Trading MUTB has established its Code of Ethics, as largely summarized below, which reflects fiduciary obligations and requires compliance with regulations. It is our policy to provide a copy of the code of ethics to all clients and prospective clients upon request. Anti-Fraud Provisions The anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) and federal and state rules and regulations make it unlawful for an investment adviser to directly or indirectly “employ
any device, scheme or artifice to defraud a client or a prospective client” or to “engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or prospective client.” MUTB conducts business with a high level of ethical standards and is committed to complying with all applicable federal and state securities laws. In furtherance of the principles cited in the Code, management has established guidelines specifying that Supervised Persons are not permitted, in connection with the purchase or sale, directly or indirectly, of a security held or to be acquired by a client: (1) To defraud such client in any manner. (2) To mislead such client, including by making a statement that omits material facts. (3) To engage in any manipulative practice with respect to securities, including price manipulation. Conflict of interests MUTB conducts business in an honest, ethical, and fair manner. A conflict of interest occurs when a Supervised Person’s private interest interferes with the interests of or the service to MUTB or any of its clients. The Firm has implemented policies and procedures to address potential and actual conflicts of interest. MUTB does not engage in any conduct or act, directly, indirectly or through any other person that would be unlawful to do under the provisions of any rules and regulations. MUTB does not engage in principal trades with client accounts, unless MUTB receives client consent prior to the completion (upon settlement) of each principal transaction, in accordance with Section 206(3) of the Advisers Act. MUTB offers comprehensive financial services to customers, which include banking services as well as asset management. MUTB’s Banking Division and Trust Division are strictly separated and appropriate information barrier procedures are in place between the two businesses to avoid conflicts. MUTB, with the exception of internal test portfolios, does not engage in proprietary trading. MUTB takes steps to ensure that if pilot fund trades are aggregated with client orders, procedures are implemented to help make certain subsequent trade allocations are equitable and in accordance with the relative regulatory guidelines. A cross trade consists of a transaction between two or more different clients, which are managed by the same advisor.
Occasionally, MUTB may utilize cross trades to address account funding issues
and when it specifically deems the practice to be advantageous for each participant. MUTB may engage in cross-trades only when the closing price is available
In such cases, the cross-trade will
be at an independently determined market price, without incurring brokerage commissions. Customary transfer fees may be incurred with respect to cross trades, but no such fees will be paid to MUTB.
MUTB will not engage in agency cross transactions that involve a broker/dealer and where MUTB has discretion over only one of the client accounts involved in the transaction and it, or an affiliated broker/dealer, executes the transaction for both sides in a brokerage capacity without obtaining a client’s consent before each transaction, or the following conditions are met: (1) The client has executed a written blanket consent after receiving full disclosure of the conflicts involved, which must be renewed each year. (2) MUTB provides a written confirmation to the client before the completion of each transaction providing, among other things, the source and amount of any remuneration it received. (3) The disclosure and confirmation each clearly disclose that consent may be revoked at any time. MUTB seeks to allocate investment opportunities among eligible clients promptly and on a fair and equitable basis.
In some cases, an investment opportunity may be limited and MUTB will allocate
the trade result among its eligible client accounts in accordance with its allocation policies and procedures, which seek to make allocations in a timely, fair and equitable manner in accordance with regulation. Unethical Conduct Any person engaging in an unethical business practice is subject to having his/her license denied, suspended, or revoked and employment terminated. The following activities are examples of unethical business practices: (1) Forgery (2) Embezzlement (3) Theft (4) Exploitation (5) Non-disclosure (6) Incomplete disclosure or misstatement of material facts (7) Manipulative or deceptive practices (8) Aiding or abetting any unethical practices MUTB has established processes allowing it to monitor, discourage and/or prevent its Supervised Persons from engaging in any dishonest or unethical conduct including, but not limited to: (1) Engaging in any act, practice, or course of business that is fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative contrary to any rules or regulations established by all governing regulatory bodies. (2) Recommending to a client the purchase, sale, or exchange of any security without reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation is suitable for the client based on the information furnished by the client after reasonable inquiry regarding the client’s age, investment experience,
time horizon, liquidity, risk tolerance, financial history, investment objectives, financial situation and needs, and other information that is known by the investment adviser. (3) Recommending or implementing trades in a client’s account that are excessive in size or frequency with respect to the client’s financial resources, investment objectives, and the character of the account. (4) Borrowing money or securities from or loaning money or securities to a client. (5) Providing advice and guaranteeing the client that a gain or no loss will occur as a result of the advice. (6) Publishing, circulating, or distributing any advertisement that has not been approved and that does not comply with the proper regulatory requirements. (7) Disclosing any confidential information of any client, unless required by law to do so or having received written authorization from the client to do so. (8) Failing to provide the proper disclosure documents (Form ADV Part 2A, 2A Appendix 1 and Part 2B) prior to or at the time of executing a client agreement for advisory services. (9) Creating any condition, stipulation, or provision as part of any advisory client agreement that limits or attempts to limit the liability of the Firm or any of its Supervised Persons for willful misconduct or gross negligence. Insider Trading Material non-public information (“MNPI”) is information which investors would consider important in making a decision and which has not been effectively communicated to the marketplace.
Improper
use of MNPI, including use of insider information, when conducting any securities transaction is a serious violation of securities laws and will not be tolerated. Any person having access to MNPI would violate anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws by effecting transactions or communicating such information for the purpose of effecting transactions in such securities without public disclosure of the information. come into possession of MNPI from time to time.
The Firm is aware that employees may
Although possession of MNPI, in and of itself, is
not a breach of any regulatory requirements, the Firm takes seriously our obligation to safeguard access to MNPI, identify instances when employees obtain MNPI and prevent its unlawful use in the execution of trades. Furthermore, the firm has implemented measures to assess the implications of an employee’s receipt of MNPI, to include analysis of whether such information might necessitate prohibiting any further trading in a related security even if the decision to trade in the security was reached prior to receiving the MNPI or the MNPI would not have led to a decision to trade. Supervised Persons may not purchase or sell a security, either personally or on behalf of others, while in the possession of MNPI.
Supervised Persons are also forbidden to communicate MNPI to others in
violation of the law.
Personal Securities Transactions MUTB prohibits personal trading by all personnel, in principle.
Individual exceptions require the
approval of the respective division General Manager, who ensures that any exceptions do not violate restrictions, guidelines, and prohibitions discussed in this Code of Ethics and/or in firm policy.
If an
exception is granted, actual trading results are reported to the division General Manager, and monitored by the Compliance and Legal Division for compliance with internal policy. Reporting Requirements MUTB requires all personal securities transactions and holdings by Access Persons and their immediate families to be disclosed and reported.
Access persons must report trades implemented
for a personal account, an account of any household family member (immediate family members residing in the same household) or any account for which the access person acts as a trustee. Personal securities transactions that need to be reported include stocks, bonds, limited partnerships, options, and other general securities. Transactions involving any of the following do not need to be included on the report: (1)
Open-end mutual fund (unless the adviser or a control affiliate acts as the investment adviser or principal underwriter for the fund)
(2)
Money market instruments
(3)
Bankers’ acceptances
(4)
Bank CDs
(5)
Commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments
(6)
Variable annuities funded by insurance company separate accounts organized as unit investment trusts. Such separate accounts typically are divided into subaccounts, each of which invests exclusively in shares of an underlying open-end fund.
(7)
Government securities
(8)
Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) (provided that the UIT is invested exclusively in unaffiliated mutual funds)
Access persons must maintain as part of MUTB books and records their and other household personal accounts trading in: stocks, bonds, limited partnerships, options, and other general securities. Access Persons will ensure that they submit to the Asset Management Chief Compliance Officer (AMCCO) copies of statements and confirmations for all of individuals and related family members living with Access Persons.
Access Persons will make sure the Firm receives the statements no
later than 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter.
The AMCCO monitors all
statements and confirmations received from access persons, and ensures that they are received in a
timely fashion, and do not reveal any improper trading activity. The firm requires attestation that reported holdings/changes to holdings are also reflective of indirect holdings (i.e., accounts held by Access Persons' spouses).
Account statements serve as the annual holding report required by the
Code of Ethics rule under the US Advisers Act. Gifts and Entertainment Receiving or giving any gift of any amount from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of any client/investor is prohibited, except as otherwise permitted by the Chief Compliance Officer of this business. For purposes of the following policies on receiving and sending gifts any gifts given or received by MUTB or any of its supervised persons are considered in aggregate whether or not they were conferred by the same or different people at MUTB or the other (recipient) firm or party. For purposes of the MUTB’s policies regarding entertainment, an entertainment event includes any conference, meal, or sponsored outing. No Supervised Person or member of a Supervised Person’s immediate family may receive any gift of any amount from any persons or entity including clients and their service providers, vendors, and competitors. No Supervised Person or member of a Supervised Person’s immediate family may send any gift of any amount to any person or entity including clients and their service providers, vendors, and competitors. Supervised persons may invite clients to an event provided that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the MUTB’s business and the event has been approved by Chief Compliance Officer of this business.