be amended in the future. The
Trustee shall not delegate such duties.
(b) The Trustee shall exercise reasonable care, prudence and
diligence such as a person having responsibility for the
safekeeping of Trust assets would exercise, and shall be liable
to the Trust for any loss occurring as a result of its failure to
do so.
(c) The Trustee shall indemnify the Trust and hold the Trust
harmless from and against any risk of loss of Trust assets held
in accordance with the foreign custody contract.
(d) The Trustee shall maintain and keep current written
records regarding the basis for the choice or continued use of a
particular Eligible Foreign Custodian pursuant to this
subparagraph for a period of not less than six years from the end
of the fiscal year in which the Trust was terminated, the first
two years in an easily accessible place. Such records shall be
available for inspection by Unitholders and the Securities and
Exchange Commission at the Trustee's offices at all reasonable
times during its usual business hours.
(3) "Eligible Foreign Custodian" shall have the meaning assigned
to it in Rule 17f-5.
(4) "Foreign Custody Manager" shall have the meaning assigned to
it in Rule 17f-5.
11. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Standard Terms and
Conditions of Trust and subject to the requirements set forth in this paragraph,
unless the Prospectus otherwise requires, the Sponsor may, on any Business Day
(the "Trade Date"), subscribe for additional Units as follows:
(a) Prior to the Evaluation Time on such Business Day, the
Sponsor shall provide notice (the "Subscription Notice") to the
Trustee, by telephone or by written communication, of the Sponsor's
intention to subscribe for additional Units. The Subscription Notice
shall identify the additional Securities to be acquired (unless such
additional Securities are a precise replication of the then existing
portfolio) and shall either (i) specify the quantity of additional
Securities to be deposited by the Sponsor on the settlement date for
such subscription or (ii) instruct the Trustee to purchase additional
Securities with an aggregate value as specified in the Subscription
Notice.
(b) Promptly following the Evaluation Time on such Business Day,
the Sponsor shall verify with the Trustee the number of additional
Units to be created.
(c) Not later than the time on the settlement date for such
subscription when the Trustee is to deliver or assign the additional
Units created hereby, the Sponsor shall deposit with the Trustee (i)
any additional Securities specified in the Subscription Notice (or
contracts to purchase such additional Securities together with cash or
a letter of credit in the amount necessary to settle such contracts)
or (ii) cash or a letter of credit in an amount equal to the aggregate
value of the additional Securities specified in the Subscription
Notice, and adding and subtracting the amounts specified in the first
and second sentences of Section 5.01, computed as of the Evaluation
Time on the Business Day preceding the Trade Date divided by the
number of Units outstanding as of the Evaluation Time on the Business
Day preceding the Trade Date, times the number of additional Units to
be created.
(d) On the settlement date for such subscription, the Trustee
shall, in exchange for the Securities and cash or letter of credit
described above, deliver to, or assign in the name of or on the order
of, the Sponsor the number of Units verified by the Sponsor with the
Trustee.
12. Section 3.15 of the Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust is
hereby replaced in its entirety by the following:
Section 3.15. Deferred Sales Charge. If the Prospectus related to
the Trust specifies a deferred sale charge, the Trustee shall, on each
Deferred Sales Charge Payment Date and as permitted by such
Prospectus, withdraw from the Capital Account an amount per Unit equal
to the Deferred Sales Charge Payment and credit such amount to a
special non-Trust account maintained at the Trustee out of which the
deferred sales charge will be distributed to the Depositor. If the
balance in the Capital Account is insufficient to make any such
withdrawal, the Trustee shall, as directed by the Depositor, either
advance funds in an amount equal to the proposed withdrawal and be
entitled to reimbursement of such advance upon the deposit of
additional moneys in the Capital Account, sell Securities and credit
the proceeds thereof to such special Depositor's account or credit (if
permitted by law) Securities in kind to such special Depositor's
Account. If a Unitholder redeems Units prior to full payment of the
deferred sales charge, the Trustee shall, if so provided in the
related Prospectus, on the Redemption Date, withhold from the
Redemption Price payable to such Unitholder an amount equal to the
unpaid portion of the deferred sales charge and distribute such amount
to such special Depositor's Account. The Depositor may at any time
instruct the Trustee in writing to distribute to the Depositor cash or
Securities previously credited to the special Depositor's account.
Amounts to be credited to the special Depositor's account with respect
to each Deferred Sales Charge Payment are due and payable to the
Depositor on the related Deferred Sales Charge Payment Date.
The term "Deferred Sales Charge Payment Dates" shall mean the
10th day of each month beginning December 10, 2000 and continuing
through July 10, 2001. If any Deferred Sales Charge Payment Date is
not a Business Day, that Deferred Sales Charge Payment Date shall be
deemed to be the next business day. The term "Deferred Sales Charge
Payment" shall mean a fraction of the total maximum deferred sales
charge specified in the Prospectus, the numerator of which is one and
the denominator of which is equal to the total number of Deferred
Sales Charge Payment Dates.
13. Section 3.07(a) of the Standard Terms and Conditions of Trust is
hereby amended by adding the following Section 3.07(a)(x) immediately after
Section 3.07(a)(ix):
"(x) that there has been a public tender offer made for a
Security or a merger or acquisition is announced affecting a Security,
and that in the opinion of the Supervisory Servicer the sale or tender
of the Security is in the best interest of the Unitholders."
14. Sections 4.01(b) and (c) of the Standard Terms and Conditions of
Trust are hereby replaced in their entirety by the following:
(b) During the initial offering period such Evaluation shall be
made in the following manner: if the Securities are listed on a
national or foreign securities exchange or traded on the Nasdaq Stock
Market, Inc., such Evaluation shall generally be based on the last
available closing sale price on or immediately prior to the Evaluation
Time on the exchange or market which is the principal market therefor,
which shall be deemed to be the New York Stock Exchange if the
Securities are listed thereon (unless the Evaluator deems such price
inappropriate as a basis for evaluation) or, if there is no such
available closing sale price on such exchange or market at the last
available asked price of the Equity Securities. If the Securities are
not listed such an exchange or traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.
or, if so listed and the principal market therefor is other than on
such exchange or market, or there is no such available sale price on
such exchange or market, such Evaluation shall generally be based on
the following methods or any combination thereof whichever the
Evaluator deems appropriate: (i) in the case of Equity Securities, on
the basis of the current asked price on the over-the-counter market
(unless the Evaluator deems such price inappropriate as a basis for
evaluation), (ii) on the basis of current offering prices for the Zero
Coupon Obligations as obtained from investment dealers or brokers who
customarily deal in securities comparable to those held by the Fund,
(iii) if offering prices are not available for the Zero Coupon
Obligations or the Equity Securities, on the basis of offering or
asked price for comparable securities, (iv) by determining the
valuation of the Zero Coupon Obligations or the Equity Securities on
the offering or asked side of the market by appraisal or (v) by any
combination of the above. If the Trust holds Securities denominated in
a currency other than U.S. dollars, the Evaluation of such Security
shall be converted to U.S. dollars based on current offering side
exchange rates (unless the Evaluator deems such prices inappropriate
as a basis for valuation). The Evaluator may add to the Evaluation of
each Security which is principally traded outside of the United States
the amount of any commissions and relevant taxes associated with the
acquisition of the Security. As used herein, the closing sale price is
deemed to mean the most recent closing sale price on the relevant
securities exchange immediately prior to the Evaluation time. For each
Evaluation, the Evaluator shall also confirm and furnish to the
Trustee and the Depositor, on the basis of the information furnished
to the Evaluator by the Trustee as to the value of all Trust assets
other than Securities, the calculation of the Trust Evaluation to be
computed pursuant to Section 5.01.
(c) For purposes of the Trust Evaluations required by Section
5.01 in determining Redemption Value and Unit Value, Evaluation of the
Securities shall be made in the manner described in Section 4.01(b),
on the basis of current bid prices for the Zero Coupon Obligations,
the bid side value of the relevant currency exchange rate expressed in
U.S. dollars and, except in those cases in which the Equity Securities
are listed on a national or foreign securities exchange or traded on
the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and the last available sale prices are
utilized, on the basis of the last available bid price of the Equity
Securities. In addition, the Evaluator (i) shall not make the addition
specified in the fourth sentence of Section 4.01(b) and (ii) may
reduce the Evaluation of each Security which is principally traded
outside of the United States by the amount of any liquidation costs
and any capital gains or other taxes which would be incurred by the
Trust upon the sale of such Security, such taxes being computed as if
the Security were sold on the date of the Evaluation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Trust Agreement to
be executed all as of the day, month and year first above written.
VAN KAMPEN FUNDS INC.
By James J. Boyne
-----------------------------------
Senior Vice President
AMERICAN PORTFOLIO EVALUATION SERVICES, a division of Van Kampen Investment
Advisory Corp.
By James J. Boyne
---------------------------------
President
JOSEPHTHAL & CO., INC.
By Paul Fitzgerald
--------------------------------------
President
THE BANK OF NEW YORK
By Jeffrey Cohen
-------------------------------------
Vice President
SCHEDULE A TO TRUST AGREEMENT
SECURITIES INITIALLY DEPOSITED IN
VAN KAMPEN FOCUS PORTFOLIOS, SERIES 234
(Note: Incorporated herein and made a part hereof is the "Portfolio" as set
forth in the Prospectus.)
