EX-99.H OTH MAT CONT 7 exhibit_h2.txt ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES AGREEMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES AGREEMENT ------------------------------------------------ THIS AGREEMENT is made as of April 11, 2012 by and between BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING (US) INC., a Massachusetts corporation ("BNY") and FIRST TRUST VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Fund"). W I T N E S S E T H : WHEREAS, the Fund is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"); and WHEREAS, the Fund wishes to retain BNY to provide administration and accounting services to its investment portfolios listed on Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof, as such Exhibit A may be amended from time to time (each, a "Portfolio"), and BNY wishes to furnish such services. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants herein contained, and intending to be legally bound hereby the parties hereto agree as follows: 1. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Agreement: (a) "1933 Act" means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. (b) "1934 Act" means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. (c) "Authorized Person" means any officer of the Fund and any other person duly authorized by the Fund to give Oral Instructions and Written Instructions on behalf of the Fund. An Authorized Person's scope of authority may be limited by setting forth such limitation in a written document signed by both parties hereto. (d) "Oral Instructions" mean oral instructions received by BNY from an Authorized Person or from a person reasonably believed by BNY to be an Authorized Person. BNY may, in its sole discretion in each separate instance, consider and rely upon instructions it receives from an Authorized Person via electronic mail as Oral Instructions. 1 (e) "SEC" means the Securities and Exchange Commission. (f) "Securities Laws" means the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and the 1940 Act. (g) "Shares" mean the shares of beneficial interest of the Fund. (h) "Written Instructions" mean (i) written instructions signed by an Authorized Person and received by BNY or (ii) trade instructions transmitted (and received by BNY) by means of an electronic transaction reporting system access to which requires use of a password or other authorized identifier. The instructions may be delivered electronically (with respect to sub-item (ii) above) or by hand, mail, tested telegram, cable, telex or facsimile sending device. 2. APPOINTMENT. The Fund hereby appoints BNY to provide administration and accounting services to each of the Portfolios, in accordance with the terms set forth in this Agreement. BNY accepts such appointment and agrees to furnish such services. BNY shall be under no duty to take any action hereunder on behalf of the Fund or any Portfolio except as specifically set forth herein or as may be specifically agreed to by BNY and the Fund in a written amendment hereto. BNY shall not bear, or otherwise be responsible for, any fees, costs or expenses charged by any third party service providers engaged by the Fund or by any other third party service provider to the Fund. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH RULES AND REGULATIONS. BNY undertakes to comply with all applicable requirements of the Securities Laws, and any laws, rules and regulations of governmental authorities having jurisdiction with respect to the duties to be performed by BNY hereunder. Except as specifically set forth herein, BNY assumes no responsibility for such compliance by the Fund or other entity. 4. INSTRUCTIONS. (a) Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, BNY shall act only upon Oral Instructions or Written Instructions. 2 (b) BNY shall be entitled to rely upon any Oral Instruction or Written Instruction it receives from an Authorized Person (or from a person reasonably believed by BNY to be an Authorized Person) pursuant to this Agreement. BNY may assume that any Oral Instruction or Written Instruction received hereunder is not in any way inconsistent with the provisions of organizational documents or this Agreement or of any vote, resolution or proceeding of the Fund's board of directors or of the Fund's shareholders, unless and until BNY receives Written Instructions to the contrary. (c) The Fund agrees to forward to BNY Written Instructions confirming Oral Instructions (except where such Oral Instructions are given by BNY or its affiliates) so that BNY receives the Written Instructions by the close of business on the same day that such Oral Instructions are received. The fact that such confirming Written Instructions are not received by BNY or differ from the Oral Instructions shall in no way invalidate the transactions or enforceability of the transactions authorized by the Oral Instructions or BNY's ability to rely upon such Oral Instructions. 5. RIGHT TO RECEIVE ADVICE. (a) Advice of the Fund. If BNY is in doubt as to any action it should or should not take, BNY may request directions or advice, including Oral Instructions or Written Instructions, from the Fund. (b) Advice of Counsel. If BNY shall be in doubt as to any question of law pertaining to any action it should or should not take, BNY may request advice from counsel of its own choosing (who may be counsel for the Fund, the Fund's investment adviser or BNY, at the option of BNY). The Fund shall pay the reasonable cost of any counsel retained by BNY with prior notice to the Fund. 3 (c) Conflicting Advice. In the event of a conflict between directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions BNY receives from the Fund and the advice BNY receives from counsel, BNY may rely upon and follow the advice of counsel. (d) Protection of BNY. BNY shall be indemnified by the Fund and without liability for any action BNY takes or does not take in reliance upon directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions BNY receives from or on behalf of the Fund or from counsel and which BNY believes, in good faith, to be consistent with those directions or advice and Oral Instructions or Written Instructions. Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to impose an obligation upon BNY (i) to seek such directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions, or (ii) to act in accordance with such directions or advice or Oral Instructions or Written Instructions. 6. RECORDS; VISITS. (a) The books and records pertaining to the Fund which are in the possession or under the control of BNY shall be the property of the Fund. Such books and records shall be prepared and maintained as required by the 1940 Act and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations provided the Fund provides BNY with written notice of such laws, rules and regulations, other than the 1940 Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that are applicable. The Fund and Authorized Persons shall have access to such books and records at all times during BNY's normal business hours upon reasonable advance notice. Upon the reasonable request of the Fund, copies of any such books and records shall be provided by BNY to the Fund or to an Authorized Person, at the Fund's expense. (b) BNY shall keep the following records: (i) all books and records with respect to each Portfolio's books of account; 4 (ii) records of each Portfolio's securities transactions; and (iii) all other books and records as BNY is required to maintain pursuant to Rule 31a-1 of the 1940 Act in connection with the services provided hereunder. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY. Each party shall keep confidential any information relating to the other party's business ("Confidential Information"). Confidential Information shall include (a) any data or information that is competitively sensitive material, and not generally known to the public, including, but not limited to, information about product plans, marketing strategies, finances, operations, customer relationships, customer profiles, customer lists, sales estimates, business plans, and internal performance results relating to the past, present or future business activities of the Fund or BNY and their respective subsidiaries and affiliated companies; (b) any scientific or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula, or improvement that is commercially valuable and secret in the sense that its confidentiality affords the Fund or BNY a competitive advantage over its competitors; (c) all confidential or proprietary concepts, documentation, reports, data, specifications, computer software, source code, object code, flow charts, databases, inventions, know-how, and trade secrets, whether or not patentable or copyrightable; and (d) anything designated as confidential. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information shall not be Confidential Information and shall not be subject to such confidentiality obligations if: (a) it is necessary for BNY to release such information in connection with the provision of services under this Agreement; (b) it is already known to the receiving party at the time it is obtained; (c) it is or becomes publicly known or available through no wrongful act of the receiving party; (d) it is rightfully received from a third party who, to the best of the receiving party's knowledge, is not under a duty of confidentiality; (e) it is released by the protected party to a third party without restriction; (f) it is requested or required to be disclosed by the receiving party pursuant to a court order, subpoena, governmental 5 or regulatory agency request or law (provided the receiving party will provide the other party written notice of the same, to the extent such notice is permitted); (g) it is Fund information provided by BNY in connection with an independent third party compliance or other review; (h) it is relevant to the defense of any claim or cause of action asserted against the receiving party; or (i) it has been or is independently developed or obtained by the receiving party. BNY acknowledges and agrees that in connection with its services under this Agreement it receives non-public confidential portfolio holdings information ("Portfolio Information") with respect to the Fund. BNY agrees that, subject to the foregoing provisions of and the exceptions set forth in this Section 7 (other than the exception set forth above in this Section 7 as sub-item (a), which exception set forth in sub-item (a) shall not be applicable to the Fund's Portfolio Information), BNY will keep confidential the Fund's Portfolio Information and will not disclose the Fund's Portfolio Information other than pursuant to a Written Instruction (which Written Instruction may be a standing Written Instruction); provided that without the need for such a Written Instruction and notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 7 to the contrary, the Fund's Portfolio Information may be disclosed to third party pricing services which are engaged by BNY in connection with the provision of services under this Agreement and which shall be subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to such Portfolio Information. 8. LIAISON WITH ACCOUNTANTS. BNY shall act as liaison with the Fund's independent public accountants and shall provide account analyses, fiscal year summaries, and other audit-related schedules with respect to each Portfolio. BNY shall take all reasonable action in the performance of its duties under this Agreement to assure that the necessary information is made available to such accountants for the expression of their opinion, as required by the Fund. 6 9. BNY SYSTEM. BNY shall retain title to and ownership of any and all data bases, computer programs, screen formats, report formats, interactive design techniques, derivative works, inventions, discoveries, patentable or copyrightable matters, concepts, expertise, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and other related legal rights utilized by BNY in connection with the services provided by BNY to the Fund. 10. DISASTER RECOVERY. BNY shall enter into and shall maintain in effect with appropriate parties one or more agreements making reasonable provisions for emergency use of electronic data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available. In the event of equipment failures, BNY shall, at no additional expense to the Fund, take reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions. BNY shall have no liability with respect to the loss of data or service interruptions caused by equipment failure, provided such loss or interruption is not caused by BNY's own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its duties or obligations under this Agreement. 11. COMPENSATION. (a) As compensation for services rendered by BNY during the term of this Agreement, the Fund, on behalf of each Portfolio, will pay to BNY a fee or fees as may be agreed to in writing by the Fund and BNY. (b) The undersigned hereby represents and warrants to BNY that (i) the terms of this Agreement, (ii) the fees and expenses associated with this Agreement, and (iii) any benefits accruing to BNY or to the adviser or sponsor to the Fund in connection with this Agreement, including but not limited to any fee waivers, conversion cost reimbursements, up front payments, signing payments or periodic payments made or to be made by BNY to such adviser or sponsor or any affiliate of the Fund relating to this Agreement have been fully disclosed to the board of directors of the Fund and that, if 7 required by applicable law, such board of directors has approved or will approve the terms of this Agreement, any such fees and expenses, and any such benefits. 12. INDEMNIFICATION. (a) The Fund agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BNY and its affiliates providing services under this Agreement, including their respective officers, directors, agents and employees, from all taxes, charges, expenses, assessments, claims and liabilities (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and disbursements and liabilities arising under the Securities Laws and any state and foreign securities and blue sky laws) ("Claims") arising directly from any action or omission to act which BNY takes in connection with the provision of services to the Fund. Neither BNY, nor any of its affiliates, shall be indemnified against any liability (or any expenses incident to such liability) caused by BNY's or its affiliates' own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard in the performance of BNY's or its affiliates activities under this Agreement. The provisions of this Section 12 shall survive termination of this Agreement. (b) Indemnification of the Fund. BNY agrees to defend, indemnify and hold the Fund and its officers, directors and employees harmless from any and all Claims arising directly from the gross negligence, bad faith, reckless disregard or willful misfeasance of BNY and its affiliates in the performance of its duties hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund shall not be indemnified against any Claim caused by the Fund's or the Fund's other service providers' willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence. (c) Indemnification Procedure. (i) Notice of the Action. A party that seeks indemnification under this Agreement must promptly give the other party notice of 8 any legal action; provided, however, that a delay in notice does not relieve an indemnifying party of any liability to an indemnified party, except to the extent the indemnifying party shows that the delay prejudiced the defense of the action. (ii) Participating in or Assuming the Defense. The indemnifying party may participate in the defense at any time or it may assume the defense by giving notice to the other party. After assuming the defense, the indemnifying party: (1) must select an attorney that is satisfactory to the other party; (2) is not liable to the other party for any later attorney's fees or for any other later expenses that the other party incurs, except for reasonable investigation costs; (3) must not compromise or settle the action without the other party's consent (but the other party must not unreasonably withhold its consent); and (4) is not liable for any compromise or settlement made without its consent. (iii) Failing to Assume the Defense. If the indemnifying party fails to participate in or assume the defense within 15 days after receiving notice of the action, the indemnifying party is bound by any determination made in the action or by any compromise or settlement made by the other party. 13. RESPONSIBILITY OF BNY. (a) BNY shall be under no duty to take any action hereunder on behalf of the Fund except as specifically set forth herein or as may be specifically agreed to by BNY and the Fund in a written amendment hereto. BNY shall be obligated to exercise commercially reasonable care and diligence in the performance of its duties hereunder and to act in good faith in performing services provided for under this Agreement. As set forth herein, and as may be agreed to in writing from time to time by BNY and the Fund with regard to such matters of liability, BNY shall be liable only for any damages arising out of 9 BNY's failure to perform its duties under this Agreement to the extent such damages arise out of BNY's willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of such duties. (b) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, BNY shall not be liable for losses, delays, failure, errors, interruption or loss of data occurring directly or indirectly by reason of circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation acts of God; action or inaction of civil or military authority; public enemy; war; terrorism; riot; fire; flood; sabotage; epidemics; labor disputes; civil commotion; interruption, loss or malfunction of utilities, transportation, computer or communications capabilities; insurrection; elements of nature; or non-performance by a third party; failure of the mails; or functions or malfunctions of the internet, firewalls, encryption systems or security devices caused by any of the above; and (ii) BNY shall not be under any duty or obligation to inquire into and shall not be liable for the validity or invalidity, authority or lack thereof, or truthfulness or accuracy or lack thereof, of any instruction, direction, notice, instrument or other information which BNY reasonably believes to be genuine. BNY shall not be liable for any damages arising out of any action or omission to act by any prior service provider of the Fund or for any failure to discover any such error or omission. (c) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither party to this Agreement nor their respective affiliates shall be liable for any consequential, incidental, exemplary, punitive, special or indirect losses or damages, whether or not the likelihood of such losses or damages was known by such party. (d) Each party shall have a duty to mitigate damages for which the other party may become responsible. 10 (f) The provisions of this Section 13 shall survive termination of this Agreement. 14. DESCRIPTION OF ACCOUNTING SERVICES ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS. BNY will perform the following accounting services with respect to each Portfolio: (i) Journalize investment, capital share and income and expense activities; (ii) Verify investment buy/sell trade tickets when received from the investment adviser for a Portfolio (the "Adviser") and transmit trades to the Fund's custodian (the "Custodian") for proper settlement; (iii) Maintain individual ledgers for investment securities; (iv) Maintain historical tax lots for each security; (v) Reconcile cash and investment balances of the Fund with the Custodian, and provide the Adviser with the beginning cash balance available for investment purposes; (vi) Update the cash availability throughout the day as required by the Adviser; (vii) Post to and prepare the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and the Statement of Operations; (viii) Calculate various contractual expenses (e.g., advisory and custody fees); (ix) Monitor the expense accruals and notify an officer of the Fund of any proposed adjustments; (x) Control all disbursements and authorize such disbursements upon Written Instructions; (xi) Calculate capital gains and losses; (xii) Determine net income; (xiii) Obtain security market quotes from independent pricing services approved by the Adviser, or if such quotes are unavailable, then obtain such prices from the Adviser, and in either case calculate the market value of each Portfolio's investments in accordance with the Fund's valuation policies or guidelines; provided, however, that BNY shall not under any circumstances be under a duty to independently price or value any of the Fund's investments itself, which includes any securities lending related collateral investment accounts, or to confirm or validate any information or valuation provided by the Adviser or any other pricing source, nor shall BNY have any liability related to inaccuracies or otherwise with respect to such information or valuations; (xiv) Transmit or mail a copy of the daily portfolio valuation to the Adviser; 11 (xv) Compute net asset value; and (xvi) As appropriate, compute yields, total return, expense ratios, portfolio turnover rate, and, if required, portfolio average dollar-weighted maturity. 15. DESCRIPTION OF ADMINISTRATION SERVICES ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS. BNY will perform the following administration services with respect to each Portfolio: (i) Prepare quarterly broker security transactions summaries; (ii) Prepare monthly security transaction listings; (iii) Supply various normal and customary Portfolio and Fund statistical data as requested on an ongoing basis; (iv) Prepare and provide each Portfolio's fiscal year end tax provision to support the preparation of each Portfolio's Federal and state tax returns; (v) Monitor each Portfolio's status as a regulated investment company under Sub-chapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; (vi) Prepare the Fund's annual and semi-annual shareholder reports; (vii) If the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of the Fund is required to provide a certification as part of the Fund's Form N-Q or Form N-CSR filing pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, BNY will provide (to such person or entity as agreed between the Fund and BNY) a sub-certification in support of certain matters set forth in the aforementioned certification, such sub-certification to be in such form and relating to such matters as agreed between the Fund and BNY from time to time. BNY shall be required to provide the sub-certification only during the term of the Agreement and only if it receives such cooperation as it may request to perform its investigations with respect to the sub-certification. For clarity, the sub-certification is not itself a certification under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or under any other regulatory requirement; and 16. DURATION AND TERMINATION. (a) This Agreement shall be effective on the date first written above and unless terminated pursuant to its terms shall continue until June 12, 2013 (the "Initial Term"). (b) Upon the expiration of the Initial Term, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive terms of one (1) year ("Renewal Terms") each, unless the Fund or BNY provides written notice to the 12 other of its intent not to renew. Such notice must be received not less than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or the then current Renewal Term. (c) In the event a termination notice is given by the Fund, all expenses associated with movement of records and materials and conversion thereof to a successor accounting and administration services agent(s) (and any other service provider(s)), and all trailing expenses incurred by BNY, will be borne by the Fund and paid to BNY if known at such time prior to any such conversion. (d) If a party hereto is guilty of a material failure to perform its duties and obligations hereunder (a "Defaulting Party") the other party (the "Non-Defaulting Party") may give written notice thereof to the Defaulting Party, and if such material breach shall not have been remedied within thirty (30) days after such written notice is given, then the Non-Defaulting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving thirty (30) days written notice of such termination to the Defaulting Party. In all cases, termination by the Non-Defaulting Party shall not constitute a waiver by the Non-Defaulting Party of any other rights it might have under this Agreement or otherwise against the Defaulting Party. 17. NOTICES. Notices shall be addressed (a) if to BNY, at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, Attention: President (or such other address as BNY may inform the Fund in writing); (b) if to the Fund, at 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, IL 60187, Attention: W. Scott Jardine; fax (630) 517-7437 (or such other address as the Fund may inform BNY in writing); or (c) if to neither of the foregoing, at such other address as shall have been given by like notice to the sender of any such notice or other communication by the other party. If notice is sent by confirming telegram, cable, telex or facsimile sending device, it shall be deemed to 13 have been given immediately. If notice is sent by first-class mail, it shall be deemed to have been given three days after it has been mailed. If notice is sent by messenger, it shall be deemed to have been given on the day it is delivered. 18. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement, or any term thereof, may be changed or waived only by written amendment, signed by the party against whom enforcement of such change or waiver is sought 19. ASSIGNMENT. BNY may assign its rights hereunder to any affiliate of BNY provided that BNY gives the Fund thirty (30) days prior written notice of such assignment. 20. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. 21. FURTHER ACTIONS. Each party agrees to perform such further acts and execute such further documents as are necessary to effectuate the purposes hereof. 22. MISCELLANEOUS. (a) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Fund agrees not to make any modifications to its registration statement or adopt any policies which would affect materially the obligations or responsibilities of BNY hereunder without the prior written approval of BNY, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The scope of services to be provided by BNY under this Agreement shall not be increased as a result of new or revised regulatory or other requirements that may become applicable with respect to the Fund, unless the parties hereto expressly agree in writing to any such increase. (b) During the term of this Agreement and for one year thereafter, the Fund shall not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or 14 hire any of BNY's employees, and the Fund shall cause the Fund's sponsor and the Fund's affiliates to not (with the exceptions noted in the immediately succeeding sentence) knowingly solicit or recruit for employment or hire any of BNY's employees. To "knowingly" solicit, recruit or hire within the meaning of this provision does not include, and therefore does not prohibit, solicitation, recruitment or hiring of a BNY employee by the Fund, the Fund's sponsor or an affiliate of the Fund if the BNY employee was identified by such entity solely as a result of the BNY employee's response to a general advertisement by such entity in a publication of trade or industry interest or other similar general solicitation by such entity (c) Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, BNY hereby disclaims all representations and warranties, express or implied, made to the Fund or any other person, including, without limitation, any warranties regarding quality, suitability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or otherwise (irrespective of any course of dealing, custom or usage of trade), of any services or any goods provided incidental to services provided under this Agreement. BNY disclaims any warranty of title or non-infringement except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement. (d) This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof, provided that the parties may embody in one or more separate documents their agreement, if any, with respect to delegated duties. (e) The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. (f) Notwithstanding any provision hereof, the services of BNY are not, 15 nor shall they be, construed as constituting legal advice or the provision of legal services for or on behalf of the Fund or any other person. Neither this Agreement nor the provision of services under this Agreement establishes or is intended to establish an attorney-client relationship between the Fund and BNY. (g) The Fund will provide such information and documentation as BNY may reasonably request in connection with services provided by BNY to the Fund. (h) This Agreement shall be deemed to be a contract made in Delaware and governed by Delaware law, without regard to principles of conflicts of law. (i) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. (j) This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Except as may be explicitly stated in this Agreement, (i) this Agreement is not for the benefit of any other person or entity and (ii) there shall be no third party beneficiaries hereof. (k) The facsimile signature of any party to this Agreement shall constitute the valid and binding execution hereof by such party. (l) The Fund and BNY agree that the obligations of the Fund under the Agreement shall not be binding upon any of the directors, shareholders, nominees, officers, employees or agents, whether past, present or future, of the Fund individually, but are binding only upon the assets and property of the Fund (or applicable series thereof), as provided in the Declaration of Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by the directors of the Fund, and signed by an authorized officer of the Fund, acting as such, and neither such authorization by such directors nor such execution and delivery by such officer shall be deemed to have been made by any of them or any shareholder of the 16 Fund individually or to impose any liability on any of them or any shareholder of the Fund personally, but shall bind only the assets and property of the Fund (or applicable series thereof), as provided in the Articles of Incorporation or Declaration of Trust. (m) To help the U.S. government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, U.S. Federal law requires each financial institution to obtain, verify, and record certain information that identifies each person who initially opens an account with that financial institution on or after October 1, 2003. Certain of BNY's affiliates are financial institutions, and BNY may, as a matter of policy, request (or may have already requested) the Fund's name, address and taxpayer identification number or other government-issued identification number, and, if such party is a natural person, that party's date of birth. BNY may also ask (and may have already asked) for additional identifying information, and BNY may take steps (and may have already taken steps) to verify the authenticity and accuracy of these data elements. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the day and year first above written. BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING (US) INC. By: /s/ Jay F. Nusblatt --------------------------------------- Name: Jay F. Nusblatt Title: Managing Director FIRST TRUST VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley --------------------------------------- Name: Mark R. Bradley Title: President ------------------------------------ 18 EXHIBIT A THIS EXHIBIT A, dated as of April 11, 2012, is Exhibit A to that certain Administration and Accounting Services Agreement dated as of April 11, 2012 between BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. and First Trust Variable Insurance Trust. Portfolios First Trust/Dow Jones Dividend & Income Allocation Portfolio 19