Holding Company LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential). PGIM Investments has been in the business of providing advisory services since 1996.
As of March 31, 2021, ASTIS served as the investment manager to certain of the Prudential US open-end investment companies with aggregate assets of approximately $175.6 billion. ASTIS is a subsidiary of Prudential Annuities Holding Company, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Prudential Annuities, Inc., a subsidiary of Prudential. ASTIS has been in the business of providing advisory services since 1992.
Terms of the Management Agreement
Services Provided by the Manager. Pursuant to the Management Agreement with the Trust, the Manager, subject to the supervision of the Trust's Board and in conformity with the stated policies of the Portfolio, manages both the investment operations and composition of the Portfolio, including the purchase, retention, disposition and loan of securities and other assets. In connection therewith, the Manager is obligated to keep certain books and records of the Portfolio. The Manager is authorized to enter into subadvisory agreements for investment advisory services in connection with the management of the Portfolio. The Manager continues to have the ultimate responsibility for all investment advisory services performed pursuant to any such subadvisory agreements.
The Manager is specifically responsible for overseeing and managing the Portfolio, Jennison, PGIM and QMA. In this capacity, the Manager reviews the performance of the Portfolio, Jennison, PGIM and QMA and makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the retention of investment subadvisers, the renewal of contracts, and the reorganization and merger of portfolios, and other legal and compliance matters. The Manager takes on the entrepreneurial and other risks associated with the launch of each new portfolio and its ongoing operations. The Manager utilizes the Strategic Investment Research Group (SIRG), a unit of PGIM Investments, to assist the Manager in regularly evaluating and supervising the Portfolio, Jennison, PGIM and QMA, including with respect to investment performance. SIRG is a centralized research department of PGIM Investments that is comprised of a group of highly experienced analysts. SIRG utilizes proprietary processes to analyze large quantities of industry data, both on a qualitative and quantitative level, in order to effectively oversee the Portfolio, Jennison, PGIM and QMA. The Manager utilizes this data in directly supervising the Portfolio, Jennison, PGIM and QMA. SIRG provides reports to the Board and presents to the Board at special and regularly scheduled Board meetings. The Manager bears the cost of the oversight program maintained by SIRG.
In addition, the Manager generally provides or supervises all of the administrative functions necessary for the organization, operation and management of the Trust and its portfolios. The Manager administers the Trust's corporate affairs and, in connection therewith, furnishes the Trust with office facilities, together with those ordinary clerical and bookkeeping services, which are not being furnished by the Trust's custodian or transfer agent. The Manager is also responsible for the staffing and management of dedicated groups of legal, marketing, compliance and related personnel necessary for the operation of the Trust. The legal, marketing, compliance and related personnel are also responsible for the management and oversight of the various service providers to the Trust, including, but not limited to, the custodian, transfer agent, and accounting agent. The management services of the Manager to the Trust are not exclusive under the terms of the Management Agreement, and the Manager is free to, and does, render management services to others.
The primary administrative services furnished by the Manager are more specifically detailed below:
•furnishing of office facilities;
•paying salaries of all officers and other employees of the Manager who are responsible for managing the Trust and the Portfolio;
•monitoring financial and shareholder accounting services provided by the Trust's custodian and transfer agent;
•providing assistance to the service providers of the Trust and the Portfolio, including, but not limited to, the custodian, transfer agent, and accounting agent;
•monitoring, together with Jennison, PGIM and QMA, the Portfolio's compliance with its investment policies, restrictions, and with federal and state laws and regulations, including federal and state securities laws, the Internal Revenue Code and other relevant federal and state laws and regulations;
•preparing and filing all required federal, state and local tax returns for the Trust and the Portfolio;
•preparing and filing with the SEC on Form N-CSR the Trust's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, including supervising financial printers who provide related support services;
•preparing and filing with the SEC required monthly reports of portfolio holdings on Form N-PORT;
•preparing and filing the Trust's registration statement with the SEC on Form N-1A, as well as preparing and filing with the SEC supplements and other documents, as applicable;
•preparing compliance, operations and other reports required to be received by the Trust's Board and/or its committees in support of the Board's oversight of the Trust; and
•organizing the regular and any special meetings of the Board of the Trust, including preparing Board materials and agendas, preparing minutes, and related functions.