55-1A-9.1. Affiliated investments. (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Investment" means any security as defined in § 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, any contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery within the meaning of § 2(I) of the Commodity Exchange Act, or any other asset permitted for trustee accounts pursuant to the terms of this title or by the terms of the governing instrument, including by way of illustration and not limitation, individual portfolios of investment holdings, shares or interests in a private investment fund (including a private investment fund organized as a limited partnership, limited liability company, trust or other form, a statutory or common law business trust, or a real estate investment trust), joint venture or other general or limited partnership, or an open-end or closed-end management type investment company or investment trust registered, unregistered, or exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940;

(2) "Affiliate" means any corporation or other entity that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the trustee;

(3) "Affiliated investment" means an investment for which the trustee or an affiliate of the trustee acts as investment adviser, sponsor, administrator, distributor, placement agent, underwriter, broker, custodian, transfer agent, registrar or in any other capacity for which it receives or has received a fee or commission from such investment or an investment acquired or disposed of in a transaction for which the trustee or an affiliate of the trustee receives or has received a fee or commission;

(4) "Fee or commission" means compensation paid to a trustee or an affiliate thereof on account of its services to or on behalf of an investment, including by way of illustration and not limitation, advisory fees, management fees, brokerage fees, service fees, special performance fees, profit allocations, and expense reimbursements.

(b) In the absence of an express prohibition in the trust instrument, a trustee may purchase, sell, hold or otherwise deal with an affiliate or an interest in an affiliated investment and, upon satisfaction of the conditions stated in subsection (c) of this section, such trustee may receive trustee compensation from such account at the same rate as the trustee would otherwise be entitled to be compensated.

(c) A trustee seeking compensation pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall disclose to those beneficiaries, as defined in § 55-2-13, all fees, commissions, compensation or other benefits and profits paid or to be paid by the account, or received or to be received by an affiliate arising from such affiliated investment. The disclosure required under this subsection may be given either in a copy of the prospectus or any other disclosure document prepared for the affiliated investment under federal or state securities laws or in a written summary that includes all fees, commissions, compensation or other benefits and profits received or to be received by the trustee or any affiliate of the trustee and an explanation of the manner in which such fees, commissions, compensation or other benefits and profits are calculated (either as a percentage of the assets invested or by some other method). Such disclosure shall be made at least annually unless there has been no increase in the rate at which such fees or commissions are calculated since the most recent disclosure. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, no such disclosure is required if:

(i) The governing instrument or a court order expressly authorizes the trustee to invest the trust account in affiliated investments or otherwise deal with an affiliate or an interest in an affiliated investment; or

(ii) The directed trustee is acting at the direction of an investment trust advisor pursuant to chapter 55-1B.

(d) A trustee that has complied with subsection (c) of this section (whether by making the applicable disclosure or by relying on the terms of a governing instrument or court order) shall have full authority to administer an affiliated investment (including the authority to vote proxies thereon) without regard to the affiliation between the trustee and the investment.

(e) If the recipients of information regarding the trust's existence have been restricted, eliminated, or modified pursuant to § 55-2-13, then the notification described in subsection (c) is subject to such restriction, modification, or elimination.

Source: SL 2007, ch 247, § 7; SL 2009, ch 252, § 12; SL 2014, ch 226, § 19; SL 2015, ch 240, § 16.