File Nos.  333-187583
811-22818
 
AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
ON NOVEMBER 15, 2013


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A
 
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 þ
     
  Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2  þ
     
  Post-Effective Amendment No. __ o
     
and
     
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT þ
 
COMPANY ACT OF 1940
 
     
  Amendment No. 2  þ

WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
 
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
 (Address of principal executive offices)
 
(914) 741-5600
 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
 
Bruce Rubin
 Vice President
Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
(Name and address of agent for Service)


with copies to :

Jeremy Smith, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036



Approximate date of proposed public offering: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

o   immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
 
 
 
 

 

 
o   on (date), pursuant to paragraph (b)

o   60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

o   on (date), pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

o   75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

o   on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

If appropriate, check the following box:

o   This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
 
Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 24f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Registrant declares that an indefinite number of its shares of common stock are being registered under the Securities Act of 1933 by this registration statement.
 
THE REGISTRANT HEREBY AMENDS THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 ON SUCH DATE OR DATES AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO DELAY ITS EFFECTIVE DATE UNTIL THE REGISTRANT SHALL FILE A FURTHER AMENDMENT WHICH SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL THEREAFTER BECOME EFFECTIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 8(a) OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 OR UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON SUCH DATE AS THE COMMISSION, ACTING PURSUANT TO SECTION 8(a), MAY DETERMINE.
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed.  We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective.  This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
 
WCM ALTERNATIVES: EVENT-DRIVEN FUND
 
Institutional Class Shares (WCEIX)
Investor Class Shares (WCERX)

 
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595




 
PROSPECTUS
 [        ] , 2013

 

This Prospectus includes information you should know about the Fund before you invest. Please read it carefully.


 

THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS.  ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
 


 

 
 

 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
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38


 
 
FUND SUMMARY
 
Investment Objective:   The Fund’s investment objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns with low relative volatility in virtually all market environments. Risk-adjusted return is a concept that considers not only an investment’s return, but also the amount of potential risk involved in producing that return.
 
Fees and Expenses of the Fund:   The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
 
Shareholder Fees
 
(fees paid directly from your investment)                                                                                                                     
 
 
Institutional
Class
Investor
Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)
None
None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a percentage of offering price)
None
None
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends
and Other Distributions (as a percentage of offering price)
None
None
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed)
None
None
Exchange Fee
None
None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
 
Management Fees
1.25%
1.25%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
0.25%
Total Other Expenses ( 1 )  
1.26%
1.26%
Interest and Dividend Expense on Securities Sold Short
0.24%
0.24%
Remaining Other Expenses
1.02%
1.02%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1) ( 2 )  
0.00%
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
2.51%
2.76%
Fee Waiver (3)
(0.53)
(0.53)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Wavier
1.98%
2.23%

(1)
Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
 
(2)
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The operating expenses in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.
 
(3)
The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee and to reimburse the Fund for other ordinary operating expenses to the extent necessary to limit ordinary operating expenses to an amount not to exceed 1.74% for Institutional Class shares and 1.99% for Investor Class shares. Ordinary operating expenses exclude taxes, commissions, mark-ups, litigation expenses, indemnification expenses, interest expenses, borrowing expenses, including on securities sold short, dividend expenses on securities sold short, trading or investment expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. This expense limitation is expected to apply until at least [     ], 2014, except that it may be terminated by the Board of Trustees at any time. To the extent that the Adviser waives its investment advisory fee and/or reimburses the Fund for other ordinary operating expenses, it may seek reimbursement of a portion or all of such amounts at any time within three fiscal years after the fiscal year in which such amounts were waived or reimbursed, subject to the expense limitation in place at the time such amounts were waived or reimbursed.
 

 
 
Example
 
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then either redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods or do not redeem your shares.  The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.  Only the first year of each period in the example takes into account the fee waiver described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
 
 
1 Year
3 Years
Investor Class
$226
$806
Institutional Class
$201
$731

Portfolio Turnover
 
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table above or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund commenced operations on or following the date of this Prospectus, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is not available.
 
Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund primarily employs investment strategies designed to capture price movements generated by specific events, including, but not limited to, securities of companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, asset sales or other divestitures, restructurings, refinancings, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other special situations (referred to as “event-driven opportunities”). Among the investment strategies the Adviser may use on behalf of the Fund are the following:
 

 
·   Merger-Arbitrage Strategy : The Fund may purchase the securities of companies that are involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers and other corporate reorganizations, and use one or more arbitrage strategies in connection with the purchase.  Although a variety of strategies may be employed depending upon the nature of the reorganizations, the most common merger-arbitrage strategy involves purchasing the shares of an announced acquisition target at a discount to their expected value upon completion of the acquisition.  The size of this discount, known as the arbitrage “spread,” generally determines the Fund’s potential profit on any given investment.  In conjunction with investment in a target company, the Fund may employ a variety of hedging strategies to protect against issuer-related risk, including selling short the securities of the company that proposes to acquire the target company and/or the purchase and sale of put and call options.  The merger-arbitrage strategy is designed to provide positive performance if the Adviser successfully evaluates the outcome of the event-driven opportunity notwithstanding the performance of the overall market because the Adviser seeks to profit from the “spread” described above upon the completion of a merger, takeover or other reorganization rather than the performance of the market overall or any one issuer.

·     Special Situations Strategy : The Fund may invest in the securities of issuers based upon the expectation of the Adviser that the price of such securities may change in the short term due to a special situation, such as a stock buy-back, spinoffs and split-offs, credit rating upgrade, the outcome of litigation or other dispute, a positive earnings report, legislative or regulatory changes or other catalyst-driven event. The Fund may seek to profit from special situations by employing one or more arbitrage sub-strategies, including, but not limited to, capital structure arbitrage and convertible arbitrage, or the Fund may seek to use such strategies independently.

·     Capital Structure Arbitrage : Capital structure arbitrage is an investment strategy that seeks to profit from relative pricing discrepancies between related securities, such as securities of different classes issued by the same issuer.  For example, when the Adviser believes that unsecured securities are overvalued in relation to senior secured securities of the same issuer, the Fund may purchase senior secured securities of the issuer and take a short position in the unsecured securities of the same issuer. In this example, the trade may be profitable if credit quality spreads widen or if the issuer went bankrupt and the recovery rate for the senior debt was higher than the expectations implicit in the prices of the securities at the time the Fund established its positions. Another example might involve the Fund purchasing one class of common stock while selling short a different class of common stock of the same issuer.

·     Convertible Arbitrage : Convertible arbitrage is a strategy that seeks to profit from mispricings between a firm’s convertible securities and the underlying equity securities. A common convertible arbitrage approach matches a long position in a convertible security with a short position in the underlying common stock when an investor believes the convertible security is undervalued relative to the value of the underlying equity security. In such a case, the investor may seek to sell short shares of the underlying common stock in order to hedge exposure to the issuer of the equity securities.  Convertible arbitrage positions may be designed to earn income from coupon or dividend payments on the investment in the convertible securities.
 

 
The Fund may also invest in other special situations, such as initial public offerings, in privately-placed securities of issuers, including those the Adviser expects to undertake an initial public offering, and other related liquidity events for current shareholders of an issuer.  The Fund may also invest in issuers to capture special dividends or other distributions.

·     Distressed/Restructuring : The Fund may invest in securities, including debt securities, of financially distressed companies and companies undergoing or expected to undergo bankruptcy or other insolvency proceeding.  The Fund may invest in corporate bonds, privately held loans and other securities or obligations of companies that are highly leveraged, experiencing financial difficulties or have filed for bankruptcy. The Fund may profit from its investments in such issuers if the issuer undergoes a successful restructuring or recapitalization, undertakes asset sales or participates in spin-off transactions.  The Fund may also purchase securities in anticipation of a company’s recovery or turnaround or the liquidation of all or some of the company’s assets.

·     Option Income Strategies : The Fund may sell, or “write,” call options on its portfolio securities.  The Fund may also write call options on one or more basket of stocks, such as the S&P 500 Index or an industry sub-group of the S&P 500 Index. The options written by the Fund are considered “covered” if the Fund owns the stocks or basket of stocks against which the options are written.  The Adviser may determine to purchase shares and sell call options on those shares at approximately the same time, although the sale of options on the Fund’s portfolio securities may occur at any time or not at all.  The Adviser may utilize the option writing strategy at any time, including in a relatively flat or declining market environment, to earn premium income. The Fund may sell call options on substantially all of its portfolio securities.

The Fund may utilize other options strategies, such as writing options on securities it does not currently own (known as “uncovered” options), buying or selling options when the Adviser believes they may be mispriced or may provide attractive opportunities to earn income, or engaging in risk-reversal transactions.  In a risk-reversal transaction, the Adviser may buy put options and sell call options against a long stock position.

Additional Event-Driven Strategies.   In addition to the above strategies, the Fund’s Adviser may invest in other investments or utilize other strategies consistent with its investment objective.  For example, the Fund may pursue other event-driven strategies, including investing in companies that may be subject to significant regulatory issues or changes or may be exploring strategic alternatives. The success of those strategies will depend upon, among other things, the Adviser’s skill in evaluating the likelihood of the various potential outcomes and the market’s reaction to those outcomes.

*    *    *    *    *

In implementing the Fund’s investment strategies, the Fund may invest in a wide variety of investments, such as equity securities of any kind, debt securities of any kind, including those that pay a fixed or floating rate of interest, warrants, convertible securities, master limited partnerships, derivative instruments of any kind, including options, futures, currency forwards and swaps.  Derivative instruments may be used for hedging purposes, as a substitute for investments in the underlying securities, to increase or decrease exposure (leverage), or for the purpose of generating income. The Fund may also engage in forward commitments and reverse repurchase agreements. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective and strategies, the Fund may invest in U.S. and foreign securities without limit. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities.
 

 
The Fund may purchase fixed and floating rate income investments of any credit quality or maturity, including corporate bonds, bank debt and preferred securities.  Certain of the debt securities in which the Fund invests may carry non-investment-grade ratings (rated BB+ or lower by S&P, or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO)), or may be unrated investments of comparable quality, commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds. These securities are speculative investments that carry greater risks and are more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher quality investments. This strategy may be utilized by the Adviser to generate income, to diversify the Fund’s investments or for other investing purposes.

The Fund may enter into derivative transactions and other instruments of any kind for hedging purposes, duration or volatility management purposes, or otherwise to gain, or reduce, long or short exposure to one or more asset classes or issuers.  For example, the Fund may write call options on its portfolio securities or a market index that is representative of its portfolio with the expectation of generating additional income.  The Adviser may seek to hedge the Fund’s portfolio against a decline in the value of its portfolio securities or a decline in the market generally by purchasing put options.  A put option gives the Fund the right to sell, or “put,” a fixed number of shares of stock at a fixed price within a given time frame in exchange for the payment of a premium.  The values of put options generally increase as stock prices decrease. The Fund also may use derivative transactions with the purpose or effect of creating investment leverage.

The Fund may invest in derivative instruments in any manner consistent with its investment strategies, including, for example, in the following situations: (i) the Fund may invest in futures contracts, options on futures contracts, or swap transactions as a substitute for a cash investment in an equity security, (ii) the Fund may invest in interest rate swaps, total return swaps, or futures contracts where the Adviser believes doing so is the most cost-efficient or liquid way to gain the desired investment exposure, (iii) the Fund may invest in options contracts, forward currency contracts, futures contracts and interest rate swaps to adjust the Fund’s investment or risk exposure, and (iv) the Fund may invest in futures transactions, option contracts and swap contracts, such as total return swaps and credit default swaps, to gain investment exposure beyond that which could be achieved by making only cash investments.

The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including ETFs.  Those investments may be made for the purpose of, among other things, gaining or hedging market exposure, hedging exposure to a particular industry, sector or component of an event-driven opportunity, or managing the Fund’s cash position. In addition, the Fund may invest in ETFs and other investment companies as part of an event-driven opportunity if such an investment is otherwise consistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategies.  For example, the Fund may take a position in a narrowly-based sector ETF as part of an investment thesis relating to how a regulatory event may affect companies operating in a particular sector or industry. The Fund may hold a significant portion of its assets in cash, money market investments, money market funds or other similar short-term investments for defensive purposes or to preserve the Fund’s ability to capitalize quickly on new market opportunities.  During periods when the Fund is so invested, its investment returns may be lower than if it were not so invested and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. The Fund may also invest in special purpose acquisition companies, a form of investment company typically formed for the purpose of acquiring an operating business.
 

 
In making investments for the Fund, the Adviser is guided by the following general principles: before an initial position in an event-driven opportunity is established, a preliminary analysis is made of the expected event to determine the probability and timing of the event; in deciding whether or to what extent to invest, the Adviser evaluates, among other things, the credibility, strategic motivation and financial resources of the relevant participants, and the liquidity of the securities involved in the transaction; and the risk-reward characteristics of each event-driven opportunity are assessed on an ongoing basis, and the Fund’s holdings may be adjusted at any time.  The Adviser may sell securities at any time, including if the Adviser’s evaluation of the risk/reward ratio is no longer favorable, in order to take advantage of what the Adviser considers to be a better investment opportunity, when the Adviser believes the investment no longer represents a relatively attractive investment opportunity, or when the Adviser perceives deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer.

The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in any one issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.  The Fund normally expects to engage in active and frequent trading and expects to have a high rate of portfolio turnover (e.g., greater than 100% annually).

Principal Risks:   You could lose money by investing in the Fund.  Although the Fund will strive to meet its investment objective, there is no assurance that it will do so.  Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance, including the following:
 
Call or Redemption Risk – If interest rates decline, issuers of debt securities may exercise redemption or call provisions.  This may force the Fund to reinvest redemption or call proceeds in securities with lower yields, which may reduce Fund performance.

Credit Risk – Issuers of debt securities may suffer from a reduced ability to repay their interest and principal obligations.  They may even default on interest and/or principal payments due to the Fund.  An increase in credit risk or a default will cause the value of the Fund’s fixed and floating rate income securities to decline.  Issuers with lower credit quality are more susceptible to economic or industry downturns and are more likely to default.
 
Derivatives Risk – Financial derivatives, such as options, swaps and futures contracts, may not produce the desired investment results because they are not perfect substitutes for the underlying securities, indices or currencies from which they are derived.  Derivatives may also create leverage which will amplify the effect of the performance of these instruments on the Fund and may produce significant losses.
 

 
Derivatives involve special risks, including: (1) the risk that interest rates, securities prices and currency markets will not move in the direction that a portfolio manager anticipates; (2) imperfect correlation between the price of derivative instruments and movements in the prices of the securities, interest rates or currencies being hedged; (3) the fact that skills needed to use these strategies are different than those needed to select portfolio securities; (4) the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for any particular instrument and possible exchange imposed price fluctuation limits, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to close out a position when desired; (5) the risk that adverse price movements in an instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than the Fund’s initial investment in that instrument (in some cases, the potential loss is unlimited); (6) particularly in the case of privately-negotiated instruments, the risk that the counterparty will not perform its obligations, or that penalties could be incurred for positions held less than the required minimum holding period; and (7) the inability to close out certain positions to avoid losses, exposing the Fund to greater potential risk of loss.  In addition, the use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes is considered a speculative practice and may present an even greater risk of loss than when used for hedging purposes.

Distressed Securities Risk – Distressed securities risk refers to the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers. Because the issuer of such securities is likely to be in a distressed financial condition, repayment of distressed or defaulted securities (including insolvent issuers or issuers in payment or covenant default, in workout or restructuring or in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings) is subject to significant uncertainties. Insolvency laws and practices in foreign jurisdictions are different than those in the U.S. and the effect of these laws and practices may be less favorable and predictable than in the U.S. Investments in defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers are considered highly speculative.

Foreign Investing Risk – Investments in foreign countries may entail political, cultural, regulatory, legal and tax risks different from those associated with comparable transactions in the United States.  Such investments are subject to currency risk and country-specific risks such as political, diplomatic, regional conflicts, terrorism, war, social and economic instability and policies that may have the effect of decreasing the value of foreign securities.  Foreign countries may be subject to different trading settlement practices, less government supervision, less publicly available information, limited trading markets and greater volatility than U.S. investments.  A decline in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will reduce the value of securities held by the Fund and denominated in those currencies.
 
Hedging Transactions Risk – The success of the Fund’s hedging strategy will be subject to the Adviser’s ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged. Hedging transactions involve the risk of imperfect correlation.  Imperfect correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss.  Hedging transactions also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged portfolio position should increase.

Interest Rate Risk – In general, the price of a debt security falls when interest rates rise.  Debt   securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The values of securities with longer maturities tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes.  
 

 
Leveraging Risk – If the Fund employs leverage, such as borrowing money to purchase securities, engaging in reverse repurchase agreements, lending portfolio securities and engaging in forward commitment transactions, as part of its principal investment strategies, the Fund’s shares could be expected to be more volatile and the use of leverage will cause any losses the Fund incurs to be greater than they otherwise would have been had the Fund not employed leverage.

Limited Operating History Risk   The fund has no operating history to evaluate and may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies.

Liquidity Risk Some securities may have few market-makers and low trading volume, which tend to increase transaction costs and may make it impossible for the Fund to dispose of a security position at all or at a price which the Adviser believes represents current or fair market value.  

Lower-Rated Securities Risk – Securities rated below investment-grade (and unrated securities of comparable credit quality), commonly referred to as “high-yield” or “junk” bonds, have speculative characteristics and generally have more credit risk than higher-rated securities. Companies issuing high-yield fixed-income securities are not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings and are more likely to encounter financial difficulties.  Lower rated issuers are more likely to default and their securities could become worthless.

Management Risk – The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio.  The Adviser will apply its investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there is no guarantee that its decisions will produce the intended result or that its evaluation of the likelihood that a specific merger or reorganization will be completed as expected will prove correct.

Merger and Event-Driven Risk – Merger-arbitrage and event-driven investing involves the risk that the Adviser’s evaluation of the outcome of a proposed event, whether it be a merger, reorganization, regulatory issue or other event, will prove incorrect and that the Fund’s return on the investment will be negative. Even if the Adviser’s judgment regarding the likelihood of a specific outcome proves correct, the expected event may be delayed or completed on terms other than those originally proposed, which may cause the Fund to lose money or fail to achieve a desired rate of return.  The Fund expects to employ strategies that are not designed to benefit from general market appreciation or improved economic conditions in the global economy.  Accordingly, the Fund can be expected to underperform the markets under certain market conditions, such as periods when there is rapid appreciation in the markets.

Non-Diversification Risk – As a non-diversified fund, the Fund has a greater potential to realize losses upon the occurrence of adverse events affecting an issuer in its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover Risk – The frequency of the Fund’s transactions will vary from year to year.  Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in additional distributions of taxable capital gains, including short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders at ordinary income rates.  Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Fund’s performance. The Fund normally expects to engage in active and frequent trading and expects to have a high rate of portfolio turnover (e.g., greater than 100% annually).
 

 
 
Purchasing Put Options Risk – When the Fund purchases put options, it risks the loss of the cash paid for the options if the options expire unexercised.  

Selling (Writing) Covered Call Options Risk   When the Fund sells (writes) covered call options, it forgoes the opportunity to benefit from an increase in the value of the underlying stock above the exercise price, but it continues to bear the risk of a decline in the value of the underlying stock.

Short Selling Risk – If the price of a security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund covers its short position, the Fund will incur a loss.  The amount of a potential loss on an uncovered short sale transaction is theoretically unlimited.  The Fund is required to deposit collateral in connection with such short sales and has to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay to the lender of the security amounts equal to any dividends and accrued interest on the borrowed securities during the period of the short sale.

Small and Medium Capitalization Risk – The Fund’s investments in smaller and medium-sized companies carry more risks than investments in larger companies.  Companies with small and medium size market capitalization often have narrower markets, fewer products or services to offer and more limited managerial and financial resources than do larger, more established companies.

Market Risk Investment markets can be volatile. In other words, the prices of investments can fall rapidly in response to developments affecting a specific company or industry, or to changing economic, political or market conditions.  The Fund’s investments may decline in value if markets perform poorly.

Tax Consequence Risk – The Fund will earn premiums from writing call options.  Profits from writing call options are generally treated as short-term capital gains for federal and state income tax purposes, taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them.

Other Risks – Certain portfolio management techniques may be considered senior securities unless steps are taken to segregate the Fund’s assets or otherwise cover its obligations. To avoid having these instruments considered senior securities, the Fund intends to segregate liquid assets with a value equal (on a daily mark-to-market basis) to its obligations under these types of transactions, enter into offsetting transactions or otherwise cover such transactions. To the extent the Fund’s assets are segregated or committed as cover, it could limit the Fund’s investment flexibility. Segregating assets and covering positions will not limit or offset losses.

Annual Total Return:   After the Fund has had operations for at least one full calendar year, its Prospectus will include a bar chart and a table that will provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund has performed and how its performance has varied from year to year. Once available, information on the Fund’s investment results can also be obtained by visiting the Fund's website at [                ].  Past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future. Please also refer to the supplement in Appendix A, which provides performance information for a fund sub-advised by Westchester Capital Management, LLC with investment strategies substantially similar to those of the Fund.
 
 
 
Investment Adviser:   Westchester Capital Management, LLC.
 
Portfolio Managers:   Mr. Roy D. Behren and Mr. Michael T. Shannon have served as co-portfolio managers of the Fund since the Fund’s inception in December 2013. Mr. Behren is Co-Manager and Co-President of the Adviser and Co-President, Treasurer and a Trustee of the Fund.  Mr. Shannon is Co-Manager and Co-President of the Adviser and Co-President and Trustee of the Fund.
 
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares:
 
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day. The Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”) is determined only on days when the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading.  Shares of the Fund may be purchased by sending a completed application form to WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund, c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201-0701 or through authorized financial intermediaries.
 
The minimum investment requirements for initial and subsequent investment are as follows:
 
 
  
Minimum Initial Investment
  
Subsequent Investments
Institutional Class Shares
  
$1,000,000
  
$500
Investor Class Shares
  
$2,000*
  
$0
 
* In general, there is no minimum investment requirement for investments in Investor Class Shares by qualified retirement plans or investments that are made through omnibus accounts.
 
Tax Information:   The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account.
 
Payments to Broker Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries:   If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services.  These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment.  Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s Web site for more information.
 
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES
 
The Fund primarily employs investment strategies designed to capture price movements generated by specific events, including, but not limited to, securities of companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, asset sales or other divestitures, restructurings, refinancings, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other special situations (referred to as “event-driven opportunities”). Among the investment strategies the Adviser may use on behalf of the Fund are the following:
 

 
·   Merger-Arbitrage Strategy : The Fund may purchase the securities of companies that are involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers and other corporate reorganizations, and use one or more arbitrage strategies in connection with the purchase.  Although a variety of strategies may be employed depending upon the nature of the reorganizations, the most common merger-arbitrage strategy involves purchasing the shares of an announced acquisition target at a discount to their expected value upon completion of the acquisition.  The size of this discount, known as the arbitrage “spread,” generally determines the Fund’s potential profit on any given investment.  In conjunction with investment in a target company, the Fund may employ a variety of hedging strategies to protect against issuer-related risk, including selling short the securities of the company that proposes to acquire the target company and/or the purchase and sale of put and call options.  The merger-arbitrage strategy is designed to provide positive performance if the Adviser successfully evaluates the outcome of the event-driven opportunity notwithstanding the performance of the overall market because the Adviser seeks to profit from the “spread” described above upon the completion of a merger, takeover or other reorganization rather than the performance of the market overall or any one issuer.

·     Special Situations Strategy : The Fund may invest in the securities of issuers based upon the expectation of the Adviser that the price of such securities may change in the short term due to a special situation, such as a stock buy-back, spinoffs and split-offs, credit rating upgrade, the outcome of litigation or other dispute, a positive earnings report, legislative or regulatory changes or other catalyst-driven event. The Fund may seek to profit from special situations by employing one or more arbitrage sub-strategies, including, but not limited to, capital structure arbitrage and convertible arbitrage, or the Fund may seek to use such strategies independently.

·     Capital Structure Arbitrage : Capital structure arbitrage is an investment strategy that seeks to profit from relative pricing discrepancies between related securities, such as securities of different classes issued by the same issuer.  For example, when the Adviser believes that unsecured securities are overvalued in relation to senior secured securities of the same issuer, the Fund may purchase senior secured securities of the issuer and take a short position in the unsecured securities of the same issuer. In this example, the trade may be profitable if credit quality spreads widen or if the issuer went bankrupt and the recovery rate for the senior debt was higher than the expectations implicit in the prices of the securities at the time the Fund established its positions. Another example might involve the Fund purchasing one class of common stock while selling short a different class of common stock of the same issuer.

·     Convertible Arbitrage : Convertible arbitrage is a strategy that seeks to profit from mispricings between a firm’s convertible securities and the underlying equity securities. A common convertible arbitrage approach matches a long position in a convertible security with a short position in the underlying common stock when an investor believes the convertible security is undervalued relative to the value of the underlying equity security. In such a case, the investor may seek to sell short shares of the underlying common stock in order to hedge exposure to the issuer of the equity securities.  Convertible arbitrage positions may be designed to earn income from coupon or dividend payments on the investment in the convertible securities.
 

 
The Fund may also invest in other special situations, such as initial public offerings, in privately-placed securities of issuers, including those the Adviser expects to undertake an initial public offering, and other related liquidity events for current shareholders of an issuer.  The Fund may also invest in issuers to capture special dividends or other distributions.

·     Distressed/Restructuring : The Fund may invest in securities, including debt securities, of financially distressed companies and companies undergoing or expected to undergo bankruptcy or other insolvency proceeding.  The Fund may invest in corporate bonds, privately held loans and other securities or obligations of companies that are highly leveraged, experiencing financial difficulties or have filed for bankruptcy. The Fund may profit from its investments in such issuers if the issuer undergoes a successful restructuring or recapitalization, undertakes asset sales or participates in spin-off transactions.  The Fund may also purchase securities in anticipation of a company’s recovery or turnaround or the liquidation of all or some of the company’s assets.

·     Option Income Strategies : The Fund may sell, or “write,” call options on its portfolio securities.  The Fund may also write call options on one or more basket of stocks, such as the S&P 500 Index or an industry sub-group of the S&P 500 Index. The options written by the Fund are considered “covered” if the Fund owns the stocks or basket of stocks against which the options are written.  The Adviser may determine to purchase shares and sell call options on those shares at approximately the same time, although the sale of options on the Fund’s portfolio securities may occur at any time or not at all.  The Adviser may utilize the option writing strategy at any time, including in a relatively flat or declining market environment, to earn premium income. The Fund may sell call options on substantially all of its portfolio securities.

The Fund may utilize other options strategies, such as writing options on securities it does not currently own (known as “uncovered” options), buying or selling options when the Adviser believes they may be mispriced or may provide attractive opportunities to earn income, or engaging in risk-reversal transactions.  In a risk-reversal transaction, the Adviser may buy put options and sell call options against a long stock position.

Additional Event-Driven Strategies.   In addition to the above strategies, the Fund’s Adviser may invest in other investments or utilize other strategies consistent with its investment objective.  For example, the Fund may pursue other event-driven strategies, including investing in companies that may be subject to significant regulatory issues or changes or may be exploring strategic alternatives. The success of those strategies will depend upon, among other things, the Adviser’s skill in evaluating the likelihood of the various potential outcomes and the market’s reaction to those outcomes.

*    *    *    *    *

In implementing the Fund’s investment strategies, the Fund may invest in a wide variety of investments, such as equity securities of any kind, debt securities of any kind, including those that pay a fixed or floating rate of interest, warrants, convertible securities, master limited partnerships, derivative instruments of any kind, including options, futures, currency forwards and swaps.  Derivative instruments may be used for hedging purposes, as a substitute for investments in the underlying securities, to increase or decrease exposure (leverage), or for the purpose of generating income.  The Fund may also engage in forward commitments and reverse repurchase agreements. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective and strategies, the Fund may invest in U.S. and foreign securities without limit. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities.
 

 
The Fund may purchase fixed and floating rate income investments of any credit quality or maturity, including corporate bonds, bank debt and preferred stock.  Certain of the debt securities in which the Fund invests may carry non-investment-grade ratings (rated BB+ or lower by S&P, or comparably rated by another NRSRO), or may be unrated investments of comparable quality, commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds. These securities are speculative investments that carry greater risks and are more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher quality investments. This strategy may be utilized by the Adviser to generate income, to diversify the Fund’s investments or for other investing purposes.

The Fund may enter into derivative transactions and other instruments of any kind for hedging purposes, duration or volatility management purposes, or otherwise to gain, or reduce, long or short exposure to one or more asset classes or issuers.  For example, the Fund may write call options on its portfolio securities or a market index that is representative of its portfolio with the expectation of generating additional income.  The Adviser may seek to hedge the Fund’s portfolio against a decline in the value of its portfolio securities or a decline in the market generally by purchasing put options.  A put option gives the Fund the right to sell, or “put,” a fixed number of shares of stock at a fixed price within a given time frame in exchange for the payment of a premium.  The values of put options generally increase as stock prices decrease. The Fund also may use derivative transactions with the purpose or effect of creating investment leverage.

The Fund may invest in derivative instruments in any manner consistent with its investment strategies, including, for example, in the following situations: (i) the Fund may invest in futures contracts, options on futures contracts, or swap transactions as a substitute for a cash investment in an equity security, (ii) the Fund may invest in interest rate swaps, total return swaps, or futures contracts where the Adviser believes doing so is the most cost-efficient or liquid way to gain the desired investment exposure, (iii) the Fund may invest in options contracts, forward currency contracts, futures contracts and interest rate swaps to adjust the Fund’s investment or risk exposure, and (iv) the Fund may invest in futures transactions, option contracts and swap contracts, such as total return swaps and credit default swaps, to gain investment exposure beyond that which could be achieved by making only cash investments.

The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including ETFs.  Those investments may be made for the purpose of, among other things, gaining or hedging market exposure, hedging exposure to a particular industry, sector or component of an event-driven opportunity, or managing the Fund’s cash position.  In addition, the Fund may invest in ETFs and other investment companies as part of an event-driven opportunity if such an investment is otherwise consistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategies.  For example, the Fund may take a position in a narrowly-based sector ETF as part of an investment thesis relating to how a regulatory event may affect companies operating in a particular sector or industry. The Fund may hold a significant portion of its assets in cash, money market investments, money market funds or other similar short-term investments for defensive purposes or to preserve the Fund’s ability to capitalize quickly on new market opportunities. During periods when the Fund is so invested, its investment returns may be lower than if it were not so invested and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. The Fund may also invest in special purpose acquisition companies, a form of investment company typically formed for the purpose of acquiring an operating business.
 

 
In making investments for the Fund, the Adviser is guided by the following general principles: before an initial position in an event-driven opportunity is established, a preliminary analysis is made of the expected event to determine the probability and timing of the event; in deciding whether or to what extent to invest, the Adviser evaluates, among other things, the credibility, strategic motivation and financial resources of the relevant participants, and the liquidity of the securities involved in the transaction; and the risk-reward characteristics of each event-driven opportunity are assessed on an ongoing basis, and the Fund’s holdings may be adjusted at any time.  The Adviser may sell securities at any time, including if the Adviser’s evaluation of the risk/reward ratio is no longer favorable, in order to take advantage of what the Adviser considers to be a better investment opportunity, when the Adviser believes the investment no longer represents a relatively attractive investment opportunity, or when the Adviser perceives deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer.

Any percentage limitation and requirement as to investments will apply only at the time of an investment to which the limitation or requirement is applicable and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Additionally, any later increase or decrease resulting from a change in values, net assets or other circumstances will not be considered in determining whether any investment complies with the Fund’s limitation or requirement.

The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in any one issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.  The Fund normally expects to engage in active and frequent trading and expects to have a high rate of portfolio turnover (e.g., greater than 100% annually).

The Fund’s investment objective may be changed without prior notice to shareholders.

PRINCIPAL RISKS
 
The Fund’s investment program involves investment techniques and securities holdings which entail risks, in some cases different from the risks ordinarily associated with investments in equity securities.
 
The Fund is not intended to provide a balanced investment program.  The Fund is intended to be an investment vehicle only for that portion of an investor’s capital which can appropriately be exposed to risk.  Each investor should evaluate an investment in the Fund in terms of the investor’s own investment goals.
 
 
 
It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. Among the principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its NAV, yield and total return, are the following:

Call or Redemption Risk

As interest rates decline, issuers of bonds may exercise redemption or call provisions. This may force the Fund to re-invest the proceeds in lower yielding securities with a similar risk profile. This could result in a decreased yield and return for the Fund.

Credit Risk

Issuers of debt and other income securities may default on interest and principal payments due to the Fund. Generally, securities with lower debt ratings have more speculative characteristics and have greater risk the issuer will default on its obligation. Fixed-income securities rated in the fourth classification by Moody’s (Baa) and S&P (BBB) may have some speculative characteristics and changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of those issuers to make principal or interest payments, as compared to issuers of more highly rated securities.  High-yield fixed-income securities (also known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations.  This means that, compared to issuers of higher rated securities, issuers of medium and lower rated securities are less likely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal when due in the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions and/or may be in default or not current in the payment of interest or principal.  The market values of medium- and lower-rated securities tend to be more sensitive to company-specific developments and changes in economic conditions than higher-rated securities.  The companies that issue these securities often are highly leveraged, and their ability to service their debt obligations during an economic downturn or periods of rising interest rates may be impaired.  In addition, these companies may not have access to more traditional methods of financing, and may be unable to repay debt at maturity by refinancing.  The risk of loss due to default in payment of interest or principal by these issuers is significantly greater than with higher-rated securities because medium- and lower-rated securities generally are unsecured and subordinated to senior debt.  Default, or the market’s perception that an issuer is likely to default, could reduce the value and liquidity of securities held by the Fund, thereby reducing the value of your investment in Fund shares.  In addition, default may cause the Fund to incur expenses in seeking recovery of principal or interest on its portfolio holdings.

Derivatives Risk

When the Adviser uses leverage, short sales and other forms of financial derivatives, such as options, futures and forward contracts, an investment in the Fund may be more volatile than investments in other mutual funds.  Derivatives may also be embedded in securities such convertibles which typically include a call option on the issuer’s common stock.  There is the possibility that derivative strategies will not be used or that ineffective implementation of derivative strategies or unusual market conditions could result in significant losses to the Fund.  
 

 
Derivatives are used to limit risk in the Fund or to enhance investment return and have a return tied to a formula based upon an interest rate, index, price of a security, currency exchange rate or other measurement.  Derivatives involve special risks, including: (1) the risk that interest rates, securities prices and currency markets will not move in the direction that a portfolio manager anticipates; (2) imperfect correlation between the price of derivative instruments and movements in the prices of the securities, interest rates or currencies being hedged; (3) the fact that skills needed to use these strategies are different than those needed to select portfolio securities; (4) the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for any particular instrument and possible exchange imposed price fluctuation limits, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to close out a position when desired; (5) the risk that adverse price movements in an instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than the Fund’s initial investment in that instrument (in some cases, the potential loss is unlimited); (6) particularly in the case of privately-negotiated instruments, the risk that the counterparty will not perform its obligations, or that penalties could be incurred for positions held less than the required minimum holding period; and (7) the inability to close out certain hedged positions to avoid adverse tax consequences.  In addition, the use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes (that is, to seek to increase total return) is considered a speculative practice and may present an even greater risk of loss than when used for hedging purposes.

Distressed Securities Risk

Distressed securities risk refers to the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers. Because the issuer of such securities is likely to be in a distressed financial condition, repayment of distressed or defaulted securities (including insolvent issuers or issuers in payment or covenant default, in workout or restructuring or in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings) is subject to significant uncertainties. Insolvency laws and practices in foreign jurisdictions are different than those in the U.S. and the effect of these laws and practices may be less favorable and predictable than in the U.S. Investments in defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers are considered highly speculative.

Foreign Investing Risk

Investing in foreign companies or ETFs which invest in foreign companies, may involve more risks than investing in U.S. companies.  These risks can increase the potential for losses in the Fund and may include, among others, currency devaluations, currency risks (fluctuations in currency exchange rates), country risks (political, diplomatic, regional conflicts, terrorism, war, social and economic instability and policies that have the effect of limiting or restricting foreign investment or the movement of assets), different trading practices, less government supervision, less publicly available information, limited trading markets and greater volatility. Additionally, investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar.  A decline in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will reduce the value of securities held by the Fund and denominated in those currencies.
 
 
 
Hedging Transactions Risk
 
The success of the Fund’s hedging strategy will be subject to the Adviser’s ability to assess correctly the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged. Since the characteristics of many securities change as markets change or time passes, the success of the Fund’s hedging strategy will also be subject to the Adviser’s ability to continually recalculate, readjust, and execute hedges in an efficient and timely manner.  If the Adviser’s assessments or calculations prove inaccurate, the Fund’s hedging strategy may prove ineffective and the Fund may incur greater losses than it otherwise would have incurred had the Fund not employed the hedging strategies.
 
Hedging against a decline in the value of a portfolio position does not eliminate fluctuations in the values of those portfolio positions or prevent losses if the values of those positions decline. Rather, hedging typically establishes other positions designed to gain from those same declines, thus seeking to moderate the decline in the portfolio position’s value. For a variety of reasons, the Adviser may not establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Such imperfect correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, it is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own costs. The Adviser may determine, in its sole discretion, not to hedge against certain risks and certain risks may exist that cannot be hedged. Furthermore, the Adviser may not anticipate a particular risk so as to hedge against it effectively. Hedging transactions also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged portfolio position should increase.

Interest Rate Risk

Debt   securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security may fall when interest rates rise. Securities with longer maturities may be more sensitive to interest rate changes. Certain corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities may be significantly affected by changes in interest rates. Some mortgage-backed securities may have a structure that makes their reaction to interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, making their value highly volatile.  Because zero coupon securities do not make interest payments, they are considered more volatile than bonds making periodic payments. When interest rates rise, zero coupon securities fall more sharply than interest paying bonds. However, zero coupon securities rise more rapidly in value when interest rates drop.  

Leveraging Risk

If the Fund employs leverage, such as borrowing money to purchase securities, engaging in reverse repurchase agreements, lending portfolio securities and engaging in forward commitment transactions, as part of its principal investment strategies, the Fund’s shares could be expected to be more volatile and the use of leverage will cause any losses the Fund incurs to be greater than they otherwise would have been had the Fund not employed leverage.
 

 
Limited Operating History Risk

The Fund is a newly formed fund and has no operating history for investors to evaluate. The fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Liquidity Risk

The markets for high-yield, convertible and certain lightly traded equity securities (particularly small cap issues) are often not as liquid as markets for higher-rated securities or large cap equity securities.  For example, relatively few market makers characterize the secondary markets for high-yield debt securities, and the trading volume for high-yield debt securities is generally lower than that for higher-rated securities.  Accordingly, these secondary markets (generally or for a particular security) could contract under real or perceived adverse market or economic conditions.  These factors may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to dispose of particular portfolio investments and may limit the ability of the Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating NAV.  Less liquid secondary markets also may affect the Fund’s ability to sell securities at their fair value. The Fund may invest in illiquid securities, which are more difficult to value and to sell at fair value.  If the secondary markets for lightly-traded securities contract due to adverse economic conditions or for other reasons, certain liquid securities in the Fund’s portfolio may become illiquid, and the proportion of the Fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities may increase.

Smaller, unseasoned companies (those with less than a three-year operating history) and recently-formed public companies may not have established products, experienced management, or an earnings history.  As a result, their stocks may lack liquidity. Investments in foreign securities may lack liquidity due to heightened exposure to potentially adverse local, political, and economic developments such as war, political instability, hyperinflation, currency devaluations, and overdependence on particular industries.  In addition, government interference in markets such as nationalization and exchange controls, expropriation of assets, or imposition of punitive taxes may result in a lack of liquidity.  Possible problems arising from accounting, disclosure, settlement, and regulatory practices or changes and legal rights that differ from U.S. standards might reduce liquidity.  The chance that fluctuations in foreign exchange rates will decrease the investment’s value (favorable changes can increase its value) will also impact liquidity. These risks are heightened for investments in developing countries.

Lower-Rated Securities Risk

Securities rated below investment-grade, sometimes called “high-yield” or “junk” bonds, have speculative characteristics and generally have more credit risk than higher-rated securities. Companies issuing high-yield fixed-income securities are not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings.  These companies are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments.  If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, payments on the securities may never resume.  These securities may be worthless and the Fund could lose its entire investment.
 

 
Management Risk

Each Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio.  The Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness and potential appreciation of a security, whether selected under a “value”, “growth” or other investment style, may prove to be inaccurate and may not produce the desired results.  The Adviser will apply its investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there is no guarantee that its decisions will produce the intended result.

Merger and Event-Driven Risk

The principal risk associated with merger-arbitrage and event-driven investing is that the Adviser’s evaluation of the outcome of a proposed event, whether it be a merger, reorganization, regulatory issue or other event, will prove incorrect and that the Fund’s return on the investment will be negative. Even if the Adviser’s judgment regarding the likelihood of a specific outcome proves correct, the expected event may be delayed or completed on terms other than those originally proposed, which may cause the Fund to lose money or to fail to achieve a desired rate of return. The Fund may invest in hostile tender offers, proposed leveraged buyouts and other similar situations.  Those types of transactions have a greater risk that the proposed transaction will not be completed successfully and, consequently, a greater risk of loss.  A failed transaction or reorganization may occur for a number of reasons, including failure to get shareholder approval or failure to get regulatory approval.  The Fund may incur significant losses unwinding its merger-arbitrage and event-driven positions in the event that a proposed merger or other corporate event does not occur as expected by the Adviser or the Adviser determines the position no longer represents an attractive investment opportunity.

The Fund expects to employ strategies that are not designed to benefit from general market appreciation or improved economic conditions in the global economy.  Indeed, the Adviser may seek to limit the Fund’s investment exposure to the markets generally.  Accordingly, the Fund can be expected to underperform the markets under certain market conditions, such as periods when there is rapid appreciation in the markets.
 
Non-Diversification Risk

A fund that is a non-diversified investment company means that more of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a diversified investment company.  This may make the value of the fund’s shares more volatile and susceptible to certain risk than shares of a diversified investment company.  As a non-diversified fund, the Fund has a greater potential to realize losses upon the occurrence of adverse events affecting a particular issuer.

Portfolio Turnover Risk

The frequency of the Fund’s transactions will vary from year to year.  Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in increased distributions of taxable capital gains to Fund shareholders, including short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders at ordinary income rates. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover reduce the Fund’s performance. The Fund normally expects to engage in active and frequent trading and expects to have a high rate of portfolio turnover (e.g., greater than 100% annually).
 

 
Purchasing Put Options Risk

When the Fund purchases put options, it risks the loss of the cash paid for the options if the options expire unexercised.  

Selling (Writing) Covered Call Options Risk

When the Fund sells covered call options, it foregoes the opportunity to benefit from an increase in the value of the underlying stock above the exercise price, but it continues to bear the risk of a decline in the value of the underlying stock.  The Fund receives a premium for selling a call option but the price the Fund realizes from the sale of the stock upon exercise of the option could be substantially below the prevailing market price of the stock.  The purchaser of the covered call option may exercise the call at any time during the option period (the time between when the call is sold and when it expires).  When a call option which the Fund has written is exercised, the Fund must deliver the security upon which the call is written.  This means that the Fund would be forced to deliver a security out of its portfolio and replace it, or purchase the same security on the open market for delivery. Under either scenario the Fund would face increased transaction costs because of its need to purchase securities, either for delivery to the party exercising the call option or to replace a security delivered to the other party out of its portfolio, subject to call options.  If the value of the stock underlying the call option is below the exercise price, the call is not likely to be exercised, and the Fund could have an unrealized loss on the stock, offset by the amount of the premium received by the Fund when it sold the option.

There is no assurance that a liquid market will be available at all times for the Fund to sell call options or to enter into closing purchase transactions. In addition, the premiums the Fund receives for selling call options may decrease as a result of a number of factors, including changes in interest rates generally, a decline in stock market volumes or a decrease in the price volatility of the underlying securities.  The Fund incurs transaction expenses when selling call options.

 The Fund may write call options that are “in the money,” meaning calls whose exercise price is less than the market price of the underlying stock or basket of stocks when the options are written or “at the money,” meaning calls whose exercise price is equal to the market price of the underlying stock or basket of stocks when the options are written.  Call options that are written “in the money” or “at the money” are more likely to be exercised by the counterparty than other options and effectively eliminate the Fund’s ability to benefit from appreciation in the market value of the securities on which the options are written during the period of the option.

Short Selling Risk

If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund covers its short position, the Fund will incur a loss. The amount of a potential loss on an uncovered short sale transaction is theoretically unlimited. Also, the Fund is required to deposit collateral in connection with such short sales and will have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay over any dividends and accrued interest on borrowed securities and will often be obligated to pay to the lender of the security amounts equal to any dividends and accrued interest on the borrowed securities during the period of the short sale.  These aspects of short selling increase the costs to the Fund and will reduce its rate of return.  Additionally, the successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.
 

 
Small and Medium Capitalization Risk

The Fund’s investments in smaller and medium-sized companies carry more risks than investments in larger companies. Companies with small and medium size market capitalization often have narrower markets, fewer products or services to offer and more limited managerial and financial resources than do larger, more established companies.  Investing in lesser-known, small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk of volatility of the Fund’s net asset value than is customarily associated with larger, more established companies.  Often smaller and medium capitalization companies and the industries in which they are focused are still evolving and, while this may offer better growth potential than larger, more established companies, it also may make them more sensitive to changing market conditions.  Small cap companies may have returns that can vary, occasionally significantly, from the market in general.

Market Risk

Investment markets can be volatile. In other words, the prices of stocks can fall rapidly in response to developments affecting a specific company or industry, or to changing economic, political or market conditions.  The Fund’s investments may decline in value if the stock markets perform poorly.  There is also a risk that the Fund’s investments will underperform either the securities markets generally or particular segments of the securities markets.

Tax Consequences Risk

The Fund may generate a high level of premiums from writing call options.  These premiums are generally treated as short-term capital gains to the Fund for federal and state income tax purposes, taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them.  Transactions involving the disposition of the Fund’s underlying securities (whether pursuant to the exercise of a call option or otherwise) give rise to capital gains or losses.  Because the Fund has no control over the exercise of the call options, shareholder redemptions, or corporate events affecting its equity securities investments (such as mergers or reorganizations), it may be forced to realize capital gains or losses at inopportune times.  

Other Risks

Certain portfolio management techniques, such as, among other things, using reverse repurchase agreements or dollar rolls, purchasing securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, entering into swap agreements, futures contracts or other derivative transactions, or engaging in short sales, may be considered senior securities unless steps are taken to segregate the Fund’s assets or otherwise cover its obligations. To avoid having these instruments considered senior securities, the Fund intends to segregate liquid assets with a value equal (on a daily mark-to-market basis) to its obligations under these types of transactions, enter into offsetting transactions or otherwise cover such transactions. The Fund may be unable to use such segregated assets for certain other purposes, which could result in the Fund earning a lower return on its portfolio than it might otherwise earn if it did not segregate those assets to cover such positions. To the extent the Fund’s assets are segregated or committed as cover, it could limit the Fund’s investment flexibility. Segregating assets and covering positions will not limit or offset losses.
 

 
 
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
 
A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). Currently, disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is required by law to be made quarterly within 60 days of the end of each fiscal quarter in the annual report and semi-annual report to shareholders and in the Fund’s quarterly holdings report on Form N-Q.  You may obtain the SAI and Form N-Q (when available), free of charge, on the EDGAR database on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC’s”) website at www.sec.gov . Once available, you may also access the Fund’s reports to shareholders and Form N-Q filings on the Fund’s website at [    ].

INVESTMENT ADVISER
 
Westchester Capital Management, LLC (the “Adviser”), 100 Summit Lake Drive, Valhalla, New York 10595, a registered investment adviser since 2010, has been the Fund’s investment adviser since the Fund’s inception.
 
The Adviser and its affiliate had approximately $4.5 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2013.  The Adviser and its affiliate manage merger-arbitrage programs and other investment strategies similar to the Fund’s investment strategies for other institutional investors, including other registered open-end investment companies.  Subject to the oversight of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, the Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s business affairs.
 
The Fund and the Adviser have entered into an Investment Advisory and Management Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”), under the terms of which the Fund has employed the Adviser to manage the investment of the assets of the Fund, to place orders for the purchase and sale of its portfolio securities, and to be responsible for overall management of the Fund’s business affairs, subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees. Under the Advisory Agreement between the Fund and the Adviser, the Fund pays to the Adviser as compensation for the services rendered, facilities furnished, and expenses paid by it, a fee at the following annual rate:
 
 
 
 
WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund
Annual Management Fee
(as a Percentage of the
Fund’s Average Daily
Net Asset Value)
 
 
1.25%

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee and to reimburse the Fund for other ordinary operating expenses to the extent necessary to limit ordinary operating expenses to an amount not to exceed 1.74% for Institutional Class shares and 1.99% for Investor Class shares. Ordinary operating expenses exclude taxes, commissions, mark-ups, litigation expenses, indemnification expenses, interest expenses, borrowing expenses, including on securities sold short, dividend expenses on securities sold short, trading or investment expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. This expense limitation is expected to apply until at least [     ], 2014, except that it may be terminated by the Board of Trustees at any time. To the extent that the Adviser waives its investment advisory fee and/or reimburses the Fund for other ordinary operating expenses, it may seek reimbursement of a portion or all of such amounts at any time within three fiscal years after the fiscal year in which such amounts were waived or reimbursed, subject to the expense limitation in place at the time such amounts were waived or reimbursed.
 
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees approving the Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s first report to shareholders.
 
Portfolio Managers
 
Mr. Roy D. Behren and Mr. Michael T. Shannon are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.
 
Mr. Behren has served as Co-President of the Adviser since 2011 and also serves as Co-President, Treasurer and a Trustee of the Fund.  Mr. Behren served as a research analyst for Westchester Capital Management, Inc. (“Westchester”) from 1994 until 2010 and as the Chief Compliance Officer of Westchester from 2004 until June 2010, and has served as a portfolio manager for the Fund since its inception in December 2013.
 
Mr. Shannon has served as Co-President of the Adviser since 2011 and also serves as Co-President and a Trustee of the Fund.  Mr. Shannon served as Westchester’s Director of Research from May 1996 until April 2005.  From April 2005 to April 2006, Mr. Shannon was Senior Vice President in charge of the Special Situations and Mergers Group of D.E. Shaw & Co.  Mr. Shannon returned to Westchester in May 2006 as a research analyst and portfolio strategist and has served as a portfolio manager for the Fund since its inception in December 2013.
 
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Fund.
 
CLASSES OF SHARES
 
The Fund offers Institutional Class and Investor Class Shares. Each class of shares bears a different level of expenses.  For example, Investor Class Shares bear fees under a plan of distribution that does not apply to Institutional Class Shares.  Institutional Class and Investor Class Shares are generally available for purchase by all investors, subject to the satisfaction of the investment minimums and criteria described below.
 
The minimum investment requirements for initial and subsequent investment are as follows:
 
 
 
 
         
 
  
Minimum Initial Investment
  
Subsequent Investments
Institutional Class Shares
  
$1,000,000
  
$500
Investor Class Shares
  
$2,000*
  
$0
 
* In general, there is no minimum investment requirement for investments in Investor Class Shares by qualified retirement plans or investments that are made through omnibus accounts.
 
The minimum initial and subsequent investment amounts for Institutional Class Shares may be modified for certain investors. The Fund has agreed to waive the minimum initial investment amount for Institutional Class Shares for clients of third-party investment programs or platforms that (or whose participants) meet certain asset thresholds and with which the Fund has a distribution arrangement.  The Fund may waive the investment minimums in other cases in its discretion.  The Fund reserves the right to change the minimum investment amounts without prior notice. More extensive information about the Trust’s multiclass arrangements is included in the SAI.

DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS – INVESTOR CLASS SHARES
 
The Fund has adopted a plan of distribution (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that applies to the Fund’s Investor Class Shares.  Under the Plan, the Fund may pay the Fund’s distributor for certain of the distribution expenses associated with the Fund’s Investor Class Shares, including the cost of providing prospectuses to prospective shareholders, as well as to reimburse the distributor for payments made to any broker-dealer or other financial intermediary with whom the Fund has entered into a contract to distribute the Fund’s Investor Class Shares (including the financial intermediary through whom you may purchase shares of the Fund), or any other qualified financial services firm, to compensate those broker-dealers, intermediaries or firms for distribution and/or shareholder-related services with respect to Investor Class Shares held or purchased by their respective customers or in connection with the purchase of Investor Class Shares attributable to their efforts.  The amount of such payments made by the Fund with the proceeds of the Plan in any one year shall not exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to the Fund’s Investor Class shares, which also may be payable for providing shareholder services.  Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets attributable to Investor Class Shares on an on-going basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
 
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
 
The Fund may pay, in respect of all classes of shares, additional amounts from its own resources for the provision of other permitted services, and the Adviser may pay amounts from its own resources for the provision of such services.  Other permitted services may include transfer agency and dividend disbursing fees; charges for the maintenance of records, recordkeeping, and related costs; record-keeping charges; accounting expenses; transfer costs; custodian fees; sub-transfer agency services; sub-accounting services; administrative services; transfer agent and sub-transfer agent services for beneficial owners of the Fund shares; aggregating and processing purchase and redemption orders; providing beneficial owners with statements showing their positions in the Fund; processing dividend payments; providing sub-accounting services for Fund shares held beneficially; forwarding shareholder communications, such as proxies, shareholder reports, dividend and tax notices, and updating prospectuses to beneficial owners; and receiving, tabulating, and transmitting proxies executed by beneficial owners. The recipients of these payments may be involved in the distribution of the Fund’s shares.
 
 
 
In addition, for all classes of shares, the distributor and the Adviser and their affiliates from time to time may make payments such as cash bonuses or provide other incentives to selected financial intermediaries involved in the distribution of the Fund’s Shares as compensation for services such as, without limitation, providing the Fund with “shelf space” or a higher profile for the financial intermediaries’ financial consultants and their customers, placing the Fund on the financial intermediaries’ preferred or recommended fund list, granting the distributor or the Adviser or their affiliates access to the financial intermediaries’ financial consultants, providing assistance in training and educating the financial intermediaries’ personnel, and furnishing marketing support and other specified services.  The actual services provided, and the payments made for such services, vary from intermediary to intermediary. These payments may be significant to the financial intermediaries and may also take the form of sponsorship of seminars or informational meetings or payment for attendance by persons associated with the financial intermediaries at seminars or informational meetings. Financial intermediaries include brokers, dealers, insurance companies, third party administrators and banks.

A number of factors will be considered in determining the amount of these additional payments to financial intermediaries. On some occasions, such payments are conditioned upon levels of sales, including the sale of a specified minimum dollar amount of the shares of the Fund, all other series of the Trust, other funds sponsored by the Adviser and/or a particular class of shares, possibly during a specified period of time. The Adviser, the distributor and their affiliates may also make payments to certain participating financial intermediaries based upon factors such as the amount of assets a financial intermediary’s clients have invested in the Fund and the quality of the financial intermediary’s relationship with the distributor or the Adviser. The additional payments described above are made at the expense of the distributor or the Adviser and their affiliates. These payments are made to financial intermediaries selected by the distributor or Adviser, generally to the intermediaries that have sold significant amounts of shares of the Fund or other Adviser-sponsored funds. In certain cases, these payments are subject to certain minimum payment levels. In some cases, in lieu of payments pursuant to a formula, the distributor or the Adviser and their affiliates may make payments of an agreed-upon amount that normally will not exceed the amount that would have been payable pursuant to the formula. There may be a few relationships on different bases.

The distributor and the Adviser and their affiliates, at their own expense and out of their own assets, may also provide compensation to financial intermediaries in connection with conferences, sales, or training programs for their employees, seminars for the public, advertising or sales campaigns, or other financial intermediary-sponsored special events. In some instances, the compensation may be made available only to certain financial intermediaries whose representatives have sold or are expected to sell significant amounts of shares of the Fund. Intermediaries that are registered broker-dealers may not use sales of Fund shares to qualify for this compensation to the extent prohibited by the laws or rules of any state or any self-regulatory agency, such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
 

 
If investment advisers, distributors or affiliates of mutual funds pay bonuses and incentives in differing amounts, financial intermediaries and their financial consultants may have financial incentives for recommending a particular mutual fund over other mutual funds. In addition, depending on the arrangements in place at any particular time, a financial intermediary and its financial consultants may also have a financial incentive for recommending a particular share class over other share classes.

Representatives of the distributor and the Adviser or their affiliates visit brokerage firms on a regular basis to educate financial advisors about the Fund and to encourage the sale of Fund shares to their clients. The costs and expenses associated with these efforts may include travel, lodging, sponsorship at educational seminars and conferences, entertainment and meals to the extent permitted by law.

The compensation paid by the Fund or the Adviser or their affiliates to an intermediary is typically paid continually over time, during the period when the intermediary’s clients hold investments in the Fund. The amount of continuing compensation paid to different financial intermediaries varies. In addition, the Fund, the distributor, the Adviser and their affiliates may also make payments to financial intermediaries to offset the cost associated with processing transactions in Fund shares or to pay financial intermediaries one-time charges for setting up access for the Fund on particular platforms, as well as transaction fees, or per position fees.

PLANS OFFERED BY THE FUND
 
Additional information about any of the plans described below may be obtained by contacting the Adviser at 100 Summit Lake Drive, Valhalla, New York 10595 (telephone (914) 741-5600).
 
IRA Plans
 
The Fund makes available WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan for individuals to establish an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) under which shares of the Fund may be purchased.  WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan can be used to make regular IRA contributions, and can also be used for a rollover or transfer from an existing IRA, or for a rollover from a qualified retirement plan from which the individual receives a lump-sum distribution.
 
An annual maintenance fee of $15.00 will be charged for each IRA.  In addition, a $25.00 processing fee will be assessed for all transactions whereby funds are removed from an account.  The processing fee will not apply to a required distribution from an IRA for which a Systematic Withdrawal Plan has been established.  These fees are subject to change upon notification by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC to the Fund.
 
 
 
The Fund also makes available to qualifying shareholders a “Roth IRA,” which is a form of IRA created in 1997.  Shareholders should consult with their own financial advisers to determine eligibility.
 
Other Retirement Plans
 
The Fund additionally makes available certain prototype plans for corporations, self-employed individuals or partnerships, to establish a qualified retirement plan under which shares of the Fund may be purchased.  Such plans can accept a transfer or qualified rollover from an existing qualified retirement plan from which an individual receives a lump-sum distribution, as well as regular annual contributions.
 
An annual maintenance fee of $15.00 will be charged for each account.  In addition, a $25.00 processing fee will be assessed for all transactions whereby funds are removed from an account.  The processing fee will not apply to a required distribution from an account for which a Systematic Withdrawal Plan has been established.  These fees are subject to change upon notification by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC to the Fund.
 
Coverdell Education Savings Plan
 
The Fund also makes available a form of Coverdell education savings account plan.  Shareholders should consult their financial advisers to determine conditions and eligibility.
 
HOW TO PURCHASE SHARES
 
Shares of the Fund may be purchased at NAV without any upfront sales or other charge by sending a completed application form (available at __________) to:
 
WCM Alternatives:  Event-Driven Fund
c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701
 
However, applicants should not send any correspondence by overnight courier to the above post-office-box address.  Correspondence sent by overnight courier should be addressed to the Fund at:
 
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
Mutual Fund Services, Third Floor
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202-5207
 
The Fund does not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agents.  Because only physical possession constitutes receipt by the Transfer Agent, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at the U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC post office box, of purchase applications or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the Transfer Agent until it retrieves mail from the post office box, which it typically does several times per day.
 
 
 
Initial Investment – By wire:   If you are making an initial investment in the Fund, before you wire funds, please contact the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 to make arrangements with a service representative to submit your completed application via mail, overnight delivery or facsimile.  Upon receipt of your application, your account will be established by a service representative.  To obtain your new account number, please contact a service representative at 1-800-343-8959.  You may then contact your bank to initiate the wire referencing the account number.  For wire instructions, see “For Subsequent Investments – By wire” below or call a service representative.
 
For Subsequent Investments – By wire:   If you are making a subsequent purchase, your bank should wire funds as indicated below.  Before each wire purchase, you should be sure to notify the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 of your intent to wire funds.  This will ensure prompt and accurate credit upon receipt of your wire.   It is essential that your bank include complete information about your account in all wire instructions.   If you have questions about how to invest by wire, you may call the Transfer Agent.  Your bank may charge you a fee for sending a wire to the Fund.
 
U.S. Bank, N.A.
777 East Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
ABA# 075000022

Credit:
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
Account #112-952-137

Further Credit:
WCM Alternatives:  Event-Driven Fund
(shareholder registration)
(shareholder account number)

Please remember that U.S. Bank, N.A. must receive your wired funds prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE for you to receive same-day pricing.  The Fund and U.S. Bank, N.A. are not responsible for the consequences of delays resulting from the banking or Federal Reserve Wire system, or from incomplete wiring instructions.
 
Shares Purchased Through Financial Intermediaries: Shares of the Fund may also be purchased through authorized financial intermediaries who may charge for their services.  In order for your purchase order to be processed at the Fund’s NAV determined on a business day, an authorized financial intermediary must receive your purchase request in good order before the close of trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) and the authorized financial intermediary must subsequently communicate the request properly and timely to the Fund.  Please contact your financial intermediary for instructions on how to place purchase requests. Because financial intermediaries’ processing times may vary, please ask your financial intermediary when your transaction request will be effected.
 

 
The minimum initial investment for the purchase of Investor Class Shares by individuals, IRAs, corporations, partnerships or trusts is $2,000.  However, the Adviser, in its sole discretion, may waive the minimum initial investment amount on a case-by-case basis.  Minimum investment amounts may be waived for investors who invest through omnibus accounts.  There is no minimum for subsequent investments.  There is no minimum investment requirement for qualified retirement plans.  The Fund, however, reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any application to purchase shares.  Applications will not be accepted unless they are accompanied by a wire transfer or a check drawn on a U.S. bank, savings and loan, or credit union in U.S. funds for the full amount of the shares to be purchased.
 
The Fund will not accept payment in cash or money orders.  The Fund also does not accept cashier’s checks in amounts of less than $10,000.  The Fund will not accept third-party checks, Treasury checks, credit-card checks, travelers checks or starter checks for the purchase of shares.  The Fund is unable to accept post-dated checks, post-dated on-line bill-pay checks, or any conditional order or payment.
 
After an account is opened, additional shares may be purchased by sending a check payable to “WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund,” together with a note stating the name(s) on the account and the account number, to the Fund’s Transfer Agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701.  All shares will be purchased at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of the shareholder’s application in “proper order” (which means that the Fund has received your fully and properly completed application accompanied by payment) and acceptance of such application by the Fund.  All purchases received in “proper order” before the close of regular trading on the NYSE will be processed on that same day.  Purchases received after the close of regular trading on the NYSE will receive the next business day’s NAV per share.  No share certificates will be issued.
 
The Transfer Agent will charge a $25.00 fee against a shareholder’s account, in addition to any loss sustained by the Fund, for any payment check or electronic funds transfer that is returned.
 
Shareholders should contact the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 to obtain the latest wire instructions for wiring funds to U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC for the purchase of Fund shares and to notify U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC that a wire transfer is coming.
 
The Fund reserves the right to close to new investors at any time in the future but has no present plans to do so.
 
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
 
The Fund, the Fund’s distributor and/or your financial intermediary are required to comply with various anti-money laundering laws and regulations.  Consequently, the Fund or the Fund’s distributors may request additional information from you to verify your identity and source of funds.  As requested on the application, you must supply your full name, date of birth, social security number and permanent street address.  Mailing addresses containing only a P.O. Box will not be accepted.  If the Fund or the Fund’s distributor deems the information submitted does not provide for adequate identity verification, it reserves the right to reject your investment and the establishment of your account.  If at any time the Fund believes an investor may be involved in suspicious activity or if certain account information matches information on government lists of suspicious persons, it may choose not to establish a new account or may be required to “freeze” a shareholder’s account.  It also may be required to provide a governmental agency or another financial institution with information about transactions that have occurred in a shareholder’s account or to transfer monies received to establish a new account, transfer an existing account or transfer the proceeds of an existing account to a governmental agency.  In some circumstances, the law may not permit the Fund or the Fund’s distributors to inform the shareholder that it has taken the actions described above.
 
 
 
Shares of the Fund have not been registered for sale outside the United States.  The Fund generally does not sell shares to investors residing outside the United States, even if they are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents, except to investors with United States military APO or FPO addresses.
 
Automatic Investment Plan
 
The Fund offers an Automatic Investment Option pursuant to which money will be moved from the shareholder’s bank account to the shareholder’s Fund account on a systematic schedule (e.g., monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or annually) that the shareholder selects.  After making an initial investment meeting the minimum investment amount, the minimum transaction amount for an Automatic Investment Plan is $100.  Any request to change or terminate an Automatic Investment Plan should be submitted to the Transfer Agent by telephone at 1-800-343-8959 or in written form five days prior to the effective date.
 
Telephone Purchases
 
The Fund offers a Telephone Purchase Option pursuant to which money will be moved from the shareholder’s bank account to the shareholder’s Fund account upon request.  To have Fund shares purchased at the NAV determined as of the close of regular trading on a given date, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC must receive your order before the close of regular trading on such date.  Most transfers are completed within three (3) business days.  The minimum transaction amount for a Telephone Purchase is $100.
 
After making an initial investment of meeting the minimum investment amount, shareholders may elect these options.  For both an Automatic Investment Plan and telephone purchases, only bank accounts held at domestic financial institutions that are ACH members can be used for transactions.
 
NET ASSET VALUE
 
The NAV per share of each class of shares the Fund will be determined on each day when the NYSE is open for business at the close of the NYSE and will be computed by determining the aggregate market value of all assets of the Fund attributable to that share class less liabilities attributable to that share class, and then dividing by the total number of shares of that class outstanding.  On holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests.  However, on those days the value of the Fund’s assets may be affected, especially if the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open.  From time to time, the Fund may employ fair-value pricing to value securities for which market quotations are not readily available or for which market quotations are believed to be unrepresentative of fair market value.  The determination of NAV for a particular day is applicable to all applications for the purchase of shares as well as all requests for the redemption of shares received at or before the close of trading on the NYSE on that day.
 
 
 
Portfolio securities and options positions for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price or the last sale price reported by the principal exchange for each such security as of the exchange’s close of business, as applicable.  Securities and options for which no sale has taken place during the day and securities which are not listed on an exchange are valued at the mean of the current closing bid and asked prices.  All other securities and assets for which (a) market quotations are not readily available, (b) market quotations are believed to be unrepresentative of fair market value or (c) valuation is normally made at the last sale price on a foreign exchange and a significant event occurs after the close of that exchange but before the NYSE close, are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by the Fund’s Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund’s Board of Trustees.  Certain assets of the Fund may also be valued on the basis of valuations provided by one or more pricing services.
 
When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities.  In addition, due to the subjective and variable nature of fair-value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset’s sale.
 
REDEMPTIONS
Redemptions by Mail
 
Fund shareholders will be entitled to redeem all or any portion of the shares credited to their accounts by submitting a written request for redemption to:
 
WCM Alternatives:  Event-Driven Fund
c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701
 
Upon the receipt of such a request in “proper order,” as described below, the shareholder will receive a check based on the NAV next determined after the redemption request has been received, which may be more or less than the amount originally invested.  If the shares to be redeemed represent an investment made by check, the Fund reserves the right to withhold the proceeds until the check clears.  It will normally take seven days to clear checks.
 
A redemption request will be considered to have been received in “proper order” if the following conditions are satisfied:
 
 
 
 
 
(i)
the request is in writing, indicates the class and number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed and identifies the shareholder’s account number;
 
 
(ii)
the request is signed by the shareholder(s) exactly as the shares are registered;
 
 
(iii)
the request is accompanied by certificates, if any, issued representing the shares, which have been endorsed for transfer (or are themselves accompanied by an endorsed stock power) exactly as the shares are registered; and
 
 
(iv)
a signature guarantee, if required, is included.  A signature guarantee is required to redeem shares in the following situations:  if ownership is changed on your account; if the redemption proceeds are payable or sent to any person, address or bank account not on record; if a change of address request was received by the Transfer Agent within the last 15 days; when establishing or modifying certain services on an account; and if the proceeds of a requested redemption exceed $50,000.  In addition to the situations described above, the Fund and/or the Transfer Agent reserve the right to require a signature guarantee in other instances based on the circumstances relative to the particular situation.
 
Signature guarantees will generally be accepted from domestic banks, brokers, dealers, credit unions, national securities exchanges, registered securities associations, clearing agencies and savings associations, as well as from participants in the NYSE Medallion Signature Program and the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program (“STAMP”).  A notary public is not an acceptable signature guarantor.
 
Questions concerning a redemption request may be addressed to the Fund at its principal office.  No redemption request will become effective until all documents have been received in “proper order” by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC.
 
Telephone Redemptions
 
The Fund grants telephone-redemption privileges.  Shareholders who do not wish to establish telephone-redemption privileges should notify the Transfer Agent.  New shareholders who do not wish to establish telephone-redemption privileges may so indicate on the account application.
 
You may redeem all or some of your shares, with a value ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time/6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, on a day when the NYSE is open for trading.  Redemption requests received before the close of trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) will typically be priced and processed as of the close of business on that day; requests received after that time will be processed as of the close of business on the next business day.  Telephone redemptions will not be accepted with respect to shares represented by certificates or for retirement accounts.
 
When you use telephone privileges, you are authorizing the Fund and the Transfer Agent to act upon the telephone instructions of the person or persons you have designated on your account application.  Redemption proceeds will be sent by check to the address of record, as designated on your account application, transferred to the bank account you have designated on your account application, or sent via electronic funds transfer through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network to a predetermined bank account.  The minimum amount that may be sent is $1,000.  There is no charge to receive redemption proceeds via the ACH network.  However, credit may not be available for two to three business days.  Shareholders who would like to arrange for redemption by wire or designate a bank or account to receive redemption proceeds should send a written request to the Fund at the address listed under “Redemptions by Mail.” The request should be signed by the shareholder(s) exactly as the shares are registered and may require a signature guarantee.  Further documentation may be required.  Please call the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 if you need assistance.  Once a telephone transaction has been placed, it cannot be canceled or modified.
 
 
 
The Fund and the Transfer Agent will not be liable for any loss, expense, or cost arising out of any telephone transaction request that is reasonably believed to be genuine.  This includes any fraudulent or unauthorized request.  The Fund may change, modify or terminate these privileges at any time upon written notice to shareholders.  The Fund may suspend temporarily the redemption privilege in emergency situations or in cases where, in the judgment of the Fund, continuation of the privilege would be detrimental to the Fund and its shareholders.  Such temporary suspension can be without prior notification to shareholders.
 
You may have difficulties in making a telephone redemption during periods of abnormal market activity.  If this occurs, you may make your redemption request in writing.
 
Shares Held Through Financial Intermediaries
 
If you purchased shares of the Fund through an authorized financial intermediary, you must typically redeem your shares through that financial intermediary. In order for your redemption order to be processed at the Fund’s NAV determined on a business day, your authorized financial intermediary must receive your redemption request in good order before the close of trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) and the authorized financial intermediary must subsequently communicate the request properly and timely to the Fund.  Please contact your financial intermediary for instructions on how to place a redemption request. Because financial intermediaries’ processing times may vary, please ask your financial intermediary when your account will be credited.
 
Additional Information on Redemptions
 
Shareholders who have an IRA or other retirement plan must indicate on their redemption request whether or not to withhold federal income tax.  Redemption requests failing to indicate an election not to have federal tax withheld will be subject to withholding.
 
Shareholders may also redeem Fund shares through broker-dealers holding such shares who have made arrangements with the Fund permitting redemptions by telephone or facsimile transmission.  These broker-dealers may charge a fee for this service.
 
If a shareholder’s transactions at any time reduce the shareholder’s account in the Fund to below $1,000 in value, the Fund may notify the shareholder that, unless the account is brought up to at least such minimum amount, the Fund may, within 30 days, redeem all shares in the account and close it by making payment to the shareholder.
 
 
 
Shareholders who effect redemptions by wire transfer will pay a $15.00 wire transfer fee to U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC to cover costs associated with the transfer.  In addition, a shareholder’s bank may impose a charge for receiving wires.
 
If an investor elects to receive distributions in cash, and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver your check, or if a check remains uncashed for six months, the Fund reserves the right to reinvest the distribution check in the shareholder’s account at the Fund’s then-current asset value and to reinvest all subsequent distributions.
 
Excessive Short-Term Trading
 
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies and procedures with respect to excessive short-term trading by Fund shareholders.  Excessive short-term trading activity may reduce the Fund’s performance and harm all of the Fund’s shareholders by interfering with efficient portfolio management, increasing the Fund’s expenses and diluting the Fund’s NAV. Depending on the size and frequency of short-term trades in the Fund’s shares, the Fund may experience increased cash flow volatility, which could require the Fund to maintain undesirably large cash positions or buy or sell portfolio securities it would not have bought or sold otherwise. The need to execute additional portfolio transactions due to these cash flows may increase the Fund’s brokerage and administrative costs and, for investors in taxable accounts, may increase taxable distributions received from the Fund.

The Fund discourages short-term trading that may disrupt the efficient management of the Fund’s portfolio and materially increase trading costs or taxable distributions to long-term shareholders of the Fund.  The Fund seeks to monitor the trading activities of its shareholders to detect such abusive short-term trading that may be detrimental to the interests of the Fund and its long-term shareholders.  The steps the Fund utilizes to identify and discourage frequent transactions may include monitoring trading activity and imposing trading restrictions on certain accounts.  The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order for this purpose.  

While the Fund (directly or with the assistance of its service providers) seeks to identify abusive short-term trading, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to detect frequent purchases and redemptions that may be abusive or restrict the participants engaged in such activity when detected.  The Fund receives purchase and sale orders through financial intermediaries and may not have access to timely information that would allow the Fund to detect abusive short-term trading.  In such circumstances and others, the Fund’s monitoring activities may be limited to reviewing aggregated cash flows from such accounts and the Fund’s ability to prevent abusive short-term trading may be dependent on the cooperation of a financial intermediary.  Accordingly, the Fund may rely upon an intermediary’s monitoring activity and the intermediary’s ability and willingness to prevent abusive short-term trading.  In addition, even when the Fund has sufficient information, its detection methods may not detect all abusive short-term trading.
 
 
 
Cost Basis Reporting
 
When you redeem Fund shares, the Fund or, if you purchase your shares through a financial intermediary, your financial intermediary generally is required to report to you and the IRS on an IRS Form 1099-B cost-basis information with respect to those shares, as well as information about whether any gain or loss on your redemption is short- or long-term and whether any loss is disallowed under the “wash sale” rules. Such reporting generally is not required for shares held in a retirement or other tax-advantaged account.  Cost basis is typically the price you pay for your shares (including reinvested dividends), with adjustments for certain commissions, wash-sales, organizational actions, and other items, including any returns of capital paid to you by the Fund in respect of your shares.  Cost basis is used to determine your net gains and losses on any shares you redeem in a taxable account.
 
The Fund or your financial intermediary, as applicable, will permit you to select from a list of alternative cost basis reporting methods to determine your cost basis in Fund shares.  If you do not select a particular cost basis reporting method, the Fund or financial intermediary will apply its default cost basis reporting method to your shares.  If you hold your shares directly in a Fund account, the Fund’s default method (or the method you have selected by notifying the Fund) will apply; if you hold your shares in an account with a financial intermediary, the intermediary’s default method (or the method you have selected by notifying the intermediary) will apply.  Please contact the Fund at 1-800-343-8959 or your financial intermediary, as applicable, for more information on the available methods for cost basis reporting and how to select or change a particular method.  You should consult your tax advisor concerning the application of these rules to your investment in the Fund, and to determine which available cost basis method is best for you.
 
Systematic Withdrawal Plan
 
Individuals whose investments in the Fund have a current value of at least $10,000 may adopt a Systematic Withdrawal Plan to provide for periodic distributions.  By using the Systematic Withdrawal Plan, a shareholder can request monthly, quarterly or annual payments for any designated amount of $500 or more.  Payments may be sent by check to the address of record, or may be sent directly to a designated bank account via electronic funds transfer through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.  A Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be opened by selecting this option on your account application or by writing to the Transfer Agent.  Shareholders should contact the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 for more information about the Fund’s Systematic Withdrawal Plan.
 
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
 
The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains at least annually.  Distributions will be in shares of the Fund unless you elect to receive cash.  Fund distributions will be taxable as described below, regardless of whether you receive such distributions in cash or shares of the Fund. The Fund (or your financial intermediary) will provide you with an annual statement showing you the amount and tax character (e.g., ordinary or capital) of the distributions you receive each year.
 
The following tax information is a general summary of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to an investment in the Fund under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and as in effect as of the date of this Prospectus. A more detailed tax discussion is provided in the SAI. The Fund does not intend for this information to address all aspects of taxation that may apply to individual shareholders or to specific types of shareholders such as tax-deferred retirement plans and foreign persons that may qualify for special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws. You should consult a tax advisor about the U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign tax consequences to you of your investment in the Fund based on your particular circumstances.
 
 
 
The Fund has elected and intends to qualify and be treated each taxable year as a regulated investment company. A regulated investment company is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on income and gains that are distributed in a timely manner to shareholders. Failure to qualify as a regulated investment company would result in fund-level taxation, and, consequently, a reduced return on your investment.
 
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable to you as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned or is considered to have owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long you have owned your shares. Distributions from the sale of investments that the Fund owns or is considered to have owned for more than one year and that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends are taxable to you as long-term capital gains includible in net capital gain and taxed to individuals at reduced rates.  Distributions from the sale of investments that the Fund owns or is considered to have owned for one year or less are taxable to you as ordinary income. The Fund expects that, as a result of its investment objectives and strategies, its income will consist primarily of short-term capital gains, which are taxable as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders.  Certain dividends or distributions declared in October, November or December will be taxed to shareholders as if received in December if they are paid during the following January.
 
Properly reported distributions of “qualified dividend income” are taxable to you at the reduced rates applicable to net capital gain, provided that both you and the Fund meet certain holding period and other requirements.   The Fund does not expect a significant portion of distributions to be derived from qualified dividend income.
 
  A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax is imposed on the “net investment income” of individuals, estates and trusts whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts. Net investment income generally includes for this purpose dividends paid by the Fund, including any capital gain dividends, and net capital gains recognized on the sale, redemption or exchange of shares of the Fund.
 
From time to time, a distribution from the Fund could constitute a return of capital, which is not taxable to you so long as the amount of the distribution does not exceed your tax basis in your Fund shares. A return of capital reduces your tax basis in your Fund shares, with any amounts exceeding such basis generally taxable as capital gain.
 
Fund distributions are taxable to you as described herein even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund prior to your investment and thus were included in the price you paid for your shares. For example, if you purchase shares on or just before the record date of a Fund distribution, you will pay full price for the shares and could receive a portion of your investment back as a taxable distribution.
 
 
 
Investments through tax-qualified retirement plans and other tax-advantaged investors are generally not subject to current federal income tax.  You should consult your tax advisor to determine the suitability of the Fund as an investment through your retirement plan and the tax treatment of distributions (including distributions of amounts attributable to an investment in the Fund) from such a plan.
 
Any gain or loss that results from the redemption of your Fund shares will be treated generally as capital gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which will be long-term or short-term depending on how long you have held your shares.
 
The Fund’s investments in foreign securities, if any, may be subject to foreign withholding taxes. In that case, the Fund’s return on those securities would generally be decreased. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of a taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to you foreign income taxes that it pays. If this election is made, you will be required to include your share of those taxes in gross income as a distribution from the Fund and you generally will be allowed to claim a credit (or a deduction, if you itemize deductions) for such amounts on your federal U.S. income tax return, subject to certain limitations. If the Fund does not meet the 50% test described above, shareholders generally will not be entitled to claim a credit or deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes with respect to foreign taxes paid by the Fund.
 
In addition, certain of the Fund’s investments, including certain derivatives instruments, foreign securities or foreign currencies could affect the amount, timing and character of distributions you receive and could cause the Fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by such investments (which may require the Fund to liquidate other investments in order to make required distributions).
 
The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who (i) fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, (ii) has under-reported dividend or interest income, or (iii) fails to certify to the Fund that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding. The backup withholding rate is 28%.
 
Each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax adviser regarding the applicability of FATCA and any other reporting requirements with respect to the prospective investor’s own situation, including investments through an intermediary.
 
This summary is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal or tax advice to any current or prospective holder of the Fund’s shares.  The Fund’s shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors to determine the tax consequences to them of their ownership of the Fund’s shares.
 
 
 
NOTICES – HOUSEHOLDING & UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
 
To keep the Fund’s costs as low as possible, the Fund delivers a single copy of most financial reports and prospectuses to shareholders who share an address, even if the accounts are registered under different names.  This process, known as “householding,” does not apply to account statements.  You may, of course, request an individual copy of a prospectus or financial report at any time.  If you would like to receive separate mailings, please call the Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 and the Fund will begin individual delivery within 30 days of your request.  If your account is held through a financial institution or other intermediary, please contact them directly to request individual delivery.
 
If no activity occurs in your account within the time period specified by applicable state law, your property may be transferred to the appropriate state.


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
Because the Fund is newly formed, there is no performance information for the Fund included in this Prospectus. Certain limited financial information is available in the Statement of Additional Information, which is available at no charge upon request.  You may request additional financial and performance information, when it becomes available, by visiting the Fund’s website at www.westchestercapitalmanagement.com.

 
 
 
APPENDIX A
 
This Supplement sets forth historical performance information for the Dunham Monthly Distribution Fund (“DNMDX”), a mutual fund advised by Dunham & Associates and sub-advised by Westchester Capital Management LLC (WCM) with investment objectives, policies, strategies and investment restrictions substantially similar to those of WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund.  The DNMDX performance data is provided to illustrate the past performance of WCM in advising a substantially similar account and does not represent the performance of the Fund.  The information in this Supplement should not be considered a prediction of the future performance of the Fund.  The Fund is newly organized and has no performance record of its own.
 
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2013 (except as otherwise indicated)
 
 
YTD
1 Year
3 Years
Since 03/01/09
DNMDX
3.99%
6.77%
5.11%
8.17%

 
MONTHLY PERFORMANCE

 
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
2013
0.61%
0.14%
1.51%
0.97%
-0.45%
-1.23%
0.88
-0.62
1.01
1.14
   
1.53%
2012
2.23%
1.95%
0.54%
0.33%
-1.64%
0.93%
1.06%
1.60%
0.31%
-0.34%
0.78%
1.87%
9.98%
2011
0.65%
0.70%
0.81%
1.08%
0.14%
-0.26%
-1.23%
-2.22%
-2.77%
3.31%
-0.43%
0.50%
0.14%
2010
-0.07%
1.29%
0.79%
-0.24%
-1.02%
1.72%
3.02%
0.49%
1.61%
0.52%
-0.30%
1.70%
9.86%
2009
-
-
5.42%
2.60%
0.84%
0.45%
1.37%
0.60%
1.18%
-0.69%
1.03%
1.09%
9.28%

 
The performance results portrayed herein reflect the reinvestment of all interest, dividends and distributions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. DNMDX’s performance prior to March 2009 does not reflect DNMDX’s current strategy or objective, but rather that of a predecessor fund. On March 2, 2009, DNMDX’s objective and principal investment strategy were changed to its current objective and approach.  DNMDX’s complete performance history is available in its prospectus.
 
The performance figures shown above for DNMDX are net of all fees and expenses applicable to investments in DNMDX.  As of the latest prospectus dated February 22, 2013, the total operating expenses of the Class N shares, Class A shares and Class C shares of DNMDX were 2.76%, 3.01% and 3.76%, respectively.  The Fund’s anticipated total operating expenses for its Class N shares and Class I shares are 2.16% and 2.41%, respectively.
 
 
 
 
1

 
 
WCM ALTERNATIVES: EVENT-DRIVEN FUND
 
PROSPECTUS
 
[          ], 2013
 
For investors who want more information about the Fund, the following documents are available upon request:
 
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports:   Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s first annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders.
 
Statement of Additional Information:   The Fund’s SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference.
 
The Fund’s SAI is, and its Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report will be, available, without charge, upon request by contacting the Fund’s Transfer Agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, at 1-800-343-8959.  Shareholder inquiries can also be directed to U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701.  Correspondence sent by overnight courier should be sent to U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, Third Floor, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
 
You also can review information about the Fund, including its SAI, at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room.  Text-only copies can be obtained from the SEC for a fee by writing to or calling the Public Reference Room of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102, 202-551-8090 or by electronic request at publicinfo@sec.gov.  Copies also can be obtained free from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Fund’s website at [              ].
 
 

 
811-22818
 

 
 
 
The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed.  We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective.  This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
 
WCM ALTERNATIVES: EVENT-DRIVEN FUND
 
____________________________________
 
Class
Ticker Symbol
Investor Class Shares
(WCEIX)
Institutional Class Shares
(WCERX)

100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
 
A no-load, open-end, non-diversified investment company which seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns with low relative volatility in virtually all market environments. Risk-adjusted return is a concept that considers not only an investment’s return, but also the amount of potential risk involved in producing that return.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
  [    ], 2013
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus of WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund dated [    ], 2013, a copy of which may be obtained without charge by contacting the Fund’s Transfer Agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or 1-800-343-8959.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES
 
(See “PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
 
POLICIES” in The Fund’s prospectus.)
 
WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund (the “Fund”) is a no-load, open-end, non-diversified, registered management investment company which seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns with low relative volatility in virtually all market environments. Risk-adjusted return is a concept that considers not only an investment’s return, but also the amount of potential risk involved in producing that return.  There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.  The Fund’s investment adviser is Westchester Capital Management, LLC, 100 Summit Lake Drive, Valhalla, New York 10595 (the “Adviser”).
 
The Fund primarily employs investment strategies designed to capture price movements generated by specific events, including, but not limited to, securities of companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, asset sales or other divestitures, restructurings, refinancings, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other special situations (referred to as “event-driven opportunities”). Among the investment strategies the Adviser may use on behalf of the Fund are merger arbitrage strategy, special situations strategy (including capital structure arbitrage and convertible arbitrage), investments in distressed securities and restructurings and option income strategies. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective and strategies, the Fund may invest in the instruments described below. The Fund may not utilize all of these instruments or investment techniques.
 
Bank Capital Securities and Bank Obligations
 
The Fund may invest in bank capital securities of both non-U.S. (foreign) and U.S. issuers. Bank capital securities are issued by banks to help fulfill their regulatory capital requirements. There are three common types of bank capital: Lower Tier II, Upper Tier II and Tier I. Upper Tier II securities are commonly thought of as hybrids of debt and preferred stock. Upper Tier II securities are often perpetual (with no maturity date), callable and have a cumulative interest deferral feature. This means that under certain conditions, the issuer bank can withhold payment of interest until a later date. However, such deferred interest payments generally earn interest. Tier I securities often take the form of trust preferred securities.
 
The Fund may also invest in other bank obligations including without limitation certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and fixed time deposits. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates that are issued against funds deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and that earn a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning, in effect, that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are generally no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is generally no market for such deposits. The Fund may also hold funds on deposit with its custodian bank in an interest-bearing account for temporary purposes.
 
 
 
 
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations
 
A collateralized mortgage obligation (“CMO”) is a debt obligation of a legal entity that is collateralized by mortgages and divided into classes. Similar to a bond, interest and prepaid principal is paid, in most cases, on a monthly basis. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans or private mortgage bonds, but are generally collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”), also known as Freddie Mac, and their income streams.
 
CMOs are structured into multiple classes, often referred to as “tranches,” with each class bearing a different stated maturity and entitled to a different schedule for payments of principal and interest, including pre-payments. Actual maturity and average life will depend upon the pre-payment experience of the collateral. In the case of certain CMOs (known as “sequential pay” CMOs), payments of principal received from the pool of underlying mortgages, including pre-payments, are applied to the classes of CMOs in the order of their respective final distribution dates. Thus, no payment of principal will be made to any class of sequential pay CMOs until all other classes having an earlier final distribution date have been paid in full.
 
In a typical CMO transaction, a corporation (“issuer”) issues multiple series (e.g., A, B, C, Z) of CMO bonds (“Bonds”). Proceeds of the Bond offering are used to purchase mortgages or mortgage pass-through certificates (“Collateral”). The Collateral is pledged to a third party trustee as security for the Bonds. Principal and interest payments from the Collateral are used to pay principal on the Bonds in the order A, B, C, Z. The Series A, B, and C Bonds all bear current interest. Interest on the Series Z Bond is accrued and added to principal and a like amount is paid as principal on the Series A, B, or C Bond currently being paid off. When the Series A, B, and C Bonds are paid in full, interest and principal on the Series Z Bond begins to be paid currently.
 
CMOs may be less liquid and may exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities.
 
As CMOs have evolved, some classes of CMO bonds have become more common. For example, the Fund may invest in parallel-pay and planned amortization class (“PAC”) CMOs and multi-class pass through certificates. Parallel-pay CMOs and multi-class pass-through certificates are structured to provide payments of principal on each payment date to more than one class. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the stated maturity date or final distribution date of each class, which, as with other CMO and multi-class pass-through structures, must be retired by its stated maturity date or final distribution date but may be retired earlier. PACs generally require payments of a specified amount of principal on each payment date. PACs are parallel-pay CMOs with the required principal amount on such securities having the highest priority after interest has been paid to all classes. Any CMO or multi-class pass through structure that includes PAC securities must also have support tranches—known as support bonds, companion bonds or non-PAC bonds—which lend or absorb principal cash flows to allow the PAC securities to maintain their stated maturities and final distribution dates within a range of actual prepayment experience. These support tranches are subject to a higher level of maturity risk compared to other mortgage-related securities, and usually provide a higher yield to compensate investors. If principal cash flows are received in amounts outside a pre-determined range such that the support bonds cannot lend or absorb sufficient cash flows to the PAC securities as intended, the PAC securities are subject to heightened maturity risk. The Fund may invest in various tranches of CMO bonds, including support bonds.
 
 
 
 
Corporate Debt Securities
 
The Fund may invest in a variety of bonds and related debt obligations of varying maturities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. corporations, banks and other business entities. Bonds include bills, notes, debentures, money market instruments and similar instruments and securities, and are generally used by corporations and other issuers to borrow money from investors for such purposes as working capital or capital expenditures. The issuer pays the investor a variable or fixed rate of interest and normally must repay the amount borrowed on or before maturity. Certain bonds are “perpetual” in that they have no maturity date.
 
The Fund’s investments in bonds are often subject to a number of risks described in the prospectus and/or elaborated upon elsewhere in this section of the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), including credit risk, lower-rated securities risk, interest rate risk, foreign investing risk, liquidity risk, small and medium capitalization risk and management risk.
 
Commercial Paper
 
Commercial paper represents short-term unsecured promissory notes issued in bearer form by corporations such as banks or bank holding companies and finance companies. The Fund may invest in commercial paper of any credit quality consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies, including unrated commercial paper for which the Adviser has made a credit quality assessment. See Appendix A for a description of the ratings assigned by Moody’s and S&P to commercial paper. The rate of return on commercial paper may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies.
 
Variable and Floating Rate Debt Instruments
 
The Fund may invest in floating rate debt instruments, including senior loans. Floating rate debt instruments are instruments that pay interest at rates that adjust whenever a specified interest rate changes, float at a fixed margin above a generally recognized base lending rate and/or reset or are redetermined (e.g., pursuant to an auction) on specified dates (such as the last day of a month or calendar quarter). These floating rate debt instruments may include, in addition to senior loans, instruments such as catastrophe and other event-linked bonds, bank capital securities, unsecured bank loans, corporate bonds, money market instruments and certain types of mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities. Due to their floating rate features, these instruments will generally pay higher levels of income in a rising interest rate environment and lower levels of income as interest rates decline. For the same reason, the market value of a floating rate debt instrument is generally expected to have less sensitivity to fluctuations in market interest rates than a fixed rate debt instrument, although the value of a floating rate instrument may nonetheless decline as interest rates rise and due to other factors, such as changes in credit quality.
 
 
 
The Fund also may invest in inverse floating rate debt instruments (“inverse floaters”). The interest rate on an inverse floater resets in the opposite direction from the market rate of interest to which the inverse floater is indexed. An inverse floating rate security may exhibit greater price volatility than a fixed rate obligation of similar credit quality.
 
Variable Rate Master Notes
 
The Fund may invest in fixed time deposits, whether or not subject to withdrawal penalties.  The commercial paper obligations which the Fund may buy are unsecured and may include variable rate notes. The nature and terms of a variable rate note (i.e., a “Master Note”) permit the Fund to invest fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement between the Fund as lender, and the issuer, as borrower. It permits daily changes in the amounts borrowed. The Fund has the right at any time to increase, up to the full amount stated in the note agreement, or to decrease the amount outstanding under the note. The issuer may prepay at any time and without penalty any part of or the full amount of the note. The note may or may not be backed by one or more bank letters of credit. Because these notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and the issuer, it is not generally contemplated that they will be traded; moreover, there is currently no secondary market for them.
 
Convertible Securities
 
A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock, or other security that entitles the holder to acquire common stock or other equity securities of the same or a different issuer. A convertible security generally entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to non-convertible debt or preferred securities, as applicable. The Fund may invest in synthetic convertible debt securities (i.e., instruments created through a combination of separate securities that possess the two principal characteristics of a traditional convertible security, i.e., an income-producing security (“income-producing component”) and the right to acquire an equity security (“convertible component”)).
 
Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure and, therefore, generally entail less risk than the corporation’s common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security. Convertible securities are subordinate in rank to any senior debt obligations of the issuer, and, therefore, an issuer’s convertible securities entail more risk than its debt obligations. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible debt securities of similar credit quality because of the potential for capital appreciation. In addition, convertible securities are often lower-rated securities.
 
Because of the conversion feature, the price of the convertible security will normally fluctuate in some proportion to changes in the price of the underlying asset, and as such is subject to risks relating to the activities of the issuer and/or general market and economic conditions. The income component of a convertible security may tend to cushion the security against declines in the price of the underlying asset. However, the income component of convertible securities causes fluctuations based upon changes in interest rates and the credit quality of the issuer.
 
 
 
If the convertible security’s “conversion value,” which is the market value of the underlying common stock that would be obtained upon the conversion of the convertible security, is substantially below the “investment value,” which is the value of a convertible security viewed without regard to its conversion feature (i.e., strictly on the basis of its yield), the price of the convertible security is governed principally by its investment value. If the conversion value of a convertible security increases to a point that approximates or exceeds its investment value, the value of the security will be principally influenced by its conversion value. A convertible security will sell at a premium over its conversion value to the extent investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding an income-producing security.
 
A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a predetermined price. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption, the Fund would be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security and convert it to underlying common stock, or would sell the convertible security to a third party, which may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
 
Warrants to Purchase Securities
 
The Fund may invest in warrants to purchase debt or equity securities. Debt obligations with warrants attached to purchase equity securities have many characteristics of convertible bonds and their prices may, to some degree, reflect the performance of the underlying stock. Debt obligations also may be issued with warrants attached to purchase additional debt securities at the same coupon rate. A decline in interest rates would permit the Fund to buy additional bonds at the favorable rate or to sell the warrants at a profit. If interest rates rise, the warrants would generally expire with no value.
 
Equity Securities
 
The Fund may invest in equity securities. Equity securities are securities that represent an ownership interest (or the right to acquire such an interest) in a company and include common and preferred stock. Common stocks represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has priority over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take priority over holders of preferred stock, whose claims take priority over the claims of those who own common stock.
 
While offering greater potential for long-term growth, equity securities generally are more volatile and riskier than some other forms of investment, particularly debt securities. Therefore, the value of an investment in the Fund may at times decrease instead of increase. The Fund’s investments may include securities traded over-the-counter as well as those traded on a securities exchange. Some securities, particularly over-the-counter securities, may be more difficult to sell under some market conditions.
 
 
 
The market price of common stocks and other equity securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Equity securities may decline in value due to factors affecting equity securities markets generally, particular industries represented in those markets, or the issuer itself. The values of equity securities may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.
 
Preferred Stocks
 
Preferred stocks include convertible and non-convertible preferred and preference stocks that are senior to common stock. Preferred stocks are equity securities that are senior to common stock with respect to the right to receive dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from the issuer’s liquidation. Some preferred stocks also entitle their holders to receive additional liquidation proceeds on the same basis as holders of the issuer’s common stock, and thus represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Depending on the features of the particular security, holders of preferred stock may bear risks similar to those of equity and/or fixed income securities.
 
Investment in preferred stocks involves certain risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip or defer distributions. If the Fund owns a preferred stock that is deferring its distribution, it may be required to report income for tax purposes despite the fact that it is not receiving current income on this position. Preferred stocks often are subject to legal provisions that allow for redemption in the event of certain tax or legal changes or at the issuer’s call. In the event of redemption, the Fund may not be able to reinvest the proceeds at comparable rates of return. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in an issuer’s capital structure in terms of priority for corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Preferred stocks may trade less frequently and in a more limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than many other securities, such as common stocks, corporate debt securities, and U.S. government securities.
 
Fixed Rate Preferred Stocks
 
Some fixed rate preferred stocks in which the Fund may invest, known as perpetual preferred stocks, offer a fixed return with no maturity date. Because they never mature, perpetual preferred stocks act like long-term bonds and can be more volatile than other types of preferred stocks that have a maturity date and may have heightened sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also invest in sinking fund preferred stocks. These preferred stocks also offer a fixed return, but have a maturity date and are retired or redeemed on a predetermined schedule. The shorter duration of sinking fund preferred stocks makes them perform somewhat like intermediate-term bonds and they typically have lower yields than perpetual preferred stocks.
 
 
 
 
Other Investment Companies
 
The Fund may invest in securities of open- or closed-end investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to the extent that such investments are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies and permissible under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
 
The Fund may invest in other investment companies to gain broad market or sector exposure or to earn a return on uninvested assets, including during periods when it has large amounts of uninvested cash.
 
As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses and would remain subject to payment of the Fund’s management fees and other expenses with respect to assets so invested.
 
Non-U.S. Investment Risk
 
Investments in non-U.S. securities are subject to additional and more varied risks than investments in U.S. securities. The securities markets of many non-U.S. countries include securities of only a limited number of companies in a limited number of industries. As a result, the market prices of many of those securities fluctuate more than those of U.S. securities. In addition, issuers of non-U.S. securities often are not subject to the same degree of regulation as U.S. issuers. Reporting, accounting, custody and auditing standards of non-U.S. countries differ, in some cases significantly, from U.S. standards. Non-U.S. portfolio transactions generally involve higher commission rates, transfer taxes and custodial costs. The Fund may be subject to non-U.S. taxation, including potentially on a retroactive basis, on (i) capital gains it realizes or dividends or interest it receives on non-U.S. securities, (ii) transactions in those securities and (iii) the repatriation of proceeds generated from the sale of those securities. Such taxes will reduce the Fund’s return on those securities. Transaction-based charges are generally calculated as a percentage of the transaction amount and are paid upon the sale or transfer of portfolio securities subject to such taxes. In addition, some jurisdictions may limit the Fund’s ability to profit from short term trading (as defined in the relevant jurisdiction).
 
Also, investing in non-U.S. securities exposes the Fund to the risk of nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation of assets of their issuers, adverse changes in investment regulations, capital requirements or exchange controls (which may include suspension of the ability to transfer currency from a country), and adverse political and diplomatic developments.
 
In some non-U.S. markets, custody arrangements for securities provide significantly less protection than custody arrangements in U.S. markets, and prevailing custody and trade settlement practices (e.g., the requirement to pay for securities prior to receipt) expose the Fund to credit and other risks it does not have in the U.S. with respect to participating brokers, custodians, clearing banks or other clearing agents, escrow agents and issuers. Fluctuations in non-U.S. currency exchange rates also will affect the market value of the Fund’s non-U.S. investments.
 
 
 
U.S. investors are required to maintain a license to invest directly in many non-U.S. markets. These licenses are often subject to limitations, including maximum investment amounts. Once a license is obtained, the Fund’s ability to continue to invest directly is subject to the risk that the license will be terminated or suspended. If a license is terminated or suspended, to obtain exposure to the market the Fund will be required to purchase American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, shares of other funds that are licensed to invest directly, or derivative instruments. The receipt of a non-U.S. license by one of the Adviser’s clients may preclude other clients, including the Fund, from obtaining a similar license, and this could limit the Fund’s investment opportunities. In addition, the activities of another of the Adviser’s clients could cause the suspension or revocation of a license and thereby limit the Fund’s investment opportunities.
 
The Fund’s investments in issuers tied economically to emerging countries (or investments related to emerging markets) are subject to greater non-U.S. investment risk than investments primarily in more developed non-U.S. countries (or markets). The risks of investing in those securities include: greater fluctuations in currency exchange rates; increased risk of default (by both government and private issuers); greater social, economic, and political uncertainty and instability (including the risk of war or natural disaster); increased risk of nationalization, expropriation, or other confiscation of assets of issuers of securities in the Fund’s portfolio; greater governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation of the securities markets and participants in those markets; controls on non-U.S. investment, capital controls and limitations on repatriation of invested capital, dividends, interest and other income and on the Fund’s ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; inability to purchase and sell investments or otherwise settle security or derivative transactions (i.e., a market freeze); unavailability of currency hedging techniques; differences in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards and resulting unavailability of material information about issuers; slower clearance and settlement; difficulties in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments; and significantly smaller market capitalizations of issuers.
 
Options on Securities and Indexes
 
The Fund may purchase and sell put and call options on securities or indexes in standardized contracts traded on domestic or other securities exchanges, boards of trade, or similar entities, or quoted on NASDAQ or on an over-the-counter market, and agreements, sometimes called cash puts, which may accompany the purchase of a new issue of debt obligations from a dealer.
 
An option on a security (or an index) is a contract that gives the holder of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (in the case of a call) or sell to (in the case of a put) the writer of the option the security underlying the option (or the cash value of the index) at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option. The writer of an option on a security has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security upon payment of the exercise price or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security. Upon exercise, the writer of an option on an index is obligated to pay the difference between the cash value of the index and the exercise price multiplied by the specified multiplier for the index option. (An index is designed to reflect features of a particular financial or securities market, a specific group of financial instruments or securities, or certain economic indicators.)
 
 
 
If an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes on the expiration date a capital gain equal to the premium the Fund received at the time the option was written. If an option purchased by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a capital loss equal to the premium paid. Prior to the earlier of exercise or expiration, an exchange-traded option may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of an option of the same series (type, exchange, underlying security or index, exercise price and expiration). There can be no assurance, however, that a closing purchase or sale transaction can be effected when the Fund desires.
 
The Fund may sell put or call options it has previously purchased, which could result in a net gain or loss depending on whether the amount realized on the sale is more or less than the premium and other transaction costs paid on the put or call option which is sold. Prior to exercise or expiration, an option may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of an option of the same series. The Fund will realize a capital gain from a closing purchase transaction if the cost of the closing option is less than the premium received from writing the option, or, if it is more, the Fund will realize a capital loss. If the premium received from a closing sale transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, the Fund will realize a capital gain or, if it is less, the Fund will realize a capital loss. The principal factors affecting the market value of a put or a call option include supply and demand, interest rates, the current market price of the underlying security or index in relation to the exercise price of the option, the volatility of the underlying security or index and the time remaining until the expiration date.
 
Capital gains and losses realized by the Fund as a result of its options strategy are generally treated as short-term capital gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes, taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them.  See “Taxation” below.
 
The premium paid for a put or call option purchased by the Fund is an asset of the Fund. The premium received for an option written by the Fund is recorded as a deferred credit. The value of an option purchased or written is marked to market daily and is valued at the closing price on the exchange on which it is traded or, if not traded on an exchange or no closing price is available, at the mean between the last bid and asked prices.
 
The Fund may write straddles (covered or uncovered) consisting of a combination of a call and a put written on the same underlying security.
 
Risks Associated with Options on Securities and Indexes
 
There are several risks associated with transactions in options on securities and on indexes. For example, there are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve the intended result. A decision as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events.
 
 
 
During the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium on the option, given up the opportunity to profit from a price increase in the underlying security above the exercise price, but, as long as its obligation as a writer continues, has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline. The writer of an option has no control over the time when it may be required to fulfill its obligation as a writer of the option. Once an option writer has received an exercise notice, it cannot effect a closing purchase transaction in order to terminate its obligation under the option and must deliver the underlying security at the exercise price. If a put or call option purchased by the Fund is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security remains equal to or greater than the exercise price (in the case of a put), or remains less than or equal to the exercise price (in the case of a call), the Fund will lose its entire investment in the option. Also, where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price of the put or call option may move more or less than the price of the related security.
 
There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. If the Fund were unable to close out an option that it had purchased on a security or index, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit or the option may expire worthless. If the Fund were unable to close out a call option that it had written on a security held in its portfolio, it would not be able to sell the underlying security unless the option expired without exercise. As the writer of a call option on an individual security held in its portfolio, the Fund forgoes, during the option’s life, the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the security or index position covering the call option above the sum of the premium and the exercise price of the call.
 
If trading were suspended in an option purchased by the Fund, the Fund would not be able to close out the option. If restrictions on exercise were imposed, the Fund might be unable to exercise an option it has purchased. Except to the extent that a call option on an index written by the Fund is covered by an option on the same index purchased by the Fund, movements in the index may result in a loss to the Fund; however, such losses may be mitigated by changes in the value of the Fund’s securities during the period the option was outstanding.
 
Dealer (Over-The-Counter) Options
 
The Fund may engage in transactions involving dealer options. Certain risks are specific to dealer options. While the Fund would look to a clearing corporation to exercise exchange-traded options, if the Fund were to purchase a dealer option, it would rely on the dealer from whom it purchased the option to perform if the option were exercised. Failure by the dealer to do so would result in the loss of the premium paid by the Fund as well as loss of the expected benefit of the transaction.
 
Exchange-traded options generally have a continuous liquid market while dealer options have none. Consequently, the Fund will generally be able to realize the value of a dealer option it has purchased only by exercising it or reselling it to the dealer who issued it. Similarly, when the Fund writes a dealer option, it generally will be able to close out the option prior to its expiration only by entering into a closing purchase transaction with the dealer to which the Fund originally wrote the option. While the Fund will seek to enter into dealer options only with dealers who will agree to and which are expected to be capable of entering into closing transactions with the Fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to liquidate a dealer option at a favorable price at any time prior to expiration. In the event of insolvency of the contra party, the Fund may be unable to liquidate a dealer option. With respect to options written by the Fund, the inability to enter into a closing transaction may result in material losses to the Fund. This requirement may impair the Fund’s ability to sell portfolio securities or currencies at a time when such sale might be advantageous.
 
 
 
 
OTC Options
 
Over-the-counter (“OTC”) options differ from traded options in that they are two-party contracts, with price and other terms negotiated between buyer and seller, and generally do not have as much market liquidity as exchange-traded options. The Fund may be required to treat as illiquid over-the-counter options purchased and securities being used to cover certain written over-the-counter options. OTC options are subject to the risk that the counter-party will not fulfill its obligations under the contract.
 
Risk Factors in Options Transactions
 
There are various risks associated with transactions in exchange-traded and OTC options. The value of options written by the Fund will be affected by many factors, including changes in the value of underlying securities or indices, changes in the dividend rates of underlying securities (or in the case of indices, the securities comprising such indices), changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the stock market and underlying securities, and the remaining time to an option’s expiration. The value of an option also may be adversely affected if the market for the option is reduced or becomes less liquid. In addition, since an American style option allows the holder to exercise its rights any time prior to expiration of the option, the writer of an American style option has no control over the time when it may be required to fulfill its obligations as a writer of the option. This risk is not present when writing a European style option since the holder may only exercise the option on its expiration date.
 
The Fund’s ability to use options as part of its investment programs depends on the liquidity of the markets in those instruments. In addition, there can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. If the Fund were unable to close out an option that it had purchased on a security, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit or the option may expire worthless. As the writer of a call option on a portfolio security, during the option’s life, the Fund foregoes the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the security underlying the call option above the sum of the premium and the strike price of the call, but retains the risk of loss (net of premiums received) should the price of the underlying security decline. Similarly, as the writer of a call option on a securities index, the Fund foregoes the opportunity to profit from increases in the index over the strike price of the option, though it retains the risk of loss (net of premiums received) should the price of the Fund’s portfolio securities decline. If the Fund writes a call option and does not hold the underlying security or instrument, the amount of the Fund’s potential loss is theoretically unlimited.
 
An exchange-traded option may be closed out by means of an offsetting transaction only on a national securities exchange (“Exchange”), which provides a secondary market for an option of the same series. If a liquid secondary market for an exchange-traded option does not exist, the Fund might not be able to effect an offsetting closing transaction for a particular option. Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an Exchange include the following: (i) insufficient trading interest in some options; (ii) restrictions by an Exchange on opening or closing transactions, or both; (iii) trading halts, suspensions, or other restrictions on particular classes or series of options or underlying securities; (iv) unusual or unforeseen interruptions in normal operations on an Exchange; (v) inability to handle current trading volume; or (vi) discontinuance of options trading (or trading in a particular class or series of options) (although outstanding options on an Exchange that were issued by the Options Clearing Corporation should continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms). In addition, the hours of trading for options on an Exchange may not conform to the hours during which the securities held by the Fund are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that may not be reflected in the options markets.
 
 
 
The Exchanges generally have established limits on the maximum number of options an investor or group of investors acting in concert may write. The Fund, the Adviser, and other clients of the Adviser may constitute such a group. These limits could restrict the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell options on a particular security.
 
An OTC option may be closed only with the counterparty, although either party may engage in an offsetting transaction that puts that party in the same economic position as if it had closed out the option with the counterparty; however, the exposure to counterparty risk may differ. No guarantee exists that the Fund will be able to effect a closing purchase or a closing sale with respect to a specific option at any particular time.
 
Futures Contracts and Options on Future Contracts
 
The Fund may invest in futures contracts and options thereon ("futures options"), including with respect to equity securities, indexes, or other instruments or assets, as well as purchase put and call options on such futures contracts. The Fund may incur commission expenses when it opens or closes a futures position.
 
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a security (or deliver a cash settlement price, in the case of a contract relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery of the security) at a specified price and time. A futures contract on an index (an "Index Future") is an agreement in which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between the value of the index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the index contract was originally written. Although the value of an index might be a function of the value of certain specified securities, physical delivery of these securities is generally not made. A public market exists in futures contracts covering a number of indexes as well as financial instruments, including, without limitation: the S&P 500; the S&P Midcap 400; the Nikkei 225; the NYSE composite; U.S. Treasury bonds; U.S. Treasury notes; GNMA Certificates; three-month U.S. Treasury bills; 90-day commercial paper; bank certificates of deposit; Eurodollar certificates of deposit; the Australian dollar; the Canadian dollar; the British pound; the Japanese yen; the Swiss franc; the Mexican peso; and certain multinational currencies, such as the euro. It is expected that other futures contracts will be developed and traded in the future.
 
 
 
The Fund may close open positions on the futures exchanges on which Index Futures are traded at any time up to and including the expiration day. All positions which remain open at the close of the last business day of the contract's life are required to settle on the next business day (based upon the value of the relevant index on the expiration day), with settlement made with the appropriate clearing house. Because the specific procedures for trading foreign stock Index Futures on futures exchanges are still under development, additional or different margin requirements as well as settlement procedures may be applicable to foreign stock Index Futures at the time the Fund purchases such instruments. Positions in Index Futures may be closed out by the Fund only on the futures exchanges upon which the Index Futures are then traded.
 
The Fund may purchase and write call and put futures options. Futures options possess many of the same characteristics as options on securities and indexes (discussed above). A futures option gives the holder the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the holder acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. In the case of a put option, the opposite is true.
 
The Fund may enter into futures contracts and futures options that are standardized and traded on a U.S. or other exchange, board of trade, or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system, and the Fund may also enter into OTC options on futures contracts.
 
When a purchase or sale of a futures contract is made by the Fund, the Fund is required to deposit with its custodian (or broker, if legally permitted) a specified amount of assets. The margin required for a futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded and may be modified during the term of the contract. The initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the futures contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. The Fund expects to earn taxable interest income on its initial margin deposits. A futures contract held by the Fund is valued daily at the official settlement price of the exchange on which it is traded. Each day the Fund pays or receives cash, called "variation margin," equal to the daily change in value of the futures contract. This process is known as "marking to market." Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by the Fund but is instead a settlement between the Fund and the broker of the amount one would owe the other if the futures contract expired. In computing daily NAV, the Fund will mark to market its open futures positions.
 
The Fund is also required to deposit and maintain margin with respect to put and call options on futures contracts written by it. Such margin deposits will vary depending on the nature of the underlying futures contract (and the related initial margin requirements), the current market value of the option, and other futures positions held by the Fund.
 
Although some futures contracts call for making or taking delivery of the underlying securities, index or other asset, in many cases these obligations are closed out prior to delivery by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures contracts (involving the same exchange, underlying security, index or other asset, and delivery month). If an offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is more, the Fund realizes a capital loss. Conversely, if an offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is less, the Fund realizes a capital loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations.  For information regarding the U.S. federal income tax treatment of such capital gains and losses, see “Taxation” below.
 
 
 
 
Foreign Futures and Options
 
Participation in foreign futures and foreign options transactions involves the execution and clearing of trades on or subject to the rules of a foreign board of trade. Neither the National Futures Association nor any domestic exchange regulates activities of any foreign boards of trade, including the execution, delivery and clearing of transactions, or has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign board of trade or any applicable foreign law. This is true even if the exchange is formally linked to a domestic market so that a position taken on the market may be liquidated by a transaction on another market. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the foreign futures or foreign options transaction occurs. For these reasons, customers who trade foreign futures or foreign options contracts may not be afforded certain of the protective measures provided by the Commodity Exchange Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) regulations and the rules of the National Futures Association and any domestic exchange, including the right to use reparations proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and arbitration proceedings provided by the National Futures Association or any domestic futures exchange. In particular, funds received from the Fund for foreign futures or foreign options transactions may not be provided the same protections as funds received in respect of transactions on United States futures exchanges. In addition, the price of any foreign futures or foreign options contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss thereon may be affected by any variance in the foreign exchange rate between the time the Fund’s order is placed and the time it is liquidated, offset or exercised.
 
Risks Associated with Futures and Futures Options
 
There are several risks associated with the use of futures contracts and futures options, including as hedging techniques. A purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contract. There can be no guarantee that there will be a correlation between price movements in the hedging vehicle and in the Fund securities being hedged. In addition, there are significant differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given hedge not to achieve its objective. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends on circumstances such as variations in speculative market demand for futures and futures options on securities, including technical influences in futures trading and futures options, and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard contracts available for trading in such respects as interest rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. A decision as to whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected interest rate trends.
 
 
 
Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day's settlement price at the end of the current trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a futures contract subject to the limit, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
 
There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when the Fund seeks to close out a futures contract or a futures option position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed. In addition, many of the contracts discussed above are relatively new instruments without a significant trading history. As a result, there can be no assurance that an active secondary market will develop or continue to exist.
 
Additional Risks of Options on Securities and Indexes, Futures Contracts, Options on Futures Contracts and Forward Currency Exchange Contracts and Options thereon
 
Options on securities and indexes, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and options on currencies may be traded on foreign exchanges. Such transactions may not be regulated as effectively as similar transactions in the United States, may not involve a clearing mechanism and related guarantees, and are subject to the risk of governmental actions affecting trading in, or the prices of, foreign securities. Some foreign exchanges may be principal markets so that no common clearing facility exists and a trader may look only to the broker for performance of the contract. The value of positions also could be adversely affected by (i) other complex foreign political, legal and economic factors, (ii) lesser availability than in the United States of data on which to make trading decisions, (iii) delays in the Fund's ability to act upon economic events occurring in foreign markets during non-business hours in the United States, (iv) the imposition of different exercise and settlement terms and procedures and margin requirements than in the United States and (v) lesser trading volume. In addition, unless the Fund hedges against fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which trading is done on foreign exchanges, any profits that the Fund might realize in trading could be eliminated by adverse changes in the exchange rate, or the Fund could incur losses as a result of those changes. The Fund's use of such instruments may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates) than if the Fund had not used such instruments.
 
Debt and Other Fixed Income Securities Generally
 
Debt and other fixed income securities include fixed and floating rate securities of any maturity. Fixed rate securities pay a specified rate of interest or dividends. Floating rate securities pay a rate that is adjusted periodically by reference to a specified index or market rate. Fixed and floating rate securities include securities issued by federal, state, local, and foreign governments and related agencies, and by a wide range of private issuers, and generally are referred to in this SAI as “fixed income securities.” Indexed bonds are a type of fixed income security whose principal value and/or interest rate is adjusted periodically according to a specified instrument, index, or other statistic (e.g., another security, inflation index, currency, or commodity).
 
 
 
Holders of fixed income securities are exposed to both market and credit risk. Market risk (or “interest rate risk”) relates to changes in a security’s value as a result of changes in interest rates. In general, the values of fixed income securities increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise. Credit risk relates to the ability of an issuer to make payments of principal and interest. Obligations of issuers are subject to bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws that affect the rights and remedies of creditors. Fixed income securities denominated in foreign currencies also are subject to the risk of a decline in the value of the denominating currency.
 
Because interest rates vary, the future income of the Fund that invests in floating rate fixed income securities cannot be predicted with certainty. To the extent the Fund invests in indexed securities, the future income of the Fund also will be affected by changes in those securities’ indices over time (e.g., changes in inflation rates, currency rates, or commodity prices).
 
Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”)
 
The Fund may invest in MLPs. MLPs typically are characterized as “publicly traded partnerships” that qualify to be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes and are principally engaged in one or more aspects of the exploration, production, processing, transmission, marketing, storage or delivery of energy-related commodities, such as natural gas, natural gas liquids, coal, crude oil or refined petroleum products (collectively, the energy industry). The Fund’s MLP investments include investments that offer economic exposure to public MLPs in the form of common or subordinated units issued by MLPs, securities of entities holding primarily general partner or managing member interests in MLPs, debt securities of MLPs, and securities that are derivatives of interests in MLPs, including I-Shares, and derivative instruments in which the Fund may invest that have economic characteristics of MLP securities.
 
Generally, an MLP is operated under the supervision of one or more managing general partners. Limited partners (like the Fund when it invests in an MLP) are not involved in the day-to-day management of the partnership. The Fund also may invest in companies who serve (or whose affiliates serve) as the general partner of an MLP. These investments may not be taxed as partnerships for U.S. Federal income tax purposes. Conflicts of interest may exist among unit holders, subordinated unit holders and the general partner of an MLP, including those arising from incentive distribution payments. General partners typically have limited fiduciary duties to an MLP, which could allow a general partner to favor its own interests over the MLP’s interests. Additionally, general partners of MLPs often have limited call rights that may require unit holders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price.
 
Holders of MLP securities have limited control and voting rights on matters affecting the partnership. Holders of securities issued by a MLP are exposed to a remote possibility of liability for all of the obligations of that MLP in the event that a court determines that the rights of the holders of MLP securities to vote to remove or replace the general partner of that MLP, to approve amendments to that MLP’s partnership agreement, or to take other action under the partnership agreement of that MLP would constitute “control” of the business of that MLP, or a court or governmental agency determines that the MLP is conducting business in a state without complying with the partnership statute of that state. Holders of MLP securities are also exposed to the risk that they will be required to repay amounts to the MLP that are wrongfully distributed to them.
 
 
 
Investments in MLP securities also present special tax risks. For example, if an MLP does not meet current legal requirements to maintain its partnership status, or if it is unable to do so because of tax or other law changes, it would be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In that case, the MLP would be obligated to pay U.S. federal income tax (as well as state and local taxes) at the entity level on its taxable income and distributions received by the Fund would be taxable to the Fund as dividend income to the extent of the MLP’s current and accumulated earnings and profits for federal tax purposes. The classification of an MLP as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes could have the effect of reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP and the value of the Fund’s investment in any such MLP. As a result, the value of the Fund’s shares and the cash available for distribution to Fund shareholders could be materially reduced.  Also, the Fund’s investments in MLP securities can be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify as a regulated investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  For more information, see “Taxation” below.
 
Below Investment Grade Securities
 
The Fund may invest in debt securities rated below investment grade (that is, rated below Baa3/P-2 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or below BBB-/A-2 by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) for a particular security/commercial paper, or securities unrated by Moody’s or S&P that are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality to securities so rated) at the time of purchase, including securities in default or in the lowest rating categories and comparable unrated securities (“Below Investment Grade Securities”) (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). Many issuers of high yield debt are highly leveraged, and their relatively high debt-to-equity ratios create increased risks that their operations might not generate sufficient cash flow to service their debt obligations. In addition, many issuers of high yield debt may be (i) in poor financial condition, (ii) experiencing poor operating results, (iii) having substantial capital needs or negative net worth, or (iv) facing special competitive or product obsolescence problems, and may include companies involved in bankruptcy or other reorganizations or liquidation proceedings. Compared to higher quality fixed income securities, Below Investment Grade Securities offer the potential for higher investment returns but subject holders to greater credit and market risk. The ability of an issuer of Below Investment Grade Securities to meet principal and interest payments is considered speculative. The Fund’s investments in Below Investment Grade Securities are more dependent on the Adviser’s own credit analysis than its investments in higher quality bonds. Certain of these securities may not be publicly traded, and therefore it may be difficult to obtain information as to the true condition of the issuers. The market for Below Investment Grade Securities may be more severely affected than other financial markets by economic recession or substantial interest rate increases, changing public perceptions, or legislation that limits the ability of certain categories of financial institutions to invest in Below Investment Grade Securities. In addition, the market may be less liquid for Below Investment Grade Securities than for other types of securities. Reduced liquidity can affect the values of Below Investment Grade Securities, make their valuation and sale more difficult, and result in greater volatility. Because Below Investment Grade Securities are difficult to value and are more likely to be fair valued, particularly during erratic markets, the values realized on their sale may differ from the values at which they are carried on the books of the Fund. Some Below Investment Grade Securities in which the Fund invests may be in poor standing or in default.
 
 
 
Securities in the lowest investment-grade category (BBB or Baa) also have some speculative characteristics. See “Appendix A – Description of Moody’s and S&P’s Securities Ratings” for more information on securities ratings.
 
Temporary Defensive Positions
 
The Fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategies to seek to respond to adverse market, economic or other conditions.  In taking such positions, the Fund may temporarily invest a substantial portion of its assets in cash and cash equivalents, including money market instruments.  Money market instruments include, but are not limited to: obligations of the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; Treasury bills and other short-term obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; commercial paper rated A-1 by Standard & Poor’s or Prime-1 by Moody’s. In the case where commercial paper has received different ratings from different rating services, such commercial paper is acceptable so long as at least one rating is in the highest categories of the nationally recognized rating organizations described above; and repurchase agreements. To the extent the Fund invests in these temporary investments in this manner, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
 
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
 
The following investment restrictions have been adopted by the Fund as fundamental policies and may be changed only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund.  As used in this SAI and in the Fund’s prospectus, the term “majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund” means the vote of the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the Fund’s shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding shares.
 
These investment restrictions provide that the Fund:
 
(1)           May issue senior securities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
(2)           May borrow money to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
(3)           May lend money to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
(4)           May underwrite securities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
 
 
(5)           May purchase and sell commodities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
(6)           May purchase and sell real estate to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time.
 
(7)           May not concentrate investments in a particular industry or group of industries, as concentration is defined or interpreted under the 1940 Act, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, and under regulatory guidance or interpretations of such Act, rules or regulations.
 
The policies described above shall be interpreted to permit the Fund to engage in activities or operate in accordance with any exemptive orders, regulatory guidance, no action relief or other similar interpretive authority or guidance issued by the SEC or any other applicable regulatory authority, including, where applicable, when such activities or operations might otherwise be inconsistent with applicable law or result in potential enforcement action by regulatory authorities.
 
Although the Fund may lend its securities, the Board of Trustees of the Fund (the “Board” or “Trustees”) may have to recall such loans to vote proxies if the Adviser has knowledge that an event will occur having a material effect on the Fund’s investment in a loaned security.
 
When the Fund lends its securities, the Fund bears the risk of loss in the event of a decline in value of the borrower’s collateral.
 
The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging.  Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased.  Certain widely used investment practices that involve a commitment by a fund to deliver money or securities in the future are not considered by the SEC to be senior securities, provided that a fund segregates cash or liquid securities in an amount necessary to pay the obligation or the fund holds an offsetting commitment from another party.  These investment practices include repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, swaps, dollar rolls, options, futures and forward contracts.  The policy in (1) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.
 
The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent the Fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans.  In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.
 
With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities or commodity contracts set forth in (5) above, swap contracts, financial contracts, including futures transactions, and options with respect to futures, and other financial transactions shall not be within the meaning of the term “commodities,” and notwithstanding any federal legislation or regulatory action by the CFTC that subjects certain swaps or other transactions to regulation by the CFTC, the Fund will not consider any of such investments or instruments to be commodities or commodity contracts for purposes of this restriction.
 
 
 
With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate.  Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell.  Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities.  The policy in (6) above will be interpreted not to prevent the Fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, obligations, securities or instruments backed by mortgages or pools of mortgages, or real estate investment trust securities.
 
With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the policy will be interpreted to give broad authority to the Fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.  When identifying industries for purposes of its concentration policy, the Fund may rely upon available industry classifications. The Fund takes the position that U.S. government securities, securities of investment companies, and derivative instrument counterparties are not considered to be part of any industry
 
Any percentage limitation or other requirement as to investments will apply only at the time of an investment to which the limitation or requirement is applicable and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Additionally, any later increase or decrease resulting from a change in values, net assets or other circumstances will not be considered in determining whether any investment complies with the Fund’s limitation or requirement.
 
Portfolio Holdings
 
The Adviser and the Fund maintain portfolio-holdings disclosure policies that govern the timing and circumstances of disclosure to shareholders and third parties of information regarding the portfolio investments held by the Fund.  These portfolio-holdings disclosure policies have been approved by the Board.  Disclosure of the Fund’s complete holdings is required to be made quarterly within 60 days of the end of each fiscal quarter in the Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to Fund shareholders and in the quarterly holdings report on Form N-Q.  These reports will be available, free of charge, on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by contacting WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or by calling 1-800-343-8959.
 
The Fund will generally make available on its website by the 18th of the month following the end of each quarter its ten largest equity holdings as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter, and the percentage of the Fund’s total assets that each of these holdings represents, at [            ].  This information will remain available until the next quarterly fact sheet is posted on the website.
 
 
 
From time to time, fund-rating companies such as Morningstar, Inc. may request complete portfolio-holdings information in connection with rating the Fund.  The Fund believes these third parties have legitimate objectives in requesting such portfolio-holdings information.  To prevent such parties from potentially misusing portfolio-holdings information, the Fund will generally only disclose such information as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter, with a lag of at least thirty days.  In addition, the Adviser may grant exceptions to permit additional disclosure of portfolio-holdings information at differing times and with differing lag times to rating agencies, provided that (i) the recipient is subject to a confidentiality agreement, which includes a duty not to purchase or sell Fund shares or Fund portfolio holdings based on the non-public portfolio holdings information and (ii) the recipient will not provide access to this information to third parties except for the Fund’s service providers or agents who need access to such information in the performance of their contractual duties and responsibilities, and are subject to duties of confidentiality.
 
In addition, the Fund’s service providers, such as its custodian, fund administrator, fund accounting, legal counsel and transfer agent, who are subject to duties of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on non-public information, imposed by law or contract, may receive portfolio-holdings information in connection with their services to the Fund.
 
The furnishing of non-public portfolio-holdings information to any third party (other than authorized governmental and regulatory personnel) requires the approval of the Adviser.  The Adviser will approve the furnishing of non-public portfolio holdings to a third party only if the furnishing of such information is believed to be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.  No consideration may be received by the Fund, the Adviser, any affiliate of the Adviser or their employees in connection with the disclosure of portfolio-holdings information.
 
INVESTMENT ADVISER
 
(See “INVESTMENT ADVISER” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
Investment Adviser and Advisory Contract
 
Mr. Roy D. Behren and Mr. Michael T. Shannon are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.  Each of Messrs. Behren and Shannon is a principal of a limited liability company that controls the Adviser.
 
Mr. Behren has served as Co-President of the Adviser since 2011 and also serves as Co-President, Treasurer and a Trustee of the Fund.  Mr. Behren served as a research analyst for Westchester Capital Management, Inc. (“Westchester”) from 1994 until 2010 and as the Chief Compliance Officer of Westchester from 2004 until June 2010, and has served as Chief Compliance Officer and a portfolio manager for the Fund since its inception in December 2013.
 
Mr. Shannon has served as Co-President of the Adviser since 2011 and also serves as Co-President and Trustee of the Fund.  Mr. Shannon served as Westchester’s Director of Research from May 1996 until April 2005.  From April 2005 to April 2006, Mr. Shannon was Senior Vice President in charge of the Special Situations and Mergers Group of D.E.  Shaw & Co. Mr. Shannon returned to Westchester in May 2006 as a research analyst and portfolio strategist and has served as a portfolio manager for the Fund since its inception in December 2013.
 
 
 
21

 
 
The Fund’s investment advisory contract with the Adviser, together with the Fee Waiver Agreement between the Fund and the Adviser (the “Advisory Contract”) provides that the Fund pay all of the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, (a) all costs and expenses incident to the organization of the Fund and the public offering of securities of the Fund, including those relating to the registration of its securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any filings required under state securities laws and any fees payable in connection therewith; (b) the charges and expenses of any custodian(s) appointed by Westchester Capital Funds (the “Trust”) for the safekeeping of the cash, portfolio securities, and other property of the Fund; (c) the charges and expenses of an independent accountant; (d) the charges and expenses of any stock transfer and dividend disbursing agent or agents and registrar or registrars appointed by the Trust; (e) the charges and expenses of any administrator appointed by the Trust to provide administrative services to the Fund;  (f) the charges and expenses of any accounting and/or sub-accounting agent appointed by the Trust to provide accounting or sub-accounting services to the Fund; (g) brokerage commissions, dealer spreads, interest expense, dividend expense  and other costs incurred in connection with proposed or consummated portfolio securities transactions; (h) all taxes, including securities issuance and transfer taxes, and corporate fees payable by the Fund to federal, state, local, or other governmental agencies; (i) the cost and expense of printing and issuing certificates, if any, representing securities of the Fund; (j) fees involved in registering and maintaining registrations of the Fund under the 1940 Act; (k) all expenses of shareholders’ and Trustees’ meetings, and of preparing, printing, and mailing proxy statements and reports to shareholders; (l) fees and expenses of Trustees of the Trust who are not officers or employees of the Adviser; (m) charges and expenses of legal counsel (or any other consultant or adviser) to the Fund or to the Trustees of the Trust who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund; (n) trade association dues; (o) interest payable on Fund borrowings; (q) any shareholder relations expense; (p) premiums for a fidelity bond and any errors and omissions insurance maintained by the Trust; (r) compensation of the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer; and (s) any other ordinary or extraordinary expenses incurred by the Fund in the course of its business.
 
Except as described below, the Adviser receives an advisory fee, payable monthly, for the performance of its services at an annual rate of 1.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund.  The fee will be accrued daily for the purpose of determining the offering and redemption price of the Fund’s shares.
 
Pursuant to an expense limitation agreement, the Adviser has agreed to waive its investment advisory fee and to reimburse other ordinary operating expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to limit the ordinary operating expenses of the Investor Class shares and Institutional Class shares to an amount not to exceed the annual rate of 1.99% and 1.74%, respectively (based on such class’s average daily net assets). The agreement shall be in effect for the one-year period commencing on the effective date of this registration statement.  For the purposes of the expense limitation agreement, “ordinary operating expenses” excludes taxes, commissions, mark-ups, litigation expenses, indemnification expenses, interest expenses, borrowing expenses, including on securities sold short, dividend expenses on securities sold short, trading or investment expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, and any extraordinary expenses.
 
 
 
The Advisory Contract will continue in effect from year-to-year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (i) a vote of the majority of the Fund’s Trustees who are not parties thereto or “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund or the Adviser (the “Independent Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (ii) the majority vote of either all of the Fund’s Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund.  The Advisory Contract may be terminated without penalty on 60 days’ written notice by a vote of a majority of the Fund’s Trustees or by the Adviser, or by holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding shares.  The Advisory Contract shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.  A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ basis for approving the Advisory Contract will be available in the Fund’s first Annual Report to Fund shareholders.
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid advisory fees.
 
Notice
 
The Adviser has claimed an exemption from registration as a “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) with respect to the Fund pursuant to Rule 4.5 under the CEA.  Accordingly, neither the Fund nor the Adviser (with respect to the Fund) is subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA. To remain eligible for the exclusion, the Fund will be limited in its ability to use certain financial instruments regulated under the CEA (“commodity interests”), including futures and options on futures and certain swaps transactions.  In the event that the Fund’s investments in commodity interests are not within the thresholds set forth in the exclusion, the Adviser may be required to register as a “commodity pool operator” and/or “commodity trading advisor” with the CFTC with respect to the Fund. The Adviser’s eligibility to claim the exclusion with respect to the Fund will be based upon, among other things, the level and scope of the Fund’s investment in commodity interests, the purposes of such investments and the manner in which the Fund holds out its use of commodity interests. The Fund’s ability to invest in commodity interests (including, but not limited to, futures and swaps on broad-based securities indexes and interest rates) is limited by the Adviser’s intention to operate the Fund in a manner that would permit the Adviser to continue to claim the exclusion under Rule 4.5, which may adversely affect the Fund’s total return. In the event the Adviser becomes unable to rely on the exclusion in Rule 4.5 and is required to register with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator with respect to the Fund, the Fund’s expenses may increase, adversely affecting the Fund’s total return.
 
Distributor and Other Service Providers
 
Shares of the Fund are offered on a continuous basis.  As of July 30, 2013, the Fund’s principal underwriter is Quasar Distributors, LLC (“Quasar”), 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.  Quasar is a Delaware limited liability company organized in 2000, and is currently wholly-owned by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s administrator, transfer agent, dividend-paying agent and accounting services agent.  Quasar is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
 
 
 
The Board has approved a Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) pursuant to which Quasar acts as the Fund’s non-exclusive agent for the sale and distribution of the Fund’s shares on a best efforts basis, provides certain administration services and promotes and arranges for the sale of the Fund’s shares.  The Distribution Agreement provides that the Fund will pay Quasar a base annual fee, fees for sales literature compliance reviews and certain out-of-pocket expenses.
 
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by the vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities and, in either case, by a majority of Independent Trustees.  The Distribution Agreement may be terminated without penalty, including by the Fund on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by a majority vote of the Independent Trustees or by the vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities, and will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act).
 
The Fund has adopted a plan of distribution dated July 30, 2013 (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act in respect of the Investor Class shares only.  Under the Plan, the Fund may pay to Quasar, to any broker-dealer with whom the Fund has entered into a contract to distribute Investor Class shares, or to any other qualified financial services firm, compensation for distribution and/or shareholder-related services with respect to Investor Class shares held or purchased by their respective customers or in connection with the purchase of Investor Class shares attributable to their efforts.  The amount of such compensation paid in any one year shall not exceed 0.25% annually of the average daily net assets attributable to the Investor Class shares of the Fund.
 
The Plan provides that the Trustees will review, at least quarterly, a report of distribution expenses incurred under the Plan and the purposes for which such expenses were incurred.  The Plan will remain in effect from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by the vote of a majority of the Fund’s Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, the Adviser or Quasar and who have no direct or indirect interest in the operation of the Plan or any related agreement (the “Rule 12b-1 Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, and additionally by a vote of either a majority of the Fund’s Trustees or a majority of the outstanding shares of the affected share class of the Fund.
 
The Plan may be terminated at any time by vote of a majority of the Rule 12b-1 Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the affected share class of the Fund.  The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of distribution expenses payable under the Plan without approval of the affected share class of the Fund.  In addition, all material amendments to the Plan must be approved by the Fund’s Trustees in the manner described above.
 
The Fund has entered into service agreements with financial intermediaries.  Though the terms of the Fund’s agreements vary, service providers generally are required to provide various shareholder services to the Fund or certain of the Fund’s shareholders, including records maintenance, shareholder communications, transactional services, tax information and reports, and facilitation of purchase and redemption orders.  Payments generally are made under the Plan at the annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Investor Class shares of the Fund.  In the case of the Fund’s agreements with certain service providers, the Fund pays out of its assets, but not pursuant to the Plan, additional amounts to compensate such service providers for providing other permitted services.  The amounts of these payments may exceed the costs of providing the related services.
 
 
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet incurred expenses.
 
MANAGEMENT
 
Trustees and Officers
 
The business and affairs of the Fund are managed under the direction of the Fund’s Board of Trustees.  The Fund’s Trustees and officers are listed below.  Except as indicated, each Trustee has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the last five years.
 
Name, Address and Age
Position(s)Held
with the Fund
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
Principal
Occupation(s) During the
Past 5 Years
Number of
Portfolios in Fund
Complex Overseen
by Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During the Past
Five Years
Interested Trustees
         
Roy D. Behren*
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  52
Co-President,
Treasurer and
Trustee
Indefinite; since
2013
Co-Portfolio Manager and Co-President of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the Fund's Adviser, since 2011.  Co-Portfolio Manager of Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 2007 to 2010.  Research analyst for Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 1994 until 2010.  Chief Compliance Officer of the Fund and Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 2004 to 2010.
3***
None
           
Michael T.  Shannon*
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  46
Co-President and
Trustee
Indefinite; since
2013
Co-Portfolio Manager and Co-President of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the Fund’s Adviser, since 2011. Co-Portfolio Manager of Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 2007 to 2010.
3***
None
           
Non-Interested Trustees
         
           
Barry Hamerling
c/o Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  66
Independent
Trustee
Indefinite; since
2013
Managing Partner of Premium Ice Cream of America since 1995.  Managing Partner of B&J Freeport since 1990.  Managing Partner of Let-US Creations from 1999 to 2011.
3
Trustee of AXA
Premier VIP Trust;
Chairman of the Ayco Charitable Foundation
 
 
 
Name, Address and Age
Position(s)Held
with the Fund
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
Principal
Occupation(s) During the
Past 5 Years
Number of
Portfolios in Fund
Complex Overseen
by Trustee**
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During the Past
Five Years
Non-Interested Trustees
         
Richard V. Silver
c/o Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  57
 
Independent
Trustee
Indefinite; since
2013
Consultant with AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company from May 2012 to April 2013. Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company from February 2010 to April 2012.  Executive Vice President and General Counsel of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company from September 2001 to February 2010.
3
None
           
Christianna Wood
c/o Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  53
 
Independent
Trustee
Indefinite; since
2013
Chief Executive Officer and President of Gore Creek Capital, Ltd. since August 2009. Chief Executive Officer of Capital Z Asset Management from March 2008 to July 2009. Senior Investment Officer, Global Equity at California Public Employees’ Retirement System from October 2002 to February 2008.
3
Director of H&R Block Corporation; Director of International Securities Exchange; Director of Grange Insurance
Officers
         
           
Bruce Rubin
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  53
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer
One-year terms; since 2013
Chief Operating Officer of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the Fund's Adviser.  Chief Operating Officer of Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 2010 to 2010.  Chief Operating Officer of Seneca Capital from 2005 to 2010.
N/A
N/A
           
Abraham Cary
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
Age:  37
Secretary
One-year term; since 2013
Head of Trading of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the Fund’s Adviser since 2011.  Head of Trading of Westchester Capital Management, Inc. from 2002 to 2010.
N/A
N/A
 
Denotes a trustee who is an “interested person” (as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act) of the Fund or of the Fund’s investment adviser.  Messrs. Behren and Shannon are deemed to be interested persons because of their affiliation with the Fund’s investment adviser, Westchester Capital Management, LLC, and because they are officers of the Fund. Mr. Behren is a Trustee-Elect of The Merger Fund VL and Mr. Shannon is a Trustee-Elect of The Merger Fund. Mr. Shannon’s term as a Trustee of The Merger Fund and Mr. Behren’s term as a Trustee of The Merger Fund VL are expected to begin on January 1, 2014.
 
** 
The fund complex consists of the Fund, The Merger Fund and The Merger Fund VL.
 
***
Mr. Behren is trustee elect of The Merger Fund VL and Mr. Shannon is trustee elect of The Merger Fund. Each of Mr. Behren and Mr. Shannon is expected to begin his term as trustee of The Merger Fund VL and The Merger Fund, respectively, on January 1, 2014.
 
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
 
The Board of Trustees currently is comprised of five Trustees, three of whom are Independent Trustees.  Roy Behren, Co-President of the Fund, acts as Chairman of the Board and is an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund.  The Chairman presides at all meetings of the Board.
 
The Board has appointed Barry Hamerling, Chairman of the Fund’s Audit Committee, to serve as Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee, among other things, chairs executive sessions of the Independent Trustees, assists in the development of the agenda for Board meetings, serves as a spokesperson for the Independent Trustees and serves as a liaison between the Fund’s other Independent Trustees and the Fund’s management, Chief Compliance Officer, service providers, auditors and counsel between Board meetings.  The Fund believes this structure allows all of the Independent Trustees to participate in the full range of the Board’s responsibilities with respect to its oversight of the Fund’s management.  The Board has determined that this leadership structure, including the role of the Lead Independent Trustee, is appropriate given the size and complexity of the Fund, the number of Trustees overseeing the Fund and the Board’s oversight responsibilities, as well as the Fund’s business activities.
 
The Board holds four regular meetings each year to consider and address matters involving the Fund.  The Board also may hold special meetings to address matters arising between regular meetings.  These special meetings may take place in person or by telephone. In addition, members of the Board meet informally from time to time to discuss fund-related issues or to meet with potential candidates for Board membership.  The Independent Trustees also meet each quarter and additionally on an as-needed basis in executive sessions outside the presence of management.  The Board has access to counsel for the Fund and independent legal counsel for the Independent Trustees for consultation concerning any issues that may occur during or between regularly scheduled Board meetings.  As discussed below, the Board has established an Audit Committee and a Nominating and Compensation Committee to assist the Board in performing its oversight responsibilities.
 
The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the Fund and protecting the interests of its shareholders.  The Board has concluded that, based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees, each Trustee is qualified and should continue to serve as such.
 
In determining that a particular Trustee is or continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling.  Additional information about the specific experience, skills, attributes and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board’s conclusion that the Trustee should continue to serve as a Trustee of the Fund, is provided in the table above and in the next paragraph.
 
 
 
Among other attributes and qualifications common to all Trustees are their ability to review critically, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them (including information requested by the Trustees), to interact effectively with the Adviser, other service providers, counsel and the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties as Trustees.  Mr. Behren has experience as a portfolio manager of two other funds advised by the Adviser; Mr. Hamerling has experience as an executive of the largest financial and tax counseling firm in the United States and as a director or trustee of a number of other fund boards; Mr. Shannon has experience as a portfolio manager of two other funds advised by the Adviser; Mr. Silver has experience as a senior executive at a major financial services and insurance firm; and Christianna Wood has experience as an executive and an investment officer in the investment management industry.
 
The disclosure herein of a Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes and skills does not impose on any such person any duties, obligations, or liability that are greater than the duties, obligations, and liability imposed on such person as a member of the Board and any committee thereof in the absence of such experience, qualifications, attributes and skills.
 
The specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee of the Fund are as follows:
 
The Chairman of the Board, Roy Behren, has experience as a portfolio manager of The Merger Fund and The Merger Fund VL. He joined Westchester in 1994 from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  After earning a B.S. in Economics at The Wharton School, he received a J.D. degree from the University of Miami Law School and an LL.M. degree in corporate law from the New York University School of Law.  He then joined the SEC’s New York Regional Office, where he worked as an enforcement attorney for seven years prior to starting his investment career at Westchester.  From 2004 through 2006, Mr. Behren served as a member of Redback Networks’ Board of Directors and its Audit Committee.  He is co-portfolio manager of the Adviser and its affiliate, Westchester Capital Partners, LLC (“Westchester Capital Partners”).  Mr. Behren was the Chief Compliance Officer of Westchester from September 2004 through June 2010.
 
Barry Hamerling, Lead Independent Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee, has been an Independent Trustee of The Merger Fund since 2007 and an Independent Trustee of The Merger Fund VL since 2007.  Mr. Hamerling has experience as an executive of the largest financial and tax counseling firm in the United States and as a director or trustee of a number of other fund boards.  He has been Managing Partner of Premium Ice Cream of America since 1999, Managing Partner of B&J of Freeport since 1990 and was Managing Partner of Let-US Creations (formerly Premium Salads of America) from 1999 to 2011.  From 1970 to 1999, Mr. Hamerling commenced his career as a staff attorney and retired as President of The Ayco Company, L.P., the largest financial and tax counseling firm serving Corporate America in the United States which provides advice to senior executives of 200 of the Fortune 500 companies.  Mr. Hamerling is a Trustee of AXA Premier VIP Trust.  He is also Chairman of the Ayco Charitable Foundation, a donor-advised fund.  He was formerly a Trustee and member of the audit and nominating committees of Granum Value Fund, a long-short equity fund, and a Trustee of Rutgers University.  Mr. Hamerling received a B.A. from Rutgers University and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School.
 
 
 
Michael T. Shannon has experience as a portfolio manager of The Merger Fund and The Merger Fund VL.  He joined Westchester in 1996. Previously, he worked in J.P. Morgan’s corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and equity research departments. After a brief period as Senior Vice President in charge of Mergers and Special Situations at D.E. Shaw & Co. from March 2005 to May 2006, he rejoined Westchester as co-portfolio manager.  Mr. Shannon is co-portfolio manager of the Adviser and its affiliate, Westchester Capital Partners. Mr. Shannon, who holds a Chartered Financial Analyst certification, is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the CFA Institute. He received a B.S. in Finance from Boston College.
 
Richard V. Silver has extensive experience as a senior executive at a major financial services and insurance firm.  Among other positions, he served as Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company from 2010 to 2012.  Mr. Silver was also General Counsel of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company from 1999 to 2009.  He also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of AXA Advisors from 1991 to 1994.  Prior to joining AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, Mr. Silver worked as a securities attorney for Merrill Lynch & Co. Mr. Silver, who holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 licenses, received his B.A. and J.D. from St. John’s University.
 
Christianna Wood has over 30 years of professional experience in the investment management industry, both as an executive and as an investment officer.  She has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Gore Creek Capital, Ltd. since August 2009.  She has experience serving as a Director of H&R Block Corporation and Grange Insurance and has served on a number of audit committees. Ms. Wood also has corporate governance experience from, among other things, her service as a trustee of Vassar College since 2006 (including as a member of its Trustee Investor Responsibility Committee since 2006 and Chairman of the Committee since 2011) and as a member of the Audit and Governance Committees of the International Securities Exchange since 2010 and her involvement with the International Corporate Governance Network from 2008 to 2012 (including as Chairman of the Board from 2009 to 2012 and Chairman of the Audit and Accounting Practices Committee from 2006 to 2008). Ms. Wood has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of an asset management company (Capital Z Asset Management from 2008 to 2009) and served as the Senior Investment Officer for Global Equity at California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2002 to 2008.
 
The Board annually performs a self-assessment on the current members, which includes a review of the composition of the Board and its committees, including diversity of trustees’ age, experience and skills; trustees’ service on other boards; committee structure; size of the Board and ratio of interested to independent trustees; size of the committees and ratio of interested to independent trustees; process for identifying and recruiting new trustees; qualifications for Board membership and determination of trustee independence.
 
 
 
The Board has adopted a retirement policy requiring each Trustee to retire from service as a member of the Board as of the December 31 next occurring after he or she attains the age of 75.  Current members of the Board may, upon the approval of a majority of the Trustees then in office, be granted a one-year extension until the following December 31.
 
The Board has not adopted a policy that prohibits its members from serving as directors or officers of other companies.  Accordingly, certain of the Board’s members may serve as directors or officers of other companies from time to time.  Although the Fund is not required to do so, the Fund may restrict itself from investing in the securities of companies on whose boards its Trustees also serve because, for example, the Trustee may have material non public information about the issuer, as an accommodation to the other company, or for other reasons.  Any such restriction may prevent the Fund from taking advantage of an investment opportunity in which it would otherwise invest and may materially adversely affect the performance of the Fund.
 
RISK OVERSIGHT
 
Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Fund, the Board, among other things, oversees risk management of the Fund’s investment program and business affairs directly and through the committee structure that it has established.  A principal risk associated with the Fund’s merger-arbitrage investment strategy is that certain of the proposed reorganizations in which the Fund invests may be renegotiated or terminated, in which case losses may be realized.  Other risks to the Fund include those related to non-diversification, high portfolio turnover, short sales, put and call options, borrowing and corporate debt obligations as well as risks related to investments in foreign securities.  The Board, and particularly the Lead Independent Trustee, has substantial ongoing contacts with the Adviser to review its investment strategies, techniques, policies and procedures designed to manage these risks.
 
The Board requires the Adviser and the Chief Compliance Officer of the Fund to report to the full Board on a variety of matters at regular meetings of the Board, including matters relating to risk management.  The Audit Committee also receives regular reports from the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm on internal control and financial reporting matters.  On a quarterly basis, the Board meets with the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer to discuss issues related to Fund compliance.  On an annual basis, the Board receives a written report from the Chief Compliance Officer on the operation of the Fund’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers.  The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Fund and each service provider since the last report, any material changes to the policies and procedures since the last report, any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures as a result of the annual review and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.  These annual reviews are conducted in conjunction with the Board’s risk oversight function and enable the Board to review and assess any material risks facing the Fund or its service providers.
 
In addition, at regular Board meetings, and on an as needed basis, the Board receives and reviews reports from the Adviser and the administrator related to the investments, performance and operations of the Fund, as well as reports on the valuation of certain investments.  The Board also requires the Adviser to report on other matters relating to risk management on a regular and as-needed basis.  The Lead Independent Trustee periodically meets with representatives of the Fund’s service providers, including the Adviser, administrator, transfer agent, custodian and independent registered public accounting firm, to review and discuss the activities of the Fund and to provide direction with respect thereto.
 
 
 
In the event that market quotations are not readily available or such quotations are believed to be unrepresentative of fair market value, fair value is determined in good faith by the Adviser acting pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board and subject to oversight by the Board.  The Adviser includes any fair-value pricing of securities in a written report to the Board for their consideration and approval on a quarterly basis.
 
Remuneration
 
Management considers that Messrs. Hamerling and Silver and Ms. Wood are Independent Trustees.  The fees of the Independent Trustees ($5,000 per year), in addition to their out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at Trustees meetings, are paid by the Fund.  The following table illustrates the compensation estimated to be paid to each current Trustee by the Trust and Fund Complex for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014.
 
COMPENSATION TABLE
(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014)
 
Name of Trustee
Aggregate
Compensation
from Fund
Pension or
Retirement Benefits
Accrued as Part of
Fund Expenses
Estimated Annual
Benefits upon
Retirement
Total Compensation
from Fund and Fund
Complex Paid to
Trustees*
Roy D. Behren
0
0
0
0
Michael T. Shannon
0
0
0
0
Barry Hamerling
$5,000
0
0
$68,000
Richard V. Silver
$5,000
0
0
$63,000
Christianna Wood
$5,000
0
0
$63,000

*       The fund complex consists of the Fund, The Merger Fund and The Merger Fund VL.
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI, and therefore, has not yet offered any shares for sale. Therefore, as of the date hereof, the Trustees and Officers of the Trust as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each class of shares of the Fund.  Furthermore, neither the Independent Trustees, nor members of their immediate families, own securities beneficially or of record in the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser.
 
Codes of Ethics
 
The Fund and the Adviser have adopted a joint code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act (the “Code”).  The Fund’s Trustees and officers and employees of the Adviser are permitted to engage in personal securities transactions, including in securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund, subject to the restrictions and procedures contained in the Code, which has been approved by the Board in accordance with standards set forth under the 1940 Act.  The Codes of Ethics will be filed as an exhibit to an amendment to the Fund’s Registration Statement and will be available to the public. The code of ethics will also be available at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, DC (call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the public reference room); on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov); or, upon payment of copying fees, by writing the SEC’s public reference section, 100 F Street N.E. Washington DC 20549-0102, or by electronic mail at publicinfo@sec.gov.
 
 
 
 
Standing Committees
 
The Board has appointed an audit committee (the “Audit Committee”) presently consisting of Messrs. Hamerling and Silver and Ms. Wood.  The purpose of the Audit Committee is to advise the full Board with respect to accounting, auditing and financial matters affecting the Fund. Because the Fund is newly organized, the Audit Committee members did not meet during the prior fiscal year.
 
The Fund has a Nominating and Compensation Committee consisting of Messrs. Hamerling and Silver and Ms. Wood.   The purposes of the Nominating and Compensation Committee are to identify individuals qualified to become members of the Board, consistent with criteria approved by the Board; select and recommend to the Board the nomination of trustees for appointment by the Board or election by the shareholders; set any necessary standards or qualifications for service on the Board and set the fees of the Independent Trustees.  The Nominating and Compensation Committee will consider, among other sources, nominees recommended by shareholders. Members of the Nominating and Compensation Committee may meet informally from time to time with potential candidates as part of a greater process to identify potential high-quality candidates. Because the Fund is newly organized, the Nomination and Compensation Committee members did not meet during the prior fiscal year.
 
Stockholders may submit recommendations by mailing the candidate’s name and qualifications to the attention of the President.
 
Trustee Equity Ownership as of December 31, 2012
 
Name of Trustee
Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in the Fund
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities
in All Registered Investment Companies
Overseen by Trustee in Family
of Investment Companies
Trustees who are “interested persons” of the Fund
Roy D. Behren
None
Over $100,000
Michael T. Shannon
None
Over $100,000
Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund
Richard V. Silver
None
None
Christianna Wood
None
None
Barry Hamerling
None
Over $100,000
 
Proxy and Corporate-Action Voting Policies and Procedures
 
The Fund has adopted Proxy and Corporate-Action Voting Policies and Procedures that govern the voting of proxies for securities held by the Fund.  The Adviser has full authority to vote proxies or act with respect to other shareholder actions on behalf of the Fund.  The Adviser’s primary consideration in voting proxies is the best interest of the Fund.  Where a proxy proposal raises a material conflict between the Adviser’s interests and the Fund’s interests, the Adviser will resolve the conflict by following the policy guidelines.  The proxy-voting guidelines describe the Adviser’s general position on proposals.  The Adviser will generally vote against any management proposal that clearly has the effect of restricting the ability of shareholders to realize the full potential value of their investment.  Routine proposals that do not change the structure, bylaws or operations of the corporation to the detriment of the shareholders will normally be approved.  The Adviser will review certain issues on a case-by-case basis based on the financial interest of the Fund.  When securities are out on loan, they are transferred into the borrower’s name and are voted by the borrower, in its discretion.  However, if the Adviser has knowledge that an event will occur having a material effect on the Fund’s investment in a loaned security, the Adviser may seek to call the loan in time to vote the proxy or the Adviser may enter into an arrangement which ensures that the proxies for such material events may be voted as the Fund desires.  Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 will be available without charge, upon request, by calling the Fund’s Transfer Agent at 1-800-343-8959 and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
 
 
 
SERVICES AND INVESTMENT PLANS
 
(See “PLANS OFFERED BY THE FUND” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
The costs of services rendered to the Fund’s investors by its transfer agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (“U.S. Bancorp”) are paid for by the Fund; however, in order to cover abnormal administrative costs, investors requesting an historical transcript of their account will be charged a fee based upon the number of years researched.  The Fund reserves the right, on 60 days’ written notice, to charge investors to cover other administrative costs of services provided to shareholders.
 
Certain of the plans described below may be available only to those purchasing Investor Class shares.
 
IRA Plan
 
Individuals may establish an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), through “WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan.”  WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan provides individuals with the opportunity to establish an IRA in order to purchase shares of the Fund.  WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan can also be used for a transfer from an existing IRA, or for a rollover from a qualified retirement plan from which the individual receives a lump-sum distribution.  The form of WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan meets the requirements of Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  U.S. Bank, N.A. acts as custodian for WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan, and the adoption of WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan by each individual is subject to acceptance or rejection by U.S. Bank, N.A. in its capacity as custodian.
 
 
 
Qualifying shareholders may invest in the Fund through a “Roth IRA,” which is a form of IRA created in 1997.  Shareholders should consult with their own financial advisers to determine eligibility.
 
Other Retirement Plans
 
Investors may invest in the Fund through certain prototype plans which provide opportunities to corporations, self-employed individuals and partnerships to establish defined benefit and defined contribution qualified retirement plans under which shares of the Fund may be purchased.  Such plans can, in most cases, also accept a transfer or a rollover from an existing qualified retirement plan from which an individual receives a lump-sum distribution of the individual’s entire account balance in such plan.  A defined-benefit qualified retirement plan specifies what a participant’s pension benefit will be, and the employer (including a self-employed individual) adopting the plan must then fund the plan on an actuarial basis so it can pay the promised benefit.  A defined-contribution qualified retirement plan does not promise any definite benefit but instead provides for certain contributions to be made to the plan, and a participant’s ultimate benefit depends on the amount that has accumulated in his account.  U.S. Bancorp acts as custodian of the qualified plans.  Each plan as adopted by an employer (including a self-employed individual) or partnership is subject to acceptance or rejection by U.S. Bancorp.
 
Systematic Withdrawal Plan
 
Shareholders participating in a Systematic Withdrawal Plan should note that disbursements may be based on the redemption of a fixed dollar amount, fixed number of shares, percent of account or declining balance.  Any income, dividends and capital-gain distributions on shares held in Systematic Withdrawal Plan accounts should be reinvested in additional Fund shares.  Systematic Withdrawal Plan payments will be made out of the proceeds realized from the redemption of Fund shares held in the account.  These redemptions made to effect withdrawal payments may reduce or exhaust entirely the original investment held under the plan.  A Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated at any time by the shareholder or the Fund upon written notice and will be automatically terminated when all Fund shares in the shareholder’s account under the plan have been liquidated.
 
Anti-Money Laundering Program
 
The Fund has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the “Program”) as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA PATRIOT Act”).  In order to ensure compliance with this law, the Fund’s Program provides for the development of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of an anti-money laundering compliance officer, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program.
 
Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to, determining that the Fund’s distributors and transfer agent have established proper anti-money laundering procedures, reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity, checking shareholder names against designated government lists, including those of the Office of Foreign Asset Control, and a complete and thorough review of all new opening account applications.  The Fund will not transact business with any person or entity whose identity cannot be adequately verified under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.  (See “Anti-Money Laundering Compliance” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
 
 
NET ASSET VALUE
 
(See “NET ASSET VALUE” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
The NAV per share of each class of shares of the Fund will be determined on each day when the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business at the close of regular trading on the NYSE and will be computed by determining the aggregate value of all of the assets of the Fund attributable to that share class less liabilities attributable to that share class and then dividing by the total number of shares of that class outstanding.   On holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests.  However, on those days the values of the Fund’s assets may be affected, including if the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open.    In order for your purchase order to be processed at the NAV determined on a business day, the Fund (or an authorized financial intermediary) must receive your redemption request in good order before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time).  In the case of orders submitted through an authorized financial intermediary, the intermediary must also subsequently communicate the request properly and timely to the Fund for you to receive the Fund’s NAV determined on that business day.
 
Equity securities that trade on an exchange will typically be valued based on the last reported sale price.  Securities listed on NASDAQ are typically valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price.  If, on a particular day, an exchange-listed security does not trade, then the mean between the closing bid and asked prices will typically be used to value the security.  Fixed income securities having a maturity of greater than 60 days are typically valued based on evaluations provided by a pricing vendor approved by the Board.  Exchange-traded options are typically valued at the higher of intrinsic value or the last reported composite sale price when such sale falls between the bid and asked prices.  When the last sale of an exchange-traded option is outside the bid and asked prices, the Fund will typically value the option at the higher of intrinsic value and the mean of the bid and asked prices.  Investments in open-end investment companies are typically valued at their reported NAV.
 
The Fund typically fair values securities and assets for which (a) market quotations are not readily available or (b) market quotations are believed to be unrepresentative of market value.  For example, the Fund may fair value a security that primarily trades on an exchange that closes before the NYSE if a significant event occurs after the close of the exchange on which the security primarily trades but before the NYSE closes.  Fair valuations are determined in good faith by the Fund’s Adviser acting pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board.  When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities.  In addition, due to the subjective nature of fair-value pricing, it is possible that the value determined for a particular asset may be materially different from the value realized upon such asset’s sale.
 
 
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT REDEMPTIONS
 
(See “REDEMPTIONS” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
Supporting documents in addition to those listed under “Redemptions” in the Fund’s prospectus will be required from executors, administrators, trustees, or if redemption is requested by one other than the shareholder of record.  Such documents include, but are not restricted to, stock powers, trust instruments, certificates of death, appointments as executor, certificates of corporate authority and waiver of tax required in some states when settling estates.
 
Under the 1940 Act, a shareholder’s right to redeem shares and to receive payment therefor may be suspended at times:  (a) when the New York Stock Exchange is closed, other than customary weekend and holiday closings; (b) when trading on that exchange is restricted for any reason; (c) when an emergency exists as a result of which disposal by the Fund of securities owned by it is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund fairly to determine the value of its net assets, provided that applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (or any succeeding governmental authority) will govern as to whether the conditions prescribed in (b) or (c) exist; or (d) when the SEC by order permits a suspension of the right to redemption or a postponement of the date of payment on redemption.  In case of suspension of the right of redemption, payment of a redemption request will be made based on the NAV next determined after the termination of the suspension.
 
CONVERSION OF SHARES BETWEEN CLASSES
 
From time to time, the Fund may permit the conversion of shares of one class to another share class provided that the value of shares so converted meets the minimum initial investment requirements in the other class, that the shares of the other class are eligible for sale in the applicable state of residence, those shares are otherwise available for offer and sale, and such other terms and conditions as the Fund may determine are met. Ongoing fees and expenses incurred by a given share class will differ from those of other share classes, and a shareholder receiving new shares in an intra-Fund conversion may be subject to higher or lower total expenses following such conversion. Not all classes of shares may be open to new investors. Conversion transactions will be effected only into an identically registered account. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors as to the federal, foreign, state and local tax consequences of an intra-Fund exchange. Such conversion transactions must be effected according to other applicable law.  The Fund reserves the right to refuse any or all requests for conversion. A conversion of shares between classes is exempt from the trading limits described in the Fund’s registration statement.
 
TAXATION
 
(See “DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES” in the Fund’s prospectus.)
 
The following summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations is intended for general informational purposes only.  This discussion does not address all aspects of taxation (including state, local, and foreign taxes) that may be relevant to particular shareholders in light of their own investment or tax circumstances, or to particular types of shareholders (including insurance companies, tax-deferred retirement plans, financial institutions or broker-dealers, foreign corporations, and persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States) subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws.  This summary is based on the Code, the regulations thereunder, published rulings and court decisions in effect as of the date of this SAI.  These laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.
 
 
 
You are advised to consult your own tax advisor with respect to the specific tax consequences of an investment in the Fund in light of your particular circumstances.  This discussion is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning.
 
U.S. Federal Income Taxation—in General
 
The Fund intends to qualify and elect to be treated each taxable year as a “regulated investment company” (a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Code.  In order to so qualify and elect, the Fund must, among other things:
 
(a)           derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies; and (ii) net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below) (all such income, “Qualifying Income”);
 
(b)           invest the Fund’s assets in such a manner that, as of the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer (except with regard to certain investment companies furnishing capital to development corporations) to a value not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) no more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in (x) the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers each of which the Fund owns 20% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote, and that are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or (y) the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below); and
 
(c)           distribute with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of the sum of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paid—generally, taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and net tax-exempt interest income, for such year.
 
In general, for purposes of the 90% gross income requirement described in (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as Qualifying Income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership which would be Qualifying Income if realized by the Fund.  However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (a partnership (x) the interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (y) that derives less than 90% of its income from the Qualifying Income described in (a)(i) above) will be treated as Qualifying Income.  In general, such entities will be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes because they meet the passive income requirement under Code section 7704(c)(2).  MLPs, if any, in which the Fund invests generally qualify as qualified publicly-traded partnerships.  In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership.  For purposes of the diversification test in (b) above, the term “outstanding voting securities of such issuer” will include the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership.  Also, for purposes of the diversification test in (b) above, the identification of the issuer (or, in some cases, issuers) of a particular Fund investment will depend on the terms and conditions of that investment.  In some cases, identification of the issuer (or issuers) is uncertain under current law, and an adverse determination or future guidance by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with respect to issuer identification for a particular type of investment may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to meet the diversification test in (b) above.
 
 
 
If the Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and net capital gain (net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses, in each case determined with reference to any capital loss carryforwards) that it distributes to its shareholders in the form of dividends (including Capital Gain Dividends, as defined below) on a timely basis.
 
If the Fund were to fail to meet the income, diversification or distribution test described above, the Fund could in some cases cure such failure, including by paying a Fund-level tax, paying interest, making additional distributions or disposing of certain assets. If the Fund were ineligible to or otherwise did not sure such failure for any year, or if the Fund were otherwise to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for such taxable year, it would lose the beneficial tax treatment accorded RICs under Subchapter M of the Code and all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders.  All distributions by the Fund, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders in the same manner as other regular corporate dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits.  The Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a RIC that is accorded special tax treatment.
 
If the Fund fails to distribute in a calendar year at least an amount equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such calendar year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of such year (or a later date, if the Fund is permitted to so elect and so elects), plus any retained amount from the prior year, the Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amounts.  For purposes of the required excise tax distribution, a RIC’s ordinary gains and losses from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property that would otherwise be taken into account after October 31 of a calendar year (or a later date, if the Fund makes the election referred to above) generally are treated as arising on January 1 of the following calendar year. Also, for these purposes, the Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it is subject to corporate income tax for the taxable year ending within the calendar year.  The Fund intends generally to make distributions sufficient to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.
 
 
 
In determining its net capital gain, including in connection with determining the amount available to support a Capital Gain Dividend  (as defined below), its taxable income, and its earnings and profits, a RIC generally may elect to treat part or all of any post-October capital loss (defined as the greatest of net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss, in each case attributable to the portion of the taxable year after October 31) or late-year ordinary loss (generally, (i) net ordinary loss from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property, attributable to the portion of the taxable year after October 31, plus (ii) other net ordinary loss attributable to the portion of the taxable year after December 31) as if incurred in the succeeding taxable year.
 
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against the Fund’s net investment income.  Instead, potentially subject to certain limitations, the Fund may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to subsequent taxable years to offset capital gains, if any, realized during such subsequent taxable years. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether the Fund retains or distributes such gains.  The Fund may carry net capital losses forward to one or more subsequent taxable years without expiration. The Fund must apply such carryforwards first against gains of the same character.
 
Federal Income Taxation of Shareholders
 
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.  Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned or is considered to have owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder may have owned shares in the Fund.  In general, the Fund will recognize long-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for more than one year, and short-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for one year or less.  Distributions of net capital gain (that is, the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains includible in net capital gain and taxed to individuals at reduced rates.  Distributions from capital gains are generally made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards.  Distributions of net short-term capital gain (as reduced by any net long-term capital loss for the taxable year) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. The Fund expects that, as a result of its investment objective and strategies, its income will consist primarily of short-term capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them.  Along with any other items of ordinary income, such ordinary income distributions, in the case of non-corporate shareholders, can be reduced by capital losses only to the extent of $3,000 (or $1,500 in the case of a married taxpayer filing separately) per year, and in the case of corporate shareholders cannot be reduced by capital losses.
 
Section 1411 of the Code generally imposes a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on the net investment income of certain individuals whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts, and of certain trusts and estates under similar rules.    For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes, among other things, (i) distributions paid by the Fund of net investment income and capital gains as described above, and (ii) any net gain from the sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares.  Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this additional tax on their investment in the Fund.
 
 
 
The Fund intends to distribute at least annually to its shareholders all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and may distribute its net capital gain.  Taxable income that is retained by the Fund will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates.  The Fund may also retain for investment its net capital gain.  If the Fund retains any net capital gain, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained, but may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds on a properly filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities.  For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal under current law to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence.  The Fund is not required, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will, make this designation if it retains all or a portion of its net capital gain in a taxable year.
 
Any dividend declared in October, November or December of any calendar year and made payable to shareholders of record in any such month is treated as received by such shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year, provided that the Fund pays the dividend during January of the following calendar year.
 
Distributions are taxable to shareholders in the same manner whether shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares through a dividend reinvestment plan.
 
Distributions by the Fund will result in a reduction in the fair market value of the Fund’s shares.  A distribution may be taxable to a shareholder even though, from an investment standpoint, it may constitute a partial return of capital.  In particular, an investor that purchases shares of the Fund just prior to a taxable distribution will then receive a return of investment upon distribution, which will nevertheless be taxable to this shareholder as ordinary income or capital gain.
 
Distributions of investment income reported by the Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be taxed in the hands of individuals at the reduced rates applicable to net capital gain, provided holding period and other requirements are met at the shareholder and Fund level.  The Fund does not expect a substantial amount of its distributions to be derived from qualified dividend income.
 
A portion of the dividends paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations (other than S corporations) may be eligible for the 70% dividends-received deduction to the extent such dividends are derived from dividends received from U.S. corporations, provided holding period and other requirements are met at the shareholder and Fund level. The Fund does not expect that a significant portion of its distributions will be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction.
 
 
 
Any distribution of Fund income that is attributable to (i) income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction or (ii) dividend income received by the Fund on securities it temporarily purchased from a counterparty pursuant to a repurchase agreement that is treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a loan by the Fund, will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders.
 
The ultimate tax characterization of the Fund’s distributions made in a taxable year cannot be determined until after the end of that taxable year. As a result, there is a possibility that the Fund may make total distributions during a taxable year in an amount that exceeds the net investment income and net capital gains the Fund realizes that year, in which case the excess generally will be treated as a return of capital to shareholders.  A return of capital reduces a shareholder’s tax basis in Fund shares, with any amounts exceeding such basis treated as gain from the sale of such shares.  To the extent a return of capital reduces a shareholder’s tax basis in Fund shares, the return of capital reduces any loss or increases any gain on the subsequent taxable disposition by a shareholder of those shares.
 
Sale, Exchange or Redemption of Shares. The sale, exchange or redemption of Fund shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months.  Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Fund shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss.  However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held by a shareholder for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any Capital Gain Dividends received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to those shares.
 
Further, all or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be disallowed under the Code’s “wash-sale” rule if other substantially identical shares are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition.  In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
 
Upon the sale, exchange or redemption of Fund shares, the Fund or, in the case of shares purchased through a financial intermediary, the intermediary may be required to provide you and the IRS with cost basis and certain other related tax information about the Fund shares you sold, exchanged or redeemed.  See the Fund’s prospectus for more information.
 
Taxation of the Fund’s Investments
 
Options and Futures .  In general, option premiums received by the Fund are not immediately included in the income of the Fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or the Fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (e.g., through a closing transaction). If a call option written by the Fund is exercised and the Fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the Fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the Fund minus (b) the Fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock.  If securities are purchased by the Fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the Fund generally will subtract the premium received for purposes of computing its cost basis in the securities purchased.  Gain or loss arising in respect of a termination of the Fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by the Fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the Fund (if any) in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.
 
 
 
The Fund’s options activities may include transactions constituting straddles for U.S. federal income tax purposes, that is, that trigger the U.S. federal income tax straddle rules contained primarily in Section 1092 of the Code.   Such straddles include, for example, positions in a particular security, or an index of securities, and one or more options that offset the former position, including options that are “covered” by the Fund’s long position in the subject security.  Very generally, where applicable, Section 1092 requires (i) that losses be deferred on positions deemed to be offsetting positions with respect to “substantially similar or related property,” to the extent of unrealized gain in the latter, and (ii) that the holding period of such a straddle position that has not already been held for the long-term holding period be terminated and begin anew once the position is no longer part of a straddle. The straddle rules apply in modified form to so-called “qualified covered calls.” Very generally, where a taxpayer writes an option a single stock that is “in the money” but not “deep in the money,” the holding period on the stock will not be terminated, as it would be under the general straddle rules, but will be suspended during the period that such calls are outstanding. These straddle rules could cause gains that would otherwise constitute long-term capital gains to be treated as short-term capital gains, and distributions that would otherwise constitute “qualified dividend income” or qualify for the dividends-received deduction to fail to satisfy the holding period requirements and therefore to be taxed as ordinary income or to fail to qualify for the 70% dividends-received deduction, as the case may be.
 
The tax treatment of certain contracts, including regulated futures contracts and non-equity options, entered into by the Fund will be governed by section 1256 of the Code (“section 1256 contracts”). Non-equity options for this purpose can include options on stock indices.  Gains or losses on section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code) are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable.
 
Other Derivatives, Hedging, and Related Transactions.   In addition to the special rules described above in respect of futures and options transactions, the   Fund’s transactions in other derivative instruments (e.g., forward contracts and swap agreements), as well as any of its hedging, short sale, securities loan or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules (e.g., notional principal contract, straddle, constructive sale, wash sale and short sale rules).  These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary or capital, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities, thereby affecting whether capital gains and losses are treated as short-term or long-term.  These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders.
 
 
 
Because these and other tax rules applicable to these types of transactions are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether the Fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid a Fund-level tax.
 
Foreign Currency Transactions.     Any transaction by the Fund in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations or certain foreign currency options, futures contracts or forward contracts (or similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned.  Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income.  Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.
 
Passive Foreign Investment Companies .  Under the Code, investments in certain foreign investment companies that qualify as “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”) are subject to special tax rules.  A PFIC is any foreign corporation in which (i) 75% or more of the gross income for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets (generally by value, but by adjusted tax basis in certain cases) that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, “passive income” for this purpose means dividends, interest (including income equivalent to interest), royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains. Passive income for this purpose does not include rents and royalties received by the foreign corporation from active business and certain income received from related persons.
 
Equity investments by the Fund in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax (including interest charges) on distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC, which tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of that tax.  For example, the Fund may elect to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (i.e., make a “QEF election”), in which case the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC’s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternately, the Fund may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings “to the market” as though it had sold and repurchased those holdings on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year.  Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may have the effect of accelerating the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increasing the amount required to be distributed by the Fund for it to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return.
 
 
 
Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income (described above).  Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.
 
Book-Tax Differences. Certain of the Fund’s investments in derivative instruments and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and any of the Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, are likely to produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income.  If the Fund’s book income is less than its taxable income, the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC that is accorded special tax treatment.  In the alternative, if the Fund’s book income exceeds its taxable income, the distribution (if any) of such excess generally will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits, (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in its shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.
 
Special Rules for Debt Obligations .  Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance (and zero-coupon debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) will be treated as debt obligations that are issued originally at a discount.  Generally, the amount of the OID is treated as interest income and is included in the Fund’s income (and required to be distributed by the Fund) over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security.  In addition, payment-in-kind securities will give rise to income which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
 
Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance that are acquired by the Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having “market discount.”  Very generally, market discount is the excess of the stated redemption price of a debt obligation over the purchase price of such obligation (or in the case of an obligation issued with OID, its “revised issue price”).  Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on such debt security.  Alternatively, the Fund may elect to accrue market discount currently, in which case the Fund will be required to include the accrued market discount in the Fund’s income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security.  The rate at which the market discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects.
 
Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance may be treated as having OID or, in certain cases, “acquisition discount” (very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price over the purchase price).  The Fund will be required to include the OID or acquisition discount in income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security  The rate at which OID or acquisition discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects.
 
 
 
If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount which is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received.  Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or, if necessary, by liquidation of portfolio securities including at a time when it may not be advantageous to do so.  The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations.  In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger Capital Gain Dividend or larger distributions of short-term capital gains (see “Federal Income Taxation of Shareholders,” above) than they would in the absence of such transactions.
 
Securities Purchased at a Premium .  Very generally, where the Fund purchases a bond at a price that exceeds the redemption price at maturity (i.e., a premium), the premium is amortizable over the remaining term of the bond.  In the case of a taxable bond, if the Fund makes an election applicable to all such bonds it purchases, which election is irrevocable without consent of the IRS, the Fund reduces the current taxable income from the bond by the amortized premium and reduces its tax basis in the bond by the amount of such offset; upon the disposition or maturity of such bonds, the Fund is permitted to deduct any remaining premium allocable to a prior period.  In the case of a tax-exempt bond, tax rules require the Fund to reduce its tax basis by the amount of amortized premium.
 
Mortgage-Related Securities .  The Fund may invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”), including by investing in residual interests in CMOs with respect to which an election to be treated as a REMIC is in effect, or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools ("TMPs").  Under a notice issued by the IRS in October 2006 and Treasury regulations that have yet to be issued but may apply retroactively, a portion of the Fund’s income (including income allocated to the Fund from a pass-through entity) that is attributable to a residual interest in a REMIC or an equity interest in a TMP (referred to in the Code as an “excess inclusion”) will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in all events.  This notice also provides, and the regulations are expected to provide, that excess inclusion income of a RIC will be allocated to shareholders of the RIC in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related interest directly.  As a result, to the extent the Fund invests in such interests, it may not be a suitable investment for charitable remainder trusts, as noted under “Tax-Exempt Shareholders” below.
 
In general, excess inclusion income allocated to shareholders (i) cannot be offset by net operating losses (subject to a limited exception for certain thrift institutions), (ii) will constitute unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) to entities (including a qualified pension plan, an individual retirement account, a 401(k) plan, a Keogh plan or other tax-exempt entity) subject to tax on UBTI, thereby potentially requiring such an entity that is allocated excess inclusion income, and otherwise might not be required to file a tax return, to file a tax return and pay tax on such income, and (iii) in the case of a foreign shareholder (see below), will not qualify for any reduction in U.S. federal withholding tax.  A shareholder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such inclusions notwithstanding any exemption from such income tax otherwise available under the Code.
 
 
 
Other Taxation
 
Foreign Taxes.   Income received by the Fund (or an investment company in which the Fund has invested) from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries.  Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the Fund’s assets at year end consists of the securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to permit shareholders to claim a credit or deduction on their U.S. federal income tax returns for their pro rata portions of qualified taxes paid by the Fund to foreign countries in respect of foreign securities that the Fund has held for at least the minimum period specified in the Code.  In such a case, shareholders will include in gross income from foreign sources their pro rata shares of such taxes paid by the Fund.  A shareholder’s ability to claim an offsetting foreign tax credit or deduction in respect of foreign taxes paid by the Fund is subject to certain limitations imposed by the Code, which may result in the shareholder’s not receiving a full credit or deduction (if any) for the amount of such taxes.  Shareholders who do not itemize on their U.S. federal income tax returns may claim a credit (but not a deduction) for such foreign taxes. Even if the Fund were eligible to make such an election for a given year, it may determine not to do so.  Shareholders that are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, and those who invest in the Fund through tax-advantaged accounts (including those who invest through individual retirement accounts or other tax-advantaged retirement plans), generally will receive no benefit from any tax credit or deduction passed through by the Fund.
 
Backup Withholding.   The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number (“TIN”), who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding.  The backup withholding tax rate is 28%.  Backup withholding is not an additional tax.  Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
 
Tax-Exempt Shareholders
 
Income of a RIC that would be UBTI if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity will not generally be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt shareholder of the RIC.  Notwithstanding this “blocking” effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b).
 
A tax-exempt shareholder may also recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes “excess inclusion income” derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs as described above, if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).
 
 
 
In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) that invest in RICs that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs.  Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT (as defined in section 664 of the Code) that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI.  Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI as a result of investing in a Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income.”  Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a share in a Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income,” then the Fund will be subject to a tax on that portion of its “excess inclusion income” for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders at the highest federal corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable in light of the December 2006 legislation is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, each Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholder’s interest in the Fund.
 
CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisors concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.
 
Foreign Shareholders
 
Absent a specific statutory exemption, dividends other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a shareholder that is not a “U.S. person” within the meaning of the Code (such shareholder, a “foreign shareholder”) are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) even if they are funded by income or gains (such as portfolio interest, short-term capital gains, or foreign-source dividend and interest income) that, if paid to a foreign person directly, would not be subject to withholding. Distributions properly reported as Capital Gain Dividends generally are not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax.
 
For distributions with respect to taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2014, a RIC is not required to withhold any amounts  (i) with respect to distributions from U.S.-source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual foreign shareholder, to the extent such distributions are  properly reported as such by the RIC in a written notice to shareholders ("interest-related dividends"), and (ii) with respect to distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by the RIC in a written notice to shareholders ("short-term capital gain dividends").  This exception to withholding for interest-related dividends does not apply to distributions to a foreign shareholder (A) that has  not provided a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is  not a U.S. person, (B) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the foreign shareholder is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (C) that is within certain foreign countries that have inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (D) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the foreign shareholder and the foreign shareholder is  a controlled foreign corporation.  The exception to withholding for short-term capital gain dividends does not apply to (A) distributions to an individual foreign shareholder who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (B) distributions subject to special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests as described below.
 
 
 
A RIC is permitted to report such part of its dividends as interest-related or short-term capital gain dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so.  In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the RIC reports all or a portion of a payment as an interest-related or short-term capital gain dividend to shareholders. It is currently unclear whether Congress will extend this exemption from withholding for interest-related and short-term capital gain dividends for distributions with respect to taxable years of a RIC beginning on or after January 1, 2014, or what the terms of such an extension would be.
 
Foreign persons should contact their intermediaries regarding the application of these rules to their accounts.
 
A foreign shareholder generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of shares of the Fund or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such holder within the United States, or (ii) in the case of an individual holder, the holder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met , or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”) apply to the  foreign shareholder’s sale of shares of the Fund or to the Capital Gain Dividend the foreign shareholder received (as described below).
 
Special rules would apply if the Fund were either a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (“USRPHC”) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition thereof.  Very generally, a USRPHC is a domestic corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporation’s USRPIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other trade or business assets.  USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or, very generally, an entity that has been a USRPHC in the last five years.  If an interest in the Fund were a USRPI, the Fund would be required to withhold U.S. tax on the proceeds of a share redemption by a greater-than-5% foreign shareholder, in which case such foreign shareholder generally would also be required to file U.S. tax returns and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the redemption.
 
If the Fund were a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the exceptions referred to above, under a special “look-through” rule, any distributions by the Fund to a foreign shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in redemption of its shares) attributable directly or indirectly to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands generally would be subject to U.S. tax withholding.  In addition, such distributions could result in the foreign shareholder being required to file a U.S. tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates.  The consequences to a foreign shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions (e.g., as ordinary income or USRPI gain), would vary depending upon the extent of the foreign shareholder’s current and past ownership of the Fund.  Prior to January 1, 2014, the special “look-through” rule described above for distributions by the Fund (which applies only if the Fund is either a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of the exceptions referred to above) also applied to RIC distributions attributable to (i) gains realized on the disposition of USRPIs by the RIC and (ii) distributions received by an upper-tier RIC from a lower-tier RIC that the upper-tier RIC was required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands. It is currently unclear whether Congress will extend these “look-through” provisions to RIC distributions made on or after January 1, 2014, and what the terms of any such extension would be.
 
 
 
  Foreign shareholders should consult their tax advisers and, if holding shares through intermediaries, their intermediaries, concerning the application of these rules to their investment in the Fund.
 
If a beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder has a trade or business in the United States, and the dividends are effectively connected with the beneficial holder’s conduct of that trade or business, the dividend will be subject to U.S. federal net income taxation at regular income tax rates.
 
If a beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by that beneficial holder in the United States.  More generally, foreign shareholders who are residents in a country with an income tax treaty with the United States may obtain different tax results than those described herein, and are urged to consult their tax advisers.
 
In order to qualify for any exemptions from withholding described above or for lower withholding tax rates under income tax treaties, or to establish an exemption from backup withholding, a foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements relating to its non-US status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute form). Foreign shareholders in the Fund should consult their tax advisers in this regard.
 
A beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal tax on income referred to above.
 
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations
 
Under Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs.  The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper.  Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
 
 
 
Shareholder Reporting Obligations With Respect to Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.   Shareholders that are U.S. persons and own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the Fund by vote or value could be required to report annually their “financial interest” in the Fund’s “foreign financial accounts,” if any, on Treasury Department Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”).  Shareholders should consult a tax advisor regarding the applicability to them of this reporting requirement.
 
Other Reporting and Withholding Requirements.
 
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) generally requires the Fund to obtain information sufficient to identify the status of each of its shareholders under FATCA.  If a shareholder fails to provide this information or otherwise fails to comply with FATCA, the Fund may be required to withhold under FATCA at a rate of 30% with respect to that shareholder on dividends, including Capital Gain Dividends, and the proceeds of the sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares.  If a payment by the Fund is subject to FATCA withholding, the Fund is required to withhold even if such payment would otherwise be exempt from withholding under the rules applicable to foreign shareholders described above (e.g., Capital Gain Dividends and short-term capital gain and interest-related dividends), beginning as early as July 1, 2014.
 
Each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax adviser regarding the applicability of FATCA and any other reporting requirements with respect to the prospective investor’s own situation, including investments through an intermediary.
 
Each distribution is accompanied by a brief explanation of the form and character of the distribution.  Early in each year, the Fund issues to each shareholder a statement of the federal income tax status of all distributions made by the Fund during the prior year.
 
The Fund is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and generally will not be liable for any income or franchise tax in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  If the Fund qualifies as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes and pays no federal income tax, it generally will also not be liable for New York State income taxes, other than a nominal corporation franchise tax (as adjusted by the applicable New York State surtaxes).
 
The foregoing discussion is a general summary of certain of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. persons (as defined below) of owning and disposing of shares in the Fund.  This summary is based on the provisions of the Code, final, temporary and proposed U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as in effect on the date hereof, and all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
 
Shareholders of the Fund may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes on distributions received from the Fund and on redemptions of the Fund’s shares.  Also, this summary does not deal with all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to particular shareholders in light of their particular circumstances.  Accordingly, shareholders should consult their tax advisers about the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI and the tax consequences of investing in the Fund, in light of their particular tax situations.
 
 
 
ORGANIZATION AND CAPITALIZATION
 
General
 
The Fund is a series of Westchester Capital Funds, an open-end management investment company established under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by a Declaration of Trust dated March 20, 2013 (the “Declaration of Trust”).
 
The Fund’s activities are supervised by its Trustees, who are elected by the Fund’s shareholders.  The Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares.  The Trustees are also empowered by the Declaration of Trust and the By-Laws to create additional series of shares, or portfolios.
 
As permitted by Massachusetts law, there will normally be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees unless required by the 1940 Act.  In such an event, the Trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of Trustees.  Except for the foregoing and unless removed by action of the shareholders in accordance with the Fund’s By-Laws, the Trustees shall continue to hold office and may appoint successor Trustees.  The Trustees shall only be liable in cases of their willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties.
 
The shares of the Fund are divided into two classes: Investor Class and Institutional Class. The share classes each have different eligibility and minimum investment requirements, which are disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus. The multiple class structure could be terminated should certain IRS rulings or SEC regulatory positions be rescinded or modified.
 
The underlying assets attributable to a class of the Fund are charged with the expenses attributable to that class of the Fund and with a share of the general expenses of the Fund. Any general expenses of the Fund that are not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular class of the Fund are allocated by or under the direction of the Trustees in such manner as the Trustees determine.
 
Shares of the Fund’s common stock entitle their holders to one vote per share.  Shares have non-cumulative voting rights, which means that holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect all Trustees and, in such event, the holders of the remaining shares voting for the election of Trustees will not be able to elect any person or persons as Trustees.  Shares of classes may have different voting rights, such as (i) when required by the Investment Company Act of 1940; or (ii) when the Trustees determine that such a matter affects only the interests of a particular class.  Shares have no preemptive or subscription rights.
 
 
 
 
Control Persons and Principal Shareholders
 
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund.  A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control.
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI, and therefore, no shareholder owns beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the Fund as of the date of this SAI.
 
Shareholder and Trustee Liability
 
The Fund is an entity of the type commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for the obligations of the trust.  The Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Fund and provides for indemnification out of Fund property of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Fund.  Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations.  Management believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability of shareholders is remote.  The Declaration of Trust does not require the Fund to hold annual meetings of shareholders.  However, the Fund will hold special meetings when required by federal or state securities laws.  The holders of at least 10% of the Fund’s outstanding shares have the right to call a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the removal of one or more Trustees, and in connection with any such meeting, the Fund will comply with the provisions of Section 16(c) of the 1940 Act relating to shareholder communications.
 
Nothing in the Declaration of Trust protects a Trustee against any liability to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
 
 
The following table shows information regarding other accounts managed by each portfolio manager as of September 30, 2013.
 
Name of
Portfolio
Manager
Category
Number of
Accounts
Total Assets in
Accounts
(in mm)
Number of
Accounts Where
Advisory Fee is
Based on
Account
Performance
Total Assets in
Accounts Where
Advisory Fee is
Based on
Account
Performance
Roy D. Behren
Registered
Investment
Companies
3
$5,086.45
3
$5,086.45
 
Other Pooled
Investment
Vehicles
3
$81.92
3
$81.92
 
Other
Accounts
1
$17.69
0
$0
Michael T.  Shannon
Registered
Investment
Companies
3
$5,086.45
3
$5,086.45
 
Other Pooled
Investment
Vehicles
3
$81.92
3
$81.92
 
Other
Accounts
1
$17.69
0
$0
 

 
 
Mr. Behren and Mr. Shannon are the principal owners of the Adviser.
 
Each of Messrs. Behren and Shannon has entered into a service agreement with the Adviser under which he receives distributions in his capacity as a principal of a limited liability company that is a member of the Adviser.  Their compensation is not linked by formula to the absolute or relative performance of the Fund, the Fund’s net assets or to any other specific benchmark.  Because Mr. Behren and Mr. Shannon are members of the Adviser, their compensation is determined in large part by the Adviser’s overall profitability, an important component of which is the level of fee income earned by the Adviser.  Pursuant to investment advisory agreements between the Adviser and the Fund, the Adviser is paid a fixed percentage of the net assets of the Fund and, therefore, its fee income will vary as those assets increase or decrease due to investment performance and subscription and redemption activity.
 
Messrs. Behren and Shannon also receive compensation from their interests in an affiliated registered investment adviser which manages an investment trust and other private investment funds that engage in merger arbitrage.  For its services, the affiliated adviser receives both a management fee and a percentage of the profits, if any, generated by such trust or funds.
 
The fact that Messrs. Behren and Shannon serve both as portfolio managers of the Fund and as portfolio managers of other institutional and non-registered investment accounts creates the potential for a conflict of interest, since receipt of a portion of any profits realized by the accounts could, in theory, create an incentive to favor such accounts.  However, the Adviser believes that any conflicts of interest are mitigated, at least in part, for the following reasons: (i) the Fund and the other accounts all engage in merger arbitrage and are managed in a similar fashion; (ii) the Adviser follows strict and detailed written allocation procedures designed to allocate securities purchases and sales among the Fund and the other institutional and non-registered investment accounts in a fair and equitable manner over time; and (iii) all allocations and fair-value pricing reports are subject to review by the Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer.
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, the portfolio managers currently beneficially own no equity securities in the Fund.
 
 
 
ALLOCATION OF PORTFOLIO BROKERAGE
 
Subject to the supervision of the Trustees, decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund are made by the Adviser.  The Adviser is authorized by the Trustees to allocate the orders placed by it on behalf of the Fund to broker-dealers who may, but need not, provide research or other services in respect of commissions paid by the Fund.
 
In selecting a broker-dealer to execute any given transaction, the Adviser may take the following factors, among other things, into consideration:  the best net price available; the reliability, integrity and financial condition of the broker-dealer; the size and complexity of the order; the broker-dealer’s order flow in the security to be traded; the broker-dealer’s willingness to commit capital to facilitate the transaction; the Adviser’s soft-dollar arrangements for brokerage and research; and the value of the expected contribution of the broker-dealer to the investment performance of the Fund on a continuing basis.
 
Broker-dealers executing a portfolio transaction on behalf of the Fund may receive a commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker-dealer would have charged for executing the transaction if the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage, research and other services provided, either in terms of the particular transaction or the Adviser’s overall responsibilities for accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion.
 
In allocating portfolio brokerage, the Adviser may select broker-dealers who also provide brokerage, research and other services that may be useful to other accounts over which the Adviser or its affiliate exercises investment discretion.  Some of the services received as the result of Fund transactions may benefit accounts other than the Fund that generated the benefits.
 
The Adviser is unable to quantify the amount of commissions which are paid as a result of such services because a substantial number of transactions are effected through broker-dealers which provide such services but which are selected principally because of their execution capabilities.
 
When the Fund and the other accounts over which the Adviser or its affiliate exercises investment discretion are engaged in the simultaneous purchase or sale of the same securities, the Adviser and its affiliate may aggregate the orders.  As a result of the practice of bunching orders, the Adviser and its affiliate often must allocate purchases and sales of securities among different client accounts following the execution of a bunched purchase or sale order.  The Adviser maintains a policy of allocating the executions in a manner which seeks to treat all the accounts involved fairly and equitably over time.
 
The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid any amounts in brokerage commissions or acquired securities of any brokers or dealers (as defined in the 1940 Act) or of their affiliates.
 
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
 
The portfolio turnover rate may be defined as the ratio of the lesser of annual sales or purchases to the monthly average value of the portfolio, excluding from both the numerator and the denominator (1) securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less and (2) short positions.  Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is not available.
 
 
 
The Fund may invest portions of its assets to seek short-term capital appreciation.  The Fund’s investment objective and corresponding investment policies can be expected to cause the portfolio turnover rate to be substantially higher than that of the average equity-oriented investment company.
 
Merger-arbitrage investments are characterized by a high turnover rate because, in general, a relatively short period of time elapses between the announcement of a reorganization and its completion or termination.  The majority of mergers and acquisitions are consummated in less than six months, while tender offers are normally completed in less than two months.  Liquidations and certain other types of corporate reorganizations usually require more than six months to complete.  Short-term trading involves increased brokerage commissions, which expense is ultimately borne by the shareholders.
 
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
The Fund has selected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as its independent registered public accounting firm.
 
CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AGENT, DIVIDEND-PAYING AGENT,
ACCOUNTING SERVICES AGENT AND ADMINISTRATOR
 
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 is the Fund’s transfer agent and dividend-paying agent.  U.S. Bank, N.A. (“U.S. Bank”), Custody Operations, 1555 N. RiverCenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, WI 53102, acts as the Fund’s custodian.  U.S. Bancorp and U.S. Bank are affiliated companies.
 
The custody services performed by U.S. Bank include maintaining custody of the Fund’s assets, record keeping, processing of portfolio securities transactions, collection of income, special services relating to put and call options and making cash disbursements.  U.S. Bank is also custodian for WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund IRA Plan and other qualified retirement plans through which certain investors may invest in the Fund.  U.S. Bank takes no part in determining the investment policies of the Fund or in deciding which securities are purchased or sold by the Fund.  The Fund pays to U.S. Bank a custodian fee, payable monthly, based on a percentage of the value of the Fund’s assets, plus a fee for each transaction with respect to the Fund’s portfolio securities, which varies depending on the nature of the transaction.  The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid U.S. Bank custodian fees.
 
As the Fund’s transfer agent and dividend-paying agent, U.S. Bancorp provides services that include:  performing customary transfer agent functions; making dividend and distribution payments; administering shareholder accounts in connection with the issuance, transfer and redemption of the Fund’s shares; performing related record keeping services; answering shareholders correspondence; mailing reports, proxy statements, confirmations and other communications to shareholders; and filing tax information returns.  U.S. Bancorp’s annual transfer agent fee is equal to a maximum of $15.00 per shareholder account.  The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid U.S. Bancorp transfer agent and shareholder servicing agent fees.
 
 
 
U.S. Bancorp also serves as the Fund’s accounting services agent and Fund Administrator.  As such, U.S. Bancorp provides a variety of administrative and accounting services to the Fund, such as accounting relating to the Fund’s portfolio and portfolio transactions, the determination of NAV and pricing of the Fund’s shares of beneficial interest, and maintaining the books of account of the Fund.  Accounting services for the Fund are provided pursuant to a separate agreement with U.S. Bancorp.  The Fund pays U.S. Bancorp a percentage of the value of the Fund’s assets.  The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid U.S. Bancorp accounting fees.
 
Under the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement, U.S. Bancorp maintains the books, accounts and other documents required by the 1940 Act; prepares the Fund’s financial statements and tax returns; prepares certain reports and filings with the SEC; furnishes statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services and office supplies; and generally assists in all aspects of the Fund’s operations.  U.S. Bancorp, as Administrator, furnishes office space and all necessary office facilities, equipment and executive personnel for performing the services required pursuant to the agreement.  For the foregoing, the Fund pays U.S. Bancorp a fee, payable monthly, based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets.  The Fund will commence operations on or following the date of this SAI and, therefore, has not yet paid U.S. Bancorp administration fees.  The Fund also reimburses U.S. Bancorp for all out-of-pocket expenses.
 
The fees charged to the Fund by U.S. Bancorp for custody, transfer agent, fund accounting and administration services are competitive with fees charged by other providers of such services within the investment company industry.
 
COUNSEL
 
The firm of Ropes & Gray LLP  is counsel to the Fund.
 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
The Fund commenced investment operations on or after the date of this SAI; therefore, no Financial Statements and Financial Highlights are incorporated by reference into this SAI.
 
Financial statements of the Fund to be filed by amendment.
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX A
 
Description of Moody’s and S&P’s Securities Ratings
 
 
The ratings of securities in which the Fund may invest will be measured at the time of purchase and, to the extent a security is assigned a different rating by one or more of the various rating agencies, the Adviser may use the highest rating assigned by any agency.   The Adviser will not necessarily sell an investment if its rating is reduced.  The following rating services describe rated securities as follows:
 
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
 
Bonds
 
Aaa - Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality.  They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as “gilt edged.”  Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure.  While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.
 
Aa - Bonds which are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all standards.  Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high grade bonds.  They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities.
 
A - Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium grade obligations.  Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.
 
Baa - Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium grade obligations, ( i.e. , they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured).  Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.
 
Ba - Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well-assured.  Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate, and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future.  Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class.
 
B - Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment.  Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small.
 
 
 
Caa - Bonds which are rated Caa are of poor standing.  Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest.
 
Ca - Bonds which are rated Ca represent obligations which are speculative in a high degree.  Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings.
 
C - Bonds which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing.
Notes
 
MIG 1/VMIG 1 -- This designation denotes best quality.  There is present strong protection by established cash flows, superior liquidity support or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
 
MIG 2/VMIG 2 -- This designation denotes high quality.  Margins of protection are ample although not so large as in the preceding group.
 
Commercial paper
 
Issuers rated Prime-1 (or supporting institutions) have a superior ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations.  Prime-1 repayment ability will often be evidenced by many of the following characteristics:
 
--
Leading market positions in well-established industries.
--
High rates of return on funds employed.
--
Conservative capitalization structure with moderate reliance on debt and ample asset protection.
--
Broad margins in earnings coverage of fixed financial charges and high internal cash generation.
--
Well established access to a range of financial markets and assured sources of alternate liquidity.
 
Issuers rated Prime-2 (or supporting institutions) have a strong ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations.  This will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics cited above but to a lesser degree.  Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, may be more subject to variation.  Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriate, may be more affected by external conditions.  Ample alternate liquidity is maintained.
 
Standard & Poor’s
 
Bonds
 
AAA - An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s.  The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
 
AA - An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree.  The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
 
 
 
A - An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories.  However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
 
BBB - An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters.  However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
 
Obligations rated BB , B , CCC , CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics.   BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest.  While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
 
BB - An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues.  However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
 
B - An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB , but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.  Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
 
CCC - An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.  In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
 
CC - An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.
 
C - A C rating is assigned to obligations that are currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, obligations that have payment arrearages allowed by the terms of the documents, or obligations of an issuer that is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or similar action which have not experienced a payment default. Among others, the C rating may be assigned to subordinated debt, preferred stock or other obligations on which cash payments have been suspended in accordance with the instrument’s terms or when preferred stock is the subject of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.
 
D - An obligation rated D is in payment default. The D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within five business days, irrespective of any grace period. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ upon completion of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.
 
 
 
Notes
 
SP-1 -- Strong capacity to pay principal and interest.  An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
 
SP-2 -- Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
 
SP-3 -- Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
 
Commercial paper
 
A-1 - A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
 
A-2 - A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
 
A-3 - A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
 
CLAIMS-PAYING ABILITY RATINGS
 
The Fund may invest in securities insured at the time of purchase as to the payment of principal and interest in the event of default.  The Fund may buy investments insured by (or insurance from) insurance companies whose claims-paying ability is rated by rating agencies.
 
An insurance claims-paying ability rating does not constitute an opinion on any specific contract. Furthermore, an insurance claims-paying ability rating does not take in account deductibles, surrender or cancellation penalties or the timeliness of payment; nor does it address the ability of a company to meet non-policy obligations (i.e., debt contracts).
 
The assignment of ratings to debt issues that are fully or partially supported by insurance policies, contracts, or guarantees is a separate process from the determination of claims-paying ability ratings. The likelihood of a timely flow of funds from the insurer to the trustee for the bondholders is a key element in the rating determination of such debt issues.
 
Listed below are rating agencies and their corresponding claims-paying ability ratings.
 
Standard & Poor’s Insurance Claims-Paying Ability Ratings
 
An S&P insurance claims-paying ability rating is an assessment of an operating insurance company’s financial capacity to meet its obligations under an insurance policy in accordance with its terms. For example, an insurer with an insurance claims-paying ability rating of AAA by S&P has the highest rating assigned by S&P, which means its capacity to honor insurance contracts is deemed by S&P to be extremely strong and highly likely to remain so over a long period of time.
 
 
 
Secure claims-paying ability – AAA to BBB
 
Vulnerable claims-paying ability – BB to CCC
 
AAA - Superior financial security on an absolute and relative basis.  Capacity to meet policyholder obligations is overwhelming under a variety of economic and underwriting conditions.
 
AA - Excellent financial security. Capacity to meet policyholder obligations is strong under a variety of economic and underwriting conditions.
 
A - Good financial security, but capacity to meet policyholder obligations is somewhat susceptible to adverse economic and underwriting conditions.
 
BBB - Adequate financial security, but capacity to meet policyholder obligations is susceptible to adverse economic and underwriting conditions.
 
BB - Financial security may be adequate, but capacity to meet policyholder obligations, particularly with respect to long-term or “long-tail” policies, is vulnerable to adverse economic and underwriting conditions.
 
B - Vulnerable financial security. Currently able to meet policyholder obligations, but capacity to meet policyholder obligations is particularly vulnerable to adverse economic and underwriting conditions.
 
CCC, CC, C - Extremely vulnerable financial security. Continued capacity to meet policyholder obligations is highly questionable unless favorable economic and underwriting conditions prevail.
 
R Regulatory action -- As of the date indicated, the insurer is under supervision of insurance regulators following rehabilitation, receivership, liquidation, or any other action that reflects regulatory concern about the insurer’s financial condition. Information on this status is provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and other regulatory bodies. Although believed to be accurate, this information is not guaranteed. The ‘R’ rating does not apply to insurers subject only to non-financial actions such as market conduct violations.
 
Notes:
 
NR = Not Rated.   The insurer is not rated by Standard & Poor’s. The issue has not yet been evaluated by the respective credit rating agency. It is no indication as to the merits of the issue.
 
Plus (+) or minus (-):  The ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘B’ may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
 
 
 
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. Insurance Claims-Paying Ability Ratings
 
A Moody’s insurance claims-paying ability rating is an opinion by Moody’s about the ability of an insurance company to repay punctually senior policyholder obligations and claims. For example, an insurer with an insurance claims-paying ability rating of Aaa by Moody’s is deemed by Moody’s to be of the best quality. In the opinion of Moody’s, the policy obligations of an insurance company with an insurance claims-paying ability rating of Aaa carries the smallest degree of credit risk and, while the financial strength of these companies is likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the company’s fundamentally strong position.
 
Moody’s claims-paying ability ratings are as follows:
 
Long-Term Insurance Financial Strength Ratings
 
Moody’s rating symbols for Insurance Financial Strength Ratings are identical to those used to indicate the credit quality of long-term obligations. These rating gradations provide investors with a system for measuring an insurance company’s ability to meet its senior policyholder claims and obligations.
 
Aaa - Insurance companies rated Aaa offer exceptional financial security. While the financial strength of these companies is likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair their fundamentally strong position.
 
Aa - Insurance companies rated Aa offer excellent financial security. Together with the Aaa group, they constitute what are generally known as high-grade companies. They are rated lower than Aaa companies because long-term risks appear somewhat larger.
 
A - Insurance companies rated A offer good financial security. However, elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.
 
Baa - Insurance companies rated Baa offer adequate financial security. However, certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time.
 
Ba - Insurance companies rated Ba offer questionable financial security. Often the ability of these companies to meet policyholder obligations may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded in the future.
 
B - Insurance companies rated B offer poor financial security. Assurance of punctual payment of policyholder obligations over any long period of time is small.
 
Caa - Insurance companies rated Caa offer very poor financial security. They may be in default on their policyholder obligations or there may be present elements of danger with respect to punctual payment of policyholder obligations and claims.
 
Ca - Insurance companies rated Ca offer extremely poor financial security. Such companies are often in default on their policyholder obligations or have other marked shortcomings.
 
 
 
C - Insurance companies rated C are the lowest-rated class of insurance company and can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever offering financial security.
 
Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa . Numeric modifiers are used to refer to the ranking within a group with 1 being the highest and 3 being the lowest. However, the financial strength of companies within a generic rating symbol ( Aa , for example) is broadly the same.
 
Notes:
 
“+” OR “-” MAY BE APPENDED TO A RATING TO INDICATE THE RELATIVE POSITION OF A CREDIT WITHIN THE RATING CATEGORY. SUCH SUFFIXES ARE NOT ADDED TO THE ‘AAA’ AND ‘D’ CATEGORIES.
 
 
 
63 

 
 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
 
PART C
 
OTHER INFORMATION

 
Item 28.      Exhibits
 
(a)  
Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust. (Previously filed as Exhibit (a) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement.)
 
(b)  
Bylaws of Registrant. (Previously filed as Exhibit (b) to the Registration Statement.)
 
(c)  
None.
 
(d)  
Form of Investment Advisory Agreement – filed herewith.
 
(e)  
Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Quasar Distributors, LLC, dated as of July 30, 2013 – filed herewith.
 
(f)  
Not Applicable.
 
(g)  
Custody Agreement between Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association dated, as of July 30, 2013 – filed herewith.
 
(h)  
Other Material Contracts
 
1.  
Form of Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement – filed herewith.
 
2.  
Form of Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement – filed herewith.
 
3.  
Form of Fund Administration Servicing Agreement – filed herewith.
 
4.  
Form of Expense Waiver and Reimbursement Agreement – filed herewith.
 
5.  
Powers of Attorney. (Previously filed as Exhibit (h)(5) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement.)
 
(i)  
Opinion and Consent of Counsel – filed herewith.
 
(j)  
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – to be filed by amendment.
 
(k)  
Not Applicable.
 
(l)  
Form of Subscription Agreement – filed herewith.
 
(m)  
Registrant’s Investor Class Shares Distribution Plan – filed herewith.
 
(n)  
Registrant’s Multi Class Plan – filed herewith.
 
(o)  
RESERVED.
 
(p)  
Code of Ethics – filed herewith.
 


 
 

 
 
Item 29.    Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant.

Inapplicable.
 
Item 30.    Indemnification.

Reference is made to Article VIII, Sections 1 through 4, of the Registrant’s Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust (“Declaration of Trust”), which is filed herewith.
 
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant by the Registrant pursuant to the Trust’s Declaration of Trust, its Bylaws or otherwise, the Registrant is aware that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and, therefore, is unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by trustees, officers or controlling persons of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustees, officers or controlling persons in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
 
Item 31.   Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser.

Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the Registrant’s investment adviser, also manages merger arbitrage accounts for high-net-worth individuals and other institutional investors.  The information required by this Item 31 with respect to each member, officer or partner of Westchester Capital Management, LLC is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV filed by Westchester Capital Management, LLC pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (SEC File No. 801-72002).

Item 32.   Principal Underwriters.
 
To be provided by amendment.
 
Item 33.    Location of Accounts and Records.

All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained at the Registrant, c/o Westchester Capital Management, LLC, 100 Summit Lake Drive, Valhalla, New York 10595, the Registrant’s transfer agent, c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, or the Registrant’s custodian, c/o U.S. Bank, N.A., 1555 N. RiverCenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, WI 53102.

Item 34.    Management Services.

Not applicable.

Item 35.    Undertakings.
 
Not applicable.

NOTICE

A copy of the Declaration of Trust of Westchester Capital Funds is on file with the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and notice is hereby given that this instrument is executed on behalf of the Trust by an officer or Trustee of the Trust in his or her capacity as an officer or Trustee of the Trust and not individually and that the obligations of or arising out of this instrument are not binding upon any of the Trustees or officers of the Trust or shareholders of any series of the Trust individually but are binding only upon the assets and property of the Trust or the respective series.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this pre-effective amendment no. 2 to its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Valhalla and the State of New York on the 15th day of November, 2013.


WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS


By:            /s/ Roy Behren                                            
Name:            Roy Behren
Title:               Co-President, Treasurer and Trustee

By:            /s/ Michael T. Shannon                                            
Name:            Michael T. Shannon
Title:               Co-President and Trustee


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this pre-effective amendment no. 2 to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 
 
Name
 
Capacity
Date
       
/s/ Roy Behren
 
Co-President, Treasurer and Trustee
November 15, 2013
Roy Behren
   
       
/s/ Michael T. Shannon
 
Co-President and Trustee
November 15, 2013
Michael T. Shannon
   
 
/s/ Barry Hamerling*
 
Trustee
November 15, 2013
Barry Hamerling
     

/s/ Richard V. Silver*
 
Trustee
November 15, 2013
Richard V. Silver
     

/s/ Christianna Wood*
 
Trustee
November 15, 2013
Christianna Wood
     


  * By:  /s/ Roy Behren                                             
                  Roy Behren
                 Attorney-in-Fact**
 
**Pursuant to Powers of Attorney for each of Barry Hamerling, Richard V. Silver and Christianna Wood filed as Exhibit (h)(5) to  Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
 
Exhibit Number
Description
(d)
Form of Investment Advisory Agreement
(e)
Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Quasar Distributors, LLC, dated as of July 30, 2013
(g)
Custody Agreement between Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association dated, as of July 30, 2013
(h)(1)
Form of Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement
(h)(2)
Form of Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement
(h)(3)
Form of Fund Administration Servicing Agreement
(h)(4)
Form of Expense Limitation Agreement
(i)
Opinion and Consent of Counsel
(l)
Form of Subscription Agreement
(m)
Registrant’s Investor Class Shares Distribution Plan
(n)
Registrant’s Multi Class Plan
(p)
Code of Ethics

 


 
FORM OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
 
WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund
 
This Investment Advisory Agreement is executed as of __________, 2013 by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS, a Massachusetts business trust (the “ Trust ”), and WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “ Manager ”).
 
In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:
 
1.            SERVICES TO BE RENDERED BY THE MANAGER TO THE FUND.
 
(a)  Subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees (the “Trustees”) of the Trust and to such policies as the Trustees may determine, the Manager will, at its expense, (i) furnish continuously an investment program for each series of the Trust specified in Schedule A hereto, as such Schedule A may be amended from time to time (each series, individually, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) and will make investment decisions on behalf of each Fund, including, without limitation, what investments will be purchased, held, sold, or exchanged by each Fund and what portion of the assets of each Fund will be held uninvested, and will, on behalf of each Fund, make changes in such investments, and will place all orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities and other investments of the Fund and (ii) arrange for office space and equipment, certain bookkeeping and clerical services (excluding, among other things, administrative, transfer agency, accounting and other services provided by agents retained and paid by the Trust in accordance with Section 1(e) of this Agreement) and the payment of all salaries of officers and Trustees of the Trust who are officers or employees of the Manager or any non-investment company entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Manager, except as otherwise determined or provided by the Trustees.  In the performance of its duties, the Manager will comply with the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-laws of the Trust, each as amended from time to time, and each Fund’s stated investment objective, policies, and restrictions.
 
The Manager shall be authorized, on behalf of each Fund, to vote any proxies or elect to participate in any corporate or litigation action relating to assets owned by the Funds from time to time.
 
(b) If the Trust establishes one or more series other than the Funds listed in Schedule A with respect to which it desires to retain the Manager to act as investment adviser hereunder, it shall notify the Manager in writing. If the Manager is willing to render such services, it shall notify the Trust in writing, whereupon such portfolio shall become a Fund under this Agreement and Schedule A shall be amended accordingly. The compensation payable by such new portfolio to the Manager shall be agreed to in writing at the time.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
(c)  In the selection of brokers or dealers or other execution agents and the placing of orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio investments for the Funds, the Manager shall seek to obtain for each Fund the best execution available. In using its best efforts to obtain for a Fund the best execution available, the Manager, bearing in mind the Fund’s best interests at all times, shall consider all factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration, breadth of the market in the security; price; the size of the transaction; the nature of the market for the security; the amount of the commission; the timing of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the reputation, experience, execution capability, and financial stability of the broker or dealer involved; and the quality of service rendered by the broker or dealer in other transactions.  Subject to such policies as the Trustees may determine, the Manager shall not be deemed to have acted unlawfully or to have breached any duty created by this Agreement or otherwise solely by reason of its having caused a Fund to pay a broker or dealer that provides brokerage and research services to the Manager an amount of commission for effecting a portfolio investment transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the Manager’s overall responsibilities with respect to the Fund and other clients of the Manager as to which the Manager exercises investment discretion.  The Trust hereby agrees with the Manager that any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange is authorized to effect any transaction on such exchange for the account of any Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ 1934 Act ”).
 
(d) In order to enable the Manager to exercise fully its discretion in managing each Fund’s assets, the Trust hereby constitutes and appoints the Manager as the Trust’s and each Fund’s agent and attorney-in-fact with full power and authority for the Trust and each Fund, and on behalf of the Trust and each Fund, as applicable, to open, maintain and close, in the name of the Trust and each Fund, securities accounts with any brokerage firm designated by the Manager in its discretion and to buy, sell and otherwise transact in assets, securities and derivative products (including, without limitation, futures, options, swaps, and spot and forward currency transactions, and agreements or arrangements relating to or securing such transactions) and other financial contracts and other arrangements for purposes of managing each Fund’s investment operations; and that the Manager, as the Trust’s and each Fund’s agent and attorney-in-fact, has the power and authority to do and perform every act necessary or appropriate to be done in the exercise of the foregoing powers as fully as the Trust and each Fund, as applicable, might or could do on its own behalf.
 
 
 
 
-2-

 
 
(e)  The Trust assumes and shall pay or cause to be paid all of its expenses and all expenses of the Funds, including, without limitation: (a) all costs and expenses incident to the organization of the Trust and the public offering of securities of the Trust, including those relating to the registration of its securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any filings required under state securities laws and any fees payable in connection therewith; (b) the charges and expenses of any custodian(s) appointed by the Trust for the safekeeping of the cash, portfolio securities, and other property of the Funds; (c) the charges and expenses of independent accountants; (d) the charges and expenses of any stock transfer and dividend disbursing agent or agents and registrar or registrars appointed by the Trust; (e) the charges and expenses of any administrator appointed by the Trust to provide administrative services to the Funds;  (f) the charges and expenses of any accounting and/or sub-accounting agent appointed by the Trust to provide accounting or sub-accounting services to the Funds; (g) brokerage commissions, dealer spreads, interest expense, dividend expense  and other costs incurred in connection with proposed or consummated portfolio securities transactions; (h) all taxes, including securities issuance and transfer taxes, and corporate fees payable by the Trust to federal, state, local, or other governmental agencies; (i) the cost and expense of printing and issuing certificates, if any, representing securities of the Trust; (j) fees involved in registering and maintaining registrations of the Trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules and regulations thereunder, as amended from time to time (the “ 1940 Act ”); (k) all expenses of shareholders’ and Trustees’ meetings, and of preparing, printing, and mailing proxy statements and reports to shareholders; (l) fees and expenses of Trustees of the Trust who are not officers or employees of the Manager; (m) charges and expenses of legal counsel (or any other consultant or adviser) to the Trust or to the independent Trustees of the Trust; (n) trade association dues; (o) interest payable on Fund borrowings; (q) any shareholder relations expense; (p) premiums for a fidelity bond and any errors and omissions insurance maintained by the Trust; and (r) any other ordinary or extraordinary expenses incurred by the Trust or the Funds in the course of their business. The Manager shall not be obligated to pay any expenses of or for the Trust or the Funds not expressly assumed by the Manager pursuant to this Section 1 other than as provided in Section 3.
 
(f)           Subject to prior approval of a majority of the Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust or the Manager (“Independent Trustees”) and, to the extent required by the 1940 Act, subject to any applicable guidance or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff, by the shareholders of the relevant Fund, the Manager may, from time to time, delegate to a sub-adviser or sub-administrator any of the Manager’s duties under this Agreement with respect to any Fund or all of the Funds, including the management of all or a portion of the assets being managed.
 
 
 
 
-3-

 
 
(g) Any person, even though also employed by the Adviser, who may be or become an employee of and paid by the Fund shall be deemed, when acting within the scope of his employment by the Fund, to be acting in such employment solely for the Fund and not as an employee or agent of the Adviser.
 
2.  
OTHER AGREEMENTS, ETC.
 
Nothing contained in this Agreement shall prevent the Manager or any affiliated person of the Manager from acting as investment adviser or manager for any other person, firm, corporation (including any other investment company), or other entity, whether or not the investment objectives or policies of any such other person, firm, corporation, or other entity are similar to those of any Fund, or in any way bind or restrict the Manager or any such affiliated person from buying, selling, or trading any securities, commodities, or other investments for their own accounts or for the accounts of others for whom the Manager or any such affiliated person may be acting.
 
While information and recommendations supplied to each Fund shall, in the Manager’s judgment, be appropriate under the circumstances and in light of the investment objective(s) and policies of such Fund, such information and recommendations may be different from the information and recommendations supplied by the Manager or its affiliates to other investment companies, funds, and advisory accounts. Each Fund recognizes that it is not entitled to receive preferential treatment as compared with the treatment given by the Manager to any other investment company, fund, or advisory account.
 
3.  
COMPENSATION TO BE PAID BY THE FUND TO THE MANAGER.
 
Each Fund will pay to the Manager as compensation for the Manager’s services rendered, for the facilities furnished, and for the expenses borne by the Manager pursuant to this Agreement, a fee, computed and paid monthly, at the annual rate specified in Schedule B hereto, of the average daily net assets of the that Fund.  The average daily net assets of a Fund for any month shall be determined by taking an average of all of the determinations of a Fund’s net assets during such month at the close of business on each business day during such month while this Agreement is in effect.  Such fee shall be payable as soon as practicable after the end of such month.
 
 In the event that the Manager has agreed to a fee waiver or an expense limitation or reimbursement arrangement with respect to a Fund, subject to such terms and conditions as the Manager and the Trust may set forth in such agreement, the compensation due the Manager hereunder shall be reduced, and, if necessary, the Manager shall bear expenses with respect to the Fund, to the extent required by such fee waiver or expense limitation or reimbursement arrangement.
 
 
 
 
-4-

 
 
If the Manager shall serve for less than the whole of a month, the foregoing compensation shall be prorated.
 
4.  
ASSIGNMENT TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT; AMENDMENTS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
 
This Agreement will terminate automatically, without the payment of any penalty, in the event of its assignment, provided that no delegation of responsibilities by the Manager pursuant to Section 1(f) will be deemed to constitute an assignment.  No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge, or termination is sought.  No amendment of this Agreement shall be effective until approved in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act, and any applicable guidance or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff.
 
5.  
EFFECTIVE PERIOD AND TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
 
This Agreement is effective upon its execution and will remain in full force and effect as to each Fund continuously thereafter (unless terminated automatically with respect to that Fund as set forth in Section 4 or terminated with respect to that Fund in accordance with the following paragraph) for a period of two years, and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter with respect to a Fund so long as its continuance is approved at least annually by (i) the Trustees, or the shareholders by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund, and (ii) a majority of the Independent Trustees, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
 
This Agreement may be terminated with respect to a Fund at any time by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that Fund on not more than 60 days’ written notice to the Manager.  The Manager may at any time terminate this Agreement with respect to a Fund by not less than 60 days’ written notice to the Trust.  A notice of termination shall be delivered or mailed by registered mail, postage prepaid, to the other party at the address indicated below:
 
If to the Trust:
 
Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
 Attn: President and Board of Trustees
 

 
 
-5-

 
 
If to the Manager:
 
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
Attn: President
 
Termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 5 shall be without the payment of any penalty.
 
6.  
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.
 
For the purposes of this Agreement, the “affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares” of a Fund means the affirmative vote, at a duly called and held meeting of shareholders, (a) of the holders of 67% or more of the shares of the Fund present (in person or by proxy) and entitled to vote at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund entitled to vote at such meeting are present in person or by proxy, or (b) of the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund entitled to vote at such meeting, whichever is less.
 
For the purposes of this Agreement, the terms “affiliated person,” “control,” “interested person,” and “assignment” have their respective meanings defined in the 1940 Act, subject, however, to any applicable exemption, guidance, or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff; the term “approve at least annually” will be construed in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act and any applicable exemption, guidance, or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff; and the term “brokerage and research services” has the meaning given in the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations under the 1934 Act and under any applicable exemption, guidance, or interpretation of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff.
 
7.  
NONLIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION OF MANAGER.
 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Manager, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder, the Manager, including its officers, directors, and partners, shall not be subject to any liability to the Trust or any Fund, or to any shareholder, officer, director, partner, or Trustee thereof, for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder.  Any person, even though also employed by the Manager, who may be or become an employee or officer of the Fund shall be deemed, when acting within the scope of his employment or office with the Fund, to be acting in such employment or office solely and not as an employee or agent of the Manager.
 
 
 
 
-6-

 
 
The Manager shall be indemnified by a Fund to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by the Manager in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which the Manager becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of the Manager serving as investment adviser to that Fund hereunder and against amounts paid or incurred by the Manager in the settlement thereof, provided that any such settlement has been approved by the Board of Trustees (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), such approval not to be unreasonably withheld.  The words “claim,” “action,” “suit,” and “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, actions, suits or proceedings (civil, criminal or other, including appeals), actual or threatened against the Manager while in office as investment adviser or thereafter other than those proceedings that Manager may be or may become subject to as a result of conducting its ordinary business as an investment adviser ( e.g. , inspections and investigations of the Securities and Exchange Commission), and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.
 
No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to Manager if Manager (i) has been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought (A) to have engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, negligence or reckless disregard or breach of the duties involved in the conduct of its office or (B) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that the Manager’s action was in the best interest of the Fund in question; or (ii) in the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that the Manager did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, negligence or reckless disregard or breach of the duties involved in the conduct of the Manager’s office, (A) by the court or other body approving the settlement; (B) by at least a majority of the Independent Trustees who are not parties to the matter based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); or (C) by written opinion of independent legal counsel based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry).
 
Expenses may be paid from time to time by a Fund in advance of the final disposition of any such action, suit, or proceeding only upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of Manager to repay amounts so paid to the Fund if it is ultimately determined that indemnification of such expenses is not authorized under this Section; provided , that (a) Manager shall provide security for its undertaking, (b) the Fund shall be insured against losses arising by reason of Manager’s failure to fulfill its undertaking, or (c) a majority of the Independent Trustees (provided that a majority of such Trustees then in office act on the matter), or independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based on a review of readily available facts (but not a full trial-type inquiry), that there is reason to believe Manager ultimately will be entitled to indemnification.
 
 
 
 
-7-

 
 
8.  
 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF THE TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS.
 
A copy of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the Trust is on file with the Secretary of State of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and notice is hereby given that this instrument is executed on behalf of the Trustees of the Trust as Trustees and not individually and that the obligations of this instrument are not binding upon any of the Trustees or shareholders individually but are binding only upon the assets and property of the Fund in question.
 
9.  
USE OF NAMES AND LOGOS.
 
It is expressly understood that the names “Westchester Capital Funds” and “Westchester Capital” or any derivation thereof, or any logo associated with those names, are the valuable property of the Manager and its affiliates, and in certain cases are protected under applicable trademark law. The Trust shall have the limited right to use such names (or derivations thereof or associated logos) only so long as the Manager shall consent and this Agreement shall remain in effect.  Upon reasonable notice from the Manager to the Trust or upon termination of this Agreement, the Trust shall forthwith cease to use such names (or derivations thereof or associated logos) and shall promptly amend its Agreement and Declaration of Trust and other public documents to change its name accordingly.  The covenants on the part of the Trust in this Section 9 shall be binding upon it, its Trustees, officers, stockholders, creditors and all other persons claiming under or through it, and shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
 
10.  
BOOKS AND RECORDS.
 
In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager agrees that all records that it maintains for the Trust are the property of the Trust and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Trust  any such records upon the Trust’s request. The Manager further agrees to preserve for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Manager shall promptly, upon demand, return to the Trust all such records, except that the Manager may retain copies for its records as may be required by applicable law and regulation and by its internal compliance obligations, subject to any confidentiality requirements.
 
 
 
 
-8-

 
 
11.  
NOTICES.
 
Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing, addressed and delivered to the party to this Agreement entitled to receive such notice at the address indicated in Section 5 or such other address as such party may designate in writing.
 
12.  
COUNTERPARTS.
 
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original.
 
13.  
GOVERNING LAW.
 
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act. To the extent applicable law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control.
 

 
[ Remainder of page intentionally blank. Signature page follows. ]
 

 
 
-9-

 
 

 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS and WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC have each caused this instrument to be signed in its behalf by its duly authorized representative, all as of the day and year first above written.
 

WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS



By: _________________________          
Name:
Title:



WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC



By: ____________________________________          
Name:
Title:

 

 
 

 
 
SCHEDULE A
 
Funds
 
 
 

Fund
  
Date of Execution
   
WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund
  
 
     


 
 
-11- 

 
 
SCHEDULE B
 
                                      Fund
Annual Rate
   
WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund
1.25%
   
 
* Annual rate is expressed as a percentage of average daily net assets
 
 
-12-


 
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
 
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 30 th day of July, 2013, by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and QUASAR DISTRIBUTORS, LLC , a Delaware limited liability company (the “Distributor).   Westchester Capital Management, LLC, the investment advisor to the Trust (the “Advisor”), is a party hereto with respect to Section 5 only.
 
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest (“Shares”) in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
 
WHEREAS, the Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”);
 
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Distributor as principal underwriter in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares of each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”); and
 
WHEREAS, this Agreement has been approved by a vote of the Trust’s board of trustees (“Board of Trustees” or the “Board”), including its disinterested trustees voting separately, in conformity with Section 15(c) of the 1940 Act.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
 
1.  
Appointment of Quasar as Distributor
 
The Trust hereby appoints the Distributor as its agent for the sale and distribution of Shares of the Fund in jurisdictions wherein the Shares may be legally offered for sale, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and the Distributor hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.  The services and duties of the Distributor shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against the Distributor hereunder.
 
2.  
Services and Duties of the Distributor
 
A.  
The Distributor agrees to sell Shares on a best efforts basis as agent for the Trust upon the terms and at the current offering price (plus sales charge, if any) described in the Prospectus.  As used in this Agreement, the term “Prospectus” shall mean the current prospectus, including the statement of additional information, as both may be amended or supplemented, relating to the Fund and included in the currently effective registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) of the Trust filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the 1940 Act.  The Trust shall in all cases receive the net asset value per Share on all sales.  If a sales charge is in effect, the Distributor shall remit the sales charge (or portion thereof) to broker-dealers who have sold Shares, as described in Section 2(G), below.
 
 
 
 
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B.  
During the continuous public offering of Shares, the Distributor will hold itself available to receive orders, satisfactory to the Distributor, for the purchase of Shares and will accept such orders on behalf of the Trust.  Such purchase orders shall be deemed effective at the time and in the manner set forth in the Prospectus.
 
C.  
The Distributor, with the operational assistance of the Trust’s transfer agent, shall make Shares available for sale and redemption through the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s Fund/SERV System.
 
D.  
The Distributor acknowledges and agrees that it is not authorized to provide any information or make any representations other than as contained in the Prospectus and any sales literature specifically approved by the Trust.
 
E.  
The Distributor agrees to cooperate with the Trust or its agent in the development of all proposed advertisements and sales literature (“Communications with the Public”) relating to the Fund.  The Distributor agrees to review all proposed Communications with the Public for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and shall file with appropriate regulators those Communications with the Public it believes are in compliance with such laws and regulations.  The Distributor agrees to furnish to the Trust any comments provided by regulators with respect to such materials and to use its best efforts to obtain the approval of the regulators to such materials.
 
F.  
The Distributor, at its sole discretion, may repurchase Shares offered for sale by shareholders of the Fund.  Repurchase of Shares by the Distributor shall be at the price determined in accordance with, and in the manner set forth in, the Prospectus.  At the end of each business day, the Distributor shall notify the Trust and its transfer agent, by any appropriate means, of the orders for repurchase of Shares received by the Distributor since the last report, the amount to be paid for such Shares and the identity of the shareholders offering Shares for repurchase.  The Trust reserves the right to suspend such repurchase right upon written notice to the Distributor.  The Distributor further agrees to act as agent for the Trust to receive and transmit promptly to the Trust’s transfer agent, shareholder requests for redemption of Shares.
 
G.  
The Distributor may, in its discretion, enter into agreements with such qualified broker-dealers as it may select, in order that such broker-dealers also may sell Shares of the Fund.  The form of any dealer agreement shall be approved by the Trust.  To the extent there is a sales charge in effect, the Distributor shall pay the applicable sales charge (or portion thereof), or allow a discount, to the selling broker-dealer, as described in the Prospectus.
 
 
 
 
2

 
 
H.  
The Distributor shall devote its best efforts to effect sales of Shares of the Fund but shall not be obligated to sell any certain number of Shares.
 
I.  
The Distributor shall prepare reports for the Board regarding its activities under this Agreement as from time to time shall be reasonably requested by the Board, including reports regarding the use of any 12b-1 payments received by the Distributor.
 
J.  
The Distributor agrees to advise the Trust promptly in writing of the initiation of any proceedings against it by the SEC or its staff, FINRA or any state regulatory authority.
 
K.  
The Distributor shall monitor amounts paid under Rule 12b-1 plans and pursuant to sales loads to ensure compliance with applicable FINRA rules.
 
3.  
Representations and Covenants of the Trust
 
A.  
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to the Distributor, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
 
(1)  
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
 
(2)  
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;
 
(3)  
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement;
 
(4)  
All Shares to be sold by it, including those offered under this Agreement, are validly authorized and, when issued in accordance with the description in the Prospectus, will be fully paid and nonassessable;
 
(5)  
The Registration Statement, and Prospectus included therein, have been prepared in conformity with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder; and
 
 
 
 
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(6)  
The Registration Statement (at the time of its effectiveness) and any advertisements and sales literature prepared by the Trust or its agent (excluding statements relating to the Distributor and the services it provides that are based upon written information furnished by the Distributor expressly for inclusion therein) shall not contain any untrue statement of material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and that all statements or information furnished to the Distributor pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects.
 
B.  
The Trust, or its agent, shall take or cause to be taken, all necessary action to register Shares of the Fund under the 1933 Act, qualify such shares for sale in such states as the Trust and the Distributor shall approve, and maintain an effective Registration Statement for such Shares in order to permit the sale of Shares as herein contemplated.  The Trust authorizes the Distributor to use the Prospectus, in the form furnished to the Distributor from time to time, in connection with the sale of Shares.
 
C.  
The Trust agrees to advise the Distributor promptly in writing:
 
(i)     of any material correspondence or other communication by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or its staff relating to the Fund, including requests by the SEC for amendments to the Registration Statement or Prospectus;
 
(ii)     in the event of the issuance by the SEC of any stop-order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement then in effect or the initiation of any proceeding for that purpose;
 
(iii)     of the happening of any event which makes untrue any statement of a material fact made in the Prospectus or which requires the making of a change in such Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not misleading;
 
(iv)     of all actions taken by the SEC with respect to any amendments to any Registration Statement or Prospectus, which may from time to time be filed with the SEC; and
 
(v)     in the event that it determines to suspend the sale of Shares at any time in response to conditions in the securities markets or otherwise, or in the event that it determines to suspend the redemption of Shares at any time as permitted by the 1940 Act or the rules of the SEC, including any and all applicable interpretations of such by the staff of the SEC.
 
D.  
The Trust shall notify the Distributor in writing of the states in which the Shares may be sold and shall notify the Distributor in writing of any changes to such information.
 
 
 
 
4

 
 
E.  
The Trust agrees to file from time to time such amendments to its Registration Statement and Prospectus as may be necessary in order that its Registration Statement and Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
 
F.  
The Trust shall fully cooperate in the efforts of the Distributor to sell and arrange for the sale of Shares and shall make available to the Distributor a statement of each computation of net asset value.  In addition, the Trust shall keep the Distributor fully informed of its affairs and shall provide to the Distributor, from time to time, copies of all information, financial statements and other papers that the Distributor may reasonably request for use in connection with the distribution of Shares, including without limitation, certified copies of any financial statements prepared for the Trust by its independent public accountants and such reasonable number of copies of the Prospectus and annual and interim reports to shareholders as the Distributor may request.  The Trust shall forward a copy of any SEC filings, including the Registration Statement, to the Distributor within one business day of any such filings.  The Trust represents that it will not use or authorize the use of any Communications with the Public unless and until such materials have been approved and authorized for use by the Distributor.  Nothing in this Agreement shall require the sharing or provision of materials protected by privilege or limitation of disclosure, including any applicable attorney-client privilege or trade secret materials.
 
G.  
The Trust has reviewed and is familiar with the provisions of FINRA Rule 2830(k) prohibiting directed brokerage.  In addition, the Trust agrees not to enter into any agreement (whether orally or in writing) under which the Trust directs or is expected to direct its brokerage transactions (or any commission, markup or other payment from such transactions) to a broker or dealer for the promotion or sale of Fund Shares or the shares of any other investment company.  In the event the Trust fails to comply with the provisions of FINRA Rule 2830(k), the Trust shall promptly notify the Distributor.
 
4.  
Additional Representations and Covenants of the Distributor
 
The Distributor hereby represents, warrants and covenants to the Trust, which representations, warranties and covenants shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
 
(1)  
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
 
(2)  
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Distributor in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Distributor, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;
 
 
 
 
5

 
 
(3)  
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement;
 
(4)  
It is registered as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and is a member in good standing of FINRA;
 
(5)  
It: (i) has adopted an anti-money laundering compliance program (“AML Program”) that satisfies the requirements of all applicable laws and regulations; (ii) undertakes to carry out its AML Program to the best of its ability; (iii) will promptly notify the Trust and the Advisor if an inspection by the appropriate regulatory authorities of its AML Program identifies any material deficiency; and (vi) will promptly remedy any material deficiency of which it learns; and
 
(6)  
In connection with all matters relating to this Agreement, it will comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act, the regulations of FINRA and all other applicable federal or state laws and regulations.
 
5.  
Compensation
 
The Distributor shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time).  The Distributor shall also be compensated for such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by the Distributor in performing its duties hereunder.  The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute.  The Trust shall notify the Distributor in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid.  With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to the Distributor shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.  Such fees and expenses shall be paid to Distributor by the Trust from Rule 12b-1 fees payable by the appropriate Fund or, if the Fund does not have a Rule 12b-1 plan, or if Rule 12b-1 fees are not sufficient to pay such fees and expenses, or if the Rule 12b-1 plan is discontinued, or if the Advisor otherwise determines that Rule 12b-1 fees shall not, in whole or in part, be used to pay Distributor, the Advisor shall be responsible for the payment of the amount of such fees and expenses not covered by Rule 12b-1 payments.
 
 
 
 
6

 
 
6.  
Expenses
 
A.  
The Trust shall bear all costs and expenses in connection with the registration of its Shares with the SEC and its related compliance with state securities laws, as well as all costs and expenses in connection with the offering of the Shares and communications with shareholders, including but not limited to: (i) fees and disbursements of its counsel and independent public accountants; (ii) costs and expenses of the preparation, filing, printing and mailing of Registration Statements and Prospectuses, as well as related advertising and sales literature; (iii) costs and expenses of the preparation, printing and mailing of annual and interim reports, proxy materials and other communications to shareholders; and (iv) fees required in connection with the offer and sale of Shares in such jurisdictions as shall be selected by the Trust pursuant to Section 3(D) hereof.
 
B.  
The Distributor shall bear the expenses of registration or qualification of the Distributor as a dealer or broker under federal or state laws and the expenses of continuing such registration or qualification.  The Distributor does not assume responsibility for any expenses not expressly assumed hereunder.
 
7.  
Indemnification
 
A.  
The Trust shall indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor and each of its managers, officers, employees, representatives and any person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (collectively, the “Distributor Indemnitees”), free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) (collectively, “Losses”) that the Distributor Indemnitees may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against a Distributor Indemnitee by any person (i) arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any Prospectus, or in any annual or interim report to shareholders, or in any advertisements or sales literature prepared by the Trust or its agent, or (ii) arising out of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (iii) based upon the Trust’s refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement; provided, however, that the Trust’s obligation to indemnify the Distributor Indemnitees shall not be deemed to cover any Losses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, annual or interim report, or any advertisement or sales literature in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to the Distributor and furnished to the Trust or its counsel by the Distributor for the purpose of, and used in, the preparation thereof.  The Trust’s agreement to indemnify the Distributor Indemnitees is expressly conditioned upon the Trust being notified of such action or claim of loss brought against the Distributor Indemnitees within a reasonable time after the summons or other first legal process giving information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon the Distributor Indemnitees, unless the failure to give notice does not prejudice the Trust; provided, that the failure so to notify the Trust of any such action shall not relieve the Trust from any liability which the Trust may have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission, otherwise than on account of the Trust’s indemnity agreement contained in this Section 7(A).
 
 
 
 
7

 
 
B.  
The Trust shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense, or if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such Losses, but if the Trust elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Trust and approved by the Distributor, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.  In the event the Trust elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, the Distributor Indemnitees in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by them.  If the Trust does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case the Distributor does not, in the exercise of reasonable judgment, approve of counsel chosen by the Trust, or if under prevailing law or legal codes of ethics, the same counsel cannot effectively represent the interests of both the Trust and the Distributor Indemnitees, the Trust will reimburse the Distributor Indemnitees for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by them.  The Trust’s indemnification agreement contained in Sections 7(A) and 7(B) herein shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Distributor Indemnitees and shall survive the delivery of any Shares and the termination of this Agreement.  This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the benefit of the Distributor Indemnitees and their successors.  The Trust agrees promptly to notify the Distributor of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Trust or any of its officers or trustees in connection with the offer and sale of any of the Shares.
 
C.  
The Trust shall advance attorneys’ fees and other expenses incurred by any Distributor Indemnitee in defending any claim, demand, action or suit which is the subject of a claim for indemnification pursuant to this Section 7 to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law.
 
D.  
The Distributor shall indemnify, defend and hold the Trust and each of its trustees, officers, employees, representatives and any person who controls the Trust within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (collectively, the “Trust Indemnitees”), free and harmless from and against any and all Losses that the Trust Indemnitees may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against a Trust Indemnitee by any person (i) arising out of or based upon any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any Prospectus, or in any annual or interim report to shareholders, or in any advertisements or sales literature prepared by the Distributor, or (ii) arising out of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statement not misleading, or (iii) based upon the Distributor’s refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement; provided, however, that with respect to clauses (i) and (ii), above, the Distributor’s obligation to indemnify the Trust Indemnitees shall only be deemed to cover Losses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, annual or interim report, or any advertisement or sales literature in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to the Distributor and furnished to the Trust or its counsel by the Distributor for the purpose of, and used in, the preparation thereof.  The Distributor’s agreement to indemnify the Trust Indemnitees is expressly conditioned upon the Distributor being notified of any action or claim of loss brought against the Trust Indemnitees within a reasonable time after the summons or other first legal process giving information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon the Trust Indemnitees, unless the failure to give notice does not prejudice the Distributor; provided, that the failure so to notify the Distributor of any such action shall not relieve the Distributor from any liability which the Distributor may have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, otherwise than on account of the Distributor’s indemnity agreement contained in this Section 7(D).
 
 
 
 
8

 
 
E.  
The Distributor shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense, or if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such Losses, but if the Distributor elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Distributor and approved by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.  In the event the Distributor elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, the Trust Indemnitees in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by them.  If the Distributor does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case the Trust does not, in the exercise of reasonable judgment, approve of counsel chosen by the Distributor, or if under prevailing law or legal codes of ethics, the same counsel cannot effectively represent the interests of both the Trust Indemnitees and the Distributor, the Distributor will reimburse the Trust Indemnitees for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by them.  The Distributor’s indemnification agreement contained in Sections 7(D) and 7(E) herein shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Trust Indemnitees and shall survive the delivery of any Shares and the termination of this Agreement.  This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the benefit of the Trust Indemnitees and their successors.  The Distributor agrees promptly to notify the Trust of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Distributor or any of its officers or directors in connection with the offer and sale of any of the Shares.
 
 
 
 
9

 
 
F.  
The Distributor shall advance attorneys’ fees and other expenses incurred by any Trust Indemnitee in defending any claim, demand, action or suit which is the subject of a claim for indemnification pursuant to this Section 7 to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law.
 
G.  
No party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other parties for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.
 
H.  
No person shall be obligated to provide indemnification under this Section 7 if such indemnification would be impermissible under the 1940 Act, the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or the rules of FINRA; provided, however, in such event indemnification shall be provided under this Section 7 to the maximum extent so permissible.
 
8.  
Proprietary and Confidential Information
 
The Distributor agrees on behalf of itself and its managers, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where the Distributor may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust.  Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of the Distributor or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of the Distributor prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
 
Further, the Distributor will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time.  In this regard, the Distributor shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
 
9.  
Compliance with Laws
 
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Prospectus and statement of additional information.  The Distributor’s services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
 
 
 
 
10

 
 
10.  
Term of Agreement; Amendment; Assignment
 
A.  
This Agreement shall become effective with respect to each Fund listed on Exhibit A hereof as of the date hereof and, with respect to each Fund not in existence on that date, on the date an amendment to Exhibit A to this Agreement relating to that Fund is executed.  Unless sooner terminated as provided herein, this Agreement shall continue in effect for two years from the date hereof.  Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect automatically as to each Fund for successive one-year periods, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by: (i) the Trust’s Board, or (ii) the vote of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” of a Fund, and provided that in either event, the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trust’s Board who are not “interested persons” of any party to this Agreement, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
 
B.  
Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated, without the payment of any penalty, with respect to a particular Fund: (i) through a failure to renew this Agreement at the end of a term, (ii) upon mutual consent of the parties, or (iii) upon not less than 60 days’ written notice, by either the Trust upon the vote of a majority of the members of its Board who are not “interested persons” of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Agreement, or by vote of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” of a Fund, or by the Distributor.  The terms of this Agreement shall not be waived, altered, modified, amended or supplemented in any manner whatsoever except by a written instrument signed by the Distributor and the Trust.  If required under the 1940 Act, any such amendment must be approved by the Trust’s Board, including a majority of the Trust’s Board who are not “interested persons” of any party to this Agreement, by a vote cast in person at a meeting for the purpose of voting on such amendment.  In the event that such amendment affects the Advisor, the written instrument shall also be signed by the Advisor.  This Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment.”
 
C.  
As used in this Section, the terms “majority of the outstanding voting securities,” “interested person,” and “assignment” shall have the same meaning as such terms have in the 1940 Act.
 
D.  
Sections 7 and 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement.
 
11.  
Early Termination
 
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:
 
a.  
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the rebate of any negotiated discounts;
b.  
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider;
 
 
 
 
11

 
 
c.  
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
d.  
all out-of-pocket costs associated with a-c above.
 
12.  
Duties in the Event of Termination
 
In the event that, in connection with termination, a successor to any of the Distributor’s duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to the Distributor, the Distributor will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by the Distributor under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which the Distributor has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from the Distributor’s personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor.  If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
 
13.           Governing Law
 
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
 
14.           No Agency Relationship
 
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
 
15.           Services Not Exclusive
 
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the Distributor from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
 
16.           Invalidity
 
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.  In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
 
 
 
 
12

 
 
17.           Notices
 
Any notice required or permitted to be given by any party to the others shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other parties’ respective addresses as set forth below:
 
Notice to the Distributor shall be sent to:

Quasar Distributors, LLC
Attn:  President
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202

notice to the Trust shall be sent to:

Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595


and notice to the Advisor shall be sent to:

Westchester Capital Management, LLC
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595


18.           Multiple Originals
 
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
 
 
 
 
13

 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
 
The parties hereby agree that the Distribution Services provided by Quasar Distributors, LLC will commence on or after July 30, 2013.
 

 
 
  WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS QUASAR DISTRIBUTORS, LLC
   
 By:__________________________  By:_____________________________
   
 Name:________________________  Name: James R. Schoenike
   
 Title:_________________________  Title: President
   
   
  WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC  
  (with respect to section 5 only)  
 By:__________________________  
   
 Name:________________________  
   
 Title:_________________________  
                     
 
 
 
14

 
 
Exhibit A
to the
Distribution Agreement

Fund Names

Separate Series of Westchester Capital Funds


Name of Series
WCM Alternatives: Event-driven Fund
 
 
 
15

 
 
Exhibit B to the Distribution Agreement Fee Schedule – Westchester Capital Funds
REGULATORY DISTRIBUTION SERVICES – Fee Schedule
 
Regulatory Distribution Annual Services*
Base annual fee:
§ $ (The Merger Fund, The Merger Fund Class I, WCM Alternatives Event-driven Funds and Advertising Compliance Review only for The Merger Fund VL)
Additional funds $ per fund
 
Standard Advertising Compliance Review
§ $ per communication piece for the first 10 pages (minutes if tape or video); $ /page (minute if tape or video) thereafter.
§ $ FINRA filing fee per communication piece for the first 10 pages (minutes if tape or video); $ /page (minute if tape or video) thereafter.  [FINRA filing fee subject to change.]
      (FINRA filing fee may not apply to all communication pieces)
 
Expedited Advertising Compliance Review
§ $ for the first 10 pages (minutes if audio or video); $ /page (minute if audio or video) thereafter, 24 hour initial turnaround.
§ $ FINRA filing fee per communication piece for the first 10 pages (minutes if audio or video); $ /page (minute if audio or video) thereafter.  [FINRA filing fee subject to change.]
      (3 day turnaround IF accepted by FINRA, FINRA filing fee may not apply to all communication  (pieces)
 
Licensing of Investment Adviser’s Staff (if desired)
§   $ /year per registered representative
§   Quasar sponsors the following licenses: Series, 6, 7, 24, 26, 27, 63, 66
§   $ /FINRA designated branch location
§   Plus all associated FINRA and state fees for Registered Representatives, including license and renewal fees
 
Fund Fact Sheets
§   Design - $ /fact sheet, includes first production
§   Production - $ /fact sheet per production period
§   All printing costs are out-of-pocket expenses, and in addition to the design fee and production fee
§   Web sites, third-party data provider costs, brochures, and other sales support materials – Project priced via Quasar proposal
 
Chief Compliance Officer Support Fee   - $/year
 
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Distributor in connection with activities primarily intended to result in the sale of shares, including, but not limited to:
§   Distribution of prospectuses and shareholder reports
§   Production, printing, distribution, and placement of advertising, sales literature, and materials
§   Engagement of designers, free-lance writers, and public relations firms
§   Postage, overnight delivery charges
§   FINRA registration fees [To include late U5 charge (if applicable)
        (FINRA advertising filing fees are included in Advertising Compliance Review section above)
§   Record retention
§   Travel, lodging, and meals
 
*Subject to annual CPI increase, Milwaukee MSA.
Fees are billed monthly.
To the extent that services are provided to the Trust by the Distributor’s affiliates, the Trust shall not be charged by the Distributor under this Agreement.
Fees for any additional services will be separately negotiated.
 

 
16


 
CUSTODY AGREEMENT
 
 
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 30 th day of July, 2013,  by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION , a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America (the “Custodian”).
 
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
 
WHEREAS, the Custodian is a bank meeting the requirements prescribed in Section 26(a)(1) of the 1940 Act; and
 
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Custodian to act as custodian of the cash and securities of each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”); and
 
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Trust has delegated to the Custodian the responsibilities set forth in Rule 17f-5(c) under the 1940 Act and the Custodian is willing to undertake the responsibilities and serve as the foreign custody manager for the Trust.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
 
ARTICLE I
 
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
 
Whenever used in this Agreement, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below unless the context otherwise requires:
 
1.01     “Authorized Person” means any Officer or person who has been designated as such by written notice and named in Exhibit A and delivered to the Custodian by the Trust, or if the Trust has notified the Custodian in writing that it has an authorized investment manager or other agent, delivered to the Custodian by the Trust’s investment advisor or other agent.  Such Officer or person shall continue to be an Authorized Person until such time as the Custodian receives Written Instructions from the Trust or the Trust’s investment advisor or other agent that any such person is no longer an Authorized Person.
 
1.02     “Board of Trustees” shall mean the trustees from time to time serving under the Trust’s declaration of trust, as amended from time to time.
 
1.03     “Book-Entry System” shall mean a federal book-entry system as provided in Subpart O of Treasury Circular No. 300, 31 CFR 306, in Subpart B of 31 CFR Part 350, or in such book-entry regulations of federal agencies as are substantially in the form of such Subpart O.
 
 
 
 

 
 
1.04     “Business Day” shall mean any day recognized as a settlement day by The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and any other day for which the Trust computes the net asset value of Shares of the Fund.
 
1.05     “Eligible Foreign Custodian” has the meaning set forth in Rule 17f-5(a)(1), including a majority-owned or indirect subsidiary of a U.S. Bank (as defined in Rule 17f-5), a bank holding company meeting the requirements of an Eligible Foreign Custodian (as set forth in Rule 17f-5 or by other appropriate action of the SEC), or a foreign branch of a Bank (as defined in Section 2(a)(5) of the 1940 Act) meeting the requirements of a custodian under Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act; the term does not include any Eligible Securities Depository.
 
1.06     “Eligible Securities Depository” has the meaning set forth in Rule 17f-7(b)(1) under the 1940 Act.
 
1.07     “Foreign Securities” means any investments of a Fund (including foreign currencies) for which the primary market is outside the United States and such cash and cash equivalents as are reasonably necessary to effect such Fund’s transactions in such investments.
 
1.08     “Fund Custody Account” shall mean any of the accounts in the name of the Trust, which is provided for in Section 3.2 below.
 
1.09     “IRS” shall mean the Internal Revenue Service.
 
1.10     “FINRA” shall mean the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
 
1.11     “Officer” shall mean the Chairman, President, any Vice President, any Assistant Vice President, the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer, or any Assistant Treasurer of the Trust.
 
1.12     “Proper Instructions” shall mean Written Instructions.
 
1.13     “SEC” shall mean the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
1.14     “Securities” shall include, without limitation, common and preferred stocks, bonds, call options, put options, debentures, notes, bank certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, mortgage-backed securities or other obligations, and any certificates, receipts, warrants or other instruments or documents representing rights to receive, purchase or subscribe for the same, or evidencing or representing any other rights or interests therein, or any similar property or assets that the Custodian or its agents have the facilities to clear and service.
 
1.15     “Securities Depository” shall mean The Depository Trust Company and any other clearing agency registered with the SEC under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), which acts as a system for the central handling of Securities where all Securities of any particular class or series of an issuer deposited within the system are treated as fungible and may be transferred or pledged by bookkeeping entry without physical delivery of the Securities.
 
 
 
 
2

 
 
1.16     “Shares” shall mean, with respect to a Fund, the units of beneficial interest issued by the Trust on account of the Fund.
 
1.17     “Sub-Custodian” shall mean and include (i) any branch of a “U.S. bank,” as that term is defined in Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act, and (ii) any “Eligible Foreign Custodian” having a contract with the Custodian which the Custodian has determined will provide reasonable care of assets of the Fund based on the standards specified in Section 3.3 below.  Such contract shall be in writing and shall include provisions that provide: (i) for indemnification or insurance arrangements (or any combination of the foregoing) such that the Fund will be adequately protected against the risk of loss of assets held in accordance with such contract; (ii) that the Foreign Securities will not be subject to any right, charge, security interest, lien or claim of any kind in favor of the Sub-Custodian or its creditors except a claim of payment for their safe custody or administration, in the case of cash deposits, liens or rights in favor of creditors of the Sub-Custodian arising under bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws; (iii) that beneficial ownership for the Foreign Securities will be freely transferable without the payment of money or value other than for safe custody or administration; (iv) that adequate records will be maintained identifying the assets as belonging to the Fund or as being held by a third party for the benefit of the Fund; (v) that the Fund’s independent public accountants will be given access to those records or confirmation of the contents of those records; and (vi) that the Fund will receive periodic reports with respect to the safekeeping of the Fund’s assets, including, but not limited to, notification of any transfer to or from a Fund's account or a third party account containing assets held for the benefit of the Fund.  Such contract may contain, in lieu of any or all of the provisions specified in (i)-(vi) above, such other provisions that the Custodian determines will provide, in their entirety, the same or a greater level of care and protection for Fund assets as the specified provisions.
 
1.18     “Written Instructions” shall mean (i) written communications actually received by the Custodian and signed by an Authorized Person, (ii) communications by facsimile or Internet electronic e-mail or any other such system from one or more persons reasonably believed by the Custodian to be an Authorized Person.
 
ARTICLE II.
 
APPOINTMENT OF CUSTODIAN
 
2.01     Appointment .  The Trust hereby appoints the Custodian as custodian of all Securities and cash owned by or in the possession of the Fund at any time during the period of this Agreement, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and the Custodian hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.  The Trust hereby delegates to the Custodian, subject to Rule 17f-5(b), the responsibilities with respect to the Fund’s Foreign Securities, and the Custodian hereby accepts such delegation as foreign custody manager with respect to the Fund.  The services and duties of the Custodian shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against the Custodian hereunder.
 
 
 
 
3

 
 
2.02     Documents to be Furnished .  The following documents, including any amendments thereto, will be provided contemporaneously with the execution of the Agreement to the Custodian by the Trust:
 
(a)  
A copy of the Trust’s declaration of trust, certified by the Secretary;
 
(b)  
A copy of the Trust’s bylaws, certified by the Secretary;
 
(c)  
A copy of the resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Trust appointing the Custodian, certified by the Secretary;
 
(d)  
A copy of the current prospectuses of the Fund (the “Prospectus”);
 
(e)  
A certification of the Chairman or the President and the Secretary of the Trust setting forth the names and signatures of the current Officers of the Trust and other Authorized Persons; and
 
(f)  
An executed authorization required by the Shareholder Communications Act of 1985, attached hereto as Exhibit D .
 

2.03     Notice of Appointment of Transfer Agent .  The Trust agrees to notify the Custodian in writing of the appointment, termination or change in appointment of any transfer agent of the Fund.
 
ARTICLE III.
 
CUSTODY OF CASH AND SECURITIES
 
3.01     Segregation .  All Securities and non-cash property held by the Custodian for the account of the Fund (other than Securities maintained in a Securities Depository, Eligible Securities Depository or Book-Entry System) shall be physically segregated from other Securities and non-cash property in the possession of the Custodian (including the Securities and non-cash property of the other series of the Trust, if applicable) and shall be identified as subject to this Agreement.
 
3.02     Fund Custody Accounts .  As to each Fund, the Custodian shall open and maintain in its trust department a custody account in the name of the Trust coupled with the name of the Fund, subject only to draft or order of the Custodian, in which the Custodian shall enter and carry all Securities, cash and other assets of such Fund which are delivered to it.
 
3.03     Appointment of Agents .
 
 
(a)  
In its discretion, the Custodian may appoint one or more Sub-Custodians to establish and maintain arrangements with (i) Eligible Securities Depositories or (ii) Eligible Foreign Custodians who are members of the Sub-Custodian’s network to hold Securities and cash of the Fund and to carry out such other provisions of this Agreement as it may determine; provided, however, that the appointment of any such agents and maintenance of any Securities and cash of the Fund shall be at the Custodian's expense and shall not relieve the Custodian of any of its obligations or liabilities under this Agreement.  The Custodian shall be liable for the actions of any Sub-Custodians (regardless of whether assets are maintained in the custody of a Sub-Custodian, a member of its network or an Eligible Securities Depository) appointed by it as if such actions had been done by the Custodian.
 
 
 
 
4

 
 
 
(b)  
If, after the initial appointment of Sub-Custodians by the Board of Trustees in connection with this Agreement, the Custodian wishes to appoint other Sub-Custodians to hold property of the Fund, it will so notify the Trust and make the necessary determinations as to any such new Sub-Custodian's eligibility under Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act.
 
 
(c)  
In performing its delegated responsibilities as foreign custody manager to place or maintain the Fund’s assets with a Sub-Custodian, the Custodian will determine that the Fund’s assets will be subject to reasonable care, based on the standards applicable to custodians in the country in which the Fund’s assets will be held by that Sub-Custodian, after considering all factors relevant to safekeeping of such assets, including, without limitation the factors specified in Rule 17f-5(c)(1).
 
 
(d)  
The agreement between the Custodian and each Sub-Custodian acting hereunder shall contain the required provisions set forth in Rule 17f-5(c)(2) under the 1940 Act.
 
 
(e)  
At the end of each calendar quarter, the Custodian shall provide written reports notifying the Board of Trustees of the withdrawal or placement of the Securities and cash of the Fund with a Sub-Custodian and of any material changes in the Fund’s arrangements.  Such reports shall include an analysis of the custody risks associated with maintaining assets with any Eligible Securities Depositories.  The Custodian shall promptly take such steps as may be required to withdraw assets of the Fund from any Sub-Custodian arrangement that has ceased to meet the requirements of Rule 17f-5 or Rule 17f-7 under the 1940 Act, as applicable.
 
 
(f)  
With respect to its responsibilities under this Section 3.3, the Custodian hereby warrants to the Trust that it agrees to exercise reasonable care, prudence and diligence such as a person having responsibility for the safekeeping of property of the Fund.  The Custodian further warrants that the Fund's assets will be subject to reasonable care if maintained with a Sub-Custodian, after considering all factors relevant to the safekeeping of such assets, including, without limitation:  (i) the Sub-Custodian's practices, procedures, and internal controls for certificated securities (if applicable), its method of keeping custodial records, and its security and data protection practices;  (ii)  whether the Sub-Custodian has the requisite financial strength to provide reasonable care for Fund assets; (iii)  the Sub-Custodian's general reputation and standing and, in the case of a Securities Depository, the Securities Depository's operating history and number of participants; and (iv)  whether the Fund will have jurisdiction over and be able to enforce judgments against the Sub-Custodian, such as by virtue of the existence of any offices of the Sub-Custodian in the United States or the Sub-Custodian's consent to service of process in the United States.
 
 
 
 
5

 
 
 
(g)  
The Custodian shall establish a system or ensure that its Sub-Custodian has established a system to monitor on a continuing basis (i) the appropriateness of maintaining the Fund’s assets with a Sub-Custodian or Eligible Foreign Custodians who are members of a Sub-Custodian’s network; (ii) the performance of the contract governing the Fund’s arrangements with such Sub-Custodian or Eligible Foreign Custodian’s members of a Sub-Custodian’s network; and (iii) the custody risks of maintaining assets with an Eligible Securities Depository.  The Custodian must promptly notify the Fund or its investment adviser of any material change in these risks.
 
 
(h)  
The Custodian shall use commercially reasonable efforts to collect all income and other payments with respect to Foreign Securities to which the Fund shall be entitled and shall credit such income, as collected, to the Trust.  In the event that extraordinary measures are required to collect such income, the Trust and Custodian shall consult as to the measures and as to the compensation and expenses of the Custodian relating to such measures.
 
3.04     Delivery of Assets to Custodian .  The Trust shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Custodian all of the Fund's Securities, cash and other investment assets, including (i) all payments of income, payments of principal and capital distributions received by the Fund with respect to such Securities, cash or other assets owned by the Fund at any time during the period of this Agreement, and (ii) all cash received by the Fund for the issuance of Shares.  The Custodian shall not be responsible for such Securities, cash or other assets until actually received by it.
 
3.05     Securities Depositories and Book-Entry Systems .  The Custodian may deposit and/or maintain Securities of the Fund in a Securities Depository or in a Book-Entry System, subject to the following provisions:
 
 
(a)  
The Custodian, on an on-going basis, shall deposit in a Securities Depository or Book-Entry System all Securities eligible for deposit therein and shall make use of such Securities Depository or Book-Entry System to the extent possible and practical in connection with its performance hereunder, including, without limitation, in connection with settlements of purchases and sales of Securities, loans of Securities, and deliveries and returns of collateral consisting of Securities.
 
 
(b)  
Securities of the Fund kept in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository shall be kept in an account (“Depository Account”) of the Custodian in such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository which includes only assets held by the Custodian as a fiduciary, custodian or otherwise for customers.
 
 
(c)  
The records of the Custodian with respect to Securities of the Fund maintained in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository shall, by book-entry, identify such Securities as belonging to the Fund.
 
 
(d)  
If Securities purchased by the Fund are to be held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, the Custodian shall pay for such Securities upon (i) receipt of advice from the Book-Entry System or Securities Depository that such Securities have been transferred to the Depository Account, and (ii) the making of an entry on the records of the Custodian to reflect such payment and transfer for the account of the Fund.  If Securities sold by the Fund are held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, the Custodian shall transfer such Securities upon (i) receipt of advice from the Book-Entry System or Securities Depository that payment for such Securities has been transferred to the Depository Account, and (ii) the making of an entry on the records of the Custodian to reflect such transfer and payment for the account of the Fund.
 
 
 
 
6

 
 
 
(e)  
The Custodian shall provide the Trust with copies of any report (obtained by the Custodian from a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository in which Securities of the Fund are kept) on the internal accounting controls and procedures for safeguarding Securities deposited in such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository.
 
 
(f)  
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Custodian shall be liable to the Trust for any loss or damage to the Fund resulting from (i) the use of a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository by reason of any negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian, or (ii) failure of the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian to enforce effectively such rights as it may have against a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository.  At its election, the Trust shall be subrogated to the rights of the Custodian with respect to any claim against a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository or any other person from any loss or damage to the Fund arising from the use of such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, if and to the extent that the Fund has not been made whole for any such loss or damage.
 
 
(g)  
With respect to its responsibilities under this Section 3.05 and pursuant to Rule 17f-4 under the 1940 Act, the Custodian hereby warrants to the Trust that it agrees to (i) exercise due care in accordance with reasonable commercial standards in discharging its duty as a securities intermediary to obtain and thereafter maintain such assets, (ii) provide, promptly upon request by the Trust, such reports as are available concerning the Custodian’s internal accounting controls and financial strength, and (iii) require any Sub-Custodian to exercise due care in accordance with reasonable commercial standards in discharging its duty as a securities intermediary to obtain and thereafter maintain assets corresponding to the security entitlements of its entitlement holders.
 
3.06     Disbursement of Moneys from Fund Custody Account .  Upon receipt of Proper Instructions, the Custodian shall disburse moneys from the Fund Custody Account but only in the following cases:
 
 
(a)  
For the purchase of Securities for the Fund but only in accordance with Section 4.01 of this Agreement and only (i) in the case of Securities (other than options on Securities, futures contracts and options on futures contracts), against the delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of such Securities registered as provided in Section 3.09 below or in proper form for transfer, or if the purchase of such Securities is effected through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, in accordance with the conditions set forth in Section 3.05 above; (ii) in the case of options on Securities, against delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of such receipts as are required by the customs prevailing among dealers in such options; (iii) in the case of futures contracts and options on futures contracts, against delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of evidence of title thereto in favor of the Fund or any nominee referred to in Section 3.09 below; and (iv) in the case of repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements entered into between the Trust and a bank which is a member of the Federal Reserve System or between the Trust and a primary dealer in U.S. Government securities, against delivery of the purchased Securities either in certificate form or through an entry crediting the Custodian's account at a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository with such Securities;
 
 
 
 
7

 
 
 
(b)  
In connection with the conversion, exchange or surrender, as set forth in Section 3.07(f) below, of Securities owned by the Fund;
 
 
(c)  
For the payment of any dividends or capital gain distributions declared by the Fund;
 
 
(d)  
In payment of the redemption price of Shares as provided in Section 5.01 below;
 
 
(e)  
For the payment of any expense or liability incurred by the Fund, including, but not limited to, the following payments for the account of the Fund:  interest; taxes; administration, investment advisory, accounting, auditing, transfer agent, custodian, trustee and legal fees; and other operating expenses of the Fund; in all cases, whether or not such expenses are to be in whole or in part capitalized or treated as deferred expenses;
 
 
(f)  
For transfer in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA, relating to compliance with rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or of any similar organization or organizations) regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund;
 
 
(g)  
For transfer in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, relating to compliance with the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or any contract market (or any similar organization or organizations) regarding account deposits in connection with transactions by the Fund;
 
 
(h)  
For the funding of any uncertificated time deposit or other interest-bearing account with any banking institution (including the Custodian), which deposit or account has a term of one year or less; and
 
 
(i)  
For any other proper purpose, but only upon receipt of Proper Instructions, specifying the amount and purpose of such payment, declaring such purpose to be a proper corporate purpose, and naming the person or persons to whom such payment is to be made.
 
3.07   Delivery of Securities from Fund Custody Account .  Upon receipt of Proper Instructions, the Custodian shall release and deliver, or cause the Sub-Custodian to release and deliver, Securities from the Fund Custody Account but only in the following cases:
 
 
(a)  
Upon the sale of Securities for the account of the Fund but only against receipt of payment therefor in cash, by certified or cashiers check or bank credit;
 
 
 
 
8

 
 
 
(b)  
In the case of a sale effected through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.05 above;
 
 
(c)  
To an offeror’s depository agent in connection with tender or other similar offers for Securities of the Fund; provided that, in any such case, the cash or other consideration is to be delivered to the Custodian;
 
 
(d)  
To the issuer thereof or its agent (i) for transfer into the name of the Fund, the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian, or any nominee or nominees of any of the foregoing, or (ii) for exchange for a different number of certificates or other evidence representing the same aggregate face amount or number of units; provided that, in any such case, the new Securities are to be delivered to the Custodian;
 
 
(e)  
To the broker selling the Securities, for examination in accordance with the “street delivery” custom;
 
 
(f)  
For exchange or conversion pursuant to any plan of merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reorganization or readjustment of the issuer of such Securities, or pursuant to provisions for conversion contained in such Securities, or pursuant to any deposit agreement, including surrender or receipt of underlying Securities in connection with the issuance or cancellation of depository receipts; provided that, in any such case, the new Securities and cash, if any, are to be delivered to the Custodian;
 
 
(g)  
Upon receipt of payment therefor pursuant to any repurchase or reverse repurchase agreement entered into by the Fund;
 
 
(h)  
In the case of warrants, rights or similar Securities, upon the exercise thereof, provided that, in any such case, the new Securities and cash, if any, are to be delivered to the Custodian;
 
 
(i)  
For delivery in connection with any loans of Securities of the Fund, but only against receipt of such collateral as the Trust shall have specified to the Custodian in Proper Instructions;
 
 
(j)  
For delivery as security in connection with any borrowings by the Fund requiring a pledge of assets by the Trust, but only against receipt by the Custodian of the amounts borrowed;
 
 
(k)  
Pursuant to any authorized plan of liquidation, reorganization, merger, consolidation or recapitalization of the Trust;
 
 
(l)  
For delivery in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA, relating to compliance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or of any similar organization or organizations) regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund;
 
 
(m)  
For delivery in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, relating to compliance with the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or any contract market (or any similar organization or organizations) regarding account deposits in connection with transactions by the Fund;
 
 
 
 
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(n)  
For any other proper corporate purpose, but only upon receipt of Proper Instructions, specifying the Securities to be delivered, setting forth the purpose for which such delivery is to be made, declaring such purpose to be a proper corporate purpose, and naming the person or persons to whom delivery of such Securities shall be made; or
 
 
(o)  
To brokers, clearing banks or other clearing agents for examination or trade execution in accordance with market custom; provided that in any such case the Custodian shall have no responsibility or liability for any loss arising from the delivery of such securities prior to receiving payment for such securities except as may arise from the Custodian’s own negligence or willful misconduct.
 
3.08     Actions Not Requiring Proper Instructions .  Unless otherwise instructed by the Trust, the Custodian shall with respect to all Securities held for the Fund:
 
 
(a)  
Subject to Section 9.04 below, collect on a timely basis all income and other payments to which the Fund is entitled either by law or pursuant to custom in the securities business;
 
 
(b)  
Present for payment and, subject to Section 9.04 below, collect on a timely basis the amount payable upon all Securities which may mature or be called, redeemed, or retired, or otherwise become payable;
 
 
(c)  
Endorse for collection, in the name of the Fund, checks, drafts and other negotiable instruments;
 
 
(d)  
Surrender interim receipts or Securities in temporary form for Securities in definitive form;
 
 
(e)  
Execute, as custodian, any necessary declarations or certificates of ownership under the federal income tax laws or the laws or regulations of any other taxing authority now or hereafter in effect, and prepare and submit reports to the IRS and the Trust at such time, in such manner and containing such information as is prescribed by the IRS;
 
 
(f)  
Hold for the Fund, either directly or, with respect to Securities held therein, through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, all rights and similar Securities issued with respect to Securities of the Fund; and
 
 
(g)  
In general, and except as otherwise directed in Proper Instructions, attend to all non-discretionary details in connection with the sale, exchange, substitution, purchase, transfer and other dealings with Securities and other assets of the Fund.
 
3.09     Registration and Transfer of Securities .  All Securities held for the Fund that are issued or issuable only in bearer form shall be held by the Custodian in that form, provided that any such Securities shall be held in a Book-Entry System if eligible therefor.  All other Securities held for the Fund may be registered in the name of the Fund, the Custodian, a Sub-Custodian or any nominee thereof, or in the name of a Book-Entry System, Securities Depository or any nominee of either thereof.  The records of the Custodian with respect to foreign securities of the Fund that are maintained with a Sub-Custodian in an account that is identified as belonging to the Custodian for the benefit of its customers shall identify those securities as belonging to the Fund.  The Trust shall furnish to the Custodian appropriate instruments to enable the Custodian to hold or deliver in proper form for transfer, or to register in the name of any of the nominees referred to above or in the name of a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, any Securities registered in the name of the Fund.
 
 
 
 
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3.10     Records .
 
 
(a)  
The Custodian shall maintain complete and accurate records with respect to Securities, cash or other property held for the Fund, including (i) journals or other records of original entry containing an itemized daily record in detail of all receipts and deliveries of Securities and all receipts and disbursements of cash; (ii) ledgers (or other records) reflecting (A) Securities in transfer, (B) Securities in physical possession, (C) monies and Securities borrowed and monies and Securities loaned (together with a record of the collateral therefor and substitutions of such collateral), (D) dividends and interest received, and (E) dividends receivable and interest receivable; (iii) canceled checks and bank records related thereto; and (iv) all records relating to its activities and obligations under this Agreement.  The Custodian shall keep such other books and records of the Fund as the Trust shall reasonably request, or as may be required by the 1940 Act, including, but not limited to, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and Rule 31a-2 promulgated thereunder.
 
 
(b)  
All such books and records maintained by the Custodian shall (i) be maintained in a form acceptable to the Trust and in compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, (ii) be the property of the Trust and at all times during the regular business hours of the Custodian be made available upon request for inspection by duly authorized officers, employees or agents of the Trust and employees or agents of the SEC, and (iii) if required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, be preserved for the periods prescribed in Rules 31a-1 and 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.
 
3.11     Fund Reports by Custodian .  The Custodian shall furnish the Trust with a daily activity statement and a summary of all transfers to or from each Fund Custody Account on the day following such transfers.  At least monthly, the Custodian shall furnish the Trust with a detailed statement of the Securities and moneys held by the Custodian and the Sub-Custodians for the Fund under this Agreement.
 
3.12     Other Reports by Custodian .  As the Trust may reasonably request from time to time, the Custodian shall provide the Trust with reports on the internal accounting controls and procedures for safeguarding Securities which are employed by the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian.
 
3.13     Proxies and Other Materials .  The Custodian shall cause all proxies relating to Securities which are not registered in the name of the Fund to be promptly executed by the registered holder of such Securities, without indication of the manner in which such proxies are to be voted, and shall promptly deliver to the Trust such proxies, all proxy soliciting materials and all notices relating to such Securities.  With respect to the foreign Securities, the Custodian will use reasonable commercial efforts to facilitate the exercise of voting and other shareholder rights, subject to the laws, regulations and practical constraints that may exist in the country where such securities are issued.  The Trust acknowledges that local conditions, including lack of regulation, onerous procedural obligations, lack of notice and other factors may have the effect of severely limiting the ability of the Trust to exercise shareholder rights.
 
 
 
 
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3.14     Information on Corporate Actions .  The Custodian shall promptly deliver to the Trust all information received by the Custodian and pertaining to Securities being held by the Fund with respect to optional tender or exchange offers, calls for redemption or purchase, or expiration of rights.  If the Trust desires to take action with respect to any tender offer, exchange offer or other similar transaction, the Trust shall notify the Custodian at least three Business Days prior to the date on which the Custodian is to take such action.  The Trust will provide or cause to be provided to the Custodian all relevant information for any Security which has unique put/option provisions at least three Business Days prior to the beginning date of the tender period.
 
ARTICLE IV.
 
PURCHASE AND SALE OF INVESTMENTS OF THE FUND
 
4.01     Purchase of Securities .  Promptly upon each purchase of Securities for the Fund, Written Instructions shall be delivered to the Custodian, specifying (i) the name of the issuer or writer of such Securities, and the title or other description thereof, (ii) the number of shares, principal amount (and accrued interest, if any) or other units purchased, (iii) the date of purchase and settlement, (iv) the purchase price per unit, (v) the total amount payable upon such purchase, and (vi) the name of the person to whom such amount is payable.  The Custodian shall upon receipt of such Securities purchased by the Fund pay out of the moneys held for the account of the Fund the total amount specified in such Written Instructions to the person named therein.  The Custodian shall not be under any obligation to pay out moneys to cover the cost of a purchase of Securities for the Fund, if in the Fund Custody Account there is insufficient cash available to the Fund for which such purchase was made.
 
4.02     Liability for Payment in Advance of Receipt of Securities Purchased .  In any and every case where payment for the purchase of Securities for the Fund is made by the Custodian in advance of receipt of the Securities purchased and in the absence of specified Written Instructions to so pay in advance, the Custodian shall be liable to the Fund for such payment.
 
4.03     Sale of Securities .  Promptly upon each sale of Securities by the Fund, Written Instructions shall be delivered to the Custodian, specifying (i) the name of the issuer or writer of such Securities, and the title or other description thereof, (ii) the number of shares, principal amount (and accrued interest, if any), or other units sold, (iii) the date of sale and settlement, (iv) the sale price per unit, (v) the total amount payable upon such sale, and (vi) the person to whom such Securities are to be delivered.  Upon receipt of the total amount payable to the Fund as specified in such Written Instructions, the Custodian shall deliver such Securities to the person specified in such Written Instructions.  Subject to the foregoing, the Custodian may accept payment in such form as shall be satisfactory to it, and may deliver Securities and arrange for payment in accordance with the customs prevailing among dealers in Securities.
 
 
 
 
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4.04     Delivery of Securities Sold .  Notwithstanding Section 4.03 above or any other provision of this Agreement, the Custodian, when instructed to deliver Securities against payment, shall be entitled, if in accordance with generally accepted market practice, to deliver such Securities prior to actual receipt of final payment therefor.  In any such case, the Fund shall bear the risk that final payment for such Securities may not be made or that such Securities may be returned or otherwise held or disposed of by or through the person to whom they were delivered, and the Custodian shall have no liability for any for the foregoing.
 
4.05     Payment for Securities Sold .  In its sole discretion and from time to time, the Custodian may credit the Fund Custody Account, prior to actual receipt of final payment thereof, with (i) proceeds from the sale of Securities which it has been instructed to deliver against payment, (ii) proceeds from the redemption of Securities or other assets of the Fund, and (iii) income from cash, Securities or other assets of the Fund.  Any such credit shall be conditional upon actual receipt by Custodian of final payment and may be reversed if final payment is not actually received in full.  The Custodian may, in its sole discretion and from time to time, permit the Fund to use funds so credited to the Fund Custody Account in anticipation of actual receipt of final payment.  Any such funds shall be repayable immediately upon demand made by the Custodian at any time prior to the actual receipt of all final payments in anticipation of which funds were credited to the Fund Custody Account.
 
4.06     Advances by Custodian for Settlement .  The Custodian may, in its sole discretion and from time to time, advance funds to the Trust to facilitate the settlement of a Fund's transactions in the Fund Custody Account.  Any such advance shall be repayable immediately upon demand made by Custodian.
 
ARTICLE V.
 
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES
 
5.01     Transfer of Funds .  From such funds as may be available for the purpose in the relevant Fund Custody Account, and upon receipt of Proper Instructions specifying that the funds are required to redeem Shares of the Fund, the Custodian shall wire each amount specified in such Proper Instructions to or through such bank or broker-dealer as the Trust may designate.
 
5.02     No Duty Regarding Paying Banks .  Once the Custodian has wired amounts to a bank or broker-dealer pursuant to Section 5.01 above, the Custodian shall not be under any obligation to effect any further payment or distribution by such bank or broker-dealer.
 
 
 
 
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ARTICLE VI.
 
SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS
 
Upon receipt of Proper Instructions, the Custodian shall establish and maintain a segregated account or accounts for and on behalf of the Fund, into which account or accounts may be transferred cash and/or Securities, including Securities maintained in a Depository Account:
 
 
(a)  
in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA (or any futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act), relating to compliance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or any registered contract market), or of any similar organization or organizations, regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund;
 
 
(b)  
for purposes of segregating cash or Securities in connection with securities options purchased or written by the Fund or in connection with financial futures contracts (or options thereon) purchased or sold by the Fund;
 
 
(c)  
which constitute collateral for loans of Securities made by the Fund;
 
 
(d)  
for purposes of compliance by the Fund with requirements under the 1940 Act for the maintenance of segregated accounts by registered investment companies in connection with reverse repurchase agreements and when-issued, delayed delivery and firm commitment transactions; and
 
 
(e)  
for other proper corporate purposes, but only upon receipt of Proper Instructions, setting forth the purpose or purposes of such segregated account and  declaring such purposes to be proper corporate purposes.
 
Each segregated account established under this Article VI shall be established and maintained for the Fund only.  All Proper Instructions relating to a segregated account shall specify the Fund.
 
ARTICLE VII.
 
COMPENSATION OF CUSTODIAN
 
7.01   Compensation .  The Custodian shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time).  The Custodian shall also be compensated for such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by the Custodian in performing its duties hereunder.  The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute.  The Trust shall notify the Custodian in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid.  With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to the Custodian shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
 
 
 
 
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7.02     Overdrafts .  The Trust is responsible for maintaining an appropriate level of short term cash investments to accommodate cash outflows.  The Trust may obtain a formal line of credit for potential overdrafts of its custody account.  In the event of an overdraft or in the event the line of credit is insufficient to cover an overdraft, the overdraft amount or the overdraft amount that exceeds the line of credit will be charged in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time)
 
ARTICLE VIII.
 
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
 
8.01     Representations and Warranties of the Trust .  The Trust hereby represents and warrants to the Custodian, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
 
 
(a)  
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
 
 
(b)  
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and
 
 
(c)  
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.
 
8.02     Representations and Warranties of the Custodian .  The Custodian hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
 
 
(a)  
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
 
 
(b)  
It is a U.S. Bank as defined in section (a)(7) of Rule 17f-5.
 
 
 
 
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(c)  
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Custodian in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Custodian, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and
 
 
(d)  
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.
 
ARTICLE IX.
 
 CONCERNING THE CUSTODIAN
 
9.01     Standard of Care .  The Custodian shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  The Custodian shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, except a loss arising out of or relating to the Custodian’s (or a Sub-Custodian’s) refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement) or from its (or a Sub-Custodian’s) bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement).  The Custodian shall be entitled to rely on and may act upon advice of counsel on all matters, and shall be without liability for any action reasonably taken or omitted pursuant to such advice.  The Custodian shall promptly notify the Trust of any action taken or omitted by the Custodian pursuant to advice of counsel.
 
9.02     Actual Collection Required .  The Custodian shall not be liable for, or considered to be the custodian of, any cash belonging to the Fund or any money represented by a check, draft or other instrument for the payment of money, until the Custodian or its agents actually receive such cash or collect on such instrument.
 
9.03     No Responsibility for Title, etc.   So long as and to the extent that it is in the exercise of reasonable care, the Custodian shall not be responsible for the title, validity or genuineness of any property or evidence of title thereto received or delivered by it pursuant to this Agreement.
 
9.04     Limitation on Duty to Collect .  Custodian shall not be required to enforce collection, by legal means or otherwise, of any money or property due and payable with respect to Securities held for the Fund if such Securities are in default or payment is not made after due demand or presentation.
 
9.05     Reliance Upon Documents and Instructions .  The Custodian shall be entitled to rely upon any certificate, notice or other instrument in writing received by it and reasonably believed by it to be genuine.  The Custodian shall be entitled to rely upon any Written Instructions actually received by it pursuant to this Agreement.
 
 
 
 
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9.06     Cooperation .  The Custodian shall cooperate with and supply necessary information to the entity or entities appointed by the Trust to keep the books of account of the Fund and/or compute the value of the assets of the Fund.  The Custodian shall take all such reasonable actions as the Trust may from time to time request to enable the Trust to obtain, from year to year, favorable opinions from the Trust's independent accountants with respect to the Custodian's activities hereunder in connection with (i) the preparation of the Trust's reports on Form N-1A and Form N-SAR and any other reports required by the SEC, and (ii) the fulfillment by the Trust of any other requirements of the SEC.
 
ARTICLE X.
 
INDEMNIFICATION
 
10.01     Indemnification by Trust .  The Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless the Custodian, any Sub-Custodian and any nominee thereof (each, an “Indemnified Party” and collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that an Indemnified Party may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against an Indemnified Party by any person arising directly or indirectly (i) from the fact that Securities are registered in the name of any such nominee, (ii) from any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Custodian or such Sub-Custodian (a) at the request or direction of or in reliance on the advice of the Trust, or (b) upon Proper Instructions, or (iii) from the performance of its obligations under this Agreement or any sub-custody agreement, provided that neither the Custodian nor any such Sub-Custodian shall be indemnified and held harmless from and against any such claim, demand, loss, expense or liability arising out of or relating to its refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement), or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement).  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the terms “Custodian” and “Sub-Custodian” shall include their respective directors, officers and employees.
 
10.02     Indemnification by Custodian .  The Custodian shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising directly or indirectly out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by an Indemnified Party as a result of the Indemnified Party’s refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement), or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement).  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Custodian, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s trustees, officers and employees.
 
10.03     Security .  If the Custodian advances cash or Securities to the Fund for any purpose, either at the Trust's request or as otherwise contemplated in this Agreement, or in the event that the Custodian or its nominee incurs, in connection with its performance under this Agreement, any claim, demand, loss, expense or liability (including reasonable attorneys' fees) (except such as may arise from its or its nominee's bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct), then, in any such event, any property at any time held for the account of the Fund shall be security therefor, and should the Fund fail promptly to repay or indemnify the Custodian, the Custodian shall be entitled to utilize available cash of such Fund and to dispose of other assets of such Fund to the extent necessary to obtain reimbursement or indemnification.
 
 
 
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10.04     Miscellaneous.
 
 
(a)  
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.
 
 
(b)  
The indemnity provisions of this Article shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement.
 
 
(c)  
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this Article X shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification.  In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this Article X.  The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent.
 
ARTICLE XI.
 
FORCE MAJEURE
 
Neither the Custodian nor the Trust shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of God; earthquakes; fires; floods; wars; civil or military disturbances; acts of terrorism; sabotage; strikes; epidemics; riots; power failures; computer failure and any such circumstances beyond its reasonable control as may cause interruption, loss or malfunction of utility, transportation, computer (hardware or software) or telephone communication service; accidents; labor disputes; acts of civil or military authority; governmental actions; or inability to obtain labor, material, equipment or transportation; provided, however, that in the event of a failure or delay, the Custodian (i) shall not discriminate against the Fund in favor of any other customer of the Custodian in making computer time and personnel available to input or process the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and (ii) shall use its best efforts to ameliorate the effects of any such failure or delay.
 
 
 
 
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ARTICLE XII.
 
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
 
12.01     The Custodian agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where the Custodian may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities although the Custodian will promptly report such disclosure to the Trust if disclosure is permitted by applicable law and regulation, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust.  Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of the Custodian or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of the Custodian prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
 
12.02     Further, the Custodian will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time.  In this regard, the Custodian shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
 
 
ARTICLE XIII.
 
EFFECTIVE PERIOD; TERMINATION
 
13.01     Effective Period .  This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above and will continue in effect for a period of three years.
 
13.02     Termination .  This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party.  In addition, the Trust may, at any time, immediately terminate this Agreement in the event of the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the Custodian by regulatory authorities or upon the happening of a like event at the direction of an appropriate regulatory agency or court of competent jurisdiction.
 
 
 
 
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13.03     Early Termination .  In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three year term, the trust agrees to pay the following fees:
 
 
a)
All monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts;
 
b)
All fees associated with converting services to a successor service provider;
 
c)
All fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
All out-of-pocket costs associated with a-c above
 
13.04     Appointment of Successor Custodian .  If a successor custodian shall have been appointed by the Board of Trustees, the Custodian shall, upon receipt of a notice of acceptance by the successor custodian, on such specified date of termination (i) deliver directly to the successor custodian all Securities (other than Securities held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository) and cash then owned by the Fund and held by the Custodian as custodian, and (ii) transfer any Securities held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository to an account of or for the benefit of the Fund at the successor custodian, provided that the Trust shall have paid to the Custodian all fees, expenses and other amounts to the payment or reimbursement of which it shall then be entitled.  In addition, the Custodian shall, at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by the Custodian under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which the Custodian has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from the Custodian’s personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor.  Upon such delivery and transfer, the Custodian shall be relieved of all obligations under this Agreement.
 
13.05     Failure to Appoint Successor Custodian .  If a successor custodian is not designated by the Trust on or before the date of termination of this Agreement, then the Custodian shall have the right to deliver to a bank or trust company of its own selection, which bank or trust company (i) is a “bank” as defined in the 1940 Act, and (ii) has aggregate capital, surplus and undivided profits as shown on its most recent published report of not less than $25 million, all Securities, cash and other property held by Custodian under this Agreement and to transfer to an account of or for the Fund at such bank or trust company all Securities of the Fund held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository.  Upon such delivery and transfer, such bank or trust company shall be the successor custodian under this Agreement and the Custodian shall be relieved of all obligations under this Agreement.  In addition, under these circumstances, all books, records and other data of the Trust shall be returned to the Trust.
 

 
 
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ARTICLE XIV.  

CLASS ACTIONS

The Custodian shall use its best efforts to identify and file claims for the Fund(s) involving any class action litigation that impacts any security the Fund(s) may have held during the class period.  The Trust agrees that the Custodian may file such claims on its behalf and understands that it may be waiving and/or releasing certain rights to make claims or otherwise pursue class action defendants who settle their claims.  Further, the Trust acknowledges that there is no guarantee these claims will result in any payment or partial payment of potential class action proceeds and that the timing of such payment, if any, is uncertain.

However, the Trust may instruct the Custodian to distribute class action notices and other relevant documentation to the Fund(s) or its designee and, if it so elects, will relieve the Custodian from any and all liability and responsibility for filing class action claims on behalf of the Fund(s).

In the event the Fund(s) are closed, the Custodian shall only file the class action claims upon written instructions by an authorized representative of the closed Fund(s).  Any expenses associated with such filing will be assessed against the proceeds received of any class action settlement.

 
ARTICLE XV.
 
MISCELLANEOUS
 
15.01     Compliance with Laws .  The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Prospectus and statement of additional information.  The Custodian’s services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
 
15.02     Amendment .  This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by the Custodian and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
 
15.03            Assignment .  This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of the Custodian, or by the Custodian without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Board of Trustees.
 
 
 
 
21

 
 
15.04     Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Minnesota, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
 
15.05     No Agency Relationship .  Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
 
15.06     Services Not Exclusive .  Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the Custodian from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
 
15.07     Invalidity.  Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.  In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
 
15.08     Notices .  Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
 
Notice to the Custodian shall be sent to:
U.S Bank, N.A.
1555 N. Rivercenter Dr., MK-WI-S302
Milwaukee, WI 53212

Attn:  Tom Fuller
Phone: 414-905-6118
Fax: 866-350-5066

and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:

Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595

15.09     Multiple Originals .  This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
 
 
 
 
22

 
 
15.10     No Waiver .  No failure by either party hereto to exercise, and no delay by such party in exercising, any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof.  The exercise by either party hereto of any right hereunder shall not preclude the exercise of any other right, and the remedies provided herein are cumulative and not exclusive of any remedies provided at law or in equity.
 
15.11     References to Custodian .  The Trust shall not circulate any printed matter which contains any reference to Custodian without the prior written approval of Custodian, excepting printed matter contained in the Prospectus or statement of additional information for the Fund and such other printed matter as merely identifies Custodian as custodian for the Fund.  The Trust shall submit printed matter requiring approval to Custodian in draft form, allowing sufficient time for review by Custodian and its counsel prior to any deadline for printing.
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
   
 By:__________________________  By:_____________________________
   
 Name:________________________  Name: Michael R. McVoy
   
 Title:_________________________  Title: Senior Vice President


 
23

 
 
EXHIBIT A

AUTHORIZED PERSONS


Set forth below are the names and specimen signatures of the persons authorized by the Trust to administer the Fund Custody Accounts.




Name
Telephone/Fax Number
Signature
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 

 
24

 
 
EXHIBIT B
 
to the Custody Agreement
 
Fund Names
 

Separate Series of Westchester Capital Funds

Name of Series
WCM Alternatives: Event-driven Fund

 

 
25

 
 
EXHIBIT C
to the Custody Agreement Fee Schedule – Westchester Capital Funds
 
DOMESTIC CUSTODY SERVICES
ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven   Fund
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven   Fund Class  I
Effective
 
Annual Fee Based Upon Market Value Per Fund*
    basis point on first $
    basis points on the balance
 
 
 
CCO Support Services - $ per year
 
Portfolio Transaction Fees
$   per disbursement (waived if U.S. Bancorp is Administrator)
$   per US Bank repurchase agreement transaction
$   per book entry security (depository or Federal Reserve system) and non-US Bank REPO agrmt
$   per portfolio transaction processed through our New York custodian definitive security (physical)
$   per principal paydown
$   per option/future contract written, exercised or expired
$   per Cedel/Euroclear transaction
$   per mutual fund trade
$   per Fed Wire
$   per margin variation Fed wire
$   per short sale
$   per segregated account per year
 
ReportSource - $ /month – Web reporting
 
·    A transaction is a purchase/sale of a security, free receipt/free delivery, maturity, tender or exchange.
·    No charge for the initial conversion free receipt.
·    Overdrafts – charged to the account at prime interest rate plus .
·    Plus out-of-pocket expenses and extraordinary expenses based upon complexity, including items such as shipping fees or transfer fees.
 
Fees are billed monthly.
 
 
 
 
 
26

 
 
EXHIBIT C (continued)
to the Custody Agreement Fee Schedule – Westchester Capital Funds
 
GLOBAL SUB-CUSTODIAL SERVICES
ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE
Country
Instrument
Safekeeping
(BPS)
Transaction
Fee
 
Country
Instrument
Safekeeping
(BPS)
Transaction
Fee
Argentina
All
     
Lebanon
All
   
Australia
All
     
Lithuania
All
   
Austria
All
     
Luxembourg
All
   
Bahrain
All
     
Malaysia
All
   
Bangladesh
All
     
Mali*
All
   
Belgium
All
     
Malta
All
   
Benin*
All
     
Mauritius
All
   
Bermuda
All
     
Mexico
All
   
Botswana
All
     
Morocco
All
   
Brazil
All
     
Namibia
All
   
Bulgaria
All
     
Netherlands
All
   
Burkina Faso*
All
     
New Zealand
All
   
Canada
All
     
Niger*
All
   
Cayman Islands*
All
     
Nigeria
All
   
Channel Islands*
All
     
Norway
All
   
Chile
All
     
Oman
All
   
China“A” Shares
All
     
Pakistan
All
   
China“B” Shares
All
     
Peru
All
   
Columbia
All
     
Philippines
All
   
Costa Rica
All
     
Poland
All
   
Croatia
All
     
Portugal
All
   
Cyprus*
All
     
Qatar
All
   
Czech Republic
All
     
Romania
All
   
Denmark
All
     
Russia
Equities/Bonds
   
Ecuador
All
     
Russia
MINFINs
   
Egypt
All
     
Senegal*
All
   
Estonia
All
     
Singapore
All
   
Euromarkets(3)
All
     
Slovak Republic
All
   
Finland
All
     
Slovenia
All
   
France
All
     
South Africa
All
   
Germany
All
     
South Korea
All
   
Ghana
All
     
Spain
All
   
Greece
All
     
Sri Lanka
All
   
Guinea Bissau*
All
     
Swaziland
All
   
Hong Kong
All
     
Sweden
All
   
Hungary
All
     
Switzerland
All
   
Iceland
All
     
Taiwan
All
   
India
All
     
Thailand
All
   
Indonesia
All
     
Togo*
All
   
Ireland
All
     
Trinidad & Tobago*
All
   
Israel
All
     
Tunisia
All
   
Italy
All
     
Turkey
All
   
Ivory Coast
All
     
UAE
All
   
Jamaica*
All
     
United Kingdom
All
   
Japan
All
     
Ukraine
All
   
Jordan
All
     
Uruguay
All
   
Kazakhstan
All
     
Venezuela
All
   
Kenya
All
     
Vietnam*
All
   
Latvia
Equities
     
Zambia
All
   
Latvia
Bonds
             
* Additional customer documentation and indemnification will be required prior to establishing accounts in these markets.




 
27

 

EXHIBIT C (continued)
to the Custody Agreement Fee Schedule – Westchester Capital Funds
 

Base Fee - A monthly base charge of $ per account (fund) will apply.
§  
Euroclear – Eurobonds only.  Eurobonds are held in Euroclear at a standard rate, but other types of securities (including but not limited to equities, domestic market debt and mutual funds) will be subject to a surcharge.  In addition, certain transactions that are delivered within Euroclear or from a Euroclear account to a third party depository or settlement system, will be subject to a surcharge (surcharge schedule available upon request).

 
§  
For all other markets specified above, surcharges may apply if a security is held outside of the local market.

Straight Through Processing – fees waived.

Cash Transactions:
§   
3 rd Party Foreign Exchange – a Foreign Exchange transaction undertaken through a 3 rd party will be charged $.

Tax Reclamation Services: May be subject to additional charges depending upon the service level agreed.  Tax reclaims that have been outstanding for more than 6 (six) months with the client will be charged $ per claim.

Out of Pocket Expenses
§  
Charges incurred by U.S. Bank, N.A.  for local taxes, stamp duties or other local duties and assessments, stock exchange fees, postage and insurance for shipping, facsimile reporting, extraordinary telecommunications fees, proxy services and other shareholder communications or other expenses which are unique to a country in which the client or its clients is investing will be passed along as incurred.
§  
A surcharge may be added to certain out-of-pocket expenses listed herein to cover handling, servicing and other administrative costs associated with the activities giving rise to such expenses.  Also, certain expenses are charged at a predetermined flat rate.
§  
SWIFT reporting and message fees.
 

 
 
28

 
 
EXHIBIT D

SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS ACT AUTHORIZATION

WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS

The Shareholder Communications Act of 1985 requires banks and trust companies to make an effort to permit direct communication between a company which issues securities and the shareholder who votes those securities.

Unless you specifically require us to NOT release your name and address to requesting companies, we are required by law to disclose your name and address.

Your “yes” or “no” to disclosure will apply to all securities U.S. Bank holds for you now and in the future, unless you change your mind and notify us in writing.
 
 
______ YES
U.S. Bank is authorized to provide the Trust’s name, address and security position to requesting companies whose stock is owned by the Trust.
   
______ NO
U.S. Bank is NOT authorized to provide the Trust’s name, address and security position to requesting companies whose stock is owned by the Trust.

 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS  
   
 By:__________________________  
   
 Name:________________________  
   
 Title:_________________________  
 
 
 
29

 
TRANSFER AGENT SERVICING AGREEMENT
 
 
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 30 th day of July, 2013, by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS , a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust") and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC , a Wisconsin limited liability company ("USBFS").
 
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
 
WHEREAS, USBFS is, among other things, in the business of administering transfer and dividend disbursing agent functions for the benefit of its customers; and
 
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain USBFS to provide transfer and dividend disbursing agent services to each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”).
 
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
 
1.  
Appointment of USBFS as Transfer Agent
 
The Trust hereby appoints USBFS as transfer agent of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and USBFS hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.  The services and duties of USBFS shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against USBFS hereunder.
 
2.  
Services and Duties of USBFS
 
USBFS shall provide the following transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent services to the Fund:
 
A.  
Receive and process all orders for the purchase, exchange, transfer, and/or redemption of Fund shares in accordance with Rule 22c-1 under the 1940 Act, other applicable regulations, and as specified in the Fund's prospectus (the "Prospectus”).

B.  
Process purchase and redemption orders with prompt delivery, where appropriate, of payment and supporting documentation to the shareholder based on the shareholder’s or the Trust’s custodian instructions, and record  the appropriate number of shares being held in the appropriate shareholder account.

 
 
 
1

 
 
C.  
Process redemption requests received in good order and, where relevant, deliver appropriate documentation to the Trust's custodian.

D.  
Pay proceeds upon receipt from the Trust's custodian, where relevant, in accordance with the instructions of redeeming shareholders.

E.  
Process transfers of shares in accordance with the shareholder's instructions, after receipt of appropriate documentation from the shareholder as specified in the Prospectus.

F.  
Prepare and transmit payments, or apply reinvestments for income dividends and capital gains distributions declared by the Trust with respect to a Fund, after deducting any amount required to be withheld by any applicable laws, rules and regulations and in accordance with shareholder instructions.

G.  
Serve as the Fund’s agent in connection with systematic plans including, but not limited to, systematic investment plans, systematic withdrawal plans, and systematic exchange plans.

H.  
Make changes to shareholder records, including, but not limited to, address and plan changes (e.g., systematic investment and withdrawal, dividend reinvestment).
 
I.  
Handle load and multi-class processing, including rights of accumulation and purchases by letters of intent in accordance with the Prospectus.

J.  
Record the issuance of shares of each Fund and maintain, pursuant to Rule 17Ad-10(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), a record of the total number of shares of each Fund which are authorized, issued and outstanding.

K.  
Prepare ad-hoc reports as necessary at prevailing rates.

L.  
Mail shareholder reports and Prospectuses to current shareholders.

M.  
Prepare and file U.S. Treasury Department Forms 1099 and other appropriate information returns required with respect to dividends and distributions for all shareholders.

N.  
Provide shareholder account information upon shareholder or Trust requests and prepare and mail confirmations and statements of account to shareholders for all purchases, redemptions and other confirmable transactions as agreed upon with the Trust.

O.  
Mail and/or obtain shareholders’ certifications under penalties of perjury and pay on a timely basis to the appropriate federal or state authorities any taxes to be withheld on dividends and distributions paid by the Trust, all as required by applicable federal and state tax laws and regulations.
 
 
 
 
2

 
 
P.  
Answer correspondence from shareholders, securities brokers and others relating to USBFS’ duties hereunder within required time periods established by applicable regulation.
 
Q.  
Reimburse the Fund for all material losses resulting from “as of” processing errors for which USBFS is responsible in accordance with the “as of” processing guidelines set forth on Exhibit B hereto.
 
R.  
Calculate average assets held in shareholder accounts for purposes of paying Rule 12b-1 and/or shareholder servicing fees as directed by a Fund
 
S.  
Provide service and support to financial intermediaries including but not limited to trade placements, settlements, and corrections.
 
3.  
Additional Services to be Provided by USBFS
 
 
A.
If the Trust so elects, by including the service it wishes to receive in its fee schedule, USBFS shall provide the following services that are further described and that may be subject to additional terms and conditions specified in their respective exhibits, as such may be amended from time to time:
 
Internet Access, Fan Web, Vision Mutual Fund Gateway ( Exhibit C )

INFORMA TM    ( Exhibit D )

The Trust hereby acknowledges that exhibits are an integral part of this Agreement and, to the extent services included in Exhibit C and Exhibit D are selected by the Trust, such services shall also be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.  To the extent the terms and conditions of this Agreement conflict with the terms and conditions included in Exhibit C and Exhibit D , as applicable, the exhibits shall control.  The provisions of Exhibit C and Exhibit D , as applicable, shall continue in effect for as long as this Agreement remains in effect, unless sooner terminated pursuant to Section 13 hereof.

The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in Section 8 of the Agreement and in Exhibit C and Exhibit D , if applicable, shall survive for a period of 1 year following the termination and/or assignment of the Agreement.
 
 
B.
USBFS shall allow the Trust access to various fund data, systems, industry information and processes as the parties may agree to from time to time, through Mutual Fund eXchange (“MFx”), subject to the terms of this Agreement and the additional terms and conditions contained in the on-line MFx access agreement to be entered into upon accessing MFx for the first time.  USBFS shall enable the Trust to access MFx services by supplying the Trust with necessary software, training, information and connectivity support as mutually agreed upon, all of which shall constitute confidential knowledge and information of USBFS and shall be used by the Trust only as necessary to access MFx services pursuant to this Agreement.  The Trust shall provide for the security of all codes and system access mechanisms relating to MFx provided to it by USBFS and implement such security procedures and/or devices to ensure the integrity of MFx.  The Trust hereby understands that USBFS will perform periodic maintenance to the MFx hardware and software being accessed, which may cause temporary service interruptions.  USBFS shall notify the Trust of all planned outages and, to the extent possible, will perform any necessary maintenance during non-business hours.
 
 
 
 
3

 
 
 
The Trust hereby acknowledges that all programs, software, manuals and other written information relating to MFx access provided by USBFS pursuant to this Agreement shall remain the exclusive property of USBFS at all times.

The Trust   acknowledges that it is responsible for determining the suitability and accuracy of the information obtained through its access to MFx.  USBFS MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE SUITABILITY AND ACCURACY OF FUND DATA, SYSTEMS, INDUSTRY INFORMATION AND PROCESSES ACCESSED THROUGH MFx.  However, USBFS will assist the   Trust   in verifying the accuracy of any of the information made available to the Trust   through MFx and covered by this Agreement.

In the event of termination of this Agreement, in addition to the requirements set forth in Section 14 hereof, the Trust shall immediately end its access to MFx and return all codes, system access mechanisms, programs, manuals and other written information to USBFS, and shall destroy or erase all such information on any diskettes or other storage medium, unless such access continues to be permitted pursuant to a separate agreement or is required to be maintained under government regulation.
 
4.  
Lost Shareholder Due Diligence Searches and Servicing
 
The Trust hereby acknowledges that USBFS has an arrangement with an outside vendor to conduct lost shareholder searches required by Rule 17Ad-17 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Costs associated with such searches will be passed through to the Trust as an out-of-pocket expense in accordance with the fee schedule set forth in Exhibit C hereto.  If a shareholder remains lost and the shareholder’s account unresolved after completion of the mandatory Rule 17Ad-17 search, the Trust hereby authorizes vendor to enter, at its discretion, into fee sharing arrangements with the lost shareholder (or such lost shareholder’s representative or executor) to conduct a more in-depth search in order to locate the lost shareholder before the shareholder’s assets escheat to the applicable state.  The Trust hereby acknowledges that USBFS is not a party to these arrangements and does not receive any revenue sharing or other fees relating to these arrangements.  Furthermore, the Trust hereby acknowledges that vendor may receive up to 35% of the lost shareholder’s assets as compensation for its efforts in locating the lost shareholder.
 
 
 
 
4

 
 
5.  
Anti-Money Laundering and Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Programs
 
The Trust acknowledges that it has had an opportunity to review, consider and comment upon the written procedures provided by USBFS describing various tools used by USBFS which are designed to promote the detection and reporting of potential money laundering activity and identity theft by monitoring certain aspects of shareholder activity as well as written procedures for verifying a customer’s identity (collectively, the “Procedures”).  Further, the Trust and USBFS have each determined that the Procedures, as part of the Trust’s overall Anti-Money Laundering Program and Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Program, are reasonably designed to: (i) prevent each Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities; (ii) prevent identity theft; and (iii) achieve compliance with the applicable provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the implementing regulations thereunder.
 
Based on this determination, the Trust hereby instructs and directs USBFS to implement the Procedures on the Trust’s behalf, as such may be amended or revised from time to time.  It is contemplated that these Procedures will be amended from time to time by the parties as additional regulations are adopted and/or regulatory guidance is provided relating to the Trust’s anti-money laundering and identity theft responsibilities.
 
USBFS agrees to provide to the Trust:
 
(a)  
Prompt written notification of any transaction or combination of transactions that USBFS believes, based on the Procedures, evidence money laundering or identity theft activities in connection with the Trust or any Fund shareholder;
 
(b)  
Prompt written notification of any customer(s) that USBFS reasonably believes, based upon the Procedures, to be engaged in money laundering or identity theft activities, provided that the Trust agrees not to communicate this information to the customer;
 
 
 
 
5

 
 
(c)  
Any reports received by USBFS from any government agency or applicable industry self-regulatory organization pertaining to USBFS’ Anti-Money Laundering Program or the Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Program on behalf of the Trust;
 
(d)  
Prompt written notification of any action taken in response to anti-money laundering violations or identity theft activity as described in (a), (b) or (c) immediately above; and
 
(e)  
Certified annual and quarterly reports of its monitoring and customer identification activities pursuant to the Procedures on behalf of the Trust.
 
The Trust hereby directs, and USBFS acknowledges, that USBFS shall (i) permit federal regulators access to such information and records maintained by USBFS and relating to USBFS’ implementation of the Procedures, on behalf of the Trust, as they may request, and (ii) permit such federal regulators to inspect USBFS’ implementation of the Procedures on behalf of the Trust.
 
6.  
Compensation
 
USBFS shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time).  USBFS shall be compensated for such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by USBFS in performing its duties hereunder.  USBFS shall also be compensated for any increases in costs due to the adoption of any new or amended industry, regulatory or other applicable rules. The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute.  The Trust shall notify USBFS in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith.  The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid, if any.  With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to USBFS shall only be paid out of assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
 
7.  
Representations and Warranties
 
A.  
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to USBFS, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
 
 
 
 
6

 
 
 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement; and

 
(4)
A registration statement under the 1940 Act and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, will be made effective prior to the effective date of this Agreement and will remain effective during the term of this Agreement, and appropriate state securities law filings will be made prior to the effective date of this Agreement and will continue to be made during the term of this Agreement as necessary to enable the Trust to make a continuous public offering of its shares.

B.  
USBFS hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by USBFS in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of USBFS, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement; and
 
 
(4)
It is a registered transfer agent under the Exchange Act.
 
 
 
 
7

 
 
8.  
Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability
 
A.  
USBFS shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  USBFS shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, including losses resulting from mechanical breakdowns or the failure of communication or power supplies beyond USBFS’ control, except a loss arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if USBFS has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless USBFS from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that USBFS may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against USBFS by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to USBFS by any duly authorized officer of the Trust, as approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board of Trustees”), except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “USBFS” shall include USBFS’ directors, officers and employees.

USBFS shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by USBFS as a result of USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of USBFS, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s directors, trustees, officers and employees.
 
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.
 
In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its control, USBFS shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues.  USBFS will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of USBFS.  USBFS agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available.  Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect USBFS’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of USBFS, upon reasonable notice to USBFS.  Moreover, USBFS shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of USBFS relating to the services provided by USBFS under this Agreement.
 
 
 
 
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Notwithstanding the above, USBFS reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.
 
B.  
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification.  The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification.  In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section.  The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent.

C.  
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 7 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement.

D.  
If USBFS is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve USBFS of any of its obligations in such other capacity.
 
9.  
Data Necessary to Perform Services
 
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to USBFS the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.

10.  
Proprietary and Confidential Information
 
USBFS agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where USBFS may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust.  Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of USBFS or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of USBFS prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
 
 
 
 
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Further, USBFS will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time.  In this regard, USBFS shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
 
11.  
Records
 
USBFS shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder.  USBFS agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by USBFS relating to the services to be performed by USBFS hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request.
 
12.  
Compliance with Laws
 
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Prospectus and statement of additional information.  USBFS’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
 
13.  
Duties in the Event of Termination
 
In the event that, in connection with the termination of this Agreement, a successor to any of USBFS’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to USBFS, USBFS will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by USBFS under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which USBFS has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from USBFS’s personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor.  If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
 
 
 
 
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14.  
Term of Agreement; Amendment
 
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years.  This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party.  This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by USBFS and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
 
14.           Early Termination
 
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three (3) year term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:

a.  
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts;
b.  
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider;
c.  
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
d.  
all out-of-pocket costs associated with a-c above.

 
15.           Assignment
 
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of USBFS, or by USBFS without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees.
 
 
 
 
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16.           Governing Law
 
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.
 
17.           No Agency Relationship
 
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
 
18.           Services Not Exclusive
 
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict USBFS from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.

19.           Invalidity
 
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.  In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
 
20.           Notices
 
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
 
Notice to USBFS shall be sent to:
 
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI  53202
 

 
 
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and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
 
Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595

21.           Multiple Originals
 
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
 
 
  WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS   U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
   
 By:__________________________  By:_____________________________
   
 Name:________________________  Name: Michael R. McVoy
   
 Title:_________________________  Title: Executive Vice President
                     
                                                                                  

 
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Exhibit A
to the
Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement

Fund Names

Separate Series of Westchester Capital Funds


Name of Series
WCM Alternatives: Event-driven Fund


 
 
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Exhibit B
to the
Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement
 
As Of Processing Policy

USBFS will reimburse each Fund for any Net Material Loss that may exist on the Fund’s books and for which USBFS is responsible, at the end of each calendar month.  “Net Material Loss” shall be defined as any remaining loss, after netting losses against any gains, which impacts a Fund’s net asset value per share by at least ½ cent.  Gains and losses will be reflected on the Fund’s daily share sheet, and the Fund will be reimbursed for any Net Material Loss on a monthly basis.  USBFS will reset the as of ledger each calendar month so that any losses which do not exceed the materiality threshold of ½ cent will not be carried forward to the next succeeding month.  USBFS will notify the advisor to the Fund on the daily share sheet of any losses for which the advisor may be held accountable.
 

 
 
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Exhibit C
to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement – Westchester Capital Funds

INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES

1.  
Services Covered
 
USBFS shall make the following electronic, interactive and processing services (“Electronic Services”) available to the Trust in accordance with the terms of this Exhibit C :

 
A.
Fan Web – Shareholder internet access to account information and transaction capabilities.  Internet service is connected directly to the fund group’s web site through a transparent hyperlink.  Shareholders can access, among other information, account information and portfolio listings within a fund family, view transaction history, and purchase additional shares through the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”).

 
B.
Vision Mutual Fund Gateway – Permits broker/dealers, financial planners, and registered investment advisors to use a web-based system to perform order and account inquiry, execute trades, print applications, review prospectuses, and establish new accounts.

2.  
Duties and Responsibilities of USBFS

 
USBFS shall:

A.  
Make Electronic Services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, subject to scheduled maintenance and events outside of USBFS’s reasonable control.  Unless an emergency is encountered, no routine maintenance will occur during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central Time.
 
B.  
Provide installation services, which shall include review and approval of the Trust’s network requirements, recommending method of establishing (and, as applicable, cooperate with the Trust to implement and maintain) a hypertext link between the Electronic Services site and the Trust’s web site(s) and testing the network connectivity and performance.
 
C.  
Maintain and support the Electronic Services, which shall include providing error corrections, minor enhancements and interim upgrades to the Electronic Services that are made generally available to the Electronic Services customers and providing help desk support to provide assistance to the Trust’s employees and agents with their use of the Electronic Services.  Maintenance and support, as used herein, shall not include (i) access to or use of any substantial added functionality, new interfaces, new architecture, new platforms, new versions or major development efforts, unless made generally available by USBFS to the Electronic Services customers, as determined solely by USBFS or (ii) maintenance of customized features.
 
 
 
 
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D.  
Establish systems to guide, assist and permit End Users (as defined below) who access the Electronic Services site from the Trust’s web site(s) to electronically perform inquiries and create and transmit transaction requests to USBFS.
 
E.  
Address and mail, at the Trust’s expense, notification and promotional mailings and other communications provided by the Trust to shareholders regarding the availability of the Electronic Services.
 
F.  
Issue to each shareholder, financial adviser or other person or entity who desires to make inquiries concerning the Trust or perform transactions in accounts with the Trust using any of the Electronic Services (the “End User”) a username and password for authentication purposes, which may be changed upon an End User’s reasonable request in accordance with policies to be determined by USBFS and the Trust.  USBFS will require the End User to provide his/her user name and password in order to access the Electronic Services.
 
G.  
Prepare and process new account applications received through the Electronic Services from shareholders determined by the Trust to be eligible for such services and in connection with such, the Trust agrees as follows:
 
(1)  
to permit the establishment of shareholder bank account information over the Internet in order to facilitate purchase activity through ACH; and
 
(2)  
the Trust shall be responsible for any resulting gain/loss liability associated with the ACH process.
 
H.  
Provide the End User with a transaction confirmation number and statement, where applicable, for each completed purchase, redemption, or exchange of the Trust’s shares upon completion of the transaction.

I.  
Utilize encryption and secure transport protocols intended to prevent fraud and ensure confidentiality of End User accounts and transactions.  In no event shall USBFS use encryption weaker than 128-bit.  USBFS will take reasonable actions, including periodic scans of Internet interfaces and the Electronic Services, to protect the Internet web site that provides the Electronic Services and related network, against viruses, worms and other data corruption or disabling devices, and unauthorized, fraudulent or illegal use, by using appropriate anti-virus and intrusion detection software and by adopting such other security procedures as may be necessary.

J.  
Inform the Trust promptly of any malfunctions, problems, errors or service interruptions with respect to the Electronic Services of which USBFS becomes aware.
 
 
 
 
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K.  
Exercise reasonable efforts to maintain all on-screen disclaimers and copyright, trademark and service mark notifications, if any, provided by the Trust to USBFS in writing from time to time, and all “point and click” features of the Electronic Services relating to shareholder acknowledgment and acceptance of such disclaimers and notifications.

L.  
Establish and provide to the Trust written procedures, which may be amended from time to time by USBFS with the written consent of the Trust, regarding End User access to the Electronic Services.  Such written procedures shall establish security standards for the Electronic Services, including, without limitation:

(1)  
Encryption/secure transport protocols.

(2)  
End User lockout standards (e.g., lockout after three unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the Electronic Services).

(3)  
Username and password creation, issuance, retrieval and reissuance standards.

(4)  
Access standards, including limits on access to End Users whose accounts are coded for privilege.

(5)  
Automatic logoff standards (e.g., if the session is inactive for longer than 15 minutes).

M.  
Provide the Trust with daily reports of transactions listing all purchases or transfers made by each End User separately.  USBFS shall also furnish the Trust with monthly reports summarizing shareholder inquiries, transaction and maintenance activity and Electronic Services usage.

N.  
Annually engage a third party to audit its internal controls for the Electronic Services and compliance with all guidelines for the Electronic Services included herein and provide the Trust with a copy of the auditor’s report promptly.

3.  
Duties and Responsibilities of the Trust

The Trust assumes exclusive responsibility for the consequences of any instructions it may give to USBFS, for the Trust’s or End Users’ failure to properly access the Electronic Services in the manner prescribed by USBFS, and for the Trust’s failure to supply accurate information to USBFS.

 
Also, the Trust shall:

A.  
Revise and update the applicable prospectus(es) and other pertinent materials, such as user agreements with End Users, to include the appropriate consents, notices and disclosures for Electronic Services, including disclaimers and information reasonably requested by USBFS.
 
 
 
 
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B.  
Be responsible for designing, developing and maintaining one or more web sites for the Trust through which End Users may access the Electronic Services, including provision of software necessary for access to the Internet, which must be acquired from a third-party vendor.  Such web sites shall have the functionality necessary to facilitate, implement and maintain the hypertext links to the Electronic Services and the various inquiry and transaction web pages.  The Trust shall provide USBFS with the name of the host of the Trust’s web site server and shall notify USBFS of any change to the Trust’s web site server host.
 
C.  
Provide USBFS with such information and/or access to the Trust’s web site(s) as is necessary for USBFS to provide the Electronic Services to End Users.
 
D.  
Promptly notify USBFS of any problems or errors with the applicable Electronic Services of which the Trust becomes aware or any changes in policies or procedures of the Trust requiring changes to the Electronic Services.
 
4.  
Additional Representation and Warranty

The parties hereby warrant that neither party shall knowingly insert into any interface, other software, or other program provided by such party to the other hereunder, or accessible on the Electronic Services site or Trust’s web site(s), as the case may be, any “back door,” “time bomb,” “Trojan Horse,” “worm,” “drop dead device,” “virus” or other computer software code or routines or hardware components designed to disable, damage or impair the operation of any system, program or operation hereunder.  USBFS shall not add any software not authorized by the Trust; however, any enhancements or upgrades instituted by systems vendors shall be allowed without authorization by the Trust. For failure to comply with this warranty, the non-complying party shall immediately replace all copies of the affected work product, system or software.  All costs incurred with replacement including, but not limited to, cost of media, shipping, deliveries and installation, shall be borne by such party.

5.  
Proprietary Rights

A.  
Each party acknowledges and agrees that it obtains no rights in or to any of the software, hardware, processes, trade secrets, proprietary information or distribution and communication networks of the other hereunder.  Any software, interfaces or other programs a party provides to the other hereunder shall be used by such receiving party only in accordance with the provisions of this Exhibit C .  Any interfaces, other software or other programs developed by one party shall not be used directly or indirectly by or for the other party or any of its affiliates to connect such receiving party or any affiliate to any other person, without the first party’s prior written approval, which it may give or withhold in its sole discretion.  Except in the normal course of business and in conformity with Federal copyright law or with the other party’s consent, neither party nor any of its affiliates shall disclose, use, copy, decompile or reverse engineer any software or other programs provided to such party by the other in connection herewith.
 
 
 
 
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B.  
The Trust’s web site(s) and the Electronic Services site may contain certain intellectual property, including, but not limited to, rights in copyrighted works, trademarks and trade dress that is the property of the other party.  Each party retains all rights in such intellectual property that may reside on the other party’s web site, not including any intellectual property provided by or otherwise obtained from such other party.  To the extent the intellectual property of one party is cached to expedite communication, such party grants to the other a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to such intellectual property for a period of time no longer than that reasonably necessary for the communication.  To the extent that the intellectual property of one party is duplicated within the other party’s web site to replicate the “look and feel,” “trade dress” or other aspect of the appearance or functionality of the first site, that party grants to the other a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to such intellectual property for the period during which this Exhibit C is in effect.  This license is limited to the intellectual property needed to replicate the appearance of the first site and does not extend to any other intellectual property owned by the owner of the first site.  Each party warrants that it has sufficient right, title and interest in and to its web site and its intellectual property to enter into these obligations, and that to its knowledge, the license hereby granted to the other party does not and will not infringe on any U.S. patent, copyright or other proprietary right of a third party.
 
C.  
Each party agrees that the nonbreaching party would not have an adequate remedy at law in the event of the other party’s breach or threatened breach of its obligations under this Section of this Exhibit C and that the nonbreaching party would suffer irreparable injury and damage as a result of any such breach.  Accordingly, in the event either party breaches or threatens to breach the obligations set forth in this Section of this Exhibit C , in addition to and not in lieu of any legal or other remedies a party may pursue hereunder or under applicable law, each party hereby consents to the granting of equitable relief (including the issuance of a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction or permanent injunction) against it by a court of competent jurisdiction, without the necessity of proving actual damages or posting any bond or other security therefor, prohibiting any such breach or threatened breach.  In any proceeding upon a motion for such equitable relief, a party’s ability to answer in damages shall not be interposed as a defense to the granting of such equitable relief.  The provisions of this Section relating to equitable relief shall survive termination of the provision of services set forth in this Exhibit C .
 
6.  
Compensation

USBFS shall be compensated for providing the Electronic Services in accordance with the fee schedule set forth in Appendix 1 to this Exhibit C (as amended from time to time).
 

 
 
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7.  
Additional Indemnification; Limitation of Liability

A.  
Subject to Section 2(A), USBFS CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE AVAILABILITY OF THE ELECTRONIC SERVICES.  Accordingly, USBFS’s sole liability to the Trust or any third party (including End Users) for any claims, notwithstanding the form of such claims (e.g., contract, negligence, or otherwise), arising out of the delay of or interruption in the Electronic Services to be provided by USBFS hereunder shall be to use its best reasonable efforts to commence or resume the Electronic Services as promptly as is reasonably possible.

 
B.
USBFS shall, at its sole cost and expense, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Trust and its Trustees, officers and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to (a) any infringement, or claim of infringement, of any United States patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, or other proprietary rights based on the use or potential use of the Electronic Services and (b) the provision of the Trust Files (as defined below) or Confidential Information (as defined below) to a person other than a person to whom such information may be properly disclosed hereunder.

C.  
If an injunction is issued against the Trust’s use of the Electronic Services by reason of infringement of a patent, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights of a third party, USBFS shall, at its own option and expense, either (i) procure for the Trust the right to continue to use the Electronic Services on substantially the same terms and conditions as specified hereunder, or (ii) after notification to the Trust, replace or modify the Electronic Services so that they become non-infringing, provided that, in the Trust’s judgment, such replacement or modification does not materially and adversely affect the performance of the Electronic Services or significantly lessen their utility to the Trust.  If in the Trust’s judgment, such replacement or modification does materially adversely affect the performance of the Electronic Services or significantly lessen their utility to the Trust, the Trust may terminate all rights and responsibilities under this Exhibit C immediately on written notice to USBFS.

D.  
Because the ability of USBFS to deliver Electronic Services is dependent upon the Internet and equipment, software, systems, data and services provided by various telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers, firewall providers and encryption system developers and other vendors and third parties, USBFS shall not be liable for delays or failures to perform its obligations hereunder to the extent that such delays or failures are attributable to circumstances beyond its reasonable control which interfere with the delivery of the Electronic Services by means of the Internet or any of the equipment, software and services which support the Internet provided by such third parties.  USBFS shall also not be liable for the actions or omissions of any third party wrongdoers (i.e., hackers not employed by USBFS or its affiliates) or of any third parties involved in the Electronic Services and shall not be liable for the selection of any such third party, unless USBFS selected the third party in bad faith or in a grossly negligent manner.
 
 
 
 
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E.  
USBFS shall not be responsible for the accuracy of input material from End Users nor the resultant output derived from inaccurate input.  The accuracy of input and output shall be judged as received at USBFS’s data center as determined by the records maintained by USBFS.

F.  
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, USBFS shall not be obligated to ensure or verify the accuracy or actual receipt, or the transmission, of any data or information contained in any transaction via the Electronic Services or the consummation of any inquiry or transaction request not actually reviewed by USBFS.

8.  
File Security and Retention; Confidentiality

A.  
USBFS and its agents will provide reasonable security provisions to ensure that unauthorized third parties do not have access to the Trust’s data bases, files, and other information provided by the Trust to USBFS for use with the Electronic Services, the names of End Users or End User transaction or account data (collectively, “Trust Files”).  USBFS’s security provisions with respect to the Electronic Services, the Trust’s web site(s) and the Trust Files will be no less protected than USBFS’s security provisions with respect to its own proprietary information.  USBFS agrees that any and all Trust Files maintained by USBFS for the Trust hereunder shall be available for inspection by the Trust’s regulatory authorities during regular business hours, upon reasonable prior written notice to USBFS, and will be maintained and retained in accordance with applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.  USBFS will take such actions as are necessary to protect the intellectual property contained within the Trust’s web site(s) or any software, written materials, or pictorial materials describing or creating the Trust’s web site(s), including all interface designs or specifications.  USBFS will take such actions as are reasonably necessary to protect all rights to the source code and interface of the Trust’s web site(s).  In addition, USBFS will not use, or permit the use of, names of End Users for the purpose of soliciting any business, product, or service whatsoever except where the communication is necessary and appropriate for USBFS’s delivery of the Electronic Services.

B.  
USBFS shall treat as confidential and not disclose or otherwise make available any of the Trust’s lists, information, trade secrets, processes, proprietary data, information or documentation (collectively, the “Confidential Information”), in any form, to any person other than agents, employees or consultants of USBFS.  USBFS will instruct its agents, employees and consultants who have access to the Confidential Information to keep such information confidential by using the same care and discretion that USBFS uses with respect to its own confidential property and trade secrets.  Upon termination of the rights and responsibilities described in this Exhibit C for any reason and upon the Trust’s request, USBFS shall return to the Trust, or destroy and certify that it has destroyed, any and all copies of the Confidential Information which are in its possession.
 
 
 
 
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C.  
Notwithstanding the above, USBFS will not have an obligation of confidentiality under this Section with regard to information that (1) was known to it prior to disclosure hereunder, (2) is or becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach hereof, (3) is disclosed to it by a third party not subject to a duty of confidentiality, or (4) is required to be disclosed under law or by order of court or governmental agency.

9.  
Warranties

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS EXHIBIT, THE ELECTRONIC SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY USBFS “AS IS” ON AN “AS-AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND USBFS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE ELECTRONIC SERVICES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE.

10.  
Duties in the Event of Termination

In the event of termination of the services provided pursuant to this Exhibit C , (i) End Users will no longer be able to access the Electronic Services and (ii) the Trust will return all codes, system access mechanisms, programs, manuals and other written information provided to it by USBFS in connection with the Electronic Services provided hereunder, and shall destroy or erase all such information on any diskettes or other storage medium.



 
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Exhibit D
To the
Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement – Westchester Capital Funds

INFORMA TM

1.           Certain Definitions
 
  Whenever used in this Exhibit D , the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below unless the context otherwise requires:
 
A.  
“Informa TM means the system made available through DST Output, a wholly owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc. (“DST”) known as “Informa TM ” which enables DST to make available certain data from DST’s TA2000® mutual fund record-keeping systems through the Internet to authorized Users.

B.  
“INFORMA Services” means the services which are made available to consenting end-users (“User”, as defined below) through the system known as Fan Web (as defined below), whereby certain electronic statements (“E-Statements”, as further defined below) may be searched, viewed, downloaded and printed.  INFORMA Services also include notification to the end-user of the availability of E-Statements and storage of E-Statement documents.

C.  
“E-Statement” means an electronic version of daily confirms, monthly, quarterly or annual statements, and shareholder tax statements created with investor transaction data housed on DST’s TA2000® mutual fund record keeping system, with images available online via a secure web site.

D.  
“User(s)” means the consenting person(s) to whom E-Statements are made available.

E.  
“Fan Web” – Shareholder Internet access to account information and transaction capabilities.  Internet service is connected directly to the fund group’s web site through a transparent hyperlink.  Shareholders can access, among other information, account information and portfolio listings within a fund family, view transaction history, view, download, and print electronic statements, and purchase additional shares through the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”).

2.           Services Covered

USBFS shall allow access to INFORMA Services by authorized Users on behalf of the Trust in accordance with the terms of this Exhibit D. By entering into the agreement with the Trust to provide services pursuant to this Exhibit D, USBFS hereby consents to extraction of Trust Files, as defined below, from TA2000 and instructs DST to extract Files from TA2000 for authorized Users.
 
 
 
 
24

 
 
3.           Duties and Responsibilities of USBFS

 
USBFS shall:

A.  
Be responsible for designing, developing and maintaining a link on Trust’s website that allows Users to consent to E-Statement delivery. This consent will include: (1) a description of the electronic delivery medium ( i.e ., e-mail); (2) a description of the E-Statements that will be available electronically; (3) the duration of the consent’s effectiveness; (4) any costs associated with on-line document access; and (5) directions regarding how the User can revoke consent. Upon receipt of a User’s consent to receive E-Statements, USBFS shall stop sending paper statements to User. Upon receipt of a User’s revocation of consent, the User will thereafter receive paper statements.
 
B.  
Be responsible for timely and adequately notifying User via e-mail that the User’s E-Statement is available at the appropriate Internet site. The e-mail will contain a hyperlink that will take the User to the appropriate log-in page of the Trust’s Internet Site.
 
C.  
Through the consent process, ensure the User has the ability to print or retain the E-Statement.
 
D.  
Ensure the E-Statement is available for the User on the Trust’s Internet site for a minimum period of 24 months after delivery.
 
E.  
Ensure that Users are informed of the requirements to download PDF formatted E-Statements and are provided with any necessary software or technical assistance at no cost to facilitate viewing of PDF E-Statements.
 
F.  
Ensure that paper versions of E-Statements are available if any consent to receive documents were revoked or if the User specifically requests a paper copy (regardless of whether consent to receive E-Statements was revoked).
 
G.  
Monitor any rejection (or “bounce”) of an E-Statement notification e-mail sent to a User. In the event an E-Statement notification e-mail is rejected and/or returned by a User’s e-mail system, USBFS shall mail a paper copy of the confirm or statement to the User.  In the event that the paper copy of the confirm or statement is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable, USBFS shall then utilize the lost shareholder due diligence searches and servicing procedures outlined in Section four (4) of this Transfer Agency Agreement.
 
H.  
If additional Internet Access Services become available during the term of this Agreement, USBFS shall offer the additional services to the Trust.  To the extent the Trust elects to receive any or all of such additional services, this Exhibit D shall be amended.
 

 
 
25

 
 
4.           Duties and Responsibilities of the Trust

 
The Trust shall:

A.  
Enter into an Internet Access Services Agreement with USBFS to gain access to   “Fan Web” and agree to all terms and conditions of that agreement prior to or in conjunction with agreeing to the terms and conditions of this Exhibit D .
 
B.  
Revise and update the applicable prospectus(es) and other pertinent materials, such as user agreements with End Users, to include the appropriate consents, notices and disclosures for INFORMA, including disclaimers and information reasonably requested by USBFS.
 
 
C.
Comply, and instruct Users to comply, with all the User enrollment and authorization procedures, including but not limited to the instructions regarding Notice of  and Access to statements.

 
D.
Assume exclusive responsibility for the consequences of any instructions it may give to USBFS, for the Trust’s or End Users’ failure to properly access the Electronic Services in the manner prescribed by USBFS, and for the Trust’s failure to supply accurate information to USBFS.

5.           System Maintenance

The Trust understands that USBFS and DST will have to perform periodic maintenance to the hardware and software used to provide INFORMA Services, which may cause temporary service interruptions.  USBFS shall notify the Trust of all planned outages of its own hardware and software and, to the extent possible, will perform any necessary maintenance during non-business hours.

6.           Additional Representation and Warranty

The parties hereby warrant that neither party shall knowingly insert into any interface, other software, or other program provided by such party to the other hereunder, or accessible on the INFORMA site or Trust’s web site(s), as the case may be, any “back door,” “time bomb,” “Trojan Horse,” “worm,” “drop dead device,” “virus”,  or other computer software code or routines or hardware components designed to disable, damage or impair the operation of any system, program or operation hereunder. USBFS shall not add any software not authorized by the Trust; however, any enhancements or upgrades instituted by systems vendors shall be allowed without authorization by the Trust.  For failure to comply with this warranty, the non-complying party shall immediately replace all copies of the affected work product, system or software.  All costs incurred with replacement including, but not limited to, cost of media, shipping, deliveries and installation, shall be borne by such party.
 

 
 
26

 
 
7.           Proprietary Rights
 
 
A.
The Trust acknowledges and agrees that by virtue of subscribing to INFORMA Services through USBFS, it shall not obtain any rights in or to any of the software, templates, screen and file formats, interface protocols, formats and development tools and instructions, hardware, processes, trade secrets, instruction manuals, enrollment authorization, authentication and other business processes, proprietary information or distribution and communication networks used to provide INFORMA Services owned by DST and licensed to USBFS.  Any interfaces and software provided to the Trust in order to provide connectivity to INFORMA through USBFS shall be used by the Trust and Users only for the period during which this Exhibit D is in effect and only in accordance with the terms of this Exhibit D , and shall not be used by the Trust to provide connectivity to or through any other system or person without USBFS’s prior written approval.  The Trust shall not copy, decompile or reverse engineer any software or programs provided to the Trust hereunder.  The Trust also agrees not to take any action which would mask, delete or otherwise alter any on-screen disclaimers and copyright, trademark and service mark notifications, or any “point and click” features relating to User acknowledgment and acceptance of such disclaimers and notifications.

 
B.
The INFORMA Services site may contain certain intellectual property, including, but not limited to, rights in copyrighted works, trademarks and trade dress that is the property of the Trust.  The Trust retains all rights in such intellectual property that may reside on the INFORMA Services site, not including any intellectual property provided by or otherwise obtained from USBFS.  To the extent the intellectual property of the Trust is cached to expedite communication, the Trust grants to USBFS a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to such intellectual property for a period of time no longer than that reasonably necessary for the communication.  To the extent that the intellectual property of the Trust is duplicated within the INFORMA Services site to replicate the “look and feel,” “trade dress” or other aspect of the appearance or functionality of the Trust’s web site(s), the Trust grants to USBFS a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to such intellectual property for the period during which this Exhibit Dis in effect.  This license is limited to the intellectual property needed to replicate the appearance of the Trust’s web site(s) and does not extend to any other intellectual property owned by the Trust.  The Trust warrants that it has sufficient right, title and interest in and to its web site(s) and its intellectual property to enter into these obligations, and that to its knowledge, the license hereby granted to USBFS does not and will not infringe on any U.S. patent, copyright or other proprietary right of a third party.

 
C.
Each party agrees that the nonbreaching party would not have an adequate remedy at law in the event of the other party’s breach or threatened breach of its obligations under this Section of this Exhibit D and that the nonbreaching party would suffer irreparable injury and damage as a result of any such breach.  Accordingly, in the event either party breaches or threatens to breach the obligations set forth in this Section of this Exhibit D , in addition to and not in lieu of any legal or other remedies a party may pursue hereunder or under applicable law, each party hereby consents to the granting of equitable relief (including the issuance of a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction or permanent injunction) against it by a court of competent jurisdiction, without the necessity of proving actual damages or posting any bond or other security therefor, prohibiting any such breach or threatened breach.  In any proceeding upon a motion for such equitable relief, a party’s ability to answer in damages shall not be interposed as a defense to the granting of such equitable relief.  The provisions of this Section relating to equitable relief shall survive termination of the provision of services set forth in this Exhibit D .
 

 
 
27

 
 
8.           Compensation
 
  USBFS shall be compensated for providing INFORMA Services in accordance with the fee schedule set forth in Exhibit E (as amended from time to time).

9.           Additional Indemnification; Limitation of Liability

A.  
USBFS CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE AVAILABILITY OF THE INFORMA SERVICES.  Accordingly, USBFS’s sole liability to the Trust or any third party (including Users) for any claims, notwithstanding the form of such claims (e.g., contract, negligence, or otherwise), arising out of the delay of or interruption in INFORMA Services to be provided by USBFS hereunder shall be to use its best reasonable efforts to commence or resume INFORMA Services as promptly as is reasonably possible.

B.  
USBFS shall, at its sole cost and expense, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Trust and its trustees, officers and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, damages or liabilities of any and every nature, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to (a) any infringement, or claim of infringement, of any United States patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, or other proprietary rights based on the use or potential use of INFORMA Services and (b) the provision of the Trust Files (as defined below) or Confidential Information (as defined below) to a person other than a person to whom such information may be properly disclosed hereunder.

C.  
If an injunction is issued against the Trust’s and Users’ use of INFORMA Services by reason of infringement of a patent, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights of a third party, USBFS shall, at its own option and expense, either (i) procure for the Trust and Users the right to continue to use INFORMA Services on substantially the same terms and conditions as specified hereunder, or (ii) after notification to the Trust, replace or modify INFORMA Services so that they become non-infringing, provided that, in the Trust’s judgment, such replacement or modification does not materially and adversely affect the performance of INFORMA Services or significantly lessen their utility to the Trust and Users.  If in the Trust’s judgment, such replacement or modification does materially adversely affect the performance of INFORMA Services or significantly lessen their utility to the Trust and Users, the Trust may terminate all rights and responsibilities under this Exhibit D immediately on written notice to USBFS.
 
 
 
 
28

 
 
D.  
Because the ability of USBFS to deliver INFORMA Services is dependent upon the Internet and equipment, software, systems, data and services provided by various telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers, firewall providers and encryption system developers and other vendors and third parties, including DST, USBFS shall not be liable for delays or failures to perform its obligations hereunder to the extent such delays or failures are attributable to circumstances beyond its reasonable control which interfere with the delivery of INFORMA Services by means of the Internet or any of the equipment, software and services which support the Internet provided by such third parties.  USBFS shall also not be liable for the actions or omissions of any third party wrongdoers (i.e., hackers not employed by USBFS or its affiliates) or of any third parties involved with INFORMA Services.

E.  
The Trust and Users are responsible for verifying the accuracy and receipt of all data or information made available via INFORMA Services.  The Trust is responsible for advising Users of their responsibilities to promptly notify the Trust’s transfer agent of any errors or inaccuracies relating to data or other information made available via INFORMA Services with respect to the Trust’s shareholders.

F.  
USBFS shall not be responsible for the accuracy of input material from Users and the Trust’s record-keeping systems maintained by third parties nor the resultant output derived from inaccurate input.  The accuracy of input and output shall be judged as received at USBFS’s data center as determined by the records maintained by USBFS.

10.        File Security and Retention; Confidentiality

A.  
USBFS and its agents will provide reasonable security provisions to ensure that unauthorized third parties do not have access to the Trust’s data bases, files, and other information provided by the Trust to USBFS for use with INFORMA Services, (collectively, “Trust Files”).  USBFS’s security provisions with respect to INFORMA Services and the Trust Files will be no less protected than USBFS’s security provisions with respect to its own proprietary information.  USBFS agrees that any and all Trust Files maintained by USBFS for the Trust hereunder shall be available for inspection by the Trust’s regulatory authorities during regular business hours, upon reasonable prior written notice to USBFS, and will be maintained and retained in accordance with applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.  In addition, USBFS will not use, or permit the use of, names of Users for the purpose of soliciting any business, product, or service whatsoever except where the communication is necessary and appropriate for USBFS’s delivery of INFORMA Services.

B.  
USBFS shall treat as confidential and not disclose or otherwise make available any of the Trust’s lists, information, trade secrets, processes, proprietary data, information or documentation (collectively, the “Confidential Information”), in any form, to any person other than agents, employees or consultants of USBFS.  USBFS will instruct its agents, employees and consultants who have access to the Confidential Information to keep such information confidential by using the same care and discretion that USBFS uses with respect to its own confidential property and trade secrets.  Upon termination of the rights and responsibilities described in this Exhibit D for any reason and upon the Trust’s request, USBFS shall return to the Trust, or destroy and certify that it has destroyed, any and all copies of the Confidential Information which are in its possession.
 
 
 
 
29

 
 
 
C.
Notwithstanding the above, USBFS will not have an obligation of confidentiality under this Section with regard to information that (1) was known to it prior to disclosure hereunder, (2) is or becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach hereof, (3) is disclosed to it by a third party not subject to a duty of confidentiality, or (4) is required to be disclosed under law or by order of court or governmental agency.

11.        Warranties

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS EXHIBIT, INFORMA SERVICES AND ALL EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS DESCRIBED IN THIS EXHIBIT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” ON AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND USBFS HEREBY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING INFORMA SERVICES PROVIDED HEREUNDER, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE.

12.        Duties in the Event of Termination

In the event of termination of the services provided pursuant to this Exhibit D, (i) the Trust and Users will immediately end their access to INFORMA Services and (ii) the Trust will return all codes, system access mechanisms, programs, manuals, confidential or proprietary information and other written information provided to it by USBFS in connection with the Electronic Services provided hereunder, and shall destroy or erase all such information on any diskettes or other storage medium.



 
30

 
 
Exhibit E
to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement Fee Schedule - Westchester Capital Funds
TRANSFER AGENT & SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund Class I
Effective
 
Service Charges to the Fund*
Annual Shareholder Account Fee (see minimum)
     ¨   No-Load  - $ /account
     ¨   NSCC Level 3 - $/account
 
Annual Minimum
     ¨   $ per no-load fund
 
CCO Support Services - $ per year
 
Activity Charges
     ¨   Telephone Calls - $ /minute
     ¨   401(k) daily valuation Trades - $/trade
     ¨   Omnibus Account Transactions
               ¨ $ each – first  transactions
               ¨ $ each – next  transactions
                ¨ $ each – next  transactions
                ¨ $ each – next  transactions
               ¨ $ each – balance of transactions
     ¨   E-mail Services
         $ /month administration
         $ /e-mail received
     ¨   AML New Account Service - $/new domestic accounts,
         $/new foreign account and $ per shareholder verification.
     ¨   ACH/EFT Shareholder Services:
         $ /month/fund group
         $ /ACH item, setup, change
         $ /correction, reversal
 
Out-of-pocket Costs - Including but not limited to:
     ¨    Telephone toll-free lines, call transfers, etc.
     ¨    Mailing, sorting and postage
     ¨    Stationery, envelopes
     ¨    Programming, special reports
     ¨    Insurance, record retention, microfilm/fiche
     ¨    Proxies, proxy services
     ¨    Lost shareholder search
     ¨    ACH fees
     ¨    NSCC charges
     ¨    Disaster recovery – per open account
     ¨    All other out-of-pocket expenses
     ¨    VRU maintenance fees
 
Qualified Plan Fees (Billed to Investors)
     ¨   $ /qualified plan acct (Cap at $/SSN)
     ¨   $ /Coverdell ESA acct (Cap at $/SSN)
     ¨   $ /transfer to successor trustee
     ¨   $ /participant distribution (Excluding SWPs)
            /refund of excess contribution
 
Shareholder Fees (Billed to Investors)
     ¨   $ /outgoing wire transfer
     ¨   $ /overnight delivery
     ¨   $  /telephone exchange
     ¨   $ /return check or ACH
     ¨   $ /stop payment                                                      
     ¨   $  /research request per account (Cap at $/request)
             (For requested items of the second  calendar year [or previous] to the request)
 
Technology Charges
1.   Implementation Services
     ¨   First CUSIP - $ /first CUSIP
     ¨   Fund Setup - $ /additional CUSIP
     ¨   800 Service - $ ATT transfer connect
     ¨   VRU Setup - $ /fund group
     ¨   NSCC Setup - $ /fund group
 
2.   Average Cost - $ /account/year
3.   File Transmissions – subject to requirements
4.   Selects - $ per select
5.   ReportSource - $/month – Web reporting
6.   System Access –TALink, COLD, Image
     ¨   Setup - $ /concurrent connection each
     ¨   Service - $ /month each
7.  Physical Certificate Shares
     ¨   Setup - $ /fund
     ¨   Issue of Certificate - $ /certificate transaction
8.   Extraordinary services – charged as incurred
     ¨   Development/Programming - $ /hour
     ¨   Conversion of Records – Estimate to be provided
     ¨   Custom processing, re-processing
9.   Short Term Trader
     ¨ 90 days or less - $ / open account
     ¨ 91-180 days - $ / open account
     ¨ 181-270 days - $ / open account
     ¨ days -1 year -$ / open account
     ¨ 1 year – 2 years - $ / open account
     * Subject to CPI increase, Milwaukee MSA.

 
 
31


 
FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICING AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 30 th day of July, 2013, by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“USBFS”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;

WHEREAS, USBFS is, among other things, in the business of providing mutual fund accounting services to investment companies; and

WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain USBFS to provide accounting services to each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”).

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:

1.  
Appointment of USBFS as Fund Accountant
 
The Trust hereby appoints USBFS as fund accountant of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and USBFS hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.  The services and duties of USBFS shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against USBFS hereunder.

2.  
Services and Duties of USBFS
 
USBFS shall provide the following accounting services to the Fund:
 
A.   Portfolio Accounting Services:

(1)  
Maintain portfolio records on a trade date+1 basis using security trade information communicated from the Fund’s investment adviser.

(2)  
For each valuation date, obtain prices from a pricing source approved by the board of trustees of the Trust (the “Board of Trustees”) and apply those prices to the portfolio positions.  For those securities where market quotations are not readily available, the Board of Trustees shall approve, in good faith, procedures for determining the fair value for such securities.
 
 
 
 

 
 
(3)  
Identify interest and dividend accrual balances as of each valuation date and calculate gross earnings on investments for each accounting period.

(4)  
Determine gain/loss on security sales and identify them as short-term or long-term; account for periodic distributions of gains or losses to shareholders and maintain undistributed gain or loss balances as of each valuation date.

(5)  
On a daily basis, reconcile cash of the Fund with the Fund’s custodian.

(6)  
Transmit a copy of the portfolio valuation to the Fund’s investment adviser daily.

(7)  
Review the impact of current day’s activity on a per share basis, and review changes in market value.

B.   Expense Accrual and Payment Services:

(1)  
For each valuation date, calculate the expense accrual amounts as directed by the Trust as to methodology, rate or dollar amount.

(2)  
Process and record payments for Fund expenses upon receipt of written authorization from the Trust.

(3)  
Account for Fund expenditures and maintain expense accrual balances at the level of accounting detail, as agreed upon by USBFS and the Trust.

(4)  
Provide expense accrual and payment reporting.

C.   Fund Valuation and Financial Reporting Services:

(1)  
Account for Fund share purchases, sales, exchanges, transfers, dividend reinvestments, and other Fund share activity as reported by the Fund’s transfer agent on a timely basis.

(2)  
Apply equalization accounting as directed by the Trust.

(3)  
Determine net investment income (earnings) for the Fund as of each valuation date.  Account for periodic distributions of earnings to shareholders and maintain undistributed net investment income balances as of each valuation date.

(4)  
Maintain a general ledger and other accounts, books, and financial records for the Fund in the form as agreed upon.
 
 
 
 
2

 
 
(5)  
Determine the net asset value of the Fund according to the accounting policies and procedures set forth in the Fund's current prospectus.

(6)  
Calculate per share net asset value, per share net earnings, and other per share amounts reflective of Fund operations at such time as required by the nature and characteristics of the Fund.

(7)  
Communicate to the Trust, at an agreed upon time, the per share net asset value for each valuation date.

(8)  
Prepare monthly reports that document the adequacy of accounting detail to support month-end ledger balances.

(9)  
Prepare monthly security transactions listings.

D.   Tax Accounting Services:

(1)  
Maintain accounting records for the investment portfolio of the Fund to support the tax reporting required for “regulated investment companies” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

(2)  
Maintain tax lot detail for the Fund’s investment portfolio.

(3)  
Calculate taxable gain/loss on security sales using the tax lot relief method designated by the Trust.

(4)  
Provide the necessary financial information to calculate the taxable components of income and capital gains distributions to support tax reporting to the shareholders.

E.   Compliance Control Services:

(1)  
Support reporting to regulatory bodies and support financial statement preparation by making the Fund's accounting records available to the Trust, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the independent accountants.

(2)  
Maintain accounting records according to the 1940 Act and regulations provided thereunder.

(3)  
Perform its duties hereunder in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and provide any sub-certifications reasonably requested by the Trust in connection with any certification required of the Trust pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “SOX Act”) or any rules or regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, provided the same shall not be deemed to change USBFS’ standard of care as set forth herein.
 
 
 
 
3

 
 
(4)  
Cooperate with the Trust’s independent accountants and take all reasonable action in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement to ensure that the necessary information is made available to such accountants for the expression of their opinion on the Fund’s financial statements without any qualification as to the scope of their examination.

3.  
License of Data; Warranty; Termination of Rights
 
A.  
The valuation information and evaluations being provided to the Trust by USBFS pursuant hereto (collectively, the “Data”) are being licensed, not sold, to the Trust.  The Trust has a limited license to use the Data only for purposes necessary to valuing the Trust’s assets and reporting to regulatory bodies (the “License”).  The Trust does not have any license nor right to use the Data for purposes beyond the intentions of this Agreement including, but not limited to, resale to other users or use to create any type of historical database.  The License is non-transferable and not sub-licensable.  The Trust’s right to use the Data cannot be passed to or shared with any other entity.

The Trust acknowledges the proprietary rights that USBFS and its suppliers have in the Data.

B.  
THE TRUST HEREBY ACCEPTS THE DATA AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE OR ANY OTHER MATTER.

C.  
USBFS may stop supplying some or all Data to the Trust if USBFS’ suppliers terminate any agreement to provide Data to USBFS.  Also, USBFS may stop supplying some or all Data to the Trust if USBFS reasonably believes that the Trust is using the Data in violation of the License, or breaching its duties of confidentiality provided for hereunder, or if any of USBFS’ suppliers demand that the Data be withheld from the Trust.  USBFS will provide notice to the Trust of any termination of provision of Data as soon as reasonably possible.

4.  
Pricing of Securities
 
A.  
For each valuation date, USBFS shall obtain prices from a pricing source recommended by USBFS and approved by the Board of Trustees and apply those prices to the portfolio positions of the Fund.  For those securities where market quotations are not readily available, the Board of Trustees shall approve, in good faith, procedures for determining the fair value for such securities.

If the Trust desires to provide a price that varies from the price provided by the pricing source, the Trust shall promptly notify and supply USBFS with the price of any such security on each valuation date.  All pricing changes made by the Trust will be in writing and must specifically identify the securities to be changed by CUSIP, name of security, new price or rate to be applied, and, if applicable, the time period for which the new price(s) is/are effective.
 
 
 
 
4

 
 
B.  
In the event that the Trust at any time receives Data containing evaluations, rather than market quotations, for certain securities or certain other data related to such securities, the following provisions will apply:  (i) evaluated securities are typically complicated financial instruments.  There are many methodologies (including computer-based analytical modeling and individual security evaluations) available to generate approximations of the market value of such securities, and there is significant professional disagreement about which method is best.  No evaluation method, including those used by USBFS and its suppliers, may consistently generate approximations that correspond to actual “traded” prices of the securities; (ii) methodologies used to provide the pricing portion of certain Data may rely on evaluations; however, the Trust acknowledges that there may be errors or defects in the software, databases, or methodologies generating the evaluations that may cause resultant evaluations to be inappropriate for use in certain applications; and (iii) the Trust assumes all responsibility for edit checking, external verification of evaluations, and ultimately the appropriateness of using Data containing evaluations, regardless of any efforts made by USBFS and its suppliers in this respect.

5.  
Changes in Accounting Procedures
 
Any resolution passed by the Board of Trustees that affects accounting practices and procedures under this Agreement shall be effective upon written receipt of notice and acceptance by USBFS.

6.  
Changes in Equipment, Systems, Etc.
 
USBFS reserves the right to make changes from time to time, as it deems advisable, relating to its systems, programs, rules, operating schedules and equipment, so long as such changes do not adversely affect the services provided to the Trust under this Agreement.

7.  
Compensation
 
USBFS shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time).  USBFS shall also be compensated for such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by USBFS in performing its duties hereunder.  The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute.  The Trust shall notify USBFS in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith.  The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid.  With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to USBFS shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
 
 
 
 
5

 
 
8.  
Representations and Warranties
 
A.  
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to USBFS, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.

B.  
USBFS hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by USBFS in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of USBFS, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.
 

 
 
6

 
 
9.  
Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability
 
A.  
USBFS shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  Neither USBFS nor its suppliers shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust or any third party in connection with its duties under this Agreement, including losses resulting from mechanical breakdowns or the failure of communication or power supplies beyond USBFS’ control, except a loss arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if USBFS has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless USBFS and its suppliers from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that USBFS or its suppliers may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against USBFS or its suppliers by any person arising out of or related to (X) any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to USBFS by any duly authorized officer of the Trust, as approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, or (Y) the Data, or any information, service, report, analysis or publication derived therefrom, except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “USBFS” shall include USBFS’ directors, officers and employees.

The Trust acknowledges that the Data are intended for use as an aid to institutional investors, registered brokers or professionals of similar sophistication in making informed judgments concerning securities.  The Trust accepts responsibility for, and acknowledges it exercises its own independent judgment in, its selection of the Data, its selection of the use or intended use of such, and any results obtained.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to be a waiver of any rights existing under applicable law for the protection of investors.

USBFS shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by USBFS as a result of USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of USBFS, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s trustees, officers and employees.
 

 
 
7

 
 
In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its control, USBFS shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues.  USBFS will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of USBFS.  USBFS agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available.  Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect USBFS’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of USBFS, upon reasonable notice to USBFS.  Moreover, USBFS shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of USBFS relating to the services provided by USBFS under this Agreement.

Notwithstanding the above, USBFS reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.

In no case shall either party be liable to the other for (i) any special, indirect or consequential damages, loss of profits or goodwill (even if advised of the possibility of such); (ii) any delay by reason of circumstances beyond its control, including acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties, fire, mechanical breakdown, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots, or failure beyond its control of transportation or power supply; or (iii) any claim that arose more than one year prior to the institution of suit therefor.

B.  
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification.  The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification.  In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section.  The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent.
 
 
 
 
8

 
 
C.  
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 9 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement.

D.  
If USBFS is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve USBFS of any of its obligations in such other capacity.

10.  
Notification of Error
 
The Trust will notify USBFS of any discrepancy between USBFS and the Trust, including, but not limited to, failing to account for a security position in the Fund’s portfolio, upon the later to occur of: (i) three business days after receipt of any reports rendered by USBFS to the Trust; (ii) three business days after discovery of any error or omission not covered in the balancing or control procedure; or (iii) three business days after receiving notice from any shareholder regarding any such discrepancy.

11.  
Data Necessary to Perform Services
 
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to USBFS the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.
 
12.  
Proprietary and Confidential Information
 
A.  
USBFS agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where USBFS may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust.  Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of USBFS or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of USBFS prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
 

 
 
9

 
 
Further, USBFS will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time.  In this regard, USBFS shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.

B.  
The Trust, on behalf of itself and its trustees, officers, and employees, will maintain the confidential and proprietary nature of the Data and agrees to protect it using the same efforts, but in no case less than reasonable efforts, that it uses to protect its own proprietary and confidential information.

13.  
Records
 
USBFS shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder.  USBFS agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by USBFS relating to the services to be performed by USBFS hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request.

14.  
Compliance with Laws
 
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Code, the SOX Act, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its current prospectus and statement of additional information.  USBFS’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.

15.  
Term of Agreement; Amendment
 
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years.  This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party.  This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by USBFS and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.

16.  
Duties in the Event of Termination
 
In the event that, in connection with termination, a successor to any of USBFS’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to USBFS, USBFS will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence and other data established or maintained by USBFS under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which USBFS has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from USBFS’ personnel in the establishment of books, records and other data by such successor.  If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
 
 
 
 
10

 
 
17.
Early Termination

In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:

a.  
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts;
b.  
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider;
c.  
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
d.  
all out-of-pocket costs associated with a-c above.
 
18.           Assignment
 
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of USBFS, or by USBFS without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees.

19.           Governing Law
 
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.

20.           No Agency Relationship
 
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
 
 
 
 
11

 
 
21.           Services Not Exclusive
 
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict USBFS from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.

22.           Invalidity
 
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.  In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.

23.           Notices
 
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:

Notice to USBFS shall be sent to:

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI  53202


and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:

Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595

24.           Multiple Originals
 
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

 
 
 
12

 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
 
 
 
  WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS   U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
   
 By:__________________________  By:_____________________________
   
 Name:________________________  Name: Michael R. McVoy
   
 Title:_________________________  Title: Executive Vice President
                     
 
 
 
13

 
 
Exhibit A
to the
Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement

Fund Names

Separate Series of Westchester Capital Funds


Name of Series
WCM Alternatives: Event-driven Fund
 

 
 
14

 
 
Exhibit B to the
Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement  Fee Schedule - Westchester Capital Funds

FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICES
ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund Class I
Effective
 
Domestic Equity Funds*
basis point on the first $
basis point on the next $
basis points on the next $
basis points on the balance
 
 
 
 
 
 
CCO Support Services - $per year
 
 
 
 
 
Fees are billed monthly.
* Annual fee
 
 
 
 
 
Multiple Classes*
·    Priced separately (Waived)
 
Master/Feeder Funds*
·    Priced separately.
 
Multiple Manager Funds*
Additional base fee:
$ per manager/sub-advisor per fund
 
Conversion and extraordinary services quoted separately.
 
NOTE – All schedules subject to change depending upon the use of derivatives – options, futures, short sales, etc.
 
All fees are billed monthly plus out-of-pocket expenses, including pricing, corporate action, and factor services:
     ·    $  Domestic and Canadian Equities
     ·    $  Options
     ·    $  Corp/Gov/Agency Bonds
     ·    $  CMO's
     ·    $  International Equities and Bonds
     ·    $  Municipal Bonds
     ·    $  Money Market Instruments
     ·    $ /fund/month - Mutual Fund Pricing
     ·    $ /equity Security/Month Corporate Actions
     ·    $ /month Manual Security Pricing (>10/day)
     ·    Factor Services (BondBuyer)
        ·    $ /CMO/month
        ·    $  /Mortgage Backed/month
        ·    $ /month Minimum Per Fund Group
     ·    Fair Value Services (FT Interactive)
        ·    $ on the first  securities per day
        ·    $ on the balance of securities per day
 
ReportSource - $ /month – Web reporting
 

 
15


 
FUND ADMINISTRATION SERVICING AGREEMENT
 
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 30 th day of  July, 2013, by and between WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“USBFS”).
 
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
 
WHEREAS, USBFS is, among other things, in the business of providing fund administration services for the benefit of its customers; and
 
WHEREAS, the Company desires to retain USBFS to provide fund administration services to each series of the Company listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). .
 
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
 
1.  
Appointment of USBFS as Administrator
 
The Trust hereby appoints USBFS as administrator of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and USBFS hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.  The services and duties of USBFS shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against USBFS hereunder.
 
2.  
Services and Duties of USBFS
 
USBFS shall provide the following administration services to the Fund:
 
A.  
General Fund Management:
(1)  
Act as liaison among Fund service providers.

(2)  
Supply:
a.  
Office facilities (which may be in USBFS’, or an affiliate’s, or Fund’s own offices).
b.  
Non-investment-related statistical and research data as requested.

(3)  
Coordinate the Trust’s board of trustees’ (the “Board of Trustees” or the “Trustees”) communications, such as:
 
 
 
 
1

 
 
a.  
Prepare meeting agendas and resolutions, with the assistance of Fund counsel.
b.  
Prepare reports for the Board of Trustees based on financial and administrative data.
c.  
Assist with the selection of the independent auditor.
d.  
Secure and monitor fidelity bond and director and officer liability coverage, and make the necessary Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filings relating thereto.
e.  
Prepare minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees and Fund shareholders.
f.  
Recommend dividend declarations to the Board of Trustees and prepare and distribute to appropriate parties notices announcing declaration of dividends and other distributions to shareholders.
g.  
Attend Board of Trustees meetings and present materials for Trustees’ review at such meetings.

(4)  
Audits:
a.  
For the annual Fund audit, prepare appropriate schedules and materials. Provide requested information to the independent auditors, and facilitate the audit process.
b.  
For SEC or other regulatory audits, provide requested information to the SEC or other regulatory agencies and facilitate the audit process.
c.  
For all audits, provide office facilities, as needed.

(5)  
Assist with overall operations of the Fund.
(6)  
Pay Fund expenses upon written authorization from the Trust.
(7)  
Keep the Trust’s governing documents, including its charter, bylaws and minute books, but only to the extent such documents are provided to USBFS by the Trust or its representatives for safe keeping.

B.  
Compliance:
(1)  
Regulatory Compliance:
a.  
Monitor compliance with the 1940 Act requirements, including:
 
(i)
Asset and diversification tests.
 
(ii)
Total return and SEC yield calculations.
 
(iii)
Maintenance of books and records under Rule 31a-3.
 
(iv)
Code of ethics requirements under Rule 17j-1 for the disinterested Trustees.

b.  
Monitor Fund's compliance with the policies and investment limitations as set forth in its prospectus (the “Prospectus”) and statement of additional information (the “SAI”).

c.  
Perform its duties hereunder in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and provide any sub-certifications reasonably requested by the Trust in connection with (i) any certification required of the Trust pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “SOX Act”) or any rules or regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, and (ii) the operation of USBFS’ compliance program as it relates to the Trust, provided the same shall not be deemed to change USBFS’ standard of care as set forth herein.
 
 
 
 
2

 
 
d.  
Monitor applicable regulatory and operational service issues, and update Board of Trustees periodically.

(2)  
Blue Sky Compliance:
a.  
Prepare and file with the appropriate state securities authorities any and all required compliance filings relating to the qualification of the securities of the Fund so as to enable the Fund to make a continuous offering of its shares in all states and applicable U.S. territories.
b.  
Monitor status and maintain registrations in each state and applicable U.S. territories.
c.  
Provide updates regarding material developments in state securities regulation.

(3)  
SEC Registration and Reporting:
a.  
Assist Fund counsel in annual update of the Registration Statement.
b.  
Prepare and file annual and semiannual shareholder reports, Form N-SAR, Form N-CSR, Form N-Q filings and Rule 24f-2 notices.  As requested by the Trust, prepare and file Form N-PX filings.
c.  
Coordinate the printing, filing and mailing of Prospectuses and shareholder reports, and amendments and supplements thereto.
d.  
File fidelity bond under Rule 17g-1.
e.  
Monitor sales of Fund shares and ensure that such shares are properly registered or qualified, as applicable, with the SEC and the appropriate state authorities.
f.  
Assist Fund counsel in preparation of proxy statements and information statements, as requested by the Trust.

(4)  
IRS Compliance:
a.  
Monitor the Trust’s status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), including without limitation, review of the following:
 
(i)
Diversification requirements.
 
(ii)
Qualifying income requirements.
 
(iii)
Distribution requirements.

b.  
Calculate required annual excise distribution amounts for the review and approval of Fund management and/or its independent accountant.
 
 
 
 
3

 
 
C.  
Financial Reporting:
(1)  
Provide financial data required by the Prospectus and SAI.
(2)  
Prepare financial reports for officers, shareholders, tax authorities, performance reporting companies, the Board of Trustees, the SEC, and the independent auditor.
(3)  
Supervise the Fund’s custodian and fund accountants in the maintenance of the Fund’s general ledger and in the preparation of the Fund’s financial statements, including oversight of expense accruals and payments, the determination of net asset value and the declaration and payment of dividends and other distributions to shareholders.
(4)  
Compute the yield, total return, expense ratio and portfolio turnover rate of the Fund.
(5)  
Monitor expense accruals and make adjustments as necessary; notify the Trust’s management of adjustments expected to materially affect the Fund’s expense ratio.
(6)  
Prepare financial statements, which include, without limitation, the following items:
a.  
Schedule of Investments.
b.  
Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
c.  
Statement of Operations.
d.  
Statement of Changes in Net Assets.
e.  
Statement of Cash Flows (if applicable).
f.  
Financial Highlights.
(7)  
Pursuant to Rule 31a-1(b)(9) of the 1940 Act, prepare quarterly broker security transaction summaries.

D.  
Tax Reporting:

(1)  
Prepare for the review of the independent accountants and/or Fund management the federal and state tax returns including without limitation, Form 1120 RIC and applicable state returns including any necessary schedules. USBFS will prepare annual Fund federal and state income tax return filings as authorized by and based on the instructions received by Fund management and/or its independent accountant.  File on a timely basis appropriate federal and state tax returns including, without limitation, Forms 1120/8613, with any necessary schedules.
(2)  
Provide the Fund’s management and Fund’s independent accountant with tax reporting information pertaining to the Fund and available to USBFS as required in a timely manner.
(3)  
Prepare Fund financial statement tax footnote disclosures for the review and approval of Fund Management and/or its independent accountant.
(4)  
Prepare and file on behalf of Fund management Form 1099 MISC Forms for payments to disinterested Trustees and other qualifying service providers.
(5)  
Monitor wash sale losses.
(6)  
Calculate Qualified Dividend Income (“QDI”) for qualifying Fund shareholders.
 
 
 
 
4

 
 
3.  
License of Data; Warranty; Termination of Rights
 
 
A .
USBFS has entered into an agreement with MSCI index data services (“MSCI”) and Standard & Poor Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) which obligates USBFS to include a list of required provisions in this Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit B .  The index data services being provided to the Trust by USBFS pursuant hereto (collectively, the “Data”) are being licensed, not sold, to the Trust.  The provisions in Exhibit B shall not have any affect upon the standard of care and liability USBFS has set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement.
 
 
B.
The Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless USBFS, its information providers, and any other third party involved in or related to the making or compiling of the Data, their affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, as incurred, arising in and any manner out of the Trust’s or any third party’s use of, or inability to use, the Data or any breach by the Trust of any provision contained in this Agreement.  The immediately preceding sentence shall not have any effect upon the standard of care and liability of USBFS as set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement.
 
4.  
Compensation
 
USBFS shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time). USBFS shall also be compensated for such out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by USBFS in performing its duties hereunder.  The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute.  The Trust shall notify USBFS in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid.  With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to USBFS shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
 
 
 
 
5

 
 
5.  
Representations and Warranties
 
A.  
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to USBFS, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.

B.  
USBFS hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:

 
(1)
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

 
(2)
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by USBFS in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of USBFS, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and

 
(3)
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement.
 
 
 
 
6

 
 
6.  
Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability
 
A.  
USBFS shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  USBFS shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, including losses resulting from mechanical breakdowns or the failure of communication or power supplies beyond USBFS’ control, except a loss arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if USBFS has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless USBFS from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that USBFS may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against USBFS by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to USBFS by any duly authorized officer of the Trust, as approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “USBFS” shall include USBFS’ directors, officers and employees.

USBFS shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by USBFS as a result of USBFS’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.  This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of USBFS, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.  As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s trustees, officers and employees.

Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.

In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its control, USBFS shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues.  USBFS will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of USBFS.  USBFS agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available.  Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect USBFS’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of USBFS, upon reasonable notice to USBFS.  Moreover, USBFS shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of USBFS relating to the services provided by USBFS under this Agreement.
 

 
 
7

 
 
Notwithstanding the above, USBFS reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.

B.  
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification.  In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section.  The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent.

C.  
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 6 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement.

D.  
If USBFS is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve USBFS of any of its obligations in such other capacity.

E.  
In conjunction with the tax services provided to each Fund by USBFS hereunder, USBFS shall not be deemed to act as an income tax return preparer for any purpose including as such term is defined under Section 7701(a)(36) of the IRC, or any successor thereof.  Any information provided by USBFS to a Fund for income tax reporting purposes with respect to any item of income, gain, loss, or credit will be performed solely in USBFS’ administrative capacity. USBFS shall not be required to determine, and shall not take any position with respect to whether, the reasonable belief standard described in Section 6694 of the IRC has been satisfied with respect to any income tax item.  Each Fund, and any appointees thereof, shall have the right to inspect the transaction summaries produced and aggregated by USBFS, and any supporting documents thereto, in connection with the tax reporting services provided to each Fund by USBFS.  USBFS shall not be liable for the provision or omission of any tax advice with respect to any information provided by USBFS to a Fund. The tax information provided by USBFS shall be pertinent to the data and information made available to us, and is neither derived from nor construed as tax advice.
 
 
 
 
8

 
 
7.  
Data Necessary to Perform Services
 
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to USBFS the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.
 
8.  
Proprietary and Confidential Information
 
USBFS agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where USBFS may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust.  Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of USBFS or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of USBFS prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
 
Further, USBFS will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time.  In this regard, USBFS shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders
 
9.  
Records
 
USBFS shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder.  USBFS agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by USBFS relating to the services to be performed by USBFS hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request
 
 
 
 
9

 
 
10.  
Compliance with Laws
 
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Code, the SOX Act, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Trust relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Prospectus and SAI.  USBFS’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto
 
11.  
Terms of Agreement; Amendment
 
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party.  This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by USBFS and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
 
12.  
Early Termination
 
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three year term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:
 
 
a.  
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts;
 
b.  
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider;
 
c.  
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
 
d. 
all out-of-pocket costs associated with a-c above
 
13.  
Duties in the Event of Termination
 
In the event that, in connection with termination, a successor to any of USBFS’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to USBFS, USBFS will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by USBFS under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which USBFS has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from USBFS’ personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor.  If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust
 
 
 
 
10

 
 
14.  
Assignment
 
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of USBFS, or by USBFS without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees
 
15.  
Governing Law
 
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
 
16.  
No Agency Relationship
 
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
 
17.  
Services Not Exclusive
 
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict USBFS from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
 
18.  
Invalidity
 
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.  In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties
 
19.  
Legal-Related Services
 
Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to appoint USBFS and its officers, directors and employees as the Trust attorneys, form attorney-client relationships or require the provision of legal advice.  The Trust acknowledges that in-house USBFS attorneys exclusively represent USBFS and rely on outside counsel retained by the Trust to review all services provided by in-house USBFS attorneys and to provide independent judgment on the Trust’s behalf.  The Trust acknowledges that because no attorney-client relationship exists between in-house USBFS attorneys and the Trust, any information provided to USBFS attorneys may not be privileged and may be subject to compulsory disclosure under certain circumstances.  USBFS represents that it will maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed to its in-house attorneys on a best efforts basis
 
 
 
 
11

 
 
20.  
Notices
 
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below
 
Notice to USBFS shall be sent to:
 
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202

and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
 
Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595

21.  
Multiple Originals
 
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument
 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
 
 
 
  WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS   U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
   
 By:__________________________  By:_____________________________
   
 Name:________________________  Name: Michael R. McVoy
   
 Title:_________________________  Title: Executive Vice President
 


 
12 

 
 
Exhibit A
to the
Fund Administration Servicing Agreement

Fund Names


Separate Series of Westchester Capital Funds

Name of Series
WCM Alternatives: Event-driven Fund

 

 
13 

 
 
Exhibit B to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement – Westchester Capital Funds

REQUIRED PROVISIONS OF MSCI and S&P

·  
The Trust shall represent that it will use the Data solely for internal purposes and will not redistribute the Data in any form or manner to any third party.
 
·  
The Trust shall represent that it will not use or permit anyone else to use the Data in connection with creating, managing, advising, writing, trading, marketing or promoting any securities or financial instruments or products, including, but not limited to, funds, synthetic or derivative securities (e.g., options, warrants, swaps, and futures), whether listed on an exchange or traded over the counter or on a private-placement basis or otherwise or to create any indices (custom or otherwise).
 
·  
The Trust shall represent that it will treat the Data as proprietary to MSCI and S&P.  Further, the Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI and S&P are the sole and exclusive owners of the Data and all trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights in or to the Data.
 
·  
The Trust  shall represent that it will not (i) copy any component of the Data, (ii) alter, modify or adapt any component of the Data, including, but not limited to, translating, decompiling, disassembling, reverse engineering or creating derivative works, or (iii) make any component of the Data available to any other person or organization (including, without limitation, the Trust’s  present and future parents, subsidiaries or affiliates) directly or indirectly, for any of the foregoing or for any other use, including, without limitation, by loan, rental, service bureau, external time sharing or similar arrangement.
 
·  
The Trust shall be obligated to reproduce on all permitted copies of the Data all copyright, proprietary rights and restrictive legends appearing on the Data.
 
·  
The Trust shall acknowledge that it assumes the entire risk of using the Data and shall agree to hold MSCI or S&P harmless from any claims that may arise in connection with any use of the Data by the Trust.
 
·  
The Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI or S&P may, in its sole and absolute discretion and at any time, terminate USBFS’ right to receive and/or use the Data.
 
·  
The Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI and S&P are third party beneficiaries of the Customer Agreement between S&P, MSCI and USBFS, entitled to enforce all provisions of such agreement relating to the Data.
 
THE DATA IS PROVIDED TO THE TRUST ON AN "AS IS" BASIS.  USBFS, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE DATA (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF).  USBFS, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


 
 
14 

 
 
Exhibit B (continued) to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement –
Westchester Capital Funds


THE TRUST ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK OF ANY USE THE TRUST MAY MAKE OF THE DATA.  IN NO EVENT SHALL USBFS, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR ANY THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA, BE LIABLE TO THE TRUST, OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY, FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE INABILITY OF THE TRUST TO USE THE DATA, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, EVEN IF USBFS, ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR OTHERWISE MIGHT HAVE ANTICIPATED THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
 


 
15 

 
 
Exhibit C
to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement – Westchester Capital Funds

FUND ADMINISTRATION & COMPLIANCE SERVICES
ANNUAL FEE SCHEDULE
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Fund
WCM Alternatives:  Event-driven Class I
Effective
 
Domestic Funds
 
Annual Fee Based Upon Market Value Per Fund*
¨    basis points on the first $ million
¨    basis points on the next $ million
¨    basis points on the next $ million
¨    basis points on the next $ billion
¨    basis points on the balance
 
 
 
 
*** Quarterly out-of-pocket fee of $
 
CCO Support Services - $ per year
 
Conversion and extraordinary services quoted separately.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fees are billed monthly.
 
 
Multiple Classes – Add the following for each class beyond the first class:
·    basis point at each (Waived)
 
Annual Legal Administration – Add the following for legal administration services in support of external legal counsel:
·   basis point at each level
·   $ additional minimum
 
 
ReportSource - $ /month – Web reporting
 
Out-of-pocket expenses, including but not limited to:
   ·    Postage, Stationery
   ·    Programming, Special Reports
   ·    Proxies, Insurance
   ·    EDGAR filing
   ·    Retention of records
   ·    Federal and state regulatory filing fees
   ·    Certain insurance premiums
   ·    Expenses from board of directors meetings
   ·    Auditing and legal expenses
   ·    Blue Sky conversion expenses (if necessary)
   ·    All other out-of-pocket expenses
 
 

 
16


 
EXPENSE WAIVER AND
 
REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT
 
AGREEMENT made as of the ___ day of ___________ 2013 between Westchester Capital Funds, a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”), in respect of its series, WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund (the “Fund”) and Westchester Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Adviser”).
 
WHEREAS, the Adviser has entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Fund, dated ____________, 2013, pursuant to which the Adviser provides, or arranges for the provision of, investment advisory and management services to the Fund, and for which it is compensated based on the average daily net assets of the Fund; and
 
WHEREAS, the Fund and the Adviser have determined that it is appropriate and in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to limit the total annual expenses of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares to 1.74% and 1.99%, respectively.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
 
1.     Expense Waiver and Reimbursement by the Adviser .  The Adviser agrees to reduce all or a portion of its management fee and, if necessary, to bear certain other expenses, including organizational expenses, (to the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, but not including commissions; mark-ups; litigation expenses; indemnification expenses; interest expenses; borrowing expenses, including on securities sold short; dividend expenses on securities sold short; trading and investment expenses; taxes; acquired fund fees and expenses; and any extraordinary expenses) associated with operating the Fund to the extent necessary to limit the annualized expenses of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares to 1.74% and 1.99%, respectively, of daily net assets attributable to such class.
 
2.     Duty of Fund to Reimburse .  The Fund agrees to reimburse the Adviser on a monthly basis such reduced or waived management fees, and any expenses borne pursuant to paragraph 1, in later periods; provided, however, that the Fund, in respect of a particular class of shares, is not obligated to reimburse any such reduced or waived management fees, or expenses borne pursuant to paragraph 1, more than three years after the end of the fiscal year in which the fee was reduced or waived or the expense was borne, or in any year where such reimbursement shall cause the total annual expenses of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares or Investor Class shares to exceed 1.74% or 1.99%, respectively, not including commissions; mark-ups; litigation expenses; indemnification expenses; interest expenses; borrowing expenses, including on securities sold short; dividend expenses on securities sold short; trading or investment expenses; taxes; acquired fund fees and expenses; and any extraordinary expenses.  The Fund’s Board of Trustees shall be provided information regarding any reimbursement paid to the Adviser with respect to the Fund.
 
3.     Assignment .  No assignment of this Agreement shall be made by the Adviser without the prior consent of the Fund.
 
 
 
 
-1- 

 
 
4.     Duration and Termination .  This Agreement shall be effective from the Fund's inception until the one year anniversary of the date on which the Fund’s registration statement is declared effective by the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and shall continue in effect from year to year thereafter upon mutual agreement of the Fund and the Adviser.  This Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and the Fund. The Board of Trustees may terminate this Agreement at any time by written notice to the Adviser. The provisions of paragraph 2 shall survive termination of this Agreement.
 
 
 
 
-2-

 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first-above written.
 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
 
By:
   
By:
 
Name:
Roy Behren
 
Name:
Roy Behren
Title:
Co-President
 
Title:
Manager

 
 


 
November 15, 2013


Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are furnishing this opinion in connection with Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 (the “Amendment”) to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A (the “Registration Statement”) of Westchester Capital Funds (the “Trust”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (File No. 333-187583), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (File No. 811-22818), for the registration of an indefinite number of shares of beneficial interest in two separate classes (the “Institutional Class Shares” and “Investor Class Shares” (together, the “Shares”)) of the Trust’s WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund (the “Fund”).  The Shares are proposed to be sold pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, dated July 30, 2013, between the Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC, a form of which is filed as an exhibit to this Amendment to the Registration Statement.

We have acted as counsel to the Trust since its organization and in connection with the Amendment. We are familiar with the actions taken by the Trustees of the Trust to authorize the issuance of the Shares. We have examined the Trust’s Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated July 30, 2013, on file in the office of the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the “Declaration of Trust”), the Trust’s Bylaws, dated March 20, 2013, and the Trust’s records of Trustee action. We have also examined executed copies of the Amendment, in the form filed or to be filed with the Commission, and such other documents and records as we have deemed necessary for the purposes of this opinion.

We assume that, upon the sale of the Shares of the Fund, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, will receive the net asset value thereof.
 

 
 
 

 
 
   - 2 -  November 15, 2013
 
 
Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:

 
1.
The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of Shares of the Fund and that, when such Shares have been issued and sold pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, they will be validly issued, fully paid, and nonassessable by the Trust.
 
The Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.”  Under Massachusetts law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust.  However, the Declaration of Trust disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and requires that a notice of such disclaimer be given in each note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking made or issued by the Trust or its Trustees or officers.  The Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification out of the property of a series of shares of beneficial interest for all loss and expense of any shareholder of such series held personally liable solely by reason of his being or having been a shareholder.  Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability should be limited to circumstances in which the series of shares itself would be unable to meet its obligations.

We consent to the filing of this opinion with and as an exhibit to the Amendment.


Very truly yours,

/s/ Ropes & Gray LLP

Ropes & Gray LLP

 


 
Form of Subscription Agreement
 
November ___, 2013
 
Westchester Capital Funds
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, New York 10595
 
Re: Westchester Capital Funds
 
In connection with your sale to us today of 10,000 Shares of beneficial interest (the “Shares”) in WCM Alternatives: Event-Driven Fund (the “Fund”) at the price of $10 per share, we understand that: (i) the Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”); (ii) your sale of the Shares to us is in reliance on the sales being exempt under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act as not involving any public offering; and (iii) in part, your reliance on such exemption is predicated on our representations, which we hereby confirm, that we are acquiring the Shares for investment and for our own accounts as the sole beneficial owner thereof, and not with a view to or in connection with any resale or distribution of any or all of the Shares or of any interest therein.  We hereby agree that we will not sell, assign or transfer the Shares or any interest therein except upon repurchase or redemption by the Fund unless and until the Shares have been registered under the Securities Act, or you have received an opinion of your counsel indicating to your satisfaction that such sale, assignment or transfer will not violate the provisions of the Securities Act, or any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
 
This letter is intended to take effect as an instrument under seal and shall be construed under the laws of Massachusetts.
 

 
 
 

 
 
Very truly yours,
 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
 
 
 


 
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
DISTRIBUTION PLAN
 
This Plan (the “Plan”) constitutes the Distribution Plan for the Investor Class shares of each series (each a “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”) of Westchester Capital Funds (the “Trust”) adopted pursuant to the provisions of Rule 12b-1 (the “Rule”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”).  During the effective term of this Plan, the Trust may incur expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of its shares upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth:
 
1. Each Fund may make payments to the distributor of its shares (the “Distributor”), any broker or dealer who is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (a “Dealer”) or any other qualified financial institutions (a “Service Provider”) in the form of fees or reimbursements, to compensate the Distributor, Dealer or Service Provider for services provided and expenses incurred by it for purposes of promoting the sale of Investor Class shares of the Fund, reducing redemptions of Investor Class shares of the Fund, or maintaining or improving services provided to holders of Investor Class shares of the Fund by the Distributor and financial institutions, including, without limitation, investment dealers.  The amount of such payments and the purposes for which they are made shall be determined by the Qualified Trustees (as defined below).  Payments under this Plan in any fiscal year shall not exceed 0.25% of the average net asset value of the Fund attributable to its Investor Class shares, as determined at the close of each business day during the fiscal year.   A majority of the Qualified Trustees may, at any time and from time to time, reduce the amount of such payments, or may suspend the operation of the Plan, with respect to one or more classes of shares of one or more of the Funds for such period or periods of time as they may determine.
 
2. Unless otherwise permitted by applicable law, the Plan shall not take effect with respect to a class of shares of a Fund until (a) it has been approved by a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class of shares of the Fund in question if required under the Rule; (b) it has been approved, together with any related agreements, by votes of the majority (or whatever greater percentage may, from time to time, be required by Section 12(b) of the Act or the rules and regulations thereunder) of both (i) the Trustees of the applicable Trust, and (ii) those Trustees of the applicable Trust who are not “interested persons” of the applicable Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreements related to it (the “Qualified Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting (or meetings) called for the purpose of voting on the Plan and/or such related agreements; and (c) the Fund has received the proceeds of the initial public offering of the class of shares in question.
 
3. This Plan shall continue in effect with respect to a Fund and any class of shares of such Fund for a period of more than one year after it takes effect so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually in the manner provided for approval of this Plan in paragraph 2(b) herein.
 
4. Any person authorized to direct the disposition of monies paid or payable by a class of shares pursuant to the Plan or any related agreement shall provide to the Trust’s Board of Trustees, and the Board shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts so expended and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
 
5. This Plan may be terminated with respect to a class of shares of a Fund at any time by vote of a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of such class of shares.
 
6. Any agreement related to the Plan shall be in writing and shall provide: (a) that such agreement may be terminated at any time as to a Fund or any class of shares of a Fund, without payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding securities of the outstanding shares of the Fund or such class of shares, respectively, on not more than sixty (60) days’ written notice to any other party to the agreement; and (b) that such agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
 
 
 
 
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7. This Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of distribution expenses with respect to a class of shares of a Fund without the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such class of shares, and all material amendments to this Plan with respect to a class of shares of a Fund shall be approved in the manner provided for approval of this Plan in paragraph 2(b) hereof.
 
8. To the extent any payments made by the Funds, directly or through the Distributor, for shareholder support and/or administrative services or otherwise, are deemed to be payments for the financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, such payments shall be deemed to have been approved pursuant to this Plan. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Funds shall not be obligated to make any payments under this Plan that exceed the maximum amounts payable under FINRA Rule 2830 (or any successor rules adopted or amended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).
 
9. The Trust shall preserve copies of the Plan, any related agreement and any report made pursuant to Paragraph 4 hereof, for a period of not less than six years from the date of the Plan, such agreement or report, as the case may be, the first two years of which to be in an easily accessible place.
 
10. The provisions of the Plan are severable for each class of shares of each Fund, and whenever any action is to be taken with respect to the Plan, such action shall be taken separately for each class of shares of each Fund affected.
 
11. As used in the Plan, the terms “assignment,” “interested person” and “a majority of the  outstanding voting securities” shall have the respective meanings specified in the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, subject to such exemption or interpretation as may be provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the staff thereof.

Adopted by Westchester Capital Funds on July 30, 2013
 
 
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Plan Pursuant to Rule 18f-3(d)
Under the Investment Company Act of 1940

Each of the separate series of Westchester Capital Funds (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) may from time to time issue one or more of the following classes of shares:  Investor Class shares and Institutional Class shares.  Set forth below are the differences in fees and expenses among these classes of shares and the conversion and exchange features of each class of shares.

Amounts payable to the Funds’ distributor under the Investor Class Plan (as defined below) are subject to such other terms and further limitations as the Board of Trustees of the Funds (the “Trustees”) may from time to time determine, as described in the Funds’ prospectuses and statements of additional information as from time to time in effect.

Each class is subject to such investment minimums and other conditions of eligibility as are set forth in the Funds’ prospectuses and statements of additional information as from time to time in effect.  The conversion and exchange rights described below are subject to the applicable minimum investment amounts and such other terms as may be set forth in the Funds’ prospectuses and statements of additional information as in effect from time to time.

The sales charges, if any, described below are subject to the terms described in the Funds’ prospectuses and statements of additional information as from time to time in effect and are also subject to reduction or waiver as permitted by Rule 22d-1 or 6c-10 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

INVESTOR CLASS SHARES
 
Distribution and Service Fees :  Investor Class shares pay distribution and service fees pursuant to plans (the “Investor Class Plans”) adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.  Pursuant to the Investor Class Plans, Investor Class shares may pay distribution and services fees at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average net asset value of the relevant Fund attributable to its Investor Class shares.  In addition, Investor Class shares may reimburse the Funds’ distributor or other persons for shareholder servicing, sub-transfer agency or other similar services, subject to such restrictions as the Trustees may establish from time to time.

Conversion Features : Investor Class shares may convert to any other class of shares subject to such investment minimums and other conditions of eligibility as are set forth in the Funds’ prospectuses and statements of additional information as from time to time in effect.  Any such conversion will occur at the respective net asset values of the two share classes, without the imposition of any sales load, fee, or other charge and will take the form of a direct exchange of Investor Class shares for Institutional Class shares (rather than a redemption and repurchase).  

Exchange Features : Investor Class shares of any Fund may be exchanged, at the holder’s option, for Investor Class shares of any other Fund that offers Investor Class shares, provided such shares are available for purchase by the holder at such time.

Initial Sales Charge : Investor Class shares are offered at their net asset value (“NAV”), without an initial sales charge.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge :   Investor Class shares are not subject to any contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”).
 
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES

Distribution and Service Fees : Institutional Class shares do not pay a distribution or service fee pursuant to plans adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.  Institutional Class shares may reimburse the Funds’ distributor or other persons for shareholder servicing, sub-transfer agency or other similar services, subject to such restrictions as the Trustees may establish from time to time.

Conversion Features : Institutional Class shares do not convert to any other class of shares.

Exchange Features : Institutional Class shares of any Fund may be exchanged, at the holder’s option, for Institutional Class shares of any other Fund that offers Institutional Class shares, provided such shares are available for purchase by the holder at such time.
 

 
 
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Initial Sales Charge : Class I shares are offered at their NAV, without an initial sales charge.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge : Class I shares are not subject to any CDSC.
 
ALLOCATIONS OF INCOME AND EXPENSES

(a)  Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares pay the expenses associated with their different distribution and shareholder servicing arrangements (“Class Expenses”).  Each class of shares may, at the Trustees’ discretion, also pay a different share of other expenses.

(b)  The gross income of each Fund generally shall be allocated to each class on the basis of net assets. To the extent practicable, certain expenses (other than Class Expenses as defined above, which shall be allocated more specifically) shall be subtracted from the gross income on the basis of the net assets of each class of each Fund. These expenses include:

(1)           Expenses incurred by the Trust (including, but not limited to, fees of Trustees, insurance, and legal counsel) not attributable to a particular Fund or to a particular class of shares of a Fund (“Trust Level Expenses”); and

(2)           Expenses incurred by a Fund not attributable to any particular class of the Fund’s shares (for example, advisory fees, custodial fees, or other expenses relating to the management of the Fund’s assets) (“Fund Expenses”).
 

 
 
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Expenses of a Fund shall be apportioned to each class of shares depending upon the nature of the expense item.  Trust Level Expenses and Fund Expenses shall be allocated among the classes of shares based on their relative net asset values in relation to the net asset value of the Trust.  Class Expenses shall be allocated to the particular class to which they are attributable.  In addition, certain expenses may be allocated differently if their method of imposition changes.  Thus, if a Class Expense can no longer be attributed to a class, it may be charged to a Fund for allocation among classes, as determined by the Board of Trustees.  Any additional Class Expenses not specifically identified above which are subsequently identified and determined to be properly allocated to one class of shares shall not be so allocated until approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust in light of the requirements of the 1940 Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

The Trust reserves the right to utilize any other appropriate method to allocate income and expenses among the classes, including those specified in Rule 18f-3(c)(1), provided that a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the disinterested Trustees determine that the method is fair to the shareholders of each class.
 
AVAILABILITY OF CONVERSION FEATURES

The Trustees may, but will not be obligated to, suspend the conversion feature at any time with respect to any shares or class of share.
 
REDEMPTION FEES

Each Fund may impose a redemption fee (“Redemption Fee”) on redemptions and/or exchanges of the Fund’s shares.  The Redemption Fee may be charged in an amount of up to 2% of the net asset value of the shares redeemed or exchanged, or such greater amount as may be permitted by applicable law.  The Redemption Fee may be imposed on only certain types of redemptions and exchanges, such as redemptions and exchanges occurring within a certain time period of the acquisition of the relevant shares.  The Trustees are not required to impose the Redemption Fee on any or all Funds, nor must they impose the Redemption Fee on all share classes of any particular Fund.  Similarly, the Redemption Fee rate may differ from Fund to Fund and, within a Fund, from share class to share class.

Amounts paid pursuant to the Redemption Fee will be paid to the relevant Fund and, unless otherwise approved by the Trustees, will be allocated among the Fund’s share classes in the same manner as the Fund allocates income.
 
 
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WESTCHESTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC
THE MERGER FUND
THE MERGER FUND VL
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
 

COMBINED CODE OF ETHICS

AS AMENDED – AUGUST 8, 2013

 
1.   Statement of General Principles
 
This Code of Ethics (the “ Code ”) expresses the policy and procedures of Westchester Capital Management, LLC and Westchester Capital Partners, LLC (each, an “ Adviser ” and collectively, the “ Advisers ”), each series of The Merger Fund, The Merger Fund VL and Westchester Capital Funds (each, a “ Fund ,” and together, the “ Funds ”), and is designed to ensure that personnel of the Advisers and the Funds do not take advantage of their positions and the Advisers and the Funds comply with their respective obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “ Advisers Act ”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ 1940 Act ”).  Investment company personnel at all levels must act as fiduciaries, and as such must place the interests of the shareholders of the Funds before their own.  Thus, we ask that when contemplating any personal transactions you ask yourself what you would expect or demand if you were a shareholder of the Funds or client of an Adviser.
 
Under Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, it is generally improper for the Advisers, or persons covered by the Code to use for their own benefit (or the benefit of anyone other than a client) information about an Adviser’s trading or investment recommendations for a client or a Fund or take advantage of investment opportunities that would otherwise be available for a client or a Fund.  Additionally, Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act makes it unlawful for certain persons, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, to, among other things, engage in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a registered investment company.  In compliance with Rule 204A-1 and Rule 17j-1, this Code contains provisions that the Advisers and the Funds believe are reasonably designed to prevent violations of these rules.  Furthermore, persons covered by the Code must also comply with applicable federal securities laws.  We ask that all personnel follow not only the letter of this Code but also abide by the spirit of this Code and the principles articulated herein.
 
2.   Definitions
 
Access Person ” shall mean:
 
With respect to an Adviser (i) every managing director, principal, partner or officer (or any person performing similar functions), or employee of the Adviser and (ii) every natural person (whether or not an employee of the Adviser) who is subject to the Adviser’s supervision and control who (A) has access to nonpublic information regarding a client’s or a Fund’s purchase or sale of securities or holdings, (B) who is involved in making securities recommendations to a client or a Fund, or (C) who has access to securities recommendations to a client or a Fund   that are nonpublic.
 
 
 
 
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With respect to the Funds, any Advisory Person of the Funds or an Adviser (which presumptively includes all of an Adviser’s or a Fund’s directors, officers and general partners).
 
Adviser ” shall mean Westchester Capital Management, LLC and Westchester Capital Partners, LLC, or such other entity as may act as adviser or sub-adviser to the Funds.
 
Advisory Person ” of the Funds or an Adviser shall mean (i) any trustee, director, officer, general partner, Portfolio Manager, Investment Personnel or employee of the Funds or the Adviser (or of any company in a control relationship to the Funds or the Adviser) who, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding, the purchase or sale of Covered Securities by the Funds, or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales and (ii) any natural person in a control relationship to the Funds or the Adviser who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Funds with regard to the purchase or sale of Covered Securities by the Funds.
 
The term “ Beneficial Ownership ” shall be interpreted in the same manner as it would be under Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  You are considered to have Beneficial Ownership of securities if you have or share a direct or indirect Pecuniary Interest in the securities.

You have a Pecuniary Interest in securities if you have the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in the securities.

The following are examples of an indirect Pecuniary Interest in securities:

 
1.
securities held by members of your immediate family sharing the same household; however, this presumption may be rebutted by convincing evidence that profits derived from transactions in these securities will not provide you with any economic benefit.  Immediate family means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, and includes any adoptive relationship.

 
2.
Your interest as a general partner in securities held by a general or limited partnership.

 
3.
Your interest as a manager-member in the securities held by a limited liability company.

The following circumstances constitute Beneficial Ownership by you of securities held by a trust:
 
 
 
 
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1.
Your ownership of securities as a trustee where either you or members of your immediate family have a vested interest in the principal or income of the trust.

 
2.
Your ownership of a vested beneficial interest in a trust.

 
3.
Your status as a settlor of a trust, unless the consent of all of the beneficiaries is required in order for you to revoke the trust.

This is not a complete list of the forms of ownership that could constitute Beneficial Ownership for purposes of the Code.  Please contact the Chief Compliance Officer if you are unsure if you have Beneficial Ownership of any securities.
 
 “ Chief Compliance Officer ” shall mean one or more persons designated by each Adviser and the Funds to perform the functions described herein.
 
Control ” shall have the same meaning as that set forth in Section 2(a)(9) of the 1940 Act.
 
Covered Security ” shall mean a security as defined in Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act, except that it does not include: (i) direct obligations of the Government of the United States; (ii) bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; (iii) shares of money market investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, and (iv) shares issued by registered open-end investment companies other than a “ Reportable Fund ” (as defined below).
 
Disinterested Trustee ” of the Funds shall mean a trustee thereof who is not an “interested person” of the Funds within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.
 
Investment Personnel ” of the Funds shall mean (i) any employee of the Funds or an Adviser (or of any company in a control relationship to the Funds or an Adviser) who, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes or participates in making recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of securities by the Funds and (ii) any natural person who controls the Funds and who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Funds regarding the purchase or sale of securities by the Funds.  Investment Personnel includes Fund Portfolio Managers and those persons who provide information and advice to the Portfolio Managers or who help execute the Portfolio Managers’ decisions (e.g., securities analysts and traders).
 
Portfolio Managers ” of the Funds shall mean those persons who have direct responsibility and authority to make investment decisions for the Funds.
 
A “ Reportable Fund ” shall include any fund for which an Adviser serves as an investment adviser as defined in Section 2(a)(20) of the 1940 Act or any fund whose investment adviser or principal underwriter controls an Adviser, is controlled by an Adviser, or is under common control with such Adviser.
 
 
 
 
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Security ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act.  The “purchase or sale of a security” includes, among other things, the writing of an option to purchase or sell a security.
 
3.   Prohibited Transactions
 
The prohibitions described below will only apply to a transaction in a security in which the designated person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership.
 
A.   Blackout Trading Periods – Access Persons
 
No Access Person shall execute a transaction in a Covered Security on a day or during a period in which any client or the Funds have a pending buy or sell order in that same Covered Security, or are carrying out a strategy to accumulate or dispose of that same Covered Security over time, until that order is executed or withdrawn or that strategy is completed.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, this prohibition shall not apply to any Disinterested Trustees of the Funds, unless such Disinterested Trustee, at the time of a transaction, knew or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a trustee of the Funds, should have known that the Funds had a pending buy or sell order in that same security, which order had not yet been executed or withdrawn.  The Chief Compliance Officer may, in his or her discretion, require any profits realized on trades within the proscribed periods to be disgorged to the Funds or other affected clients.  A transaction by Access Persons (other than Investment Personnel) inadvertently effected during the period proscribed in this Section 3A will not be considered a violation of the Code and disgorgement will not be required so long as the transaction was effected in accordance with the preclearance procedures described in Section 5 and without prior actual knowledge of any client or Fund trading or trading intent.
 
B.   Ban on Short-Term Trading Profits and Market Timing – Investment Personnel
 
Investment Personnel may not profit from the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, within 30 calendar days, of Fund shares or the same (or equivalent) Covered Securities in which the Funds trade.  The Chief Compliance Officer may, in his or her own discretion, require any profits realized on such short-term trades to be disgorged to the Funds.
 
Investment Personnel are prohibited from engaging in “market timing” activities, except as may be permitted by applicable law.  Market timing refers to the frequent trading of Fund shares in response to short-term market fluctuations in order to take advantage of the discrepancy between a Fund’s official price, set once a day, and the value of its underlying securities.
 
C.   Ban on Securities Purchases of an Initial Public Offering – Access Persons of the Adviser/Investment Personnel of the Funds
 
Neither Access Persons of the Advisor nor Investment Personnel of the Funds may acquire any securities in an initial public offering without the prior written consent of the Chief Compliance Officer.  The Chief Compliance Officer is required to retain a record of the approval of, and the rationale supporting, any direct or indirect acquisition by Investment Personnel of a beneficial interest in securities in an IPO.
 
 
 
 
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D.   Securities Offered in a Private Offering – Access Persons of the Adviser/Investment Personnel of the Funds
 
Neither Access Person of the Adviser nor Investment Personnel of the Funds may acquire any securities in a private offering without the prior written consent of the Chief Compliance Officer.  The Chief Compliance Officer is required to retain a record of the approval of, and the rationale supporting, any direct or indirect acquisition by Investment Personnel of a beneficial interest in securities in a private offering.
 
4.   Exempted Transactions
 
The prohibitions of Sections 3A and 3B of this Code shall not apply to:
 
(i)  
Purchases or sales effected in any account over which an Access Person of an Adviser or the Funds has no direct or indirect influence or control, or in any account of the Access Person which is managed on a discretionary basis by a person other than such Access Person and with respect to which such Access Person does not in fact influence or control such transactions.
 
(ii)  
Purchases or sales of securities which are not eligible for purchase or sale by the Funds.
 
(iii)  
Purchases or sales which are nonvolitional on the part of either the Access Person or the Funds.
 
(iv)  
Transactions which are part of an automatic investment plan.
 
(v)  
Purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired.
 
(vi)  
All other transactions contemplated by Access Persons which receive the prior approval of the Chief Compliance Officer in accordance with the preclearance procedures described in Section 5 below.
 
5.   Preclearance
 
Access Persons (other than Disinterested Trustees) must preclear all personal transactions in Covered Securities.  All requests for preclearance must be submitted to the Chief Compliance Officer (or to the President of an Adviser or his designee in the case of the Chief Compliance Officer’s request).  Such requests shall be made by submitting a written request for preclearance.  An e-mail request shall be sufficient for these purposes if the e-mail is retained in accordance with applicable recordkeeping requirements.  A Personal Investment Request Form that may also be used for that purpose is attached hereto as Appendix A .  All approved orders must be executed by the close of business on the day preclearance is granted.  If any order is not executed that same day, a new request for preclearance must be submitted if the Access Person wishes to complete the transaction on the following business day.
 
 
 
 
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Disinterested Trustees need not preclear their personal investments in securities.  A Disinterested Trustee may preclear his or her personal transaction in Covered Securities if he or she knows, or in the course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a Disinterested Trustee should know, that, within the most recent 15 days, the Funds have purchased or sold, or considered for purchase or sale, such security or is proposing to purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any security in which the Disinterested Trustee has, or by reason of such transaction would acquire, any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership.
 
Access Persons need not preclear transactions in securities that are not Covered Securities (e.g., mutual funds other than those advised by an Adviser) or any of the following types of transactions:
 
(i)  
Purchases or sales effected in any account over which an Access Person of an Adviser or the Funds has no direct or indirect influence or control, or in any account of the Access Person which is managed on a discretionary basis by a person other than such Access Person and with respect to which such Access Person does not in fact influence or control such transactions;
 
(ii)  
Purchases or sales which are nonvolitional;
 
(iii)  
Transactions which are part of an automatic investment plan; and
 
(iv)  
Purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired.
 
6.   Reporting
 
A.   Initial Holding Reports.   Each Access Person of an Adviser or the Funds (other than Disinterested Directors) will be required to provide an initial holdings report listing all Covered Securities in which he or she has Beneficial Ownership no later than 10 days after becoming an Access Person of an Adviser or the Funds (which information must be current as of a date no more than 45 days before he or she became an Access Person).  A form that may be used to make an Initial Holdings Report is attached as Appendix B .  The initial holdings report must include the date such report is submitted and a listing of all Covered Securities (including title and type of security and, as applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, interest rate and maturity date, the number of shares and principal amount) in which you have Beneficial Ownership.  The Access Person must also list all brokers, dealers and banks with which such Access Person maintained an account in which any securities (not just Covered Securities) were held for his/her direct or indirect benefit on the date such person became an Access Person of an Adviser or the Funds.
 
B.   Annual Holdings Reports.   On an annual basis, Access Persons of the Advisers and the Funds (other than Disinterested Trustees) must report all of the holdings and transactions in Covered Securities (including title and type of security and, as applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, interest rate and maturity date, the number of shares and principal amount) in which such Access Person had any Beneficial Ownership during the period and include a description of all brokers, dealers and banks with which such Access Person maintained an account during the period in which any securities (not just Covered Securities) were held for the Access Person’s direct or indirect benefit.
 
 
 
 
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To address this requirement, the Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee may provide each Access Person with a copy of all duplicative confirmations and statements received during the annual period for all accounts that hold, or held during the period, Covered Securities in which the Access Person had any Beneficial Ownership and a list of previously disclosed accounts that hold securities for his/her direct or indirect benefit and ask the Access Person to certify that such information includes all information that the Access Person would be required to provide in his or her Annual Holdings Report.  Each Access Person may make any necessary additions or deletions to the information provided before certifying it.  The Chief Compliance Officer (or his or her designee) shall review those certifications, including any additions or deletions, to determine whether there have been any violations of this Code of Ethics.   A copy of such a certification that may be used for this purpose is attached as Appendix C .
 
C.             Quarterly Transaction Reports.   On a quarterly basis, no later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, Access Persons of an Adviser and the Funds (other than Disinterested Trustees, except as described below) will disclose all personal securities transactions in Covered Securities (including title and type of security and, as applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, interest rate and maturity date, the number of shares and principal amount) in which such Access Person had any Beneficial Ownership.  Additionally, each Access Person must report to the Chief Compliance Officer any accounts established by such Access Person in which any securities (not just Covered Securities) were held for such Access Person’s direct or indirect benefit no later than 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the account was established.  Such report of any newly-established account must include the name of the broker, dealer or bank with whom the Access Person established the account, the date the account was established, and the date the report is submitted.    A form of report that may be used for a quarterly transaction report is attached as Appendix D.
 
Access Persons (other than Disinterested Trustees, except as provided below) of the Adviser and the Funds are required to cause their broker(s) to transmit to the Chief Compliance Officer of the Adviser no later than 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter copies of account statements and/or confirmations for any securities accounts, including newly established accounts, that contain, or contained during the calendar quarter, one or more Covered Securities in which such Access Person had any Beneficial Ownership.  To the extent the broker statements provided contain all the information required by Appendix D about an Access Person’s transactions in Covered Securities, an Access Person need not separately complete a Quarterly Transaction Report.
 
A Disinterested Trustee shall be exempt from the Quarterly Transaction Report requirement unless such Disinterested Trustee knew, or in the course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a trustee should have known, during the 15-day period immediately preceding or after the date of the transaction in a Covered Security by the Disinterested Trustee, a Fund purchased or sold the Covered Security, or the Fund or the Fund’s Adviser considered purchasing or selling the Covered Security.  Transactions effected for any account over which a Disinterested Trustee does not have any direct or indirect influence or control, or which is managed on a discretionary basis by a person other than the Disinterested Trustee and with respect to which such Disinterested Trustee does not in fact influence or control such transactions, need not be reported.  Further, transactions in securities which are not eligible for purchase or sale by the Funds of which such person is a Disinterested Trustee need not be reported.
 
 
 
 
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C.   The Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee will review all transaction and holdings reports required to be submitted by Access Persons hereunder.
 
D.   All personal investment matters discussed with the Chief Compliance Officer and all confirmations, account statements and personal investment reports shall be kept in confidence, but will be available for inspection by the Boards of Trustees of the Funds (the “Boards”) and the President of the Adviser for which such person is an Access Person, and by the appropriate regulatory agencies.
 
E.   The Adviser of the Funds is required, at least once a year, to provide the Funds’ Boards with a written report that (1) describes issues that arose during the previous year under the Code or procedures applicable to the Funds, including, but not limited to, information about material Code or procedures violations and sanctions imposed in response to those material violations and (2) certifies to the Funds’ Boards that the Funds have adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent their Access Persons from violating their Code of Ethics.
 
7.   Certifications
 
Access Persons will be sent a copy of this Code for their review annually and upon any amendments thereto.  Access Persons will be asked to certify, annually or upon any amendment thereto, that they have read and understand this Code and recognize that they are subject to the provisions and obligations set forth in such Code.  Access Persons will be further asked to certify annually that they have complied with the requirements of this Code and that they have disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to this Code.  A sample of the certification is attached as Appendix C .
 
8.   Confidential Status of the Funds’ Portfolio
 
The current portfolio positions of the Funds managed, advised and/or administered by the Funds’ Adviser and current portfolio transactions, programs and analyses must be kept confidential.
 
If nonpublic information regarding the Funds’ portfolio should become known to any Access Person, whether in the course of his or her duties or otherwise, he or she should not reveal it to anyone unless it is properly part of his or her work to do so.
 
If anyone is asked about the Funds’ portfolio or whether a security has been sold or bought, his or her reply should be that this is an improper question and that this answer does not mean that the Funds have bought, sold or retained the particular security.  Reference, however, may, of course, be made to the latest published report of the Funds’ portfolio.
 

 
 
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9.   Nonpublic Material Information
 
From time to time, the Adviser will circulate and discuss with Access Persons the latest administrative and judicial decisions regarding the absolute prohibition against the use of nonpublic material information, also known as “inside information.”  In view of the many forms in which the subject can arise, the Fund urges that a careful and conservative approach must prevail and no action should be taken where “inside information” may be involved without a thorough review by the Compliance Officer.
 
Material inside information is typically information (i) about a company or the market for the company’s securities which has come directly or indirectly from the company or from a source subject to a duty not to disclose it, (ii) that has not been disclosed generally to the marketplace and (iii) the dissemination of which is likely to affect the market price of any of the company’s securities or is likely to be considered important by reasonable investors, including reasonable speculative investors, in determining whether to trade in such securities.
 
Information that relates to such matters as dividend increases or decreases, earnings estimates, changes in previously released earnings estimates, significant expansion or curtailment of operations, a significant increase or decline of orders, significant merger or acquisition proposals or agreements, significant new products or discoveries, extraordinary borrowing, major litigation, liquidity problems, extraordinary management developments, purchase or sale of substantial assets will often be material.
 
Whenever an Access Person receives material information about a company which he or she knows or has reason to believe is directly or indirectly attributable to such company (or its insiders or other individuals subject to a duty not to disclose it), the Access Person should consult with the Chief Compliance Offer before trading or recommending trading on the basis of such information or before divulging such information to any other person.  If the Access Person has any question whatsoever as to whether the information is material or whether it is inside and not public, he or she must resolve the question before trading, recommending trading or divulging the information.  If any doubt at all remains, the Access Person must consult with the Compliance Officer.
 
10.   Gifts - Investment Personnel
 
Investment Personnel shall not accept any gift or other item having a value in excess of $300 per year from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of the Funds.  However, Investment Personnel may also occasionally accept or provide reasonable business meals and entertainment, consistent with customary business practice, which are neither so frequent nor so extensive as to raise any question of propriety and are not preconditioned on a “quid pro quo” business relationship.
 
11.   Services as a Director in a Publicly Traded Company - Investment Personnel
 
Investment Personnel shall not serve on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies, absent prior authorization by the Funds’ Boards of Trustees, based upon a determination that the board service would be consistent with the interests of the Funds and their shareholders.  When such authorization is provided, the Investment Personnel serving as a director will be isolated from making investment decisions with respect to the pertinent company through “Chinese Wall” or other procedures.
 
 
 
 
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12.   Compliance Review
 
The Chief Compliance Officer or his designee shall compare the reported personal securities transactions with completed and contemplated portfolio transactions of the Funds to determine whether a violation of this Code may have occurred.  Before making any determination that a violation has been committed by any person, the Chief Compliance Officer shall give such person an opportunity to supply additional information regarding the transaction in question.
 
13.   Report of Violations
 
Access Persons must promptly report any violations of this Code to the Chief Compliance Officer.  The Boards of Trustees of the Funds will be informed of Code violations affecting a Fund on a quarterly basis.
 
14.   Sanctions
 
Sanctions for violating the Code may include, among other things, a letter of censure or suspension or termination of employment of the Access Person and/or a request for disgorgement of any profits received from a securities transaction done in violation of this Code.
 
15.   Funds Boards of Trustees Review
 
Annually, the Funds’ Boards of Trustees shall receive the following:
 
A.   A copy of the existing Code of Ethics.
 
B.   A report by the Chief Compliance Officer identifying any violations requiring significant remedial action during the past year and as more fully set forth under Section 6F above.
 
C.   A list of recommendations, if any, to change the existing Code of Ethics based upon experience, evolving industry practices or developments in applicable laws or regulations.
 
The Funds’ Boards of Trustees, including a majority of the independent Trustees, shall approve this Code of Ethics, as well as any material changes thereto within six months of any such change.  The Boards shall base their approval of the Code, or of such material change to the Code, upon a determination that the Code contains provisions reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating the anti-fraud provisions of the 1940 Act.
 

 
As Amended:                                  August 8, 2013
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX A
 
THE MERGER FUND
THE MERGER FUND VL
WESTCHESTER CAPITAL FUNDS
100 SUMMIT LAKE DRIVE, VALHALLA, NY 10595
(914) 741-5600 FAX (914) 741-5737
 
 TO:   Bruce Rubin
 FROM:    
 DATE:     
 RE:  CLEARANCE FOR TRADING
 
This is to request permission to effect the following trade(s):
 
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
Approved     
 Denied      
 Date:     
     
    Bruce Rubin, Chief Compliance Officer
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX B
 
Initial Holdings Report
 
Report of Securities Accounts
 
NOTE:  THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED BY ALL EMPLOYEES OR PERSONS OTHERWISE COVERED BY THE CODE OF ETHICS (THE “ CODE ”), AND MUST BE FILED WITH THE CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER NO LATER THAN 10 DAYS AFTER YOU BECOME A PERSON COVERED BY THE CODE.  INFORMATION PROVIDED MUST BE CURRENT AS OF A DATE NO MORE THAN 45 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE ON WHICH YOU BECAME A PERSON COVERED BY THE CODE (THE “ REPORTING DATE ”).  TERMS IN BOLDFACE TYPE HAVE THE MEANINGS SET FORTH IN THE CODE.
 
 Name:    
 Date I Became a Person Covered by the Code:         
 Date received by Chief Compliance Officer:             
 

Securities Holdings Report (check ONE of the following TWO boxes) :

¨
I do not have Beneficial Ownership of any Covered Securities .

¨
Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a complete list of all Covered Securities, including interests in hedge funds, private equity funds, and other privately placed securities,   in which I had any Beneficial Ownership on the Reporting Date.

Accounts with Brokers, Dealers and/or Banks (check ONE of the following TWO boxes) :

¨
I do not, as of the Reporting Date, have any account with any broker, dealer or bank in which any securities (including securities that are not Covered Securities ) were held for my direct or indirect benefit.

¨
All accounts that I maintain, as of the Reporting Date, with any broker, dealer or bank in which any securities (including securities that are not Covered Securities ) were held for my direct or indirect benefit are set forth below.  (Please use additional sheets as needed.)
 

 
 
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Name of Broker/Dealer/Bank
Name of Account Holder
Account Number
This Account Holds Covered
Securities (please mark “yes” or
“no” as appropriate)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       


All information provided in this Initial Holdings Report is true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I have read and understand my responsibilities under the Code, and will keep a copy for future reference.

 
 Signed:      
   
 Date:      
 
 
                      
 
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Exhibit A to Initial Holdings Report –– Initial Report of all Covered Securities


Name:   ___________________________________
 

Title and Type of
Security (or, if
Applicable, Name of
Investment Vehicle and
Class)
 
Ticker Symbol/CUSIP Number
(if Applicable)
Number of Shares
(if Applicable)
Principal Amount (or, if
Applicable, Amount Invested
in Class of Investment
Vehicle)
Interest Rate/Maturity Date
(if Applicable)
         
         
         
         
         


 
 
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APPENDIX C
 

Date_________________________

 
To Whom It May Concern:
 
I hereby certify that I have read and understand the Code of Ethics of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, Westchester Capital Partners, LLC, and each series of The Merger Fund, The Merger Fund VL and Westchester Capital Funds dated _________ and recognize that I am subject to the requirements contained therein.  I hereby certify that I have complied with the requirements of the Code of Ethics of Westchester Capital Management, LLC, Westchester Capital Partners, LLC, and each series of The Merger Fund, The Merger Fund VL and Westchester Capital Funds.
 
Furthermore, I hereby verify that the quarterly transaction reports, broker confirmations and duplicate account statements, as supplemented and attached to this verification, represent all of my reportable personal securities transactions and accounts for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 20__.
 
____________________________________
Signature
 
____________________________________
Print  Name
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX D
 
Quarterly Transaction Report
Report of Covered Securities Purchased/Sold
 
 
Name:
 
Quarter Ended:
 
 
Security (including
the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number)
 
Type of Transaction
 
Date of Transaction
 
Interest Rate and Maturity Date
(if applicable)
Price Per Share/Unit
Number of Shares/Principal Amount
Aggregate Price
Name of Broker, Dealer or Bank
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
 

Accounts established:
 
 
 
Name of Broker/Dealer/Bank
Name of Account Holder
Account Number
This Account Holds Covered
Securities (please mark “yes” or
“no” as appropriate)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 
This report shall not be deemed an admission that the person filing such report has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership of the securities listed hereon.
 
ACCEPTED:  __________________________                                                                                     DATE:  _____________________
 

 
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