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.
II. | Covered Officers Should Handle Ethically Actual and Apparent Conflicts ofInterest |
Overview. A “conflict of interest” occurs when a Covered Officer’s private interest interferes with the interests of, or his service to, the Trust/Company. For example, a conflict of interest would arise if a Covered Officer, or a member of his family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his position with the Trust/Company. Covered Officers must avoid conduct that conflicts, or appears to conflict, with their duties to the Trust/Company. All Covered Officers should conduct themselves such that a reasonable observer would have no grounds for belief that a conflict of interest exists. Covered Officers are not permitted to self-deal or otherwise to use their positions with the Trust/Company to further their own or any other related person’s business opportunities.
This Code does not, and is not intended to, repeat or replace the compliance programs and procedures or codes of ethics of the Trust/Company or the Trust/Company’s investment adviser or distributor.
Although typically not presenting an opportunity for improper personal benefit, conflicts may arise from, or as a result of, the contractual relationship between the Trust/Company and its service providers, including the investment adviser, of which the Covered Officers may be officers or employees. As a result, this Code recognizes that the Covered Officers will, in the normal course of their duties (whether formally for the Trust/Company, the investment adviser, or other service providers), be involved in establishing policies and implementing decisions that will have different effects on the service providers and the Trust/Company. The participation of the Covered Officers in such activities is inherent in the contractual relationship between the Trust/Company and its service providers and is consistent with the performance by the Covered Officers of their duties as officers of the Trust/Company. Thus, if performed in conformity with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“Investment Company Act”) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, such activities will be deemed to have been handled ethically. In addition, it is recognized by the Trust/Company’s Board of Trustees/Directors (the “Board”) that the Covered Officers may also be officers or employees of one or more other investment companies covered by this or other codes.
The following list provides examples of conflicts of interest under the Code, but Covered Officers should keep in mind that these examples are not exhaustive. The overarching principle is that the personal interest of a Covered Officer should not be placed improperly before the interest of the Trust/Company.
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