Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Principal Financial Officers
Regulatory Background
In accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley (the “SOX Act”) and the rules promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), each Trust, on behalf of its series, is required to file, on a semi-annual basis, a report on Form N-CSR in which each Registered Fund must disclose whether it has adopted, for the purposes set forth below, a code of ethics applicable to certain of its officers. The Board, including a majority of the Independent Board Members, has approved this Code of Ethics (“Code”) as compliant with the requirements of the SOX Act and related SEC rules.
Covered Officers/Purpose of the Code
This Code applies to each Trust’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer (the “Covered Officers,” each of whom are set forth in Exhibit A) for the purpose of promoting:
| • | | honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships; |
| • | | full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that each Registered Fund files with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications made by each Registered Fund; |
| • | | compliance with applicable laws and governmental rules and regulations; |
| • | | the prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Code; and |
| • | | accountability for adherence to the Code. |
Each Covered Officer should adhere to a high standard of business ethics and should be sensitive to situations that may give rise to actual as well as apparent conflicts of interest.
Covered Officers Should Handle Ethically Actual and Apparent Conflicts of Interest
A “conflict of interest” occurs when a Covered Officer’s private interest interferes with the interests of, or his or her service to, the Registered Fund. For example, a conflict of interest would arise if a Covered Officer receives improper personal benefits as a result of his or her position with the Registered Fund.
Certain conflicts of interest may arise out of the relationships between Covered Officers and a Trust and already are subject to conflict of interest provisions in the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act. For example, Covered Officers may not individually engage in certain transactions (such as the purchase or sale of securities or other property) with the Registered Fund because of their status as “affiliated persons” of a Registered Fund. Each Registered Fund and certain of its service providers’ compliance programs and procedures are designed to prevent, or identify and correct violations of these provisions. This Code does not, and is not intended to, repeat or replace these programs and procedures, and such conflicts fall outside the parameters of this Code.