EX 99.CODE ETH
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT
CODE OF ETHICS
FOR PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE AND
SENIOR FINANCIAL
OFFICERS OF CAM/U.S. REGISTERED INVESTMENT
COMPANIES
| I. |
Covered
Officers/Purpose of the Code |
This
code of ethics (the “Code”) for Citigroup Asset Management’s (“CAM’s”)
U. S. registered proprietary investment companies (collectively, “Funds” and
each a, “Company”) applies to each Company’s Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller (the “Covered
Officers”) for the purpose of promoting:
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honest
and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of
interest between personal and professional relationships; |
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full,
fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the
Company files with, or submits to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
and in other public communications made by the Company; |
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compliance
with applicable laws and governmental rules and regulations; |
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the
prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to an appropriate person or persons
identified in the Code; and |
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accountability
for adherence to the Code. |
Each
Covered Officer should adhere to a high standard of business ethics and should be
sensitive to situations that may give rise to actual as well as apparent conflicts of
interest.
| II. |
Administration
of Code |
The
Regional Director of CAM Compliance, North America (“Compliance Officer”) is
responsible for administration of this Code, including granting pre-approvals (see Section
III below) and waivers (as described in Section VI below), applying this Code in specific
situations in which questions are presented under it and interpreting this Code in any
particular situation.
| III. |
Covered
Officers Should Ethically Handle Actual and Apparent Conflicts of Interest |
Overview.
A “conflict of interest” occurs when a Covered Officer’s private
interest interferes with the interests of, or his service to, the Company. For
example, a conflict of interest would arise if a Covered Officer, or a member of
his family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his position with
the Company.
Certain
conflicts of interest arise out of the relationships between Covered Officers and the
Company and already are subject to conflict of interest provisions in the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) and the Investment Advisers Act
of 1940 (“Investment Advisers Act”). For example, Covered Officers may not
individually engage in certain transactions (such as the purchase or sale of securities or
other property) with the Company because of their status as “affiliated persons”
of the Company. The compliance programs and procedures of the Company and its investment
adviser are designed to prevent, or identify and correct, violations of these provisions.
This Code does not, and is not intended to, repeat or replace these programs and
procedures, and such conflicts fall outside of the parameters of this Code (see Section
VII below).
Although
typically not presenting an opportunity for improper personal benefit, conflicts arise
from, or as a result of, the contractual relationship between a Company and the investment
adviser of which the Covered Officers are also officers or employees. As a result, this
Code recognizes that the Covered Officers will, in the normal course of their duties
(whether formally for a Company or for the adviser, or for both), be involved in
establishing policies and implementing decisions that will have different effects on the
adviser and a Company. The participation of the Covered Officers in such activities is
inherent in the contractual relationship between the Company and the adviser and is
consistent with the performance by the Covered Officers of their duties as officers of a
Company. Thus, if performed in conformity with the provisions of the Investment Company
Act and the Investment Advisers Act, such activities will be deemed to have been handled
ethically. In addition, it is recognized by the Funds’ Boards of Directors\Trustees
(“Boards”) that the Covered Officers may also be officers or employees of one or
more other investment companies covered by this or other codes.
Other
conflicts of interest are covered by the Code, even if such conflicts of interest are not
subject to provisions in the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act. The
following list provides examples of conflicts of interest under the Code, but Covered
Officers should keep in mind that these examples are not exhaustive. The overarching
principle is that the personal interest of a Covered Officer should not be placed
improperly before the interest of the Company.
* * * *
Each
Covered Officer must:
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not
use his personal influence or personal relationships improperly to influence investment
decisions or financial reporting (e.g. through fraudulent accounting |
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practices) by
the Company whereby the Covered Officer1 would benefit personally to the
detriment of the Company; or
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not
cause the Company to take action, or fail to take action, for the individual personal
benefit of the Covered Officer rather than for the benefit of the Company; and |
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not
use material non-public knowledge of portfolio transactions made or contemplated for the
Company to trade personally or cause others to trade personally in contemplation of the
market affect of such transactions. |
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There
are some potential conflict of interest situations that should always be discussed
with the Compliance Officer, if material. Examples are as follows: |
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(1) service
as a director on the board of any public or private company;
|
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(2) any ownership
interest in, or any consulting or employment relationship with, any of the
Company’s service providers, other than its investment adviser,
|
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(3) a
direct or indirect financial interest in commissions, transaction charges or
spreads paid by the Company for effecting portfolio transactions or for
selling or redeeming shares other than an interest arising from the
Covered Officer’s employment, such as compensation or equity
ownership; and
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(4) the
receipt of any gifts or the conveyance of any value (including entertainment
) from any company with which the Company has current or prospective
business dealings, except:
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(a) any
non-cash gifts of nominal value (nominal value is less than $100); and
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(b) customary and reasonable meals and entertainment at which the giver is present,
such as the occasional business meal or sporting event.
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| IV. |
Disclosure
and Compliance |
Each
Covered Officer:
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should
be familiar with his or her responsibilities in connection with the disclosure
requirements generally applicable to the Company; |
| 1 |
Any
activity or relationship that would present a conflict for a Covered Officer would also
present a conflict for the Covered Officer if a member of a Covered Officer’s family
(spouse, minor children and any account over which a Covered Officer is deemed to have
beneficial interest) engages in such an activity or has such a relationship. |
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should
not knowingly misrepresent, or knowingly cause others to misrepresent, facts about the
Company to others, whether within or outside the Company, including to the Company’s
directors and auditors, and to governmental regulators and self-regulatory organizations; |
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should,
to the extent appropriate within his or her area of responsibility, consult with other
officers and employees of the Funds and the investment adviser with the goal of promoting
full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in the reports and documents
the Funds file with, or submit to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the
Funds; and |
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is
responsible to promote compliance with the standards and restrictions imposed by
applicable laws, rules and regulations. |
| V. |
Reporting
and Accountability |
Each
Covered Officer must:
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upon
adoption of the Code (or thereafter as applicable, upon becoming a Covered Officer),
affirm in writing to the Board that the Covered Officer has received, read, and
understands the Code; |
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annually
thereafter affirm to the Board that he or she has complied with the requirements of the
Code; |
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annually
disclose affiliations and other relationships related to conflicts of interest; |
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not
retaliate against any other Covered Officer or any employee of the Funds or their
affiliated persons for reports of potential violations that are made in good faith;and |
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notify
the Compliance Officer promptly if he knows of any violation of this Code (failure to do
so is itself a violation of this Code). |
In
rendering decisions and interpretations and in conducting investigations of potential
violations under the Code, the Compliance Officer may, at his discretion, consult with
such persons as he determines to be appropriate, including, but not limited to, a senior
legal officer of the Company or its investment adviser or its affiliates, independent
auditors or other consultants, subject to any requirement to seek pre-approval from the
Company’s audit committee for the retention of independent auditors to perform
permissible non-audit services. The Funds will follow these procedures in investigating
and enforcing the Code:
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the
Compliance Officer will take all appropriate action to investigate any
potential violation of which he becomes aware; |
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if,
after investigation the Compliance Officer believes that no violation has
occurred, the Compliance Officer is not required to take any further action; |
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any
matter that the Compliance Officer believes is a violation will be reported to the
Directors of the Fund who are not “interested persons” as defined in the
Investment Company Act the (“Non-interested Directors”) |
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if
the Non-interested Directors of the Board concur that a violation has occurred, it will
consider appropriate action, which may include review of, and appropriate modifications
to, applicable policies and procedures; notification to appropriate personnel of the
investment adviser or its board; or a recommendation to dismiss the Covered Officer; and |
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any
changes to or waivers of this Code will, to the extent required, be disclosed
as provided by SEC rules |
The
Compliance Officer shall submit an annual report to the Board describing any waivers
granted.
A
Covered Officer may request a waiver of any of the provisions of the Code by submitting a
written request for such waiver to the Compliance Officer, setting forth the basis of such
request and explaining how the waiver would be consistent with the standards of conduct
described herein. The Compliance Officer shall review such request and make a
determination thereon in writing, which shall be binding.
In
determining whether to waive any provisions of this Code, the Compliance Officer shall
consider whether the proposed waiver is consistent with honest and ethical conduct and
other purposes of this Code.
| VII. |
Other
Policies and Procedures |
This
Code shall be the sole code of ethics adopted by the Funds for purposes of Section 406 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and forms applicable to registered investment
companies thereunder. Insofar as other policies or procedures of the Funds, the
Funds’ investment advisers, principal underwriters, or other service providers govern
or purport to govern the behavior or activities of the Covered Officers who are subject to
this Code, they are superseded by this Code to the extent that they overlap or conflict
with the provisions of this Code. The codes of ethics of the funds and the investment
advisers and principal underwriters under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act and the
Citigroup Code of Conduct and Citigroup Statement of Business Practices as well as other
policies of the Fund’s investment advisers or their affiliates are separate
requirements applying to the Covered Officers and others, and are not part of this Code.
| 2 |
For
purposes of this Code, Item 2 of Form N-CSR defines “waiver” as “the
approval by a Company of a material departure from a provision of the Code” and
includes an “implicit waiver,” which means a Company’s failure to take
action within a reasonable period of time regarding a material departure from a provision
of the Code that has been made known to an executive officer of the Company. |
Any
amendments to this Code, other than amendments to Exhibits A, B and C must be approved or
ratified by a majority vote of the Board, including a majority of Non-interested
Directors.
All
reports and records prepared or maintained pursuant to this Code will be considered
confidential and shall be maintained and protected accordingly. Except as otherwise
required by law or this Code, such matters shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the
appropriate Board and Company and their respective counsel, counsel to the non-Interested
Directors or independent auditors or other consultants referred to in Section V above.
The
Code is intended solely for the internal use by the Funds and does not constitute an
admission, by or on behalf of any Company, as to any fact, circumstance, or legal
conclusion.