short dividend expense. The current limitation expires on February 29, 2016, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and the Advisor based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time.
Effective March 1, 2015, the Advisor has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee for the fund, or if necessary, make payment to the fund, in an amount equal to the amount by which the fund's expenses exceed 0.30% of average annual net assets, on an annualized basis. Expenses means all the expense of the fund, excluding taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, advisory fees, Rule 12b-1 fees, transfer agent fees and services fees, borrowing costs, prime brokerage fees, acquired fund fees and expense paid indirectly, and short dividend expense. The current limitation will continue in effect until February 29, 2016, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the fund and Advisor based upon a determination of that this is appropriate under the circumstances at the time.
Prior to March 1, 2015, the Advisor had contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse all class specific expenses for Class B shares of the fund, including Rule 12b-1 fees and transfer agency fees and service fees, as applicable, to the extent they exceeded 1.30% of average annual net assets attributable to Class B shares.
For the six months ended April 30, 2015, these expense reductions described above amounted to the following:
| | | | |
Class | Expense reduction | | Class | Expense reduction |
Class A | $3,590 | | Class I | $7,144 |
Class B | 3,713 | | Class NAV | 962 |
Class C | 690 | | Total | $16,099 |
The investment management fees, including the impact of the waivers and reimbursements as described above, incurred for the six months ended April 30, 2015 were equivalent to a net annual effective rate of 0.96% of the fund's average daily net assets.
Accounting and legal services. Pursuant to the Accounting and Legal Services Agreement the fund reimburses the Advisor for all expenses associated with providing the administrative, financial, legal, accounting and recordkeeping services to the fund, including the preparation of all tax returns, periodic reports to shareholders and regulatory reports, among other services. These expenses are allocated to each share class based on its relative net assets at the time the expense was incurred. These accounting and legal services fees incurred for the six months ended April 30, 2015, amounted to an annual rate of 0.01% of the fund's average daily net assets.
Distribution and service plans. The fund has a distribution agreement with the Distributor. The fund has adopted distribution and service plans with respect to Class A, Class B and Class C shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, to pay the Distributor for services provided as the distributor of shares of the fund. The fund may pay up to the following contractual rates of distribution and service fees under these arrangements, expressed as an annual percentage of average daily net assets for each class of the fund's shares.
| |
Class | Rule 12b-1 fee |
Class A | 0.30% |
Class B | 1.00% |
Class C | 1.00% |
Sales charges. Class A shares are assessed up-front sales charges, which resulted in payments to the Distributor amounting to $18,992 for the six months ended April 30, 2015. Of this amount, $3,110 was retained and used for printing prospectuses, advertising, sales literature and other purposes, $14,828 was paid as sales commissions to broker-dealers and $1,054 was paid as sales commissions to sales personnel of Signator Investors, Inc., a broker-dealer affiliate of the Advisor.
Class A, Class B and Class C shares may be subject to contingent deferred sales charges (CDSCs). Certain Class A shares that are acquired through purchases of $1 million or more and are redeemed within one year of purchase are subject to a 1.00% sales charge. Class B shares that are redeemed within six years of purchase are subject to CDSCs, at declining rates,