Amended and Restated Placement Agent Agreement between Ares Core Infrastructure Fund and Ares Wealth Management Solutions, LLC (May 14, 2025)
Contract Categories:
Business Finance
›
Underwriting Agreements
Summary
This agreement, dated May 14, 2025, is between Ares Core Infrastructure Fund, a Delaware statutory trust, and Ares Wealth Management Solutions, LLC. It appoints Ares Wealth Management Solutions as the principal underwriter and placement agent for the continuous offering and sale of the Fund’s common shares to accredited investors. The Placement Agent will use its best efforts to sell shares, but is not required to sell a specific amount or purchase shares itself. The agreement outlines procedures for subscription, investor eligibility, and allows either party to suspend or terminate offerings under certain conditions.
EX-10.6 4 exhibit106arplacementagent.htm EX-10.6 Document
Exhibit 10.6
AMENDED AND RESTATED PLACEMENT AGENT AGREEMENT
This Amended and Restated Placement Agent Agreement is made as of May 14, 2025, between Ares Core Infrastructure Fund, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Fund”), and Ares Wealth Management Solutions, LLC (the “Placement Agent”), a Colorado limited liability company (the “Agreement”).
WHEREAS, the Fund is a closed end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company (a “BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) that continuously offers its common shares of beneficial interest (the “Common Shares”), which may consist of multiple classes of common shares of beneficial interest (the “Shares”);
WHEREAS, the Fund intends to rely on an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") that permits the Fund to offer multiple classes of its Shares (the “Order”);
WHEREAS, in order to comply with the conditions of the Order, the Fund's Board of Trustees (the “Board”), has approved a Distribution and Servicing Plan voluntarily adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Plan”) with respect to certain classes of Shares of the Fund;
WHEREAS, the Placement Agent is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA");
WHEREAS, the Placement Agent is permitted to engage in the business of selling shares of registered investment companies either directly to purchasers or through financial intermediaries, including, without limitation, brokers, dealers, financial consultants and registered investment advisers (collectively, "Financial Intermediaries");
WHEREAS, on August 12, 2024, the Fund and the Placement Agent entered into a Placement Agent Agreement (the "Placement Agreement"), pursuant to which the Fund retained the Placement Agent as principal underwriter for the sale and distribution of each class of Shares of the Fund;
WHEREAS, the Fund and the Placement Agent desire to amend and restate the Placement Agreement in its entirety;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree that the Placement Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows (and that the Placement Agreement shall be of no further force and effect whatsoever after the date hereof):
1.Appointment of the Placement Agent; Offering.
(a)Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Fund hereby appoints the Placement Agent as its principal underwriter in connection with the continuous offering of the Shares, and the Placement Agent hereby accepts such appointment.
(b)The Placement Agent agrees to use its reasonable best efforts to sell, as agent for the Fund, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, Shares to investors upon the terms described in the Memorandum, and use its reasonable best efforts to assist the Fund in obtaining performance by each prospective investor who submits a Subscription Agreement for the subscription for, and purchase of, Shares (the "Subscription Agreement"), if required. As used herein, the term "Memorandum" shall mean the Company’s confidential private placement memorandum, as such memorandum may be amended or supplemented from time to time, and the term "Registration Statement" shall mean, once applicable, the registration statement on Form 10 most recently filed from time to time by the Fund with the SEC and effective under the 1943 Act, and the 1940 Act, as such Registration Statement is amended by any amendments thereto at the time in effect.
(c)Unless otherwise agreed by the parties hereto, Ares Capital Management II LLC, the Fund's investment adviser (the "Adviser") or the Fund's administrator and transfer agent (the "TA/Administrator"), shall be responsible for reviewing each Subscription Agreement, if required, to confirm that it has been completed in accordance with the instructions thereto; provided, however, that the Adviser, the TA/Administrator, the Placement Agent and the Fund may rely on the information provided by Financial Intermediaries concerning their customers. The Fund, the Adviser and/or the TA/Administrator, in its or their sole discretion, may return to the Placement Agent any Subscription Agreement, if required, that is not completed to its or their satisfaction, and the Fund shall be under no obligation to accept any Subscription Agreement.
1
(d)The Placement Agent acknowledges that Shares are to be offered and sold to investors only on the terms, including with respect to pricing of Shares, subscription dates, handling of investor funds, payment of sales commissions, upfront and deferred sales charges, distribution and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other fees and investor eligibility standards, if any, applicable to the relevant class of Shares as set forth in the Memorandum. The Placement Agent may re-allow a portion of any applicable front-end sales charge to dealers or cause payment (which may exceed the front-end sales charge, if any) of commissions to brokers through which sales are made, as it may determine, and it may pay such amounts to dealers and brokers on sales of Shares from its own resources (such dealers and brokers shall collectively include all domestic or foreign institutions eligible to offer and sell the Shares) as set forth in the Memorandum.
(e)The Fund may suspend or terminate the offering of its Shares at any time, including with respect to specific classes of Shares and as to specific jurisdictions or otherwise. Upon notice to the Placement Agent of the terms of such suspension or termination, the Placement Agent shall suspend the solicitation of subscriptions for Shares in accordance with such terms until the Fund notifies the Placement Agent that such solicitation may be resumed. The Placement Agent, in consultation with the Adviser, may suspend sales of the Shares of any one or more classes at any time, may grandfather continuing sales to any group or category of existing shareholders, and may resume sales at any later time, subject in each case to a requirement that the Placement Agent promptly notify the board of trustees of the Fund (the “Board”) of the decision and subject to the authority of the Board to override such decision.
(f)It is acknowledged and agreed that the Placement Agent is not obligated to sell any specific number of Shares or to purchase any Shares for its own account. All sales by the Placement Agent shall be expressly subject to acceptance by the Fund.
(g)The Fund, or any agent of the Fund designated in writing by the Fund, shall be advised of indications of interest and purchase orders for Shares received by the Placement Agent. Any order may be rejected by the Fund. The Placement Agent (directly or through the Financial Intermediaries) will confirm orders upon the completion of the offering, issuance of the Shares and payment therefor. The Placement Agent agrees to cause such payment and such instructions to be delivered promptly to the Fund (or its agent).
(h)The Placement Agent and the Fund have established the following investor eligibility procedures in connection with the offer and sale of Shares and agree that neither party will make offers or sales of any Shares except in compliance with such procedures: (i) offers and sales of Shares will be made only to investors that are reasonably believed to qualify as "accredited investors," as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”); (ii) no sale of Shares to any one investor will be for less than the minimum denominations as may be specified in the Memorandum or as the Fund shall advise.
(i)The Shares of any class of the Fund offered for sale by the Placement Agent shall be offered for sale at a price per share (the "offering price") approximately equal to (a) their net asset value (determined in the manner set forth in the Memorandum) plus (b) a sales charge, if any and except to those persons set forth in the Memorandum, if any, which shall be the percentage of the offering price of such Shares as determined in the manner set forth in the Memorandum. The offering price, if not an exact multiple of one cent, shall be adjusted to the nearest cent. In addition, the Shares of any class of the Fund offered for sale by the Placement Agent may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") or a separate placement fee to be determined as between a Financial Intermediary and its customer and not charged by either the Fund or the Placement Agent.
2.Agency. In connection with the continuous sale of Shares, and any tender offer for the Shares and repurchase thereof by the Fund, in each case upon the terms set forth in the Memorandum, the Placement Agent shall act solely as an agent of the Fund and not as principal.
3.Duties of the Fund.
(a)The Fund shall take, from time to time, but subject always to any necessary approval of the Board or of the Fund's shareholders, all necessary action to fix the number of authorized Shares and such steps as may be necessary to register the same under the 1934 Act, to the extent applicable, to ensure that there will be available for sale such number of Shares as the Placement Agent reasonably may be expected to sell.
(b)The Fund will furnish to the Placement Agent copies of its most recent Registration Statement, or amendment thereto, as applicable, its most recent Memorandum and all amendments and supplements thereto, and the Subscription Agreement, if any, and other documentation the Placement Agent may reasonably request for use in connection with the continuous offering of Shares. The Placement Agent is authorized to furnish to prospective investors only such
2
information concerning the Fund and the offering as may be contained in the Registration Statement the Memorandum, the Fund’s formation documents, or any other documents (including sales material) approved in writing by the Fund expressly for use with prospective investors.
(c)The Fund shall furnish to the Placement Agent copies of all financial statements of the Fund which the Placement Agent may reasonably request for use in connection with its duties hereunder, and this shall include, upon request by the Placement Agent, one certified copy of all financial statements prepared for the Fund by independent public accountants. The Fund also will furnish, in reasonable quantities upon request by the Placement Agent, copies of its annual and interim reports. In addition, the Fund will furnish the Placement Agent with such other documents as it may reasonably require, from time to time, for the purpose of enabling it to perform its duties as contemplated by this Agreement.
(d)The Fund shall use its best efforts to qualify and maintain the qualification of an appropriate number of its Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Placement Agent and the Fund may approve; provided that the Fund shall not be required to amend its formation documents to comply with the laws of any state, to maintain an office in any state, to change the terms of the offering of the Shares in any state from the terms set forth in its Registration Statement and Memorandum, to qualify as a foreign corporation in any state or to consent to service of process in any state other than with respect to claims arising out of the offering of the Shares. Any such qualification may be withheld, terminated or withdrawn by the Fund at any time in its discretion. The expense of qualification and maintenance of qualification shall be borne by the Fund. The Placement Agent shall furnish such information and other material relating to its affairs and activities as may be required by the Fund in connection with such qualification.
(e)The Fund agrees to supply to the Placement Agent, promptly after the time or times at which the Fund's NAV is determined, a statement of the NAV of each class of Shares, determined in the manner set forth in the Fund's Memorandum.
(f)The Fund authorizes the Placement Agent, in connection with the sale or arranging for the sale of Shares, to provide only such information and to make only such statements or representations as are contained in the Fund's Memorandum or in such financial and other statements furnished to the Placement Agent hereunder or as may properly be included in sales literature or advertisements in accordance with the applicable provisions of the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act and applicable rules of self-regulatory organizations. The Fund shall not be responsible in any way for any information provided or statements or representations made by the Placement Agent or its representatives or agents other than the information, statements and representations described in the preceding sentence. All sales literature and advertisements used by the Placement Agent in connection with sales of Shares shall be subject to approval by the Fund.
4.Duties of the Placement Agent.
(a)The Placement Agent shall devote reasonable time and effort to its duties hereunder. The services of the Placement Agent to the Fund hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive and nothing herein contained shall prevent the Placement Agent from entering into like arrangements with other investment companies so long as the performance of its obligations with respect to the Fund hereunder is not impaired thereby.
(b)In performing its duties hereunder, the Placement Agent shall use its best efforts in all respects to duly conform with the requirements of all applicable laws relating to the sale of securities. Neither the Placement Agent nor any Financial Intermediary having an agreement to offer and sell Shares pursuant to Section 5 hereof nor any other person is authorized by the Fund to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in its Registration Statement and Memorandum and any advertising materials and sales literature specifically approved by the Fund for use with prospective investors.
(c)The Placement Agent agrees to review all proposed advertising materials and sales literature of the Fund for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and shall file with appropriate regulators those advertising materials and sales literature it believes are in compliance with such laws and regulations. The Placement Agent agrees to retain any comments provided by regulators with respect to such materials and further agrees to provide the Fund with any such comments that would be considered to be material to the Fund in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
(d)The Placement Agent shall adopt and follow procedures, as approved by the officers of the Fund, for the confirmation of sales to investors and Financial Intermediaries, the collection of amounts payable by investors and Financial Intermediaries on such sales, and the cancellation of unsettled transactions, as may be necessary to comply with the requirements of FINRA applicable to sales of Shares, as such requirements may from time to time exist.
3
(e)The Placement Agent agrees to appoint Financial Intermediaries to provide distribution services with respect to the Shares ("Distribution Services") and personal investor services and account maintenance services ("Investor Services") to shareholders of the Fund that are customers of such Financial Intermediaries and to assist the Financial Intermediaries in the provision of such services and for the Placement Agent to provide such services to shareholders that are its customers. The Distribution Services and Investor Services shall not be inconsistent with the services stated in the Plan or any Rule 18f-3 Plan adopted by the Fund pursuant to the Order.
(f)The Placement Agent represents and warrants to the Fund that it has all necessary licenses to perform the services contemplated hereunder and will perform such services in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations and it shall obtain adequate assurances from the Financial Intermediaries with respect to their licensing and performance of services contemplated by this Agreement, including without limitation applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations of the United States and any jurisdiction in which investors are solicited.
(g)For so long as this Agreement is in effect, the Placement Agent shall provide or cause to be provided to the Board, at such times as requested by the Board, with such information relating to this Agreement as may be requested by the Board from time to time. The Placement Agent can use any of the officers and employees of the Adviser or its affiliates to provide any of the services or reports required under this Agreement.
5.Agreements with Financial Intermediaries.
(a)The Placement Agent is authorized to enter into agreements with Financial Intermediaries of its choice for the sale of Shares and the provision of Investor Services; provided that the Placement Agent shall periodically inform the Board of the nature and substance of such agreements and that the Fund shall approve the forms of agreements with such Financial Intermediaries.
(b)Within the United States, the Placement Agent shall enter into agreements for the sale of Shares only with Financial Intermediaries who are acting as brokers or dealers, who are members in good standing of FINRA and who agree to abide by the Conduct Rules of FINRA. For Financial Intermediaries who are not registered as brokers or dealers, the Placement Agent may act as an introducing broker and may offer and sell Shares directly to clients of those Financial Intermediaries, although such Financial Intermediaries may provide Investor Services to their clients. The Placement Agent shall obtain adequate assurance from any Financial Intermediary that sells Shares of the Fund of compliance by such Financial Intermediary with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Conduct Rules of FINRA, as appropriate.
6.Compensation.
(a)The Placement Agent and the Financial Intermediaries shall be entitled to charge sales compensation to investors on the purchase price of Shares of the Fund and receive other sales and service compensation from investors in the Fund or from other sources, including without limitation the Fund and affiliates of the Placement Agent, if, and only to the extent, specified in the Memorandum upon the Fund's acceptance of the investor's subscription for Shares; provided that the Placement Agent shall have the authority to adjust or waive such sales compensation and services fees, if any, in particular cases, at its sole discretion, in consultation with the Fund and as generally described in the Memorandum. The Placement Agent may pay or allow such portion of any sales compensation and service fees to Financial Intermediaries that sold the Shares as may be agreed to from time to time by the Fund and the Placement Agent and disclosed in the Memorandum. In particular, the Placement Agent may compensate Financial Intermediaries for services they provide with (i) any applicable sales charge described in the Fund's Memorandum, (ii) any payments made pursuant to the Plan, or (iii) other payment from the Placement Agent's or its affiliates' own resources as the Placement Agent or its affiliates may determine from time to time. Payment of any such sales charge or other payment shall be the sole obligation of the Placement Agent, provided that the Placement Agent shall not be obligated to make any payment pursuant to the Plan unless the Placement Agent has received a corresponding payment from the Plan. The form of any agreement in which payments are made pursuant to the Plan, and the compensation to be paid thereunder, shall be approved by the Board.
(b)The Placement Agent may pay amounts pursuant to this Section 6 to any affiliated person of the Placement Agent that sells Shares or provides Investor Services.
7.Payment of Expenses.
(a)The Fund shall bear all of its own costs and expenses, including fees and disbursements of its counsel and auditors, in connection with the preparation of its Memorandum and all amendments and supplements thereto, and in connection with any fees and expenses incurred with respect to any filings with FINRA, preparing and mailing annual and
4
interim reports, proxy materials and tender offer materials to shareholders (including but not limited to the expense of setting in type any such Registration Statement, Memorandum, annual or interim reports, proxy materials or tender offer materials, as applicable).
(b)The Fund shall bear any cost and expenses of qualification of Shares for sale under the securities laws of such states or other jurisdictions as shall be selected by the Fund and the Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement and the cost and expenses payable to each such state for continuing qualification therein.
(c)The Placement Agent shall bear (i) any expenses of advertising incurred by the Placement Agent in connection with such distribution of the Shares and (ii) the expenses of registration or qualification of the Placement Agent as a dealer or broker under federal or state laws and the expenses of continuing such registration or qualification.
8.Indemnification.
(a)The Fund agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the Placement Agent, its several officers and directors, and any person who controls the Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which the Placement Agent, its officers and directors, or any such controlling person, may incur under the Securities Act or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement, of a material fact contained in any Registration Statement or any Memorandum or arising out of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state a material fact required to be stated in either any Registration Statement or any Memorandum or necessary to make the statements in either thereof not misleading; provided, however, that the Fund's agreement to indemnify the Placement Agent, its officers or directors, and any such controlling person shall not be deemed to cover any claims, demands, liabilities or expenses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any Registration Statement or Memorandum in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Fund by the Placement Agent specifically for use in the preparation thereof. The Fund's agreement to indemnify the Placement Agent, its officers and directors, and any such controlling person, as aforesaid, is expressly conditioned upon the Fund being notified of any action brought against the Placement Agent, its officers or directors, or any such controlling person, such notification to be delivered to the Fund within ten days after the summons or other first legal process shall have been served. The failure so to notify the Fund of any such action shall not relieve the Fund from any liability which the Fund 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 Fund's indemnity agreement contained in this Section 8(a). The Fund will be entitled to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such claim, demand or liability, but, in such case, such defense shall be conducted by counsel of good standing chosen by the Fund and approved by the Placement Agent. In the event the Fund elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain counsel of good standing approved by the Placement Agent, the defendant or defendants in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by any of them; but in case the Fund does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case the Placement Agent does not approve of counsel chosen by the Fund, the Fund will reimburse the Placement Agent, its officers and directors, or the controlling person or persons named as defendant or defendants in such suit, for the fees and expenses of any counsel retained by the Placement Agent or them. The Fund's indemnification agreement contained in this Section 8(a) and the Fund's representations and warranties in this agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agent, its officers and directors, or any controlling person, and shall survive the delivery of any Shares. This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the Placement Agent's benefit, to the benefit of its several officers and directors, and their respective estates, and to the benefit of any controlling persons and their successors. The Fund agrees promptly to notify the Placement Agent of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Fund or any of its officers or Board members in connection with the issue and sale of Shares.
(b)The Placement Agent agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the Fund, its several officers and Board members and any person who controls the Fund within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which the Fund, its officers or Board members or any such controlling person, may incur under the Securities Act or under common law or otherwise, but only to the extent that such liability or expense incurred by the Fund, its officers or Board members or such controlling person resulting from such claims or demands, shall arise out of or be based upon any untrue, or alleged untrue, statement of a material fact contained in information furnished in writing by you to the Fund specifically for use in any Registration Statement or Memorandum and used in the answers to any of the items of the Registration Statement or in the corresponding statements made in the Memorandum, to the extent applicable, or shall arise out of or be based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state a material fact in connection with such information furnished in writing by the Placement Agent to the Fund and required to be
5
stated in such answers or necessary to make such information not misleading. The Placement Agent's agreement to indemnify the Fund, its officers and Board members and any such controlling person, as aforesaid, is expressly conditioned upon the Placement Agent being notified of any action brought against the Fund, its officers or Board members or any such controlling person, such notification to be delivered to the Placement Agent within ten days after the summons or other first legal process shall have been served. The Placement Agent shall have the right to control the defense of such action, with counsel of its own choosing, satisfactory to the Fund, if such action is based solely upon such alleged misstatement or omission on its part, and in any other event the Fund, its officers or Board members or such controlling person shall each have the right to participate in the defense or preparation of the defense of any such action. The failure so to notify the Placement Agent of any such action shall not relieve the Placement Agent from any liability which the Placement Agent may have to the Fund, its officers or Board members or to such controlling person by reason of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission, otherwise than on account of its indemnity agreement contained in this Section 8(b). This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the Fund's benefit, to the benefit of the Fund's officers and Board members and their respective estates, and to the benefit of any controlling persons and their successors. The Placement Agent agrees promptly to notify the Fund of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against its or any of its officers or directors in connection with the issue and sale of Shares.
9.Duration and Termination of this Agreement.
(a)This Agreement shall become effective on the date first written above and shall remain in full force and effect for two years from that day, and may be continued from year to year thereafter; provided, that such yearly continuances thereof, shall be specifically approved each year by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, and in either case, also by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of the Fund or the Placement Agent (the "Independent Trustees").
(b)This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, (i) by the Fund (a) either by the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (b) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, or (ii) by the Placement Agent, in each case on sixty days’ written notice to the other party. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its assignment, as defined in the 1940 Act. The provisions of Section 8, 11 and 12 of this Agreement shall survive its termination. In the event this Agreement is terminated by the Fund, the Placement Agent shall be entitled to be paid any CDSC on the repurchase proceeds of Shares sold prior to the effective date of such termination.
10.Amendments of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended by the parties only if such amendment is specifically approved (i) by the Board or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of those Board members of the Fund who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
11.Governing Law. The provisions of this Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York as at the time in effect and the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act. To the extent that the applicable law of the State of New York, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control.
12.Proprietary and Confidential Information. The Placement Agent agrees on behalf of itself and its employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Fund all records and other information relative to the Fund and prior, present or potential shareholders, and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Fund, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Notwithstanding the foregoing, records and information shall not be subject to the foregoing obligations set forth in this Section 12 if they are required to be disclosed by the Placement Agent pursuant to a requirement of a court order, subpoena, governmental or regulatory agency or law (provided by the Placement Agent will provide the Fund written notice of such requirement, to the extent such notice is permitted).
13.Anti-Money Laundering Compliance. The Placement Agent represent and warrant that, to the extent required by applicable law, it has adopted policies and procedures to comply with all applicable anti-money laundering, customer identification, suspicious activity, currency transaction reporting and similar laws and regulations including the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, and the regulations thereunder, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Rule 3310. The Placement Agent also represents and warrants that, if purchasing Shares in securities brokerage accounts for which it acts as introducing broker, it will not purchase Shares on behalf of any person on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), or other similar governmental lists, or in contravention of any OFAC maintained sanctions program. The Placement Agent agrees (i) to share information with the Fund for purposes of ascertaining whether a suspicious activity report ("SAR") is warranted with respect to any suspicious transaction
6
involving Shares, provided that neither the Placement Agent nor the Fund is the subject of the SAR and (ii) to include in agreements with Financial Intermediaries contractual provisions regarding the anti-money laundering compliance obligations of such Financial Intermediary.
14.Interpretation of Agreement Terms. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from a term or provision of the 1940 Act shall be resolved by reference to such term or provision of the 1940 Act and to interpretation thereof, if any, by the United States courts or, in the absence of any controlling decision of any such court, by rules, regulations or orders of the SEC validly issued pursuant to the 1940 Act. Specifically, the terms "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities," "assignment," "affiliated person" and "interested person," when used in this Agreement, shall have the respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act. In addition, when the effect of a requirement of the 1940 Act reflected in any provision of this Agreement is modified, interpreted or relaxed by a rule, regulation or order of the SEC, whether of special or of general application, such provision shall be deemed to incorporate the effect of such rule, regulation or order. The Fund and the Placement Agent may from time to time agree on such provisions interpreting or clarifying the provisions of this Agreement as, in their joint opinion, are consistent with the general tenor of this Agreement and with the specific provisions of this Section 13. Any such interpretations or clarifications shall be in writing signed by the parties and annexed hereto, but no such interpretation or clarification shall be effective if in contravention of any applicable federal or state law or regulations, and no such interpretation or clarification shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Agreement.
15.Miscellaneous.
(a)This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall constitute one and the same instrument.
(b)This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof, and neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated except by an instrument in writing signed by the party against whom enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought.
[Signature Page Follows]
7
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
ARES CORE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND | ||||||||
By: | /s/ Noah Ehrenpreis | |||||||
Name: | Noah Ehrenpreis | |||||||
Title: | Vice President and Assistant Secretary | |||||||
ARES WEALTH MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, LLC | ||||||||
By: | /s/ Casey Galligan | |||||||
Name: | Casey Galligan | |||||||
Title: | Co-Chief Executive Officer |
[Signature Page to the Amended and Restated Placement Agent Agreement]