Subadvisory Agreement between F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC and VIA

EX-99.D(7) 7 d335526dex99d7.htm SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT BETWEEN F-SQUARED INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORS, LLC AND VIA Subadvisory Agreement between F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC and VIA

VIRTUS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

Virtus Premium AlphaSector Series

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

February 14, 2011

F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC

16 Laurel Avenue, Suite 150

Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481

RE:

Subadvisory Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Virtus Variable Insurance Trust (formerly The Phoenix Edge Series Fund) (the “Fund”) is an open-end investment company of the series type registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”), and is subject to the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The shares of the Fund are offered or may be offered in several series (collectively, sometimes hereafter referred to as the “Series”).

Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. (the “Adviser”) evaluates and recommends series advisers for the Series and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Series.

Employment as a Subadviser. The Adviser, being duly authorized, hereby employs F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC (the “Subadviser”) to furnish investment advisory services to the Fund related to the Fund’s Premium AlphaSector strategy (the “AlphaSector Strategy”) for the Series designated by the Adviser as set forth on Schedule C attached hereto (the “Designated Series”) on the terms and conditions set forth herein. The services of the Subadviser hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive; the Subadviser may render services to others and engage in other activities that do not conflict in any material manner with the Subadviser’s performance hereunder.

Acceptance of Employment; Standard of Performance. The Subadviser accepts its employment as a discretionary series adviser of the Designated Series and agrees to use its best professional judgment to make investment recommendations for the Designated Series in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and as set forth in Schedule B attached hereto and made a part hereof.

Services of Subadviser. In providing advisory services to the Designated Series, the Subadviser shall be subject to the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund as they apply to the Designated Series and as set forth in the Fund’s then current prospectus (“Prospectus”) and statement of additional information (“Statement of Additional Information”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as part of the Fund’s Registration Statement, as may be periodically amended and

provided to the Subadviser by the Adviser, and to the investment restrictions set forth in the Act and the Rules thereunder, to the supervision and control of the Trustees of the Fund (the “Trustees”), and to instructions from the Adviser. The Subadviser shall not recommend any transactions that would cause the Designated Series at the time of the transaction to be out of compliance with any of such restrictions or policies.

Transaction Procedures. The Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement are limited to providing recommendations to the Adviser with respect to the Designated Series. The Subadviser shall have no authority or responsibility for implementing its recommendations on behalf of the Designated Series, including the execution of any transactions (other than with respect to Subadviser’s recommendations as set forth herein). The Subadviser shall not have possession or custody of such cash and/or securities or any responsibility or liability with respect to the custody of such cash and/or securities by other persons.

5.	Allocation of Brokerage. The Subadviser shall not have any authority or discretion to select brokers and dealers to execute Designated Series transactions.

Proxies. The Subadviser shall have no authority or responsibility for voting or handling proxies in relation to the assets of the Designated Series. The Subadviser is similarly not authorized to deal with reorganizations, exchange offers, other voluntary corporate actions or any litigation with respect to securities held in the Designated Series, unless the Fund or the Adviser otherwise specifically directs in writing.

Prohibited Conduct. In providing the services described in this Agreement, the Subadviser’s responsibility regarding investment advice hereunder is limited to the Designated Series, and the Subadviser will not consult with any other investment advisory firm that provides investment advisory services to the Fund or any other investment company sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. regarding recommended transactions for the Fund in securities or other assets. The Fund shall provide the Subadviser with a list of investment companies sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. and the Subadviser shall be in breach of the foregoing provision only if the investment company is included in such a list provided to the Subadviser prior to such prohibited action. In addition, the Subadviser shall not, without the prior written consent of the Fund and the Adviser, delegate any obligation assumed pursuant to this Agreement to any affiliated or unaffiliated third party.

8.	Information and Reports.

The Subadviser shall keep the Fund and the Adviser informed of developments relating to its duties as Subadviser of which the Subadviser has, or should have, knowledge that would materially affect the Designated Series. In this regard, the Subadviser shall provide the Fund, the Adviser and their respective officers with such periodic reports concerning the obligations the Subadviser has assumed under this Agreement as the Fund and the Adviser may from time to time reasonably request. In addition, prior to each meeting of the Trustees, the

Subadviser shall provide the Adviser and the Trustees with reports regarding the Subadviser’s advisory services to the Designated Series during the most recently completed quarter, which reports: (i) shall include Subadviser’s representation that its performance of its investment advisory duties hereunder is in compliance with the Fund’s investment objectives and practices, the Act and applicable rules and regulations under the Act, and (ii) otherwise shall be in such form as may be mutually agreed upon by the Subadviser and the Adviser.

Each of the Adviser and the Subadviser shall provide the other party with a list, to the best of the Adviser’s or the Subadviser’s respective knowledge, of each affiliated person (and any affiliated person of such an affiliated person) of the Adviser or the Subadviser, as the case may be, and each of the Adviser and Subadviser agrees promptly to update such list whenever the Adviser or the Subadviser becomes aware of any changes that should be added to or deleted from the list of affiliated persons.

The Subadviser shall also provide the Adviser with any information reasonably requested by the Adviser regarding its advice related to the Designated Series required for any shareholder report, amended registration statement, or Prospectus supplement to be filed by the Fund with the SEC.

Fees for Services. The compensation of the Subadviser for its services under this Agreement shall be calculated and paid by the Adviser in accordance with the attached Schedule A. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Fund and the Adviser, the Adviser is solely responsible for the payment of fees to the Subadviser.

10.

Limitation of Liability. Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, neither the Subadviser, nor any of its directors (including the limited liability company managers of the Subadviser), officers or employees, shall be liable for any action taken, omitted or suffered to be taken by it in its best professional judgment, in good faith and believed by it to be authorized or within the discretion or rights or powers conferred upon it by this Agreement, or in accordance with specific directions or instructions from the Fund, provided, however, that such acts or omissions shall not have constituted a material breach of the investment objectives, policies and restrictions applicable to the Designated Series as defined in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and that such acts or omissions shall not have resulted from the Subadviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder.

11.

Confidentiality. Subject to the duty of the Subadviser and the Fund to comply with applicable law, including any demand of any regulatory or taxing authority having jurisdiction, the parties hereto shall treat as confidential all information pertaining to the Designated Series and the actions of the Subadviser and the Fund in respect thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund and the Adviser agree that the Subadviser may (i) disclose in marketing materials and similar communications that the Subadviser has been engaged to manage assets of the Designated Series pursuant to this Agreement, and (ii) include performance statistics regarding the Series in composite performance

statistics regarding one or more groups of Subadviser’s clients published or included in any of the foregoing communications, provided that the Subadviser does not identify any performance statistics as relating specifically to the Series.

12.

Assignment. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(4) of the Act. The Subadviser shall notify the Fund and the Adviser in writing sufficiently in advance of any proposed change of control, as defined in Section 2(a)(9) of the Act, as will enable the Fund to consider whether an assignment as defined in Section 2(a)(4) of the Act will occur, and to take the steps necessary to enter into a new contract with the Subadviser.

13.	Representations, Warranties and Agreements.

The Subadviser represents, warrants and agrees that:

it is a limited liability company duly established, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction where the failure to so qualify would have a material adverse effect on its business;

it is duly registered as an “investment adviser” under the Advisers Act;

the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within the Subadviser’s powers, have been and remain duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not violate or constitute a default under any applicable law or regulation or of any decree, order, judgment, agreement or instrument binding on the Subadviser;

no consent of any applicable governmental authority or body is necessary, except for such consents as have been obtained and are in full force and effect, and all conditions of which have been duly complied with;

this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation enforceable against the Subadviser;

It will maintain, keep current and preserve on behalf of the Fund, in the manner required or permitted by the Act and the Rules thereunder as are required of an investment adviser of a registered investment company (to the extent applicable). The Subadviser agrees that such records are the property of the Fund, and shall be surrendered to the Fund or to the Adviser as agent of the Fund promptly upon request of either. The Fund acknowledges that Subadviser may retain copies of all records required to meet the record retention requirements imposed by law and regulation.

It shall maintain a written code of ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) complying with the requirements of Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act and Rule 17j-l under the Act and shall provide the Fund and the Adviser with a copy of the Code of Ethics and evidence of its adoption. It shall institute procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons (as defined in Rule 17j-1) from violating its Code of Ethics. The Subadviser acknowledges receipt of the written code of ethics adopted by and on behalf of the Fund. Each calendar quarter while this Agreement is in effect, a duly authorized compliance officer of the Subadviser shall certify to the Fund and to the Adviser that the Subadviser has complied with the requirements of Rules 204A-1 and 17j-l during the previous calendar quarter and that there has been no material violation of its Code of Ethics, or of Rule 17j-1(b), or that any persons covered under its Code of Ethics has divulged or acted upon any material, non-public information, as such term is defined under relevant securities laws, and if such a violation has occurred or the code of ethics of the Fund, or if such a violation of its Code of Ethics has occurred, that appropriate action was taken in response to such violation. Annually, the Subadviser shall furnish to the Fund and the Adviser a written report which complies with the requirements of Rule 17j-1 concerning the Subadviser’s Code of Ethics. The Subadviser shall permit the Fund and the Adviser to examine the reports required to be made by the Subadviser under Rules 204A-1(b) and 17j-l(d)(1) and this subparagraph.

It has adopted and implemented, and throughout the term of this Agreement shall maintain in effect and implement, written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations, by it and its supervised persons, of the Advisers Act and the rules that the SEC has adopted under the Advisers Act. Throughout the term of this Agreement, the Subadviser shall provide the Adviser with any certifications, information and access to personnel and resources (including those resources that will permit testing of Subadviser’s compliance policies by the Adviser) that the Adviser may reasonably request to enable the Fund to comply with Rule 38a-1 under the Act. The Subadviser has provided the Fund with true and complete copies of its policies and procedures (or summaries thereof) and related information reasonably requested by the Fund and/or the Adviser. The Subadviser agrees to cooperate with periodic reviews by the Fund’s and/or the Adviser’s compliance personnel of the Subadviser’s policies and procedures, their operation and implementation and other compliance matters and to provide to the Fund and/or the Adviser from time to time such additional information and certifications in respect of the Subadviser’s policies and procedures, compliance by the Subadviser with federal securities laws and related matters as the Fund’s and/or the Adviser’s compliance personnel may reasonably request. The Subadviser agrees to promptly notify the Adviser of any compliance violations which affect the Designated Series.

The Subadviser will immediately notify the Fund and the Adviser of the occurrence of any event which would disqualify the Subadviser from serving as an investment adviser of an investment company pursuant to Section 9 of the Act or otherwise. The Subadviser will also immediately notify the Fund and the Adviser if it is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, involving the affairs of the Designated Series.

The Fund represents, warrants and agrees that:

the Fund is a statutory trust established pursuant to the laws of State of Delaware;

the Fund is duly registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act;

the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within the Fund’s powers, have been and remain duly authorized by all necessary action (including without limitation all necessary approvals and other actions required under the 1940 Act) and will not violate or constitute a default under any applicable law or regulation or of any decree, order, judgment, agreement or instrument binding on the Fund;

this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation enforceable against the Fund in accordance with its terms.

The Adviser represents, warrants and agrees that:

the Adviser is a corporation duly established, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction where the failure to so qualify would have a material adverse effect on its business;

Adviser is duly registered as an “investment adviser” under the Advisers Act;

Adviser has been duly appointed by the Trustees and shareholders of the Fund to provide investment services to the Fund as contemplated by the advisory contract;

the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within Adviser’s powers, have been and remain duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not violate or constitute a default under any applicable law or regulation or of any decree, order, judgment, agreement or instrument binding on Adviser;

this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation enforceable against Adviser.

14.

No Personal Liability. Reference is hereby made to the Declaration of Trust establishing the Fund, a copy of which has been filed with the Secretary of the State of Delaware and elsewhere as required by law, and to any and all amendments thereto so filed with the Secretary of the State of Delaware and elsewhere as required by law, and to any and all amendments thereto so filed or hereafter filed. The name “Virtus Variable Insurance Trust” refers to the Trustees under said Declaration of Trust, as Trustees and not personally, and no Trustee, shareholder, officer, agent or employee of the Fund shall be held to any personal liability in connection with the affairs of the Fund; only the trust estate under said Declaration of Trust is liable. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, neither the Subadviser nor any of its officers, directors, partners, shareholders or employees shall, under any circumstances, have recourse or cause or willingly permit recourse to be had directly or indirectly to any personal, statutory, or other liability of any shareholder, Trustee, officer, agent or employee of the Fund or of any successor of the Fund, whether such liability now exists or is hereafter incurred for claims against the trust estate.

15.

Entire Agreement; Amendment. This Agreement, together with the Schedules attached hereto, constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior written or oral agreements pertaining to the subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended at any time, but only by written agreement among the Subadviser, the Adviser and the Fund, which amendment, other than amendments to Schedules B and C is subject to the approval of the Trustees and the shareholders of the Fund as and to the extent required by the Act, subject to any applicable orders of exemption issued by the SEC.

16.

Effective Date; Term. This Agreement shall become effective on the date set forth on the first page of this Agreement, and shall continue in effect until December 31, 2011. The Agreement shall continue from year to year thereafter only so long as its continuance has been specifically approved at least annually by the Trustees in accordance with Section 15(a) of the Act, and by the majority vote of the disinterested Trustees in accordance with the requirements of Section 15(c) thereof.

17.

Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by any party, without penalty, immediately upon written notice to the other parties in the event of a material breach of any provision thereof by a party so notified, or otherwise upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to the other parties, but any such termination shall not affect the status, obligations or liabilities of any party hereto to the other parties.

18.	Applicable Law. To the extent that state law is not preempted by the provisions of any law of the United States heretofore or hereafter enacted, as the same may be amended from time to time, this Agreement shall be administered, construed and enforced according to the laws of the State of Delaware.

19.

Severability. If any term or condition of this Agreement shall be invalid or unenforceable to any extent or in any application, then the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby, and each and every term and condition of this Agreement shall be valid and enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law.

20.

Notices. Any notice or other communication required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed duly given if delivered personally or by overnight delivery service or mailed by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, or sent by facsimile addressed to the parties at their respective addresses set forth below, or at such other address as shall be designated by any party in a written notice to the other party.

(a)

To Virtus or the Fund at:

Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc.

100 Pearl Street

Hartford, CT 06103

Attn: Kevin J. Carr

Telephone: (860) 263-4791

Facsimile: (860) 241-1028

Email: kevin.carr@virtus.com

(b)

To Subadviser at:

F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC

16 Laurel Avenue, Suite 150

Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481

Attn: Howard Present

Telephone: 781-235-9055

Facsimile: 781-235-9155

Email: hpresent@f-squaredinvestments.com

21.

Certifications. The Subadviser hereby warrants and represents that it will provide any requisite certifications reasonably requested by the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Fund necessary for those named officers to fulfill their reporting and certification obligations on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q as required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to the extent that such reporting and certifications relate to the Subadviser’s duties and responsibilities under this Agreement.

22.

Indemnification. The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Subadviser and the Subadviser’s directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all losses, liabilities, claims, damages, and expenses whatsoever, including reasonable attorneys’ fees (collectively, “Losses”), arising out of or relating to (i) any breach by the Adviser of any provision of this Agreement; (ii) the negligence, willful misconduct, bad faith, or breach of fiduciary duty of the Adviser; (iii) any violation by the Adviser of any law or regulation relating to its activities under this Agreement; and (iv) any dispute between the Adviser and any Fund shareholder, except to the extent that such Losses result from the gross negligence, willful misconduct, bad faith of the Subadviser or the Subadviser’s reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder.

23.	Receipt of Disclosure Document. The Fund and the Adviser acknowledge receipt, at least 48 hours prior to entering into this Agreement, of a copy of Part II of the Subadviser’s Form ADV containing certain information concerning the Subadviser and the nature of its business.

24.

Relationship of Parties. The Adviser, the Fund and Subadviser are not partners or joint venturers with each other and nothing in this Agreement shall be construed so as to make them partners or joint venturers or impose any liability as such on either of them. Subadviser shall perform its duties under this Agreement as an independent contractor and not as an agent of the Fund, the Trustees or the Adviser.

25.

AlphaSector License. The Adviser and the Fund acknowledge that Subadviser is providing advisory services related to the AlphaSector Strategy pursuant to an AlphaSector License and Redistribution Agreement between Subadviser and Active Index Solutions, LLC (the “License Agreement”). The Adviser (on behalf of itself and its affiliated persons) and the Fund (on behalf of itself and the Trustees) hereby acknowledge that they do not have nor will they obtain under any of the terms of this Agreement any ownership claim, right, title, interest or license to the AlphaSector Strategy or any intellectual property of Subadviser, or any intellectual property rights relating thereto, other than to receive the services of Subadviser, as described in and in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

26.

Counterparts; Fax Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts (including executed counterparts delivered and exchanged by facsimile transmission) with the same effect as if all signing parties had originally signed the same document, and all counterparts shall be construed together and shall constitute the same instrument. For all purposes, signatures delivered and exchanged by facsimile transmission shall be binding and effective to the same extent as original signatures.

[signature page follows]


VIRTUS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

By:	/s/ George R. Aylward
	Name:	George R. Aylward
	Title:	President

VIRTUS INVESTMENT ADVISERS, INC.

By:	/s/ Francis G. Waltman
	Name:	Francis G. Waltman
	Title:	Senior Vice President


ACCEPTED:

F-Squared Institutional Advisors, LLC

By:	/s/ Howard Present
	Name:	Howard Present
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer


SCHEDULES:		A. Fee Schedule
		B. Subadviser Functions
		C. Designated Series

SCHEDULE A

FEE SCHEDULE

(a) For services provided to the Fund, the Adviser will pay to the Subadviser a monthly fee, payable in arrears, at the annual rate stated below. The fee shall be prorated for any month during which this Agreement is in effect for only a portion of the month. Payment shall be made in federal funds wired to a bank account designated by Subadviser. In computing the fee to be paid to the Subadviser, the net asset value of each Designated Series shall be valued as set forth in the then current registration statement of the Fund.

(b) The fee to be paid to the Subadviser is to be 50% of the net advisory fee applicable to the Designated Series. For this purpose, the “net advisory fee” means the advisory fee paid to the Adviser after accounting for any applicable fee waiver and/or expense limitation agreement, which shall not include reimbursement of the Adviser for any expenses or recapture of prior waivers. In the event that the Adviser waives its entire fee and also assumes expenses of the Designated Series pursuant to an applicable expense limitation agreement, the Subadviser will similarly waive its entire fee and will share in the expense assumption by contributing 50% of the assumed amount. However, because the Subadviser shares the fee waiver and/or expense assumption equally with the Adviser, if during the term of this Agreement the Adviser later recaptures some or all of the fees so waived or expenses so assumed by the Adviser and the Subadviser together, the Adviser shall pay to the Subadviser 50% of the amount recaptured.

SCHEDULE B

SUBADVISER FUNCTIONS

With respect to its investment advisory services hereunder, the Subadviser shall, at its own expense:

(a)

Furnish investment advisory services to the Designated Series related to its AlphaSector Strategy, consistent with the terms of this Agreement. In furnishing these investment advisory services, the Subadviser shall:

(i)

to the extent it deems necessary, formulate, revise and update the investment models and analyses comprising the AlphaSector Strategy;

(ii)

calculate and promptly provide to the Adviser the monthly results of the investment models and assist the Adviser in interpreting such results with respect to the investment programs for the Designated Series;

(iii)

assist the Adviser in selecting appropriate investments for the Designated Series to enter into in order to implement the AlphaSector Strategy; and

(iv)

provide such reports with respect to the implementation of the AlphaSector Strategy by the Designated Series as the Adviser or Trustees shall reasonably request;

(b)

Promptly after filing with the SEC an amendment to its Form ADV, provide a copy of such amendment to the Adviser and the Fund;

(c)

Ensure that appropriate representatives of the Subadviser attend meetings requested by the Adviser or Fund at such time(s) and location(s) as reasonably requested by the Adviser or Fund.

SCHEDULE C

DESIGNATED SERIES

Virtus Premium AlphaSector Series