DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
[NAME OF FUND]
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
March 22, 2000
Dreyfus Service Corporation
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This is to confirm that, in consideration of the agreements
hereinafter contained, the above-named investment company (the "Fund") has
agreed that you shall be, for the period of this agreement, the distributor
of (a) shares of each Series of the Fund set forth on Exhibit A hereto, as
such Exhibit may be revised from time to time (each, a "Series") or (b) if no
Series are set forth on such Exhibit, shares of the Fund. For purposes of
this agreement the term "Shares" shall mean the authorized shares of the
relevant Series, if any, and otherwise shall mean the Fund's authorized
shares.
1. Services as Distributor
1.1 You will act as agent for the distribution of Shares covered
by, and in accordance with, the registration statement and prospectus then in
effect under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will transmit
promptly any orders received by you for purchase or redemption of Shares to
the Transfer and Dividend Disbursing Agent for the Fund of which the Fund has
notified you in writing.
1.2 You agree to use your best efforts to solicit orders for the
sale of Shares. It is contemplated that you will enter into sales or
servicing agreements with securities dealers, financial institutions and
other industry professionals, such as investment advisers, accountants and
estate planning firms, and in so doing you will act only on your own behalf
as principal.
1.3 You shall act as distributor of Shares in compliance with all
applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, all
rules and regulations made or adopted pursuant to the Investment Company Act
of 1940, as amended, by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any
securities association registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended.
1.4 Whenever in their judgment such action is warranted by market,
economic or political conditions, or by abnormal circumstances of any kind,
the Fund's officers may decline to accept any orders for, or make any sales
of, any Shares until such time as they deem it advisable to accept such
orders and to make such sales and the Fund shall advise you promptly of such
determination.
1.5 The Fund agrees to pay all costs and expenses in connection
with the registration of Shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and all expenses in connection with maintaining facilities for the issue and
transfer of Shares and for supplying information, prices and other data to be
furnished by the Fund hereunder, and all expenses in connection with the
preparation and printing of the Fund's prospectuses and statements of
additional information for regulatory purposes and for distribution to
shareholders; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall be
deemed to require the Fund to pay any of the costs of advertising the sale of
Shares.
1.6 The Fund agrees to execute any and all documents and to
furnish any and all information and otherwise to take all actions which may
be reasonably necessary in the discretion of the Fund's officers in
connection with the qualification of Shares for sale in such states as you
may designate to the Fund and the Fund may approve, and the Fund agrees to
pay all expenses which may be incurred in connection with such qualification.
You shall pay all expenses connected with your own qualification as a dealer
under state or Federal laws and, except as otherwise specifically provided in
this agreement, all other expenses incurred by you in connection with the
sale of Shares as contemplated in this agreement.
1.7 The Fund shall furnish you from time to time, for use in
connection with the sale of Shares, such information with respect to the Fund
or any relevant Series and the Shares as you may reasonably request, all of
which shall be signed by one or more of the Fund's duly authorized officers;
and the Fund warrants that the statements contained in any such information,
when so signed by the Fund's officers, shall be true and correct. The Fund
also shall furnish you upon request with: (a) semi-annual reports and annual
audited reports of the Fund's books and accounts made by independent public
accountants regularly retained by the Fund, (b) quarterly earnings statements
prepared by the Fund, (c) a monthly itemized list of the securities in the
Fund's or, if applicable, each Series' portfolio, (d) monthly balance sheets
as soon as practicable after the end of each month, and (e) from time to time
such additional information regarding the Fund's financial condition as you
may reasonably request.
1.8 The Fund represents to you that all registration statements
and prospectuses filed by the Fund with the Securities and Exchange
Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, with respect to the Shares have
been carefully prepared in conformity with the requirements of said Acts and
rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.
As used in this agreement the terms "registration statement" and "prospectus"
shall mean any registration statement and prospectus, including the statement
of additional information incorporated by reference therein, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and any amendments and supplements thereto
which at any time shall have been filed with said Commission. The Fund
represents and warrants to you that any registration statement and
prospectus, when such registration statement becomes effective, will contain
all statements required to be stated therein in conformity with said Acts and
the rules and regulations of said Commission; that all statements of fact
contained in any such registration statement and prospectus will be true and
correct when such registration statement becomes effective; and that neither
any registration statement nor any prospectus when such registration
statement becomes effective will include an untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Fund may but
shall not be obligated to propose from time to time such amendment or
amendments to any registration statement and such supplement or supplements
to any prospectus as, in the light of future developments, may, in the
opinion of the Fund's counsel, be necessary or advisable. If the Fund shall
not propose such amendment or amendments and/or supplement or supplements
within fifteen days after receipt by the Fund of a written request from you
to do so, you may, at your option, terminate this agreement or decline to
make offers of the Fund's securities until such amendments are made. The
Fund shall not file any amendment to any registration statement or supplement
to any prospectus without giving you reasonable notice thereof in advance;
provided, however, that nothing contained in this agreement shall in any way
limit the Fund's right to file at any time such amendments to any
registration statement and/or supplements to
any prospectus, of whatever character, as the Fund may deem advisable, such
right being in all respects absolute and unconditional.
1.9 The Fund authorizes you to use any prospectus in the form
furnished to you from time to time, in connection with the sale of Shares.
The Fund agrees to indemnify, defend and hold you, your several officers and
directors, and any person who controls you within the meaning of Section 15
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, free and harmless from and against
any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the cost of
investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any
counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which you, your officers and
directors, or any such controlling person, may incur under the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or
based upon any untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement, of a material
fact contained in any registration statement or any prospectus or arising out
of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state a material fact
required to be stated in either any registration statement or any prospectus
or necessary to make the statements in either thereof not misleading;
provided, however, that the Fund's agreement to indemnify you, your officers
or directors, and any such controlling person shall not be deemed to cover
any claims, demands, liabilities or expenses arising out of any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in
any registration statement or prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity
with written information furnished to the Fund by you specifically for use in
the preparation thereof. The Fund's agreement to indemnify you, your
officers and directors, and any such controlling person, as aforesaid, is
expressly conditioned upon the Fund's being notified of any action brought
against you, your officers or directors, or any such controlling person, such
notification to be given by letter or by telegram addressed to the Fund at
its address set forth above within ten days after the summons or other first
legal process shall have been served. The failure so to notify the Fund of
any such action shall not relieve the Fund from any liability which the Fund
may have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any
such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission,
otherwise than on account of the Fund's indemnity agreement contained in this
paragraph 1.9. The Fund will be entitled to assume the defense of any suit
brought to enforce any such claim, demand or liability, but, in such case,
such defense shall be conducted by counsel of good standing chosen by the
Fund and approved by you. In the event the Fund elects to assume the defense
of any such suit and retain counsel of good standing approved by you, the
defendant or defendants in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel retained by any of them; but in case the Fund does not
elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case you do not approve
of counsel chosen by the Fund, the Fund will reimburse you, your officers and
directors, or the controlling person or persons named as defendant or
defendants in such suit, for the fees and expenses of any counsel retained by
you or them. The Fund's indemnification agreement contained in this
paragraph 1.9 and the Fund's representations and warranties in this agreement
shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any
investigation made by or on behalf of you, your officers and directors, or
any controlling person, and shall survive the delivery of any Shares. This
agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to your benefit, to the benefit
of your several officers and directors, and their respective estates, and to
the benefit of any controlling persons and their successors. The Fund agrees
promptly to notify you of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings
against the Fund or any of its officers or Board members in connection with
the issue and sale of Shares.
1.10 You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Fund, its several
officers and Board members, and any person who controls the Fund within the
meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, free and
harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and
expenses (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims,
demands or liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith)
which the Fund, its officers or Board members, or any such controlling
person, may incur under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or under
common law or otherwise, but only to the extent that such liability or
expense incurred by the Fund, its officers or Board members, or such
controlling person resulting from such claims or demands, shall arise out of
or be based upon any untrue, or alleged untrue, statement of a material fact
contained in information furnished in writing by you to the Fund specifically
for use in the Fund's registration statement and used in the answers to any
of the items of the registration statement or in the corresponding statements
made in the prospectus, or shall arise out of or be based upon any omission,
or alleged omission, to state a material fact in connection with such
information furnished in writing by you to the Fund and required to be stated
in such answers or necessary to make such information not misleading. Your
agreement to indemnify the Fund, its officers and Board members, and any such
controlling person, as aforesaid, is expressly conditioned upon your being
notified of any action brought against the Fund, its officers or Board
members, or any such controlling person, such notification to be given by
letter or telegram addressed to you at your address set forth above within
ten days after the summons or other first legal process shall have been
served. You shall have the right to control the defense of such action, with
counsel of your own choosing, satisfactory to the Fund, if such action is
based solely upon such alleged misstatement or omission on your part, and in
any other event the Fund, its officers or Board members, or such controlling
person shall each have the right to participate in the defense or preparation
of the defense of any such action. The failure so to notify you of any such
action shall not relieve you from any liability which you may have to the
Fund, its officers or Board members, or to such controlling person by reason
of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged
omission, otherwise than on account of your indemnity agreement contained in
this paragraph 1.10. This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to
the Fund's benefit, to the benefit of the Fund's officers and Board members,
and their respective estates, and to the benefit of any controlling persons
and their successors.
You agree promptly to notify the Fund of the commencement of any
litigation or proceedings against you or any of your officers or directors in
connection with the issue and sale of Shares.
1.11 No Shares shall be offered by either you or the Fund under any
of the provisions of this agreement and no orders for the purchase or sale of
such Shares hereunder shall be accepted by the Fund if and so long as the
effectiveness of the registration statement then in effect or any necessary
amendments thereto shall be suspended under any of the provisions of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or if and so long as a current prospectus
as required by Section 10 of said Act, as amended, is not on file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission; provided, however, that nothing contained
in this paragraph 1.11 shall in any way restrict or have an application to or
bearing upon the Fund's obligation to repurchase any Shares from any
shareholder in accordance with the provisions of the Fund's prospectus or
charter documents.
1.12 The Fund agrees to advise you immediately in writing:
(a) of any request by the Securities and Exchange
Commission for amendments to the registration statement or
prospectus then in effect or for additional information;
(b) in the event of the issuance by the Securities and
Exchange Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness
of the registration statement or prospectus then in effect or the
initiation of any proceeding for that purpose;
(c) of the happening of any event which makes untrue any
statement of a material fact made in the registration statement or
prospectus then in effect or which requires the making of a change
in such registration statement or prospectus in order to make the
statements therein not misleading; and
(d) of all actions of the Securities and Exchange
Commission with respect to any amendments to any registration
statement or prospectus which may from time to time be filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
2. Offering Price
Shares of any class of the Fund offered for sale by you shall be
offered for sale at a price per share (the "offering price") approximately
equal to (a) their net asset value (determined in the manner set forth in the
Fund's charter documents) plus (b) a sales charge, if any and except to those
persons set forth in the then-current prospectus, which shall be the
percentage of the offering price of such Shares as set forth in the Fund's
then-current prospectus. The offering price, if not an exact multiple of one
cent, shall be adjusted to the nearest cent. In addition, Shares of any
class of the Fund offered for sale by you may be subject to a contingent
deferred sales charge as set forth in the Fund's then-current prospectus. You
shall be entitled to receive any sales charge or contingent deferred sales
charge in respect of the Shares. Any payments to dealers shall be governed
by a separate agreement between you and such dealer and the Fund's then-
current prospectus.
3. Term
This agreement shall continue until the date (the "Reapproval
Date") set forth on Exhibit A hereto (and, if the Fund has Series, a separate
Reapproval Date shall be specified on Exhibit A for each Series), and
thereafter shall continue automatically for successive annual periods ending
on the day (the "Reapproval Day") of each year set forth on Exhibit A hereto,
provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by
(i) the Fund's Board or (ii) vote of a majority (as defined in the Investment
Company Act of 1940) of the Shares of the Fund or the relevant Series, as the
case may be, provided that in either event its continuance also is approved
by a majority of the Board members who are not "interested persons" (as
defined in said Act) of any party to this agreement, by vote cast in person
at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. This
agreement is terminable without penalty, on 60 days' notice, (a) by vote of
holders of a majority of the Fund's or, as to any relevant Series, such
Series' outstanding voting securities, or (b) by the Fund's Board as to the
Fund or the relevant Series, as the case may be, or (c) by you. This
agreement also will terminate automatically, as to the Fund or relevant
Series, as the case may be, in the event of its assignment (as defined in
said Act).
4. Miscellaneous
[4.1] The Fund recognizes that from time to time your
directors, officers, and employees may serve as trustees, directors,
partners, officers, and employees of other business trusts, corporations,
partnerships, or other entities (including other investment companies) and
that such other entities may include the name "Dreyfus" as part of their
name, and that your corporation or its affiliates may enter into distribution
or other agreements with such other entities. If you cease to act as the
distributor of the Fund's shares or if The Dreyfus Corporation ceases to act
as the Fund's investment adviser, the Fund agrees that, at the request of The
Dreyfus Corporation, the Fund will take all necessary action to change the
name of the Fund to a name not including "Dreyfus" in any form or combination
of words.
[4.2 This agreement has been executed on behalf of the Fund by the
undersigned officer of the Fund in his or her capacity as an officer of the
Fund. The obligations of this agreement shall only be binding upon the
assets and property of the Fund and shall not be binding upon any Board
member, officer or shareholder of the Fund individually.]
Please confirm that the foregoing is in accordance with your
understanding and indicate your acceptance hereof by signing below, whereupon
it shall become a binding agreement between us.
Very truly yours,
[NAME OF FUND]
By:
Accepted:
DREYFUS SERVICE CORPORATION
By:_______________________________
EXHIBIT A
Reapproval Date Reapproval Day
