EX-99.P CODE ETH 21 wellingtoncodeofethicspolicy.htm WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLP CODE OF ETHICS wellingtoncodeofethicspolicy.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing


 



 

Before you get started  
The Code of Ethics System is accessible through the intranet  
under Applications or direct access:  
https://fs1.wellmanage.com/adfs/ls/  
IdpInitiatedSignOn.aspx?loginToRp=ptaconnect.com  
 
 
 
 
Contents  
 
 
Standards of conduct 1
Who is subject to the Code of Ethics? 1
Personal investing 2
Which types of investments and related activities  
are prohibited? 2
Which investment accounts must be reported? 3
What are the reporting responsibilities for all personnel? 5
What are the preclearance responsibilities for all personnel? 6
What are the additional requirements for investment professionals? 7
Gifts and entertainment 8
Outside activities 9
Client confidentiality 9
How we enforce our Code of Ethics 10
Exceptions from the Code of Ethics 10
Closing 10

 


 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics 1

Standards of conduct

Our standards of conduct are straightforward and essential. Any transaction or activity that violates either of the standards of conduct below is prohibited, regardless of whether it meets the technical rules found elsewhere in the Code of Ethics.

1. WE ACT AS FIDUCIARIES TO OUR CLIENTS. Each of us must put our clients’ interests above our own and must not take advantage of our management of clients’ assets for our own benefit. Our firm’s policies and procedures implement these principles with respect to our conduct of the firm’s business. This Code of Ethics implements the same principles with respect to our personal conduct. The procedures set forth in the Code govern specific transactions, but each of us must be mindful at all times that our behavior, including our personal investing activity, must meet our fiduciary obligations to our clients.

2. WE ACT WITH INTEGRITY AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH BOTH THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW. Our business is highly regulated, and we are committed as a firm to compliance with those regulations. Each of us must also recognize our obligations as individuals to understand and obey the laws that apply to us in the conduct of our duties. They include laws and regulations that apply specifically to investment advisors, as well as more broadly applicable laws ranging from the prohibition against trading on material nonpublic information and other forms of market abuse to anticorruption statutes such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act. The firm provides training on their requirements. Each of us must take advantage of these resources to ensure that our own conduct complies with the law.

Who is subject to the Code of Ethics?

Our Code of Ethics applies to all employees of Wellington Management and its affiliates around the world. Its restrictions on personal investing also apply to temporary personnel (including co-ops and interns) and consultants whose tenure with Wellington Management exceeds 90 days and who are deemed by the Chief Compliance Officer to have access to nonpublic investment research, client holdings, or trade information.

All Wellington Management personnel receive a copy of the Code of Ethics (and any amendments) and must certify, upon joining the firm and annually thereafter, that they have read and understood it and have complied with its requirements.

Adherence to the Code of Ethics is a basic condition of employment. Failure to adhere to our Code of Ethics may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment.

If you have any doubt as to the appropriateness of any activity, believe that you have violated the Code, or become aware of a violation of the Code by another individual, you should consult the manager of the Code of Ethics Team, Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel, or Chair of the Ethics Committee. You also have the right to report violations of law or regulation directly to relevant governmental agencies. You do not need the firm’s prior authorization to make any such report or disclosures and are not required to notify the firm that you have done so.

General questions regarding our Code of Ethics may be directed to the Code of Ethics Team via email at

#Code of Ethics Team or through the Code of Ethics hotline, 617-790-8330 (x68330).


 



 



 



 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics

5

WHAT ARE THE REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL PERSONNEL?

Initial and annual holdings reports

You must disclose all reportable accounts and all covered investments you hold within 10 calendar days after you begin employment at or association with Wellington Management. You will be required to review and update your holdings and securities account information annually thereafter. Non-volitional transactions include:

For initial holdings reports, holdings
information must be current as of a date
no more than 45 days prior to the date you
became covered by the Code of Ethics.
Please note that you cannot make personal
trades until you have filed an initial holdings
report via the Code of Ethics System on the
Intranet.

Investments made through automatic dividend
reinvestment or rebalancing plans and stock
purchase plan acquisitions

Transactions that result from corporate actions
applicable to all similar security holders (such as
splits, tender offers, mergers, and stock dividends)

For subsequent annual reports, holdings information must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the report is submitted. Please note that your annual holdings report must account for both volitional and non-volitional transactions.

At the time you file your initial and annual reports, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood the Code of Ethics and any amendments.

Quarterly transactions reports

You must submit a quarterly transaction report no later than 30 calendar days after quarter-end via the Code of Ethics System on the Intranet, even if you did not make any personal trades during that quarter. In the reports, you must either confirm that you did not make any personal trades (except for those resulting from non-volitional events) or provide information regarding all volitional transactions in covered investments.

Duplicate statements and trade confirmations

For each of your reportable accounts, you are required to provide duplicate statements and duplicate trade confirmations to Wellington Management. To arrange for the delivery of duplicate statements and trade confirmations, please contact the Code of Ethics Team for the appropriate form. Return the completed form to the Code of Ethics Team, which will submit it to the brokerage firm on your behalf. If the brokerage firm or other firm from which you currently receive statements is not able to send statements and confirmations directly to Wellington Management, you will be required to submit copies promptly after you receive them, unless you receive an exemption from this requirement under the procedures outlined on page 10.

WEB RESOURCE

How to file reports on the Code of Ethics System

Required reports must be filed electronically via the Code of Ethics System.

Please see the Code of Ethics System’s homepage for more details.


 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics

6

WHAT ARE THE PRECLEARANCE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL PERSONNEL?

Preclearance of publicly traded securities

You must receive clearance before buying or selling stocks, bonds, options, and most other publicly traded securities in any reportable account. A full list of the categories of publicly traded securities requiring preclearance, and of certain exceptions to this requirement, is included in Appendix A. Transactions in accounts that are not reportable accounts do not require preclearance or reporting.

Preclearance requests must be submitted online via the Code of Ethics System, which is accessible through the Intranet. If clearance is granted, the approval will be effective for a period of 24 hours. If you preclear a transaction and then place a limit order with your broker, that limit order must either be executed or expire at the end of the 24-hour period. If you want to execute the order after the 24-hour period expires, you must resubmit your preclearance request.

If you have questions regarding the preclearance requirements, please refer to the FAQs available on the Code of Ethics System or contact the Code of Ethics Team.

Please note that preclearance approval does not alter your responsibility to ensure that each personal securities transaction complies with the general standards of conduct, the reporting requirements, the restrictions on short-term trading, or the special rules for investment professionals set out in our Code of Ethics.

WEB RESOURCE

How to file a preclearance request

Preclearance must be obtained using the Code of Ethics System. Once the necessary information is submitted, your preclearance request will be approved or denied within seconds.

Caution on short sales, margin transactions, and options

You may engage in short sales and margin transactions and may purchase or sell options provided you receive preclearance and meet all other applicable requirements under our Code of Ethics (including the additional rules for investment professionals described on page 7). Please note, however, that these types of transactions can have unintended consequences. For example, any sale by your broker to cover a margin call or to buy in a short position will be in violation of the Code unless precleared. Likewise, any volitional sale of securities acquired at the expiration of a long call option will be in violation of the Code unless precleared. You are responsible for ensuring any subsequent volitional actions relating to these types of transactions meet the requirements of the Code.

Preclearance of private placement securities

You cannot invest in securities offered to potential investors in a private placement without first obtaining prior approval. Approval may be granted after a review of the facts and circumstances, including whether:

-- an investment in the securities is likely to result in future conflict with client accounts ( e.g. upon a future public offering), and

-- you are being offered the oppourtunity due to your employement at or association with Wellignton Management,

 If you have questions regarding whether an investment would be deemed a private placement security under the Code, please refer to the FAQs about private placements available on the Code of Ethics System, or contact the Code of Ethics Team.


 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics

7

To request approval, you must submit a Private Placement Approval Form (available online via the Code of Ethics System) to the Code of Ethics Team. Investments in our own privately offered investment vehicles (our Sponsored Products), including collective investment funds and common trust funds maintained by Wellington Trust Company, na, our hedge funds, and our non-US domiciled funds (Wellington Management Portfolios), have been approved under the Code and therefore do not require the submission of a Private Placement Approval Form.

WEB RESOURCE

Private Placement Approval Form

To request approval for a private placement, complete the Private
Placement Approval Form available through the Code of Ethics
System under Documents.

WHAT ARE THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS?

If you are a portfolio manager, research analyst, or other investment professional who has portfolio management responsibilities for a client account (e.g., designated portfolio manager, backup portfolio manager, investment team member), or who otherwise has direct authority to make decisions to buy or sell securities in a client account (referred to here as an investment professional), you are required to adhere to additional rules and restrictions on your personal securities transactions. However, as no set of rules can anticipate every situation, you must remember to place our clients’ interests first whenever you tr ansact in securities that are also held in client accounts you manage.

The following provisions of the code are intended to allow investment professionals to make long-term investments in securities. However, you may not be able to sell personal investments for extended periods of time and therefore should consider the liquidity, tax planning, market, and similar risks associated with making personal investments in securities of an issuer that are or may be held in client accounts.

?QINVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BLACKOUT PERIODS — You cannot buy or sell a security for a period of 14 calendar days before or after any transaction in the same issuer by a client account for which you serve as an investment professional. In addition, You may not sell personal holdings in a security of the same issuer that is held by a client account for which you serve as an investment professional until the later of the following periods: (i) one calendar year from the date of your last purchase and (ii) 90 calendar days after all of your client accounts liquidate all holdings of the same issuer.

If you anticipate receiving a cash flow or redemption request in a client portfolio that will result in the purchase or sale of securities that you also hold in your personal account, you should take care to avoid transactions in those securities in your personal account in the days leading up to the client transactions. However, unanticipated cash flows and redemptions in client accounts and unexpected market events do occur from time to time, and a personal trade made in the prior 14 days should never prevent you from buying or selling a security in a client account if the trade would be in the client’s best interest. If you find yourself in that situation and need to buy or sell a security in a client account within the 14 calendar days following your personal transaction in a security of the same issuer, you should attempt to notify the Code of Ethics Team (by email at #Code of Ethics Team or through the Code of Ethics hotline, 617-790-8330 [x68330]) or your local Compliance Officer in advance of placing the trade. If you are unable to reach any of those individuals and the trade is time sensitive, you should proceed with the client trade and notify the Code of Ethics Team promptly after submitting it.

?QSHORT SALES BY AN INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL — An investment professional may not personally take a short position in a security of an issuer in which he or she holds a long position in a client account.


 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics

8

Gifts and entertainment

Our guiding principle of “client, firm, self” also governs the receipt of gifts and entertainment from clients, consultants, brokers/dealers, research providers, vendors, companies in which we may invest, and others with whom the firm does business. As fiduciaries to our clients, we must always place our clients’ interests first and cannot allow gifts or entertainment opportunities to influence the actions we take on behalf of our clients. In keeping with this standard, you must follow several specific requirements:

ACCEPTING GIFTS — You may only accept gifts of nominal value, which include logoed items, flower arrangements, gift baskets, and food, as well as other gifts with an approximate value of less than US$100 or the local equivalent per year from a single source. You may not accept a gift of cash, including a cash equivalent such as a gift card, regardless of the amount. If you receive a gift that violates the Code, you must return the gift or consult with the Chief Compliance Officer to determine appropriate action under the circumstances.

ACCEPTING BUSINESS MEALS — Business meals are permitted provided that neither the cost nor the frequency is excessive and there is a legitimate business purpose. If the host is a broker/dealer or research provider, the host must be reimbursed for the full amount of your proportionate share of the total cost of the meal if the approximate value of the meal is more than US$100 or the local equivalent.

ACCEPTING ENTERTAINMENT OPPORTUNITIES — The firm recognizes that participation in entertainment opportunities with representatives from organizations with which the firm does business, such as consultants, broker/dealers, research providers, vendors, and companies in which we may invest, can help to further legitimate business interests. However, participation in such entertainment opportunities should be infrequent and is subject to the following conditions:

1.      A representative of the hosting organization must be present;
2.      The primary purpose of the event must be to discuss business or to build a business relationship;
3.      You must receive prior approval from your business manager;
4.      If the host is a broker/dealer or research provider, the host must be reimbursed for the full amount of the entertainment opportunity; and
5.      For all other entertainment opportunities, the host must be reimbursed for the full face value of any entertainment ticket(s) if:
  - the entertainment opportunity requires a ticet with a face value of more than US$200 or local equivalent, or is a high-profile event (e.g., a major sporting event),
 

- you wish to accept more than one ticket.

- the host has invited numerous Wellington Management representatives.

Business managers must clear their own participation under the circumstances described above with the Chief Compliance Officer or Chair of the Ethics Committee.

Please note that even if you pay for the full face value of a ticket, you may attend the event only if the host is present.

LODGING AND AIR TRAVEL — You may not accept a gift of lodging or air travel in connection with any entertainment opportunity. If you participate in an entertainment opportunity for which lodging or air travel is paid for by the host, you must reimburse the host for the equivalent cost, as determined by Wellington Management’s travel manager.


 

Wellington Management Code of Ethics

9