INTEGRITY VIKING FUNDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CODE OF ETHICS AND

STATEMENT ON INSIDER TRADING

 

 

 

CODE OF ETHICS INTEGRITY VIKING FUNDS

Rule 17j-1 (the “Rule”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”) requires registered investment companies (“investment companies”) and their investment advisers, sub-advisers and principal underwriters to adopt written codes of ethics designed to prevent fraudulent trading by those persons covered under the Rule. The Rule also makes it unlawful for certain persons, including any officer or director of an investment company, in connection with the purchase or sale by such person of a security held or to be acquired by an investment company to:

 

(1)               employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud the investment company;

 

(2)               make to the investment company any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state to the investment company a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;

 

(3)               engage in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon the investment company; or

 

(4)               engage in any manipulative practice with respect to the investment company.

 

The Rule also requires that each investment company and its affiliates use reasonable diligence and institute procedures reasonably necessary to prevent violations of its code of ethics.

 

In addition to the Rule, the Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988 (“ITSFEA”) requires that all investment advisers and broker-dealers establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures designed to detect and prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information by such investment adviser and/or broker-dealer. Section 204A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) states that an investment adviser must adopt and disseminate written policies with respect to ITSFEA, and an investment adviser must also vigilantly review, update, and enforce them. Section 204A provides that every person subject to Section 204 of the Advisers Act shall be required to establish procedures to prevent insider trading.

 

Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”), which is effective February 1, 2005, requires registered investment advisers and sub-advisers to

 

adopt written codes of ethics designed to prevent fraudulent trading by those persons covered under the Rule.

 

Attached to this Code of Ethics (“Code”) as Exhibit A is a Statement on Insider Trading. Any investment adviser who acts as such for the Fund and any broker-dealer who acts as the principal underwriter for the Fund must comply with the policy and procedures outlined in the Statement on Insider Trading unless such investment adviser or principal underwriter has adopted a similar policy and procedures with respect to insider trading, which are determined by the Fund’s Board to comply with ITSFEA’s requirements.

 

This Code is being adopted by the Fund (1) for implementation with respect to covered persons of the Fund and (2) for implementation by each “investment adviser” to the Fund as that term is defined in the Act (each such investment adviser being deemed an “investment adviser” for purposes of this Code) and for each principal underwriter (“Principal Underwriter”) for the Fund unless such Investment Adviser or Principal Underwriter has adopted a code of ethics and plan of implementation thereof which is determined by the Fund’s Board to comply with the requirements of the Rule and to be sufficient to effectuate the purpose and objectives of the Rule.

 

The personal trading activity by access persons of unaffiliated sub-advisers shall be governed by the Code of Ethics and Statement on Insider Trading of the applicable sub- adviser, provided that each such sub-adviser’s Code of Ethics meet the requirements of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, is in the best interests of the shareholders and is determined by the Fund’s Board to comply with the requirements of the Rule and to be sufficient to effectuate the purpose and objectives of the Rule.

 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES

 

This Code is based on the principle that the officers, directors/trustees, and employees of the Fund and the officers, governors, and employees of the Fund’s investment adviser owe a fiduciary duty to the shareholders of the Fund and, therefore, the Fund’s and investment adviser’s personnel must place the shareholders’ interests ahead of their own. The Fund’s and investment adviser’s personnel must also avoid any conduct which could create a potential conflict of interest and must ensure that their personal securities transactions do not in any way interfere with the Fund’s portfolio transactions and that they do not take inappropriate advantage of their positions. All persons covered by this Code must adhere to these general principles as well as the Code’s specific provisions, procedures, and restrictions. In addition, all employees must comply with all other applicable federal securities laws.

 

DEFINITIONS

 

For purposes of this Code:

 

“Access Person” means any director/trustee, officer, employee, or Advisory Person of the Fund or those persons who have an active part in the management, portfolio selection, or

 

underwriting functions of the Fund, or who, in the course of their normal duties, obtain prior information about the Fund’s purchases or sales of securities (i.e. traders and analysts. The Access Persons of the firm are listed in Exhibit G.

 

“Advisory Person” With respect to an investment adviser, an Advisory Person means any governor, officer, general partner, or employee who, in connection with his/her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains current information regarding the purchase or sale of a security by the Fund or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales, including any natural person in a control relationship to the Fund who obtains current information concerning recommendations made with regard to the purchase or sale of a security by the Fund. Under this definition, Advisory Person would include: (i) personnel with direct responsibility and authority to make investment decisions affecting a Fund (such as portfolio managers); (ii) personnel who provide information and advice to such portfolio managers (such as research/securities analysts); and (iii) personnel who assist in executing investment decisions for a Fund (such as traders).

 

For the purposes of this Code, an Advisory Person is also considered an Access Person.

 

“Non-Access Fund Personnel” are all other employees of Integrity Viking Funds not covered under any of the aforementioned classifications of personnel and, in most cases, do not have to pre-clear or report their security transactions.

 

“Automatic Investment Plan” means a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An automatic investment plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan.

 

“Board” means either the Board of Directors or the Board of Trustees, as the case may be, of the Fund.

 

“Fund” means any mutual fund or series of any mutual fund in the Integrity Viking Funds group, whether one or more funds or series of a Fund are involved.

 

“Portfolio Manager” means an employee of an investment adviser or sub-adviser entrusted with the direct responsibility and authority to make investment decisions affecting the Fund.  The Portfolio Managers are listed in Exhibit H.

 

“Beneficial Ownership” is as defined in Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations thereunder which, generally speaking, encompass those situations where the beneficial owner has the right to enjoy some economic benefits which are substantially equivalent to ownership regardless of who is the registered owner. This includes:

 

(i)                 securities which a person holds for his or her own benefit either in bearer form, registered in his or her own name, or otherwise, regardless of whether the securities are owned individually or jointly;

 

 

(ii)               securities held in the name of a member of his or her immediate family sharing the same household;

 

(iii)             securities held in the name of an investment club of which the person is a member;

 

(iv)             securities held by a trustee, executor, administrator, custodian, or broker;

 

(v)               securities owned by a general partnership of which the person is a member or a limited partnership of which such person is a general partner;

 

(vi)             securities held by a corporation which can be regarded as a personal holding company of a person; and

 

(vii)           securities recently purchased by a person and awaiting transfer into his or her name.

 

“Chief Compliance Officer” means a person appointed that title by the Board of Governors of the Investment Adviser pursuant to Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act or a person appointed that title by the Board of Directors/Trustees of a Fund pursuant to Rule 38a-1 under the Act and shall not include a Compliance Officer as defined herein.

 

“Covered Security” has the meaning set forth in Section 2(a) (36) of the Act, except that it does not include shares of registered open-end investment companies with the exception of the purchase and/or sale of fund shares of any of the Integrity Viking Funds, securities issued by the Government of the United States or by Federal agencies which are direct obligations of the United States, bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposits, and commercial paper. A future or an option on a future is deemed to be a security subject to this Code.

 

“Compliance Officer” means an employee of the Investment Adviser and/or Principal Underwriter of a Fund who has been appointed such position by the adviser or underwriter, but shall not include a Chief Compliance Officer as defined herein.

 

“Reportable Fund” means any Fund advised by the Investment Adviser, and any Fund whose Investment Adviser or Principal Underwriter is controlled by Corridor Investors, LLC, the parent company.

 

“Reportable Security” means any personal transaction in a covered security that must be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer of the Investment Adviser after execution of a trade (see Exhibit E for examples).

 

“Security Requiring Pre-clearance” means any personal transaction in a reportable covered security that must be pre-cleared by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Investment Adviser prior to execution of a trade (see Exhibit E for examples).

 

 

“Purchase or sale of a security” includes the writing of an option to purchase or sell a security.

 

A security is “being considered for purchase or sale” or is “being purchased or sold” when a recommendation to purchase or sell the security has been made by an investment adviser and such determination has been communicated to the Fund. With respect to the investment adviser making the recommendation, a security is being considered for purchase or sale when an officer, governor, or employee of such investment adviser seriously considers making such a recommendation.

 

Solely for purposes of this Code, any agent of the Fund charged with arranging the execution of a transaction is subject to the reporting requirements of this Code as to any such security as and from the time the security is identified to such agent as though such agent were an investment adviser hereunder.

 

Note: An officer or employee of the Fund or an investment adviser whose duties do not include the advisory functions described above, who does not have access to the advisory information contemplated above, and whose assigned place of employment is at a location where no investment advisory services are performed for the Fund is not an “Advisory Person” or an “Access Person” unless actual advance knowledge of a covered transaction is furnished to such person. Such personnel will be considered “Non-Access Fund Personnel” and will be subject to the requirements of this Code as such.

 

PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS

 

Access Persons shall not engage in any act, practice, or course of conduct which would violate the provisions of the Rule set forth above. No Access Person shall purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any security in which he/she has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership and which, to his/her actual knowledge, at the time of such purchase or sale (i) is being considered for purchase or sale by the Fund, or (ii) is being purchased or sold by the Fund; except that the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to:

 

 

(1)               purchases or sales effected in any account over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control;

 

(2)               purchases or sales which are nonvolitional on the part of either the Access Person or the Fund;

 

(3)               purchases which are part of an automatic dividend reinvestment or other plan established by the Access Person prior to the time the security involved came within the purview of this Code;

 

(4)               purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired; and

 

(5)               purchases or sales that are pre-cleared in writing and approved by the Chief Compliance Officer as (a) clearly not economically related to securities to be purchased or sold or held by the Fund and (b) not representing any danger of the abuses proscribed by Rule 17j-1 of the Act, but only after the prospective purchaser has identified to the Chief Compliance Officer all relevant factors of which he/she is aware of regarding any potential conflict between his/her transaction and securities held or to be held by the Fund.

 

PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS BY ACCESS PERSONS

 

No Access Person shall:

 

(a)                acquire any securities in an initial public offering; or

 

(b)               acquire securities in a private placement without prior written approval of the Chief Compliance Officer or other officer designated by the Board.

 

In considering a request to invest in a private placement, the Chief Compliance Officer will take into account, among other factors, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for the Fund and whether the opportunity is being offered to the Access Person by virtue of their position with the Fund. Should an Access Person be authorized to acquire securities through a private placement, they shall, in addition to reporting the transaction on the quarterly report to the Fund, disclose the interest in that investment to other Access Persons participating in that investment decision if and when they play a part in the Fund’s subsequent consideration of an investment in that issuer. In such a case, the Fund’s decision to purchase securities of that issuer will be subject to an independent review by an Access Person who has no personal interest in the issuer.

 

BLACKOUT PERIODS

 

No Access Person shall execute a securities transaction on a day during which the Fund has a pending “buy” or “sell” order in that same security until that order is executed or withdrawn. In addition, a Portfolio Manager is expressly prohibited from purchasing or selling a security within seven (7) calendar days before or after the Fund that he manages trades in that security.

 

The foregoing prohibition of personal transactions during the seven-day period following the execution of a transaction for the Fund shall not apply with respect to a security when the Portfolio Manager certifies in writing to the Chief Compliance Officer that the Fund’s trading program in that security is complete. Each transaction authorized by the Chief Compliance Officer pursuant to this provision shall be reported to the Board by the Chief Compliance Officer at the Board’s next regular meeting.

 

 

Should an Access Person trade within the proscribed period, such trade should be canceled if possible. If it is not possible to cancel the trade, all profits from the trade must be disgorged, and the profits will be paid to a charity selected by the Access Person and approved by the officers of the Fund.

 

The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to:

 

(1)          purchases or sales effected in any account over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control if the person making the investment decision with respect to such account has no actual knowledge about the Fund’s pending “buy” or “sell” order;

 

(2)          purchases or sales which are nonvolitional on the part of either the Access Person or the Fund;

 

(3)          purchases which are part of an automatic dividend reinvestment or other plan established by the Access Person prior to the time the security involved came within the purview of this Code; and

 

(4)          purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired.

 

(5)          purchases or sales that are pre-cleared in writing by the Chief Compliance Officer as (a) clearly not economically related to securities to be purchased or sold or held by the Fund and (b) not representing any danger of the abuses proscribed by Rule 17j-1 of the Act, but only after the prospective purchaser has identified to the Chief Compliance Officer all relevant factors of which he/she is aware of regarding any potential conflict between his/her transaction and securities held or to be held by the Fund.

 

PERSONAL INTEREST

 

No Advisory Person shall make a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of a security for a Fund or participate in the discussions of the Portfolio Management Team with regard to the potential purchase or sale of a security for a Fund if that Advisory Person has a beneficial ownership interest in the same (or equivalent) securities of such issuer. Additionally, no Advisory Person shall place a portfolio trade for a Fund nor intentionally defer a recommendation to purchase or sell a portfolio security for purposes of personal gain.

 

SHORT-TERM TRADING

 

No Access Person shall profit from the purchase and sale or sale and purchase of the same (or equivalent) securities which are owned by the Fund or which are of a type suitable for

 

purchase by the Fund within sixty (60) calendar days. Any profits realized on such short- term trades must be disgorged, and the profits will be paid to a charity selected by the Access Person and approved by the officers of the Fund. The Chief Compliance Officer or other officer designated by the Board may permit in writing exemptions to the prohibition of this section on a case-by-case basis when no abuse is involved and the equities of the circumstances support an exemption.

 

GIFTS

 

No Access Person shall accept a gift or other thing of more than one hundred dollars in value (“gift”) from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of the Fund if such gift is in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient of the gift. In addition, any Access Person who receives an unsolicited gift or a gift of an unclear status under this section shall promptly notify the Chief Compliance Officer and accept the gift only upon written approval of the Chief Compliance Officer.

 

SERVICE AS A DIRECTOR

 

No Access Person shall serve as a director of a publicly-traded company absent prior written authorization from the Fund Board based upon a determination that such board service would not be inconsistent with the interests of the Fund and its shareholders.

 

PRE-CLEARANCE AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

 

1.                  All Access Persons shall obtain prior authorization before executing a personal securities transaction in a Reportable Security requiring pre-clearance. Exhibit E attached to this Code provides a list of those securities that require pre-clearance. Access Persons must submit a Pre-clearance Form (Exhibit I) to the Chief Compliance Officer (or his designee), and the Chief Compliance Officer must give his authorization prior to an Access Person placing a purchase or sell order with a broker. Should the Chief Compliance Officer deny the request, he will give a reason for the denial. Approval of a request will remain valid for two (2) business days from the date of the approval.*

 

 

* The Board has determined that placement of a limit order constitutes a transaction requiring approval, and the limit order must be placed within two days from the date of approval. Implementation of a limit order in accordance with its approved terms is a ministerial act, which occurs in the future by the terms of the limit order and does not require approval. A change of terms in, or withdrawal of, a standing limit order is an investment decision for which clearance must be obtained.

 

2.                  All Access Persons shall instruct their brokers to supply the Chief Compliance Officer, on a timely basis, with duplicate copies of confirmations of all personal securities  transactions  and  copies  of  all  periodic  statements  for  all  securities

 

accounts. These documents will be utilized to monitor and maintain compliance with this Code.

 

3.                  Access Persons, other than directors/trustees and officers required to report their personal securities transactions to a registered investment adviser pursuant to Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, as amended, shall submit quarterly transaction reports showing all transactions in reportable securities as defined herein in which the person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership.

 

4.                  Each director/trustee who is not an “interested person” of the Fund as defined in the Act shall pre-clear and submit quarterly transaction reports as required under subparagraph 3 above, but only for transactions in reportable securities where at the time of the transaction the director knew, or in the ordinary course of fulfilling his/her official duties as a director/trustee should have known, that during the fifteen (15)-day period immediately preceding or following the date of the transaction by the director/trustee such security was purchased or sold by the Fund or was being considered for purchase or sale by the Fund or its investment adviser.

 

5.                  Every quarterly transaction report required to be made under subparagraphs 3 and 4 above shall be made not later than thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar quarter and shall cover all transactions during the quarter. The report shall contain the following information concerning any transaction required to be reported therein:

 

(a)                the date of the transaction;

 

(b)               the title and number of shares, and as applicable the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number;

 

(c)                the principal dollar amount involved;

 

(d)               the nature of the transaction (i.e. purchase, sale, or other type of acquisition or disposition);

 

(e)                the price at which the transaction was effected;

 

(f)                the name of the broker, dealer, or bank with or through whom the transaction was effected; and

(g)               the date the report is submitted.

 

6.                  The Chief Compliance Officer shall identify all Access Persons and Non-Access Fund Personnel, who have a duty to make the reports required hereunder (as applicable), shall inform each such person of such duty, and shall receive and review all reports required hereunder.

 

7.                  Any employee or officer of a Fund or the Investment Adviser or Principal Underwriter of the Fund shall promptly report any violation he or she uncovers to the Chief Compliance Officer [Rule 204A-1(a)(4)]. The Chief Compliance Officer shall promptly report to the Fund’s Board (a) any apparent violation of the prohibitions contained in this Code and (b) any reported transactions in a security which was purchased or sold by the Fund within fifteen (15) days before or after the date of the reported transaction.

 

8.                  The Fund’s Board or a committee of directors/trustees created by the Board for that purpose shall consider reports made to the Board hereunder and shall determine whether or not this Code has been violated and what sanctions, if any, should be imposed.

 

9.                  This Code, a list of all persons required to make reports hereunder from time to time, a copy of each report made by Access Persons and Non-Access Fund Personnel (as applicable), each memorandum made by the Chief Compliance Officer hereunder, and a record of any violation hereof and any action taken as a result of such violation shall be maintained by the Investment Adviser or Fund as required under the Rule.

 

(a)                Initial Holdings Reports.

Upon the commencement of employment of a person who would be deemed to fall within the definition of “Access Person” (other than disinterested directors/trustees) that person must disclose all personal securities holdings to the Chief Compliance Officer. The Initial Holdings Report must be submitted to the Fund, investment adviser or principal underwriter no later than 10 days after the person becomes an access person, and the information must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the person becomes an Access Person.

 

(b)               Annual Holdings Reports.

All Access Persons (other than disinterested directors/trustees) must report, on an annual basis, all personal securities holdings. The information included on the Annual Holdings Report must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the report is submitted.

 

(c)              Contents of Initial and Annual Holdings Reports. Each holdings report must contain:

(i)                 the title and type of security, and as applicable the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number,

(ii)               number of shares,

(iii)             principal dollar amount of each reportable security in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership;

 

(iv)             the name of any broker, dealer or bank with which the Access Person maintains an account in which any securities are held for the Access Person’s direct or indirect benefit; and

(v)               the date the Access Person submits the report.

 

(d)             Annual Certification.

At least annually, all Access Persons and Non-Access Fund Personnel will be required to certify that they (a) have read and understand the Code; (b) recognize that they are subject to the requirements outlined therein; (c) have complied with the requirements of the Code; (d) have disclosed and reported all personal securities transactions involving reportable securities required to be disclosed; and (e) have disclosed all personal securities holdings.

 

(e)                Annual Compliance Report.

The Chief Compliance Officer shall prepare an annual report to the Fund’s Board. Such report shall (a) include a copy of the Fund’s Code; (b) summarize existing procedures concerning personal investing and any changes in the Code’s policies or procedures during the past year; (c) identify any violations of the Code; and (d) identify any recommended changes in existing restrictions, policies, or procedures based upon the Fund’s experience under the Code, any evolving industry practices, or developments in applicable laws or regulations.

 

10.              An Access Person need not submit:

 

(a)                Any report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the Access Person had no direct or indirect influence or control; or

(b)               A transaction report with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan; or

(c)                A transaction report if the report would duplicate information contained in broker trade confirmations or account statements that the Investment Adviser holds in his or her records so long as the Investment Adviser receives the confirmations or statements no later than 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter.

 

 

Exhibit A

 

 

STATEMENT ON INSIDER TRADING

 

The Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988 (“ITSFEA”) requires that all investment advisers and broker-dealers establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures designed to detect and prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information by such investment adviser and/or broker-dealer or any person associated with the investment adviser and/or broker-dealer.

 

Section 204A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) states that an investment adviser must adopt and disseminate written policies with respect to ITSFEA, and an investment adviser must also vigilantly review, update, and enforce them. Section 204A provides that every person subject to Section 204 of the Advisers Act shall be required to establish procedures to prevent insider trading.

 

Each investment adviser which acts as such for the Fund and each broker-dealer which acts as principal underwriter for the Fund has adopted the following policy, procedures, and supervisory procedures in addition the Fund's Code of Ethics. Throughout this document the investment advisers and principal underwriters collectively are called the “Providers”.

 

 

SECTION I. POLICY

 

The purpose of this Section 1 is to familiarize the officers, trustees/governors, and employees of the Providers with issues concerning insider trading and to assist them in putting into context the policy and procedures on insider trading.

 

 

Policy Statement:

 

No person to whom this Statement on Insider Trading applies, including officers, trustees/governors, and employees, may trade, either personally or on behalf of others (such as mutual funds and private accounts managed by a Provider) while in the possession of material nonpublic information; nor may any officer, trustee/governor, or employee of a Provider communicate material nonpublic information to others in violation of the law. This conduct is frequently referred to as “insider trading”. This policy applies to every officer, trustee/governor, and employee of a Provider and extends to activities within and outside their duties as a Provider. It covers not only personal transactions of covered persons, but also indirect trading by family, friends, and others or the nonpublic distribution of inside information from you to others. Every officer, trustee/governor, and employee must read and retain a copy of this policy statement. Any questions regarding the policy and procedures should be referred to the Chief Compliance Officer.

 

The term “insider trading” is not defined in the Federal securities laws but generally is used