• | | should not knowingly misrepresent, or knowingly cause others to misrepresent, |
| | facts about the Company to others, whether within or outside the Company, |
| | including to the Company’s directors and auditors, and to governmental |
| | regulators and self-regulatory organizations; |
|
• | | should, to the extent appropriate within his or her area of responsibility, consult |
| | with other officers and employees of the Funds and the investment adviser with |
| | the goal of promoting full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in |
| | the reports and documents the Funds file with, or submit to, the SEC and in other |
| | public communications made by the Funds; and |
|
• | | is responsible to promote compliance with the standards and restrictions imposed |
| | by applicable laws, rules and regulations. |
|
V. | | Reporting and Accountability |
|
| | Each Covered Officer must: |
|
• | | upon adoption of the Code (or thereafter as applicable, upon becoming a Covered |
| | Officer), affirm in writing to the Board that the Covered Officer has received, |
| | read, and understands the Code; |
|
• | | annually thereafter affirm to the Board that he or she has complied with the |
| | requirements of the Code; |
|
• | | annually disclose affiliations and other relationships related to conflicts of |
| | interest; |
|
• | | not retaliate against any other Covered Officer or any employee of the Funds or |
| | their affiliated persons for reports of potential violations that are made in good |
| | faith; and |
|
• | | notify the Compliance Officer promptly if he knows of any violation of this Code |
| | (failure to do so is itself a violation of this Code). |
|
| | In rendering decisions and interpretations and in conducting investigations of |
potential violations under the Code, the Compliance Officer may, at his discretion, |
consult with such persons as he determines to be appropriate, including, but not limited |
to, a senior legal officer of the Company or its investment adviser or its affiliates, |
independent auditors or other consultants, subject to any requirement to seek pre- |
approval from the Company’s audit committee for the retention of independent auditors |
to perform permissible non-audit services. The Funds will follow these procedures in |
investigating and enforcing the Code: |
|
• | | the Compliance Officer will take all appropriate action to investigate any potential |
| | violation of which he becomes aware; |
• | | if, after investigation the Compliance Officer believes that no violation has |
| | occurred, the Compliance Officer is not required to take any further action; |