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Form 485BPOS BNY MELLON CALIFORNIA

September 24, 2021 4:34 PM EDT

Articles of Amendment

DREYFUS PREMIER CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC., a

Maryland corporation having its principal office in Baltimore, Maryland (hereinafter called the

"Corporation"), hereby certifies to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland that:

FIRST: The Charter of the Corporation is hereby amended by reducing the par

value of each share of Common Stock of the Corporation as set forth in Article FIFTH of the

Articles of Incorporation (or elsewhere in the Charter) to a par value of one tenth of one cent

($.001) each and reducing the aggregate par value of the Common Stock of the Corporation to

$600,000.

 

SECOND: These Articles of Amendment were approved by at least a majority of

the entire Board of Directors of the Corporation and are limited to changes expressly

authorized by Section 2-605 of the Maryland General Corporation Law to be made without

action by the stockholders of the Corporation.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Dreyfus Premier California AMT-Free Municipal Bond

Fund, Inc. has caused these Articles of Amendment to be signed in its name and on its behalf by its Vice

President who acknowledges that these Articles of Amendment are the act of the Corporation, that to the

best of her knowledge, information and belief all matters and facts set forth herein relating to the

authorization and approval of these Articles of Amendment are true in all material respects, and that this

statement is made under the penalties of perjury.

 

DREYFUS PREMIER CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.

By: /s/ Janette E. Farragher
Janette E. Farragher
Vice President

 

WITNESS:

/s/ Jeff Prusnofsky
Jeff Prusnofsky
Assistant Secretary

 

ARTICLES SUPPLEMENTARY

BNY MELLON CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC., a Maryland corporation having its principal office in Baltimore, Maryland (hereinafter called the "Corporation"), hereby certifies to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland that:

 

FIRST: Pursuant to authority expressly vested in the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the "Board") by Article FIFTH of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended, the Board hereby classifies and reclassifies fifty million (50,000,000) of the one hundred million (100,000,000) shares of the Corporation's Common Stock designated as Class T shares, $.001 par value per share, as Class I shares and fifty million (50,000,000) of the one hundred million (100,000,000) shares of the Corporation's Common Stock designated as Class T shares, $.001 par value per share, as Class Y shares.

SECOND: Immediately before the classification and reclassification of shares as set forth in Article FIRST hereof, the Corporation was authorized to issue seven hundred million (700,000,000) shares, all of which are shares of Common Stock, with a par value of one tenth of one cent ($.001) per share and an aggregate par value of seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000), classified as follows:

 

Class

Shares

Authorized

Class A shares 100,000,000
Class C shares 100,000,000
Class I shares 100,000,000
Class Z shares 200,000,000
Class Y shares 100,000,000
Class T shares 100,000,000
       Total 700,000,000

 

THIRD: As classified and reclassified, the total number of shares of stock which the Corporation has authority to issue remains seven hundred million (700,000,000) shares, all of which are shares of Common Stock, with a par value of one tenth of one cent ($.001) per share and an aggregate par value of seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000), classified as follows:

 
 

 

 

 

Class

Shares

Authorized

Class A shares 100,000,000
Class C shares 100,000,000
Class I shares 150,000,000
Class Z shares 200,000,000
Class Y shares 150,000,000
Total 700,000,000

 

FOURTH: The Corporation is registered as an open-end investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

FIFTH: These Articles Supplementary were approved by a majority of the entire Board of the Corporation and are limited to changes expressly permitted by Section 2-105(a)(10) and (13) of the Maryland General Corporation Law to be made without action by the Corporation's stockholders.

SIXTH: These Articles Supplementary shall become effective at 9:01 a.m. on December 31, 2019.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. has caused these Articles Supplementary to be signed in its name and on its behalf by its Vice President who acknowledges that these Articles Supplementary are the act of the Corporation, that to the best of his knowledge, information and belief all matters and facts set forth herein relating to the authorization and approval of these Articles Supplementary are true in all material respects, and that this statement is made under the penalties of perjury.

BNY MELLON CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.

By: /s/ James Bitetto

James Bitetto

Vice President

WITNESS:

/s/ Jeff Prusnofsky

Jeff Prusnofsky

Assistant Secretary

 

 

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MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

BNY MELLON CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286

August 24, 1994
Amended as of September 1, 2021

BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc.
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The above-named investment company (the "Fund") herewith confirms its agreement with you as follows:

The Fund desires to employ its capital by investing and reinvesting the same in investments of the type and in accordance with the limitations specified in its Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information as from time to time in effect, copies of which have been or will be submitted to you, and in such manner and to such extent as from time to time may be approved by the Fund's Board. The Fund desires to employ you to act as its investment adviser.

In connection with your serving as investment adviser to the Fund, it is understood that from time to time you will employ or associate with yourself such person or persons as you may believe to be particularly fitted to assist you in the performance of this Agreement. Such person or persons may be officers or employees of both you and the Fund. The compensation of such person or persons shall be paid by you and no obligation may be incurred on the Fund's behalf in any such respect. We have discussed and concur in your employing on this basis, for as long as you deem it appropriate, the indicated sub-investment adviser (the "Sub-Investment Adviser") named on Schedule 1 hereto to act as the Fund's sub-investment adviser and provide day-to-day management of the Fund's investments.

Subject to the supervision and approval of the Fund's Board, you will provide investment management of the Fund's portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and limitations as stated in its Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information as from time to time in effect. In connection therewith, you will supervise the continuous program of investment, evaluation and, if appropriate, sale and reinvestment of the Fund's assets conducted by the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any. Should a Sub-Investment Adviser not be employed by you, you will be responsible to conduct the continuous program of investment, evaluation and, if appropriate, sale and reinvestment of the Fund's assets. You will furnish to the Fund such statistical information, with respect to the investments which the Fund may hold or contemplate purchasing, as the Fund may reasonably request. The Fund wishes to be informed of important developments materially affecting its portfolio and shall expect you, on your own initiative, to furnish to the Fund from time to time such information as you may believe appropriate for this purpose.

In addition, you will supply office facilities (which may be in your own offices), data processing services, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, internal auditing and legal services, internal executive and administrative services, and stationery and office supplies; prepare reports to the Fund's stockholders, tax returns, reports to and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and state Blue Sky authorities; calculate the net asset value of the Fund's shares; and generally assist in all aspects

 
 

of the Fund's operations. You shall have the right, at your expense, to engage other entities to assist you in performing some or all of the obligations set forth in this paragraph, provided each such entity enters into an agreement with you in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Fund. You agree to be liable for the acts or omissions of each such entity to the same extent as if you had acted or failed to act under the circumstances.

You shall exercise your best judgment in rendering the services to be provided to the Fund hereunder and the Fund agrees as an inducement to your undertaking the same that neither you nor the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, shall be liable hereunder for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund, provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect you or the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, against any liability to the Fund or to its security holders to which you would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of your duties hereunder, or by reason of your reckless disregard of your obligations and duties hereunder, or to which the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties under its Sub-Investment Advisory Agreement with you or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under said agreement.

In consideration of services rendered pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund will pay you on the first business day of each month a fee at the annual rate of .60 of 1% of the value of the Fund's average daily net assets. Net asset value shall be computed on such days and at such time or times as described in the Fund's then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. Upon any termination of this Agreement before the end of any month, the fee for such part of a month shall be pro-rated according to the proportion which such period bears to the full monthly period and shall be payable upon the date of termination of this Agreement.

For the purpose of determining fees payable to you, the value of the Fund's net assets shall be computed in the manner specified in the Fund's then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for the computation of the value of the Fund's net assets.

You will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of your services under this Agreement and will pay all fees of any Sub-Investment Adviser in connection with its duties in respect of the Fund. All other expenses to be incurred in the operation of the Fund (other than those borne by the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any) will be borne by the Fund, except to the extent specifically assumed by you. The expenses to be borne by the Fund include, without limitation, the following: organizational costs, taxes, interest, loan commitment fees, interest and distributions paid on securities sold short, brokerage fees and commissions, if any, fees of Board members who are not officers, directors, employees or holders of 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of you or any Sub-Investment Adviser or any affiliate of you or any Sub-Investment Adviser, Securities and Exchange Commission fees and state Blue Sky qualification fees, advisory fees, charges of custodians, transfer and dividend disbursing agents' fees, certain insurance premiums, industry association fees, outside auditing and legal expenses, costs of independent pricing services, costs of maintaining the Fund's existence, costs attributable to investor services (including, without limitation, telephone and personnel expenses), costs of preparing and printing prospectuses and statements of additional information for regulatory purposes and for distribution to existing stockholders, costs of stockholders' reports and meetings, and any extraordinary expenses.

If in any fiscal year the aggregate expenses of Class Z shares of the Fund (including fees pursuant to this Agreement, but excluding interest, taxes, brokerage and, with the prior written consent of the necessary state securities commissions, extraordinary expenses) exceed 1-1/2% of the average value of the Fund's net assets attributable to Class Z shares for the fiscal year, the Fund may deduct from the fees

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to be paid hereunder, or you will bear, such excess expense with respect to Class Z shares of the Fund. Your obligation pursuant hereto will be limited to the amount of your fees hereunder. Such deduction or payment, if any, will be estimated daily, and reconciled and effected or paid, as the case may be, on a monthly basis.

The Fund understands that you and the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, now act, and that from time to time hereafter you or any Sub-Investment Adviser may act, as investment adviser or sub-adviser to one or more other investment companies and fiduciary or other managed accounts, and the Fund has no objection to your and any Sub-Investment Adviser's so acting, provided that when the purchase or sale of securities of the same issuer is suitable for the investment objectives of two or more companies or accounts managed by you and which have available funds for investment in the case of a purchase, the available securities will be allocated in a manner believed by you to be equitable to each company or account. It is recognized that in some cases this procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by the Fund or the size of the position obtainable for or disposed of by the Fund.

In addition, it is understood that the persons employed by you to assist in the performance of your duties hereunder will not devote their full time to such service and nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit or restrict your right or the right of any of your affiliates to engage in and devote time and attention to other businesses or to render services of whatever kind or nature.

Neither you nor the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates, except, in your case, for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on your part in the performance of your duties or from reckless disregard by you of your obligations and duties under this Agreement and, in the case of the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by the Sub-Investment Adviser of its obligations and duties under its Sub-Investment Advisory Agreement with you. Any person, even though also your officer, director, partner, employee or agent, who may be or become an officer, Board member, employee or agent of the Fund, shall be deemed, when rendering services to the Fund or acting on any business of the Fund, to be rendering such services to or acting solely for the Fund and not as your officer, director, partner, employee or agent or one under your control or direction even though paid by you.

This Agreement shall continue automatically for successive annual periods ending on November 30th of each year, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Fund's Board or (ii) vote of a majority (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event its continuance also is approved by a majority of the Fund's Board members who are not "interested persons" (as defined in said Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. This Agreement is terminable without penalty, on 60 days' notice, by the Fund's Board or by vote of holders of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities or, upon not less than 90 days' notice, by you. This Agreement also will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in said Act).

The Fund recognizes that from time to time your directors, officers and employees may serve as directors, trustees, partners, officers and employees of other corporations, business trusts, partnerships or other entities (including other investment companies) and that such other entities may include the name "BNY Mellon" as part of their name, and that your corporation or its affiliates may enter into investment advisory or other agreements with such other entities. If you cease to act as the Fund's investment adviser, the Fund agrees that, at your request, the Fund will take all necessary action to change the name of the Fund to a name not including "BNY Mellon" in any form or combination of words.

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The Fund is agreeing to the provisions of this Agreement that limit a Sub-Investment Adviser's liability and other provisions relating to any Sub-Investment Adviser so as to induce the Sub-Investment Adviser, if any, to enter into its Sub-Investment Advisory Agreement with you and to perform its obligations thereunder. The Sub-Investment Adviser is expressly made a third party beneficiary of this Agreement with rights as respects the Fund to the same extent as if it had been a party hereto.

No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived or discharged unless signed in writing by the parties hereto. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof, provided that nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original for all purposes, including judicial proof of the terms hereof, and all of which together shall constitute and be deemed one and the same agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed a limitation or waiver of any obligation or duty that may not by law be limited or waived. If any one or more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be held contrary to express law or against public policy, or shall for any reason whatsoever be held invalid, then such provisions shall be deemed severable from the remainder of this Agreement and shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions of this Agreement.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, will you kindly so indicate by signing and returning to us the enclosed copy hereof.

  Very truly yours,
 

BNY MELLON CALIFORNIA AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.

 

 

 

By: /s/ Jeff Prusnofsky

Name: Jeff Prusnofsky

Title: Vice President

Accepted:
BNY MELLON INVESTMENT ADVISER, INC.

By: /s/ James Bitetto

Name: James Bitetto

Title: Secretary

   

 

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SCHEDULE 1

 

BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. has engaged Insight North America LLC to act as sub-investment adviser to the Fund.

 

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SUB-INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

BNY MELLON INVESTMENT ADVISER, INC.

240 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10286

September 1, 2021

Insight North America LLC
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166

Ladies and Gentlemen:

BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") desires to employ its capital by investing and reinvesting the same in investments of the type and in accordance with the limitations specified in the Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information as from time to time in effect, copies of which have been or will be submitted to you, and in such manner and to such extent as from time to time may be approved by the Fund's Board. The Fund employs BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (the "Adviser") to act as the Fund's investment adviser pursuant to a written agreement (the "Management Agreement"), a copy of which has been furnished to you. The Adviser is authorized to and desires to retain you, and you hereby agree to accept such retention, to act as the Fund's sub-investment adviser with respect to that portion of the Fund's assets which may be assigned to you from time to time (the "sub-advised assets").

In connection with your serving as sub-investment adviser to the Fund, it is understood that from time to time you will employ or associate with yourself such person or persons as you may believe to be particularly fitted to assist you in the performance of this Agreement. The compensation of such person or persons shall be paid by you and no obligation may be incurred on the Fund's behalf in any such respect.

Subject to the supervision and approval of the Adviser and the Fund's Board, you will provide investment management of the sub-advised assets. Your advisory duties and responsibilities hereunder shall pertain only to the sub-advised assets. You will provide such investment management subject to and in accordance with (i) the Fund's investment objective(s), policies and limitations as stated in the Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information as from time to time in effect, or in any supplements thereto, and provided to you; (ii) any applicable procedures or policies adopted by the Adviser or the Fund's Board with respect to the Fund as from time to time in effect and furnished in writing to you; (iii) the requirements applicable to registered investment companies under applicable laws, including without limitation the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), and the rules and regulations thereunder, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"), and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to qualification as a "regulated investment company"; and (iv) any written instructions which the Adviser or the Fund's Board may issue to you from time to time; provided, however, that you shall not be bound by any update, modification or amendment of such documents or other policies of the Fund or the Adviser unless and until you have been given notice thereof in accordance with this Agreement and have been provided with a copy of such update, modification or amendment. In connection therewith, you (a) will obtain and provide investment research and supervise the Fund's investments with respect to the sub-advised assets and (b) will conduct a continuous program of investment, evaluation and, if appropriate, sale and reinvestment of the sub-advised assets, including the placing of portfolio transactions for execution either directly with the issuer

 
 

or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant, counterparty or others. You agree that, in the placing of portfolio transactions for execution, you will attempt to obtain the best net result in terms of price and execution. Consistent with this obligation and in accordance with applicable securities laws, you, in your discretion, may purchase and sell portfolio securities from and to brokers and dealers who provide you with research, analysis, advice and similar services. You may pay to brokers and dealers, in return for such research and analysis, a higher commission than may be charged by other brokers and dealers, subject to your good faith determination that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the particular transaction or of your overall responsibility to the Fund and your other clients and that the total commissions paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund over the long term and, if applicable, subject to compliance with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such authorization is subject to termination at any time by the Fund's Board for any reason. In addition, you are authorized to allocate purchase and sale orders for portfolio securities to brokers and dealers that are affiliated with you, the Adviser, the Fund's principal underwriter or any other sub-investment adviser to the Fund if you believe that the quality of the transaction and the commission are comparable to what they would be with other qualified firms, and provided that the transactions are consistent with the Fund's Rule 17e-1 procedures. In no instance may portfolio securities be purchased from or sold to you, the Adviser, the Fund's principal underwriter, any other sub-investment adviser to the Fund or any person affiliated with you, the Adviser, the Fund's principal underwriter, any other sub-investment adviser to the Fund or the Fund, except in accordance with the applicable securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, including Rules 17a-7 and 17a-10 under the Investment Company Act, and any exemptive order then currently in effect. The Adviser will periodically provide you with a list of the affiliates of the Adviser, the Fund or the Fund's principal underwriter to which investment or trading restrictions apply, and will specifically identify in writing (x) all publicly traded companies in which the Fund may not invest, together with ticker symbols for all such companies, and (y) any affiliated brokers and any restrictions that apply to the use of those brokers by the Fund.

You shall be deemed to be an independent contractor and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized, have no authority to act for or represent the Adviser or the Fund in any way or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Adviser or the Fund, and nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as making the Adviser or the Fund a partner or co-venturer with you or any of your affiliates. You shall utilize counterparties for brokerage, futures and options clearing, ISDA purposes and trade execution under agreements set up in the name of the Fund. You shall be responsible for managing any collateral and margin requirements associated with investments made for the sub-advised assets.

Proxies of companies whose shares are part of the sub-advised assets shall be voted as described in the Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, and you shall assume responsibility for the voting of such proxies pursuant to proxy voting procedures approved by the Adviser. You are authorized and agree to act on behalf of the Fund with respect to any reorganizations, exchange offers and other voluntary corporate actions in connection with securities held in the sub-advised assets in such manner as you deem advisable, unless the Fund or the Adviser otherwise specifically directs in writing. You shall have no responsibility with respect to the collection of income, physical acquisition or the safekeeping of the sub-advised assets. You also shall have no obligation to initiate any legal proceeding (including, without limitation, class actions and bankruptcies) with respect to the securities constituting the sub-advised assets and you shall not file proofs of claims relating to the sub-advised assets. The Adviser shall furnish you with copies of the Fund's Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information and shareholder reports. You will be provided the opportunity to review and approve any description of you and your investment process set forth in the Fund's Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information and shareholder reports. The Adviser also will furnish you with copies of Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information supplements that disclose any changes to the Fund's investment objective,

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policies, strategies or restrictions and you will have a reasonable period of time to implement such changes with respect to the sub-advised assets.

You will furnish to the Adviser or the Fund such information, with respect to the investments which the Fund may hold or contemplate purchasing in connection with the sub-advised assets, as the Adviser or the Fund may reasonably request. The Fund and the Adviser wish to be informed of important developments materially affecting the management of the sub-advised assets and shall expect you, on your own initiative, to furnish to the Fund or the Adviser from time to time such information as you may believe appropriate for this purpose. Upon reasonable request, you will make available your officers and employees to meet with the Fund's Board and/or the Adviser to review the sub-advised assets.

You will maintain all required books and records with respect to the securities transactions of the Fund for the sub-advised assets, and will furnish the Fund's Board and the Adviser with such periodic and special reports as the Fund's Board or the Adviser reasonably may request. You hereby agree that all records which you maintain for the Fund or the Adviser are the property of the Fund or the Adviser, and agree to preserve for the periods prescribed by applicable law any records which you maintain for the Fund or the Adviser and which are required to be maintained, and further agree to surrender promptly to the Fund or the Adviser any records which you maintain for the Fund or the Adviser upon request by the Fund or the Adviser, provided that you shall have reasonable opportunity to create and maintain copies of applicable records.

The Adviser and you each agree to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Advisers Act"), and the Investment Company Act. You will promptly notify the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer (a) in the event the Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental authority has censured you, placed limitations upon your activities, functions or operations, suspended or revoked your registration, as an investment adviser, or has commenced proceedings or an investigation that may result in any of these actions; or (b) upon becoming aware of any material fact relating to you that is not contained in the Fund's Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information, and is required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. Upon request, and in accordance with the scope of your obligations and responsibilities contained in this Agreement, you will provide reasonable assistance to the Fund in connection with the Fund's compliance with applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations thereunder, and Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act. Such assistance shall include, but not be limited to, (i) certifying periodically, upon the request of the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer, that you are in compliance with all applicable "federal securities laws," as required by Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act, and Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act; (ii) facilitating and cooperating with the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer to evaluate the effectiveness of your compliance controls; (iii) providing the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer with direct access to your compliance personnel; (iv) providing the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer with periodic reports; and (v) promptly providing the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer with special reports in the event of material compliance violations. Upon request, you will provide certifications to the Fund, in a form satisfactory to the Fund, to be relied upon by the Fund's officers certifying the Fund's periodic reports on Form N-CSR pursuant to Rule 30a-2 under the Investment Company Act.

In consideration of services rendered pursuant to this Agreement, the Adviser will pay you on the first business day of each month, out of the management fee it receives and only to the extent thereof, a fee at the annual rate set forth on Schedule 1 hereto. If the Adviser waives all or a portion of the management fee it is entitled to receive from the Fund, the fee payable to you pursuant to this Agreement may be reduced as you and the Adviser mutually agree. The fee for the period from the effective date of

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this Agreement to the end of the month thereof shall be pro-rated according to the proportion which such period bears to the full monthly period, and upon any termination of this Agreement before the end of any month, the fee for such part of a month shall be pro-rated according to the proportion which such period bears to the full monthly period and shall be payable within 10 business days of the date of termination of this Agreement. For the purpose of determining fees payable to you, the value of the Fund's net sub-advised assets shall be computed in the manner specified in the Fund's then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for the computation of the value of the Fund's net assets.

Net asset value shall be computed on such days and at such time or times as described in the Fund's then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. You agree to monitor the sub-advised assets and to notify the Adviser on any day that you determine that a significant event has occurred with respect to one or more securities held in the sub-advised assets that would materially affect the value of such securities (provided that you shall not be responsible for providing information based on valuations provided by third party services which value securities based upon changes in one or more broad-based indices). At the request of the Adviser or the Fund's Valuation Committee, you agree to provide additional reasonable assistance to the Adviser, the Fund's Valuation Committee and the Fund's pricing agents in valuing the sub-advised assets, including in connection with fair value pricing of the sub-advised assets.

You will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of your services under this Agreement. All other expenses to be incurred in the operation of the Fund (other than those borne by the Adviser) will be borne by the Fund, except to the extent specifically assumed by you. The expenses to be borne by the Fund include, without limitation, the following: organizational costs, taxes, interest, loan commitment fees, interest and distributions paid on securities sold short, brokerage fees and commissions, if any, fees of Board members who are not the Adviser's or your officers, directors or employees or holders of 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of you or the Adviser or any affiliate of you or the Adviser, Securities and Exchange Commission fees, state Blue Sky qualification fees, advisory fees, charges of custodians, transfer and dividend disbursing agents' fees, certain insurance premiums, industry association fees, outside auditing and legal expenses, costs of independent pricing services, costs of maintaining the Fund's existence, costs attributable to investor services (including, without limitation, telephone and personnel expenses), costs of preparing and printing prospectuses and statements of additional information for regulatory purposes and for distribution to existing shareholders, costs of shareholders' reports and meetings, and any extraordinary expenses.

The Adviser understands that in entering into this Agreement you have relied upon the inducements made by the Fund to you under the Management Agreement. The Adviser also understands that you now act, and that from time to time hereafter you may act, as investment adviser or sub-investment adviser to one or more investment companies and fiduciary or other managed accounts, and the Adviser has no objection to your so acting, provided that when the purchase or sale of securities of the same issuer is suitable for the investment objectives of two or more companies or accounts managed by you and which have available funds for investment in the case of a purchase, the available securities will be allocated in a manner believed by you to be equitable to each company or account. It is recognized that in some cases this procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by the Fund or the size of the position obtainable for or disposed of by the Fund.

It is also understood that (i) you shall be prohibited from consulting with any other sub-investment adviser to the Fund (including, in the case of an offering of securities subject to Section 10(f) of the Investment Company Act, any sub-investment adviser that is a principal underwriter or an affiliated person of a principal underwriter of such offering) concerning transactions for the Fund in securities or other assets, except, in the case of transactions involving securities of persons engaged in securities-

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related businesses, for purposes of complying with the conditions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of Rule 12d3-1 under the Investment Company Act, and (ii) your responsibility regarding investment advice hereunder is limited to the sub-advised assets of the Fund.

In addition, it is understood that the persons employed by you to assist in the performance of your duties hereunder will not devote their full time to such services and nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit or restrict your right or the right of any of your affiliates to engage in and devote time and attention to other businesses or to render services of whatever kind or nature.

You shall exercise your best judgment in rendering the services to be provided hereunder, and the Adviser agrees as an inducement to your undertaking the same that you shall not be liable hereunder for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund, the Fund's security holders, or the Adviser, provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect you against any liability to the Adviser, the Fund or the Fund's security holders to which you would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of your duties hereunder, or by reason of your reckless disregard of your obligations and duties under this Agreement. You shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser and the Fund against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including legal and other expenses) ("Losses") to which the Adviser or the Fund become subject arising out of or based on any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus and/or Statement of Additional Information, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the omission to state therein a material fact known to you that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by you to the Adviser or the Fund for use therein. The Adviser shall indemnify you and hold you harmless against any and all Losses to which you may become subject arising out of or based on any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus and/or Statement of Additional Information, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by you to the Adviser or the Fund for use therein. In no event will you have any responsibility for any portion of the Fund's assets not managed by you or for the acts or omissions of any other sub-investment adviser to the Fund. In particular, in the event that you manage only a segment of the Fund's assets, you shall have no responsibility for the Fund being in violation of any applicable law or regulation or investment policy or restriction applicable to the Fund as a whole, or for the Fund failing to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code, if the securities and other holdings of the segment of the Fund's assets managed by you are such that your segment would not be in such violation or fail to so qualify if such segment were deemed a separate regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code, unless such violation was due to your failure to comply with written guidelines adopted by the Fund or the Adviser and provided to you.

You may delegate some of your duties under this Agreement to one or more of your affiliates; provided, however, that (i) you shall provide prior notice to the Adviser of any such delegation and the Adviser consents to such delegation, (ii) any delegation of investment advisory duties within the definition of "investment adviser" under the Investment Company Act is subject to and conditioned on the approval of the Fund's Board and/or the Fund's shareholders as may be required pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act, (iii) you at all times shall supervise and oversee the performance of any such services delegated by you to your affiliate, (iv) no additional charges, fees or other compensation shall be paid by the Adviser or the Fund for any such services delegated by you to your affiliate, and (v) you at all times shall remain liable to the Adviser and the Fund for your obligations under this Agreement regardless of whether services hereunder are provided by you or any of your affiliates.

-5-

 
 

This Agreement shall continue until the date set forth on Schedule 1 hereto (the "Reapproval Date"), and thereafter shall continue automatically for successive annual periods ending on the day of each year set forth on Schedule 1 hereto (the "Reapproval Day"), provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Fund's Board or (ii) vote of a majority (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event its continuance also is approved by a majority of the Fund's Board members who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Fund or any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. This Agreement is terminable without penalty (i) by the Adviser on not more than 60 days' notice to you, (ii) by the Fund's Board or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities on not more than 60 days' notice to you, or (iii) by you on not less than 90 days' notice to the Fund and the Adviser. This Agreement also will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the Investment Company Act or the Investment Advisers Act) and you shall be notified by the Fund and the Adviser, or you shall notify the Fund and the Adviser, as applicable, as soon as possible before any such assignment occurs. In addition, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if the Management Agreement terminates for any reason, this Agreement shall terminate effective upon the date the Management Agreement terminates.

The Adviser acknowledges that it has received and has had an opportunity to read a copy of your Form ADV Part 2A (the "Brochure") and a copy of the Form ADV Part 2B with respect to your personnel with the most significant responsibility for providing advisory services to the Fund (the "Brochure Supplement"). The Adviser agrees that the Brochure and Brochure Supplement, as well as other client communications, may be transmitted to the Adviser electronically.

Unless indicated on Schedule 1 hereto, the Fund has claimed an exclusion from the definition of a Commodity Pool Operator pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5 (the "CPO Exclusion") and you shall not manage the Fund's assets in a manner that would cause the Fund to not qualify for the CPO Exclusion until otherwise indicated for the Fund on such Schedule. If the Fund is identified on Schedule 1 as not claiming the CPO Exclusion and you intend to rely on CFTC Rule 4.7, unless Schedule 1 states to the contrary, the Adviser represents that the Fund is a "qualified eligible person" under the rule, consents to the Fund being treated as an exempt account under the rule, and acknowledges the legend set forth above its signature below. In addition, the Adviser represents to you that it is registered as a Commodity Pool Operator and is a member of the National Futures Association in such capacity, to the extent required by the nature of its activities, and you represent to the Adviser that you are registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor and are a member of the National Futures Association in such capacity.

No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived or discharged unless signed in writing by the parties hereto. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof, provided that nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the Investment Company Act or the Investment Advisers Act. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original for all purposes, including judicial proof of the terms hereof, and all of which together shall constitute and be deemed one and the same agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed a limitation or waiver of any obligation or duty that may not by law be limited or waived. If any one or more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be held contrary to express law or against public policy, or shall for any reason whatsoever be held invalid, then such provisions shall be deemed severable from the remainder of this Agreement and shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions of this Agreement. The rights of indemnification herein shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any person may be entitled by contract or otherwise by law and shall survive termination of this Agreement.

-6-

 
 

The Fund is expressly made a third party beneficiary of this Agreement with rights as respect to the Fund to the same extent as if it had been a party hereto.

Unless otherwise provided herein or agreed to in writing by the parties, all notices or instructions permitted or required under this Agreement shall be deemed to have been properly given if sent by regular first-class mail, registered mail, private courier, facsimile or electronically and addressed to (or delivered to) the respective party at the address set forth above or at such other address or addresses as shall be specified, in each case, in a notice similarly given. Each party may rely upon any notice from the other party or other communication reasonably believed by the receiving party to be genuine.

PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION IN CONNECTION WITH ACCOUNTS OF QUALIFIED ELIGIBLE PERSONS, THIS BROCHURE OR ACCOUNT DOCUMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE, AND HAS NOT BEEN, FILED WITH THE COMMISSION. THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DOES NOT PASS UPON THE MERITS OF PARTICIPATING IN A TRADING PROGRAM OR UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR DISCLOSURE. CONSEQUENTLY, THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION HAS NOT REVIEWED OR APPROVED THIS TRADING PROGRAM OR THIS BROCHURE OR ACCOUNT DOCUMENT.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, will you kindly so indicate by signing and returning to us the enclosed copy hereof.

  Very truly yours,
   
  BNY MELLON INVESTMENT ADVISER, INC.
   
 

By: /s/ James Bitetto
Name: James Bitetto

Title: Secretary

Accepted:  
   
INSIGHT NORTH AMERICA LLC  
   

By: /s/ Danielle Pagano
Name: Danielle Pagano

Title: Chief Operating Officer

 

-7-

 
 

SCHEDULE 1

 

 

Annual Fee as a Percentage of

Average Daily Net Sub-Advised Assets

 

 

Reapproval Date

 

 

Reapproval Day

     
0.288% November 30, 2022 November 30th
     
     

 

-8-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

 

 

 

We consent to the reference to our firm under the captions "Financial Highlights" in the Prospectus and "Counsel and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" in the Statement of Additional Information and to the incorporation by reference in Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registration Statement (Form N-1A Nos. 2-84105 and 811-03757) of our report dated July 23, 2021 on the financial statements and financial highlights of BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) included in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2021.

 

 

 

 

/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP

 

 

 

 

New York, New York

September 23, 2021

 

THE BNY MELLON FAMILY OF FUNDS

(Funds Included on Schedule A)

Rule 18f-3 Plan

Rule 18f-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), requires that the Board of an investment company desiring to offer multiple classes pursuant to said Rule adopt a plan setting forth the separate arrangement and expense allocation of each class, and any related conversion features or exchange privileges.

The Board, including a majority of the Board members who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act), of each of the investment companies, or series thereof, listed on Schedule A attached hereto, as such Schedule may be revised from time to time (each, a "Fund"), which desires to offer multiple classes in accordance with Rule 18f-3, has determined that the following plan is in the best interests of each class individually and each Fund as a whole:

1.       Class Designation: Fund shares shall be divided, except as otherwise noted on Schedule A hereto, into Class A, Class C, Class I, Class Y and Class Z.

2.       Differences in Services: The services offered to shareholders of each Class, as described in the Fund's prospectus or statement of additional information, unless otherwise noted on Schedule A hereto, shall be substantially the same, except that Rights of Accumulation, Letter of Intent and Reinvestment Privilege shall be available only to holders of Class A shares, Checkwriting services shall be available only to holders of Class A or Class Z shares, and Express Voice-Activated System services shall be available only to holders of Class Z shares. Automatic Asset Builder, Payroll Savings Plan, Government Direct Deposit, Dividend Sweep, Auto-Exchange Privilege and Automatic Withdrawal Plan are not available for Class Y shares.

3.       Differences in Distribution Arrangements: Class A shares shall be offered with a front-end sales charge, as such term is defined under the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (the "FINRA Conduct Rules"), and a deferred sales charge (a "CDSC"), as such term is defined under the FINRA Conduct Rules, may be assessed on certain redemptions of Class A

 
 

shares, including Class A shares purchased without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more (or such other amount set forth on Schedule B attached hereto). The amount of the sales charge and the amount of and provisions relating to the CDSC pertaining to the Class A shares are set forth on Schedule B attached hereto. In addition, Class A shares shall be subject to an annual service fee at the rate of .25% of the value of the average daily net assets of such Class pursuant to a Shareholder Services Plan.

Class C shares shall not be subject to a front-end sales charge, but shall be subject to a CDSC and shall be charged an annual distribution fee under a Distribution Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. The amount of and provisions relating to the CDSC and the amount of the fees under the Distribution Plan pertaining to the Class C shares are set forth on Schedule C attached hereto. In addition, Class C shares shall be subject to an annual service fee at the rate of .25% of the value of the average daily net assets of such Class pursuant to a Shareholder Services Plan.

Class I shares shall be offered at net asset value only to (i) bank trust departments, trust companies and insurance companies that have entered into agreements with the Fund's Distributor to offer Class I shares to their clients, (ii) with respect to taxable Funds only, institutional investors acting in a fiduciary, advisory, agency, custodial or similar capacity for qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plans, including 401(k), 403(b)(7), Keogh, pension, profit-sharing and other deferred compensation plans, whether established by corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profit entities, trade or labor unions, or state and local governments ("Retirement Plans"), and IRAs set up under Simplified Employee Pension Plans ("SEP-IRAs"), but not including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRA "Rollover Accounts," Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plans or Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (Class I shares may be purchased for a Retirement Plan or SEP-IRA only by a custodian, trustee, investment manager or other entity authorized to act on behalf of such Retirement Plan or SEP-IRA that has entered into an agreement with the Fund's Distributor to offer Class I shares to such Retirement Plan or SEP-IRA), (iii) law firms or attorneys acting as trustees or

-2-

 
 

executors/administrators, (iv) foundations and endowments that make an initial investment in the Fund of at least $1 million, (v) with respect to taxable Funds only, sponsors of college savings plans that qualify for tax-exempt treatment under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), that maintain an omnibus account with the Fund and do not require shareholder tax reporting or 529 account support responsibilities from the Fund's Distributor, (vi) advisory fee-based accounts offered through financial intermediaries who, depending on the structure of the selected advisory platform, make Class I shares available, (vii) certain institutional clients of an investment advisory subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation approved by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., (viii) U.S.-based employees of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Board members of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. and Board members of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, and the spouse, domestic partner or minor child of any of the foregoing, subject to certain requirements described in the Fund's prospectus or statement of additional information, (ix) clients of financial intermediaries effecting transactions in Class I shares through their brokerage platforms solely as a broker in an agency capacity for their clients and that have entered into an agreement with the Fund's Distributor, and (x) unaffiliated investment companies approved by the Fund's Distributor.

Class Y shares shall be offered at net asset value only to (i) institutional investors, acting for themselves or on behalf of their clients, that make an initial investment in Class Y shares of the Fund of at least $1 million, (ii) with respect to taxable Funds only, Retirement Plans, or certain recordkeepers of Retirement Plan platforms that maintain plan level or super-omnibus accounts with the Fund, (iii) certain institutional clients of an investment advisory subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, provided that such clients are approved by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. and make an initial investment in Class Y shares of the Fund of at least $1 million, and (iv) certain funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds and series of BNY Mellon Funds Trust.

Class Z shares shall be offered at net asset value only to certain shareholders as set forth on Schedule D attached hereto. To the extent indicated on Schedule E hereto, Class Z shares shall be subject

-3-

 
 

to a Service Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act or a Shareholder Services Plan. The amount of fees and provisions relating to such Service Plan or Shareholder Services Plan are set forth on Schedule E attached hereto.

4.       Expense Allocation: The following expenses shall be allocated, to the extent practicable, on a Class-by-Class basis: (a) fees under a Distribution Plan, Service Plan and Shareholder Services Plan; (b) printing and postage expenses related to preparing and distributing materials, such as shareholder reports, prospectuses and proxies, to current shareholders of a specific Class; (c) Securities and Exchange Commission registration fees incurred by a specific Class; (d) the expense of administrative personnel and services as required to support the shareholders of a specific Class; (e) litigation or other legal expenses relating solely to a specific Class; (f) transfer agent fees identified by the Fund's transfer agent as being attributable to a specific Class; and (g) Board members' fees incurred as a result of issues relating to a specific Class.

5.       Conversion Features: Class C shares shall automatically convert to Class A shares after a specified period of time after the date of purchase, based on the relative net asset value of each such Class, without the imposition of any sales charge, fee or other charge, as set forth on Schedule C hereto. No other Class shall be subject to any automatic conversion feature. Shares of one Class of a Fund may be converted into shares of another Class of the Fund, provided the shareholder requesting the conversion meets the eligibility requirements for the purchase of the new Class of shares of the Fund. Except as otherwise provided in the Fund's prospectus, shares subject to a CDSC or a redemption fee at the time of the requested conversion shall not be eligible for conversion. Class Y shares held by investors who are not eligible to purchase Class Y shares shall be converted to a Class of shares such an investor is eligible to purchase.

6.       Exchange Privileges: Shares of a Class shall be exchangeable only for (a) shares of the same Class of other investment companies managed or administered by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. or its affiliates as specified from time to time and, except for shares held through financial

-4-

 
 

intermediary brokerage platforms, (b) shares of certain other Classes of such investment companies or shares of certain other investment companies as specified from time to time.

Amended as of: July 31, 2020

 

-5-

 
 

SCHEDULE A

Name of Fund   Date Plan Adopted
     

BNY Mellon U.S. Mortgage Fund, Inc.

 

 

November 6, 2006

(Revised as of February 23, 2021)

 

     

BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.

 

 

April 28, 2004

(Revised as of February 23, 2021)

 

     
BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund  

April 12, 1995

(Revised as of March 3, 2021)

 

     
BNY Mellon New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.  

October 22, 2002

(Revised as of March 9, 2021)

 

     
BNY Mellon New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund*  

April 12, 1995

(Revised as of March 3, 2021)

 

     

BNY Mellon State Municipal Bond Funds

 

 

April 12, 1995

(Revised as of March 3, 2021)

--BNY Mellon Connecticut Fund    
--BNY Mellon Massachusetts Fund    
--BNY Mellon Pennsylvania Fund    
     

BNY Mellon Municipal Funds, Inc.

 

 

January 16, 2003

(Revised as of February 23, 2021)

--BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund    
--BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund    

 

 

 

 

________________________

 

*       The Fund does not offer Class Z shares.

The Fund does not offer Class I or Class Y shares.

 

A-1

 
 

SCHEDULE B

Front-End Sales Charge—Class A Shares—The public offering price for Class A shares, except as otherwise set forth herein, shall be the net asset value per share of Class A plus a sales load as shown below:

  Total Sales Load



Amount of Transaction

As a % of offering price per share
 


As a % of

net asset value per share

Less than $50,000 4.50   4.71
$50,000 to less than $100,000 4.00   4.17
$100,000 to less than $250,000 3.00   3.09
$250,000 to less than $500,000 2.50   2.56
$500,000 to less than $1,000,000 2.00   2.04
$1,000,000 or more -0-   -0-

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge—Class A Shares—A CDSC of 1.00% shall be assessed, except as otherwise set forth herein, at the time of redemption of Class A shares purchased without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of at least $1,000,000 and redeemed within one year of purchase. The terms contained in Schedule C pertaining to the CDSC assessed on redemptions of Class C shares, including the provisions for waiving the CDSC, shall be applicable to the Class A shares subject to a CDSC. Letter of Intent and Rights of Accumulation, to the extent offered, shall apply to purchases of Class A shares subject to a CDSC.

Front-End Sales Charge—Class A Shares of BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund, BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund and BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund—The public offering price for Class A shares of BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund, BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund and BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund shall be the net asset value per share of Class A plus a sales load as shown below:

  Total Sales Load



Amount of Transaction

As a % of offering price per share
 


As a % of

net asset value per share

Less than $50,000 4.50   4.71
$50,000 to less than $100,000 4.00   4.17
$100,000 to less than $250,000 3.00   3.09
$250,000 or more -0-   -0-

 

B-1

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge—Class A Shares of BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund, BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund and BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund—A CDSC of 1.00% shall be assessed, except as otherwise set forth herein, at the time of redemption of Class A shares of BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund, BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund or BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund purchased without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of at least $250,000 and redeemed within one year of purchase. The terms contained in Schedule C pertaining to the CDSC assessed on redemptions of Class C shares, including the provisions for waiving the CDSC, shall be applicable to the Class A shares subject to a CDSC. Letter of Intent and Rights of Accumulation, to the extent offered, shall apply to purchases of Class A shares subject to a CDSC.

Class A shares of a Fund may be purchased directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary, other than Ameriprise Financial, Baird, Edward Jones, Janney, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, OPCO, Raymond James or Stifel (as defined below), at net asset value without a front-end sales charge by the following individuals and entities:

·Full-time or part-time employees, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children, of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. or any of its affiliates.
·Board members of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. and Board members of the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children.
·Full-time employees, and their spouses and minor children, of financial intermediaries.
·"Wrap" accounts for the benefit of clients of financial intermediaries.
·Investors who participate in a self-directed investment brokerage account program offered by a financial intermediary that may or may not charge their customers a transaction fee.
·Retirement Plans, provided that, if such Class A shares are purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary performs recordkeeping or other administrative services for the Retirement Plan.
·Shareholders in IRA rollover accounts sponsored by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. or its affiliates funded with the distribution proceeds from Retirement Plans. Upon establishing the IRA rollover account sponsored by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. or its affiliates in the Fund, the shareholder shall become eligible to make subsequent purchases of Class A shares of the Fund at net asset value in such account.

In addition, shareholders of the Fund will receive Class A shares of the Fund at net asset value without a front-end sales charge upon the conversion of such shareholders' Class C shares of the Fund in the month of or month following the eight-year anniversary date of the purchase of the Class C shares.

B-2

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

Class A shares of a Fund may be purchased at net asset value without payment of a sales charge by the following individuals and entities, if such shares are purchased directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund:

·Investors who either (i) have, or whose spouse or minor children have, beneficially owned shares and continuously maintained an open account directly with a BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc.-managed fund since on or before February 28, 2006, or (ii) such purchase is for a self-directed investment account that may or may not be subject to a transaction fee.
·Qualified separate accounts maintained by an insurance company; any state, county or city or instrumentality thereof; and charitable organizations investing $50,000 or more in Fund shares and charitable remainder trusts.
·Shareholders who received Class A shares in exchange for old Class T shares of the Fund on February 4, 2009.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased through Ameriprise Financial

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through an Ameriprise Financial platform or account may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

·Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs.
·Shares of the Fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds).
·Shares exchanged from Class C shares of the same Fund in the month of or following the seven-year anniversary of the purchase date. To the extent that the Fund's prospectus otherwise provides for a waiver with respect to such shares following a shorter holding period, that waiver will apply to exchanges following such shorter period. To the extent that the Fund's prospectus otherwise provides for a waiver with respect to exchanges of Class C shares for load waived shares, that waiver will also apply to such exchanges.
·Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial or its affiliates and their immediate family members.
·Shares purchased by or through qualified accounts (including IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b) TSCAs subject to ERISA and defined benefit plans) that are held by a covered family member, defined as an Ameriprise Financial advisor and/or the advisor's spouse, advisor's lineal ascendant (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great grandfather), advisor's lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter, step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant.

B-3

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of the Fund purchased through Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird)

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through a Baird platform or account may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

·Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the Fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds).
·Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Baird or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Baird.
·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).
·Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans or charitable accounts in a transactional brokerage account at Baird, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans. For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs.
·Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same Fund pursuant to Baird's policies and procedures.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

·Shares purchased by associates of Edward Jones or its affiliates and their family members who are in the same pricing group (i.e., accounts grouped by Edward Jones for the purpose of providing certain pricing considerations as determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the associate. This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate's life if the associate retires from Edward Jones in good standing and remains in good standing pursuant to Edward Jones' policies and procedures.
·Shares purchased in an Edward Jones fee-based program.
·Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund.

B-4

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 60 days following the redemption, and (2) the redemption and purchase are made in the same share class and the same account or the purchase is made in an individual retirement account with proceeds from liquidations in a non-retirement account (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).
·Shares exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same Fund and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones. Edward Jones is responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the Fund's prospectus.
·Exchanges from Class C shares to Class A shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84th month following the anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the discretion of Edward Jones.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased through a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (Janney) brokerage account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through a Janney brokerage account may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

  • Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds).
  • Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney.
  • Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).
  • Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans and deferred benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP-IRAs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs or Keogh plans.
  • Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same Fund pursuant to Janney's policies and procedures.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased through Merrill Lynch

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through an omnibus account maintained with Merrill Lynch may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

·Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and the shares are held for the benefit of the plan.

B-5

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

·Shares purchased by or through a 529 plan.
·Shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch-affiliated investment advisory program.
·Shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch's platform.
·Shares purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform.
·Shares of the Fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds).
·Shares acquired through an exchange (i.e., conversion) of Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers. Merrill Lynch has agreed to be responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable. Any future purchases of Class A are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the Fund's prospectus.
·Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members.
·Shares purchased by board members of the Fund and employees of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. or any of its affiliates, as described in the Fund's prospectus.
·Shares purchased from the proceeds of a redemption of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).
·Shares acquired through an exchange (i.e., conversion) from another share class of the Fund that are not or no longer subject to a CDSC as a result of the shareholder's holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased through Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management transactional brokerage account may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

·Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans.
·Shares purchased by Morgan Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley's account linking rules.

B-6

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

·Shares of the Fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund.
·Shares purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account.
·Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same Fund pursuant to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's share class conversion program.
·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of the Fund purchased through Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (OPCO)

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through an OPCO platform or account purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

  • Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan.
·Shares purchased by or through a 529 plan.
  • Shares purchased through an OPCO affiliated investment advisory program.
  • Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the Fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds).
  • Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement).
  • A shareholder in the Fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at NAV to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of OPCO.
  • Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their family members.
  • Board members of the Fund, and employees of the Fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in the Fund's prospectus.

B-7

 
 

SCHEDULE B (continued)

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares of a Fund purchased through Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services or Raymond James affiliates (Raymond James)

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance and/or custody services, may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge as follows:

  • Shares purchased through a Raymond James investment advisory program
  • Shares purchased within the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, including shares of the Fund, through a systematic reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the Fund
  • Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Raymond James and their family members as designated by Raymond James
  • Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement)
  • Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same Fund pursuant to Raymond James' share class conversion policies and procedures.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through Stifel, Nicolaus & Co, Incorporated (Stifel)

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the Fund through a Stifel platform or account purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a front-end sales charge in accordance with the waivers provided in the Fund's prospectus; provided, however that such shareholders may purchase Class A shares at net asset value without payment of a sales charge as follows:

·Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Stifel's policies and procedures

 

B-8

 
 

SCHEDULE C

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge—Class C Shares—A CDSC of 1.00% payable to the Fund's Distributor shall be imposed on any redemption of Class C shares within one year of the date of purchase. No CDSC shall be imposed to the extent that the net asset value of the Class C shares redeemed does not exceed (i) the current net asset value of Class C shares of the Fund acquired through reinvestment of Fund dividends or capital gain distributions, plus (ii) increases in the net asset value of the shareholder's Class C shares above the dollar amount of all payments for the purchase of Class C shares of the Fund held by such shareholder at the time of redemption.

If the aggregate value of the Class C shares redeemed has declined below their original cost as a result of the Fund's performance, a CDSC may be applied to the then-current net asset value rather than the purchase price.

In determining whether a CDSC is applicable to a redemption, the calculation shall be made in a manner that results in the lowest possible rate. Therefore, it shall be assumed that the redemption is made first of amounts representing Class C shares of the Fund acquired pursuant to the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions; then of amounts representing the increase in net asset value of Class C shares above the total amount of payments for the purchase of Class C shares made during the preceding year; and finally, of amounts representing the cost of Class C shares held for the longest period of time.

Waiver of CDSC—Except as set forth below, the CDSC shall be waived in connection with (a) exchanges of shares, except if shares acquired by exchange are then redeemed within the period during which a CDSC would apply to the initial shares purchased, (b) redemptions made within one year after the death or disability, as defined in Section 72(m)(7) of the Code, of the shareholder, (c) redemptions by Retirement Plans, provided that the shares being redeemed were purchased through a financial intermediary that performs recordkeeping or other administrative services for the Retirement Plan and has entered into an agreement with the Fund's Distributor relating to such services, or were purchased directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund, (d) redemptions as a result of a combination of any investment company with the Fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise, (e) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, and (f) redemptions pursuant to any systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund's prospectus. If a CDSC waiver is discontinued, Fund shares subject to a CDSC which were purchased prior to the termination of such waiver shall have the CDSC waived as provided in the Fund's prospectus at the time of the purchase of such shares.

CDSC Waivers Available Through Baird—Fund shares purchased through a Baird platform or account will be eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made upon the death or disability of the shareholder; (b) redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in the Fund's prospectus; (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account; (d) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code; (e) redemptions made to pay Baird fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Baird; and (f) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement.

C-1

 
 

SCHEDULE C (continued)

CDSC Waivers Available Through Edward Jones—Fund shares purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms are eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made upon the death or disability of the shareholder, (b) redemptions made through a systematic withdrawal plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 10% of the value of the account annually, (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account, (d) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations, (e) redemptions made to pay Edward Jones fees or costs, but only if the redemption is initiated by Edward Jones, (f) exchanges of shares in an Edward Jones fee-based program, (g) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement, and (h) shares redeemed at the discretion of Edward Jones for accounts not meeting Edward Jones' minimum balance requirements.

CDSC Waivers Available Through Janney—Fund shares purchased through Janney brokerage account are eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made upon the death or disability of the shareholder, (b) redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in the Fund's prospectus, (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account, (d) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, (e) redemptions made to pay Janney fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Janney, (f) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement, and (g) exchanges of shares for shares of the same class of a different fund, except if shares acquired by exchange are then redeemed within the period during which a CDSC would apply to the initial shares purchased.

CDSC Waivers Available Through Merrill Lynch—Fund shares purchased through an omnibus account maintained with Merrill Lynch are eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made within one year of death or disability of the shareholder, (b) redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 12% of the value of the account annually, (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account, (d) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement, (e) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, (f) redemptions made to pay Merrill Lynch fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Merrill Lynch, (g) redemptions of Fund shares held in a retirement brokerage account that are exchanged for shares of a lower cost share class in connection with the transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms, and (h) shares acquired through an exchange as a result of the shareholder's holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers (Merrill Lynch has agreed to be responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable).

CDSC Waivers Available Through OPCO—Fund shares purchased through an OPCO platform or account will be eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made upon the death or disability of the shareholder; (b) redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in the Fund's prospectus; (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account; (d) Redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code; (e) redemptions made to pay OPCO fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by OPCO; and (f) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement.

C-2

 
 

SCHEDULE C (continued)

CDSC Waivers Available Through Raymond James—Fund shares purchased through a Raymond James platform or account are eligible only for the following CDSC waivers: (a) redemptions made within one year of death or disability of the shareholder, (b) redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 12% of the value of the account annually, (c) redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account, (d) redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, (e) redemptions made to pay Raymond James fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Raymond James, (f) shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement, and (g) exchanges of shares, except if shares acquired by exchange are then redeemed within the period during which a CDSC would apply to the initial shares purchased.

Amount of Distribution Plan Fees—Class C Shares—.75 of 1% of the value of the average daily net assets of Class C.

Conversion of Class C Shares—Approximately eight years after the date of purchase, Class C shares purchased directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund or through a financial intermediary, except as otherwise disclosed in the Fund's prospectus, automatically shall convert to Class A shares, based on the relative net asset values for shares of each such Class, and shall no longer be subject to the distribution fee. At the time of conversion, Class C shares that have been acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions ("Dividend Shares") shall be converted in the proportion that a shareholder's Class C shares (other than Dividend Shares) converting to Class A shares bears to the total Class C shares then held by the shareholder which were not acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

C-3

 
 

SCHEDULE D

Class Z Shares—BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund with accounts that existed on the date the Fund classified its shares as Class Z shares (September 30, 2004), or who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of General California Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Dreyfus California Municipal Income, Inc. or Dreyfus California Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund as a result of the reorganizations of such funds, and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with the Fund on September 30, 2004, or with General California Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Dreyfus California Municipal Income, Inc. or Dreyfus California Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund at the time of the reorganizations of such funds, may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon Connecticut Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of Dreyfus Connecticut Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund as a result of the reorganization of such fund and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with Dreyfus Connecticut Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund at the time of the reorganization of such fund may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon Massachusetts Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of Dreyfus Massachusetts Tax Exempt Bond Fund or Dreyfus Massachusetts Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund as a result of the reorganizations of such funds and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with Dreyfus Massachusetts Tax Exempt Bond Fund or Dreyfus Massachusetts Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund at the time of the reorganizations of such funds may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon Pennsylvania Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of Dreyfus Pennsylvania Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund as a result of the reorganization of such fund and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with Dreyfus Pennsylvania Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund at the time of the reorganization of such fund may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of General Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. as a result of the reorganization of such fund and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with General Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. at the time of the reorganization of such fund may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

D-1

 
 

SCHEDULE D (continued)

BNY Mellon New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund who received Class Z shares in exchange for their shares of Dreyfus New Jersey Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund as a result of the reorganization of such fund and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with Dreyfus New Jersey Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund at the time of the reorganization of such fund may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon U.S. Mortgage Fund, Inc. offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund with accounts that existed on the date the Fund classified its shares as Class Z shares and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with BNY Mellon U.S. Mortgage Fund, Inc. on such date may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of qualified Retirement Plans and "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund with accounts that existed on the date the Fund classified its shares as Class Z shares and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund on such date may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund offers Class Z shares only to shareholders of the Fund with accounts that existed on the date the Fund classified its shares as Class Z shares and who purchase such shares directly from the Fund for accounts maintained with the Fund. In addition, certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions maintaining accounts with BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund on such date may purchase Class Z shares on behalf of "wrap accounts" or similar programs.

 

D-2

 
 

SCHEDULE E

Shareholder Services Plan—Class A and Class C shares of each Fund, and Class Z shares of BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund, are subject to a Shareholder Services Plan pursuant to which the Fund pays the Distributor a fee at the annual rate of .25% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class A and Class C, and .20% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class Z, respectively, for providing shareholder services.

Class Z shares of BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, BNY Mellon New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., BNY Mellon Connecticut Fund, BNY Mellon Massachusetts Fund and BNY Mellon Pennsylvania Fund are subject to a Shareholder Services Plan pursuant to which the Fund reimburses the Distributor an amount not to exceed an annual rate of .25% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class Z for the provision of shareholder services.

Service Plan—Class Z shares of BNY Mellon U.S. Mortgage Fund, Inc. are subject to a Service Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, pursuant to which the Fund reimburses the Distributor for expenses incurred in distributing Class Z shares and servicing shareholder accounts and advertising and marketing with respect to Class Z, at a maximum aggregate annual rate of up to .20% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class Z.

Class Z shares of BNY Mellon High Yield Municipal Bond Fund are subject to a Service Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, pursuant to which the Fund reimburses the Distributor for expenses incurred in distributing Class Z shares and servicing shareholder accounts and advertising and marketing with respect to Class Z, at a maximum aggregate annual rate of up to .25% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class Z.

 

E-1

 

Policy Number: I-A-045

Effective Date: March 31, 2021

 

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Personal Securities Trading Policy

 

Level 3 Policy

 

 

 

Publication Date March 29, 2021
Effective Date March 31, 2021 for all changes (except requirements related to Approved Brokers for employees based in UK and India - June 30, 2021)
Applicable to All BNY Mellon Employees
Policy Owner Steven Wachtel
Global Head of Securities Trading Compliance
Policy Author Same as above
Periodic Review 12 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PUBLIC

 
 

Personal Securities Trading Policy

POLICY NUMBER: I-A-045

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Contents

1   Summary 4
2   Purpose 4
3   Applicability/Scope 4
4   Provisions of the Policy 5
4.1   Principal Requirements for all Employees 5
4.1.1   Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest 5
4.1.2   Trading in BNY Mellon Securities 5
4.1.3   Prohibitions When Trading in Non-Firm Securities 5
4.1.4   Initial Public Offerings (IPO) 6
4.1.5   Private Placements 6
4.1.6   BNY Mellon Affiliated Volcker Covered Funds 6
4.2   Monitored Employees 7
4.3   Classifications of Monitored Employees 7
4.4   Additional Requirements and Restrictions for Monitored Employees 8
4.4.1   Reporting for All Monitored Employees 8
4.4.2   Additional Reporting for ADM and Investment Employees 9
4.4.3   Account Statements and Trade Confirmations 9
4.4.4   Preclearance Prior to Trading 10
4.4.5   Additional Preclearance Restrictions for ADM and Investment Employees (de minimis limits) 10
4.4.5.1   Approval for De Minimis Transactions for ADM Employees and Investment Employees for Securities on Blackout List 10
4.4.5.1.1.1   Additional Restrictions for ADM employees (7 Day Blackout Period) 11
4.5   Managed Accounts 11
4.6   Prohibition on Short-Term Trading 11
4.7   Specific Restrictions for PREG Employees 12
5   Governance and Responsibilities 12
5.1   All Employees are responsible for: 12
5.2   Businesses and Corporate Functions 12
5.3   Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct Group 13
5.4   Compliance Officers 13
5.5   Legal Department 13
5.6   Technology Department 13
6   Adherence and Control 13
7   Appendices 14
7.1   Definitions 14
7.2   Addendums (if necessary) 18
7.3   Document Governance 18
7.3.1   Periodic Review 18
7.3.2   Ownership/Questions 19
7.4   Version Control 19
7.5   Document Hierarchy 20
7.6   Other Applicable Documents 21

 

PUBLIC March 31, 2021  

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Personal Securities Trading Policy

POLICY NUMBER: I-A-045

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1Summary

Personal trading investments can lead to actual or perceived conflicts of interest which can undermine the integrity of the actions of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates that are majority owned (the Firm).

The Firm is subject to various laws and/or regulations governing the personal trading of Securities/Financial Instruments (as defined in Section 7.1 of this Policy and collectively referenced as securities). The Firm has established limitations on personal trading so that employees personal securities investments are conducted in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations and are free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

2Purpose

This Policy sets out the global minimum obligations and restrictions related to personal securities transactions for all employees, including requirements and prohibitions related to the following:

Avoidance of conflicts of interest
Trading in Firm securities
Trading in Non-Firm securities
Initial Public Offerings
Private Placements
Firm-affiliated Volcker Covered Funds

This Policy also articulates additional requirements and restrictions for Monitored Employees who are likely to receive Firm or client information as normal course in their roles. These additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Filing of reports via the Personal Trading Assistant (PTA), the Firms electronic personal trading monitoring system
Providing duplicate statements and trade confirmations directly to the Firm
Preclearance prior to trading
Prohibition on short term trading
3Applicability/Scope

This Policy applies to all employees of the Firm when trading in securities unless such securities are listed as Exempt under Section 7.1. Where indicated, this Policy may also apply to Indirect Accounts, as defined in Section 7.1 of this Policy.

An employee is defined as a Director (excluding non-employees), Officer, Agent, Temporary Worker, Contractor, Intern or any other person who works for the Firm, regardless of their duration of employment or contract.

Where business/country-specific requirements are more stringent than those set out within this Policy, the business or country-specific rules prevail and you must also comply with such rules.

4Provisions of the Policy
4.1Principal Requirements for all Employees

Failure to comply with any requirement in this Policy may subject you to discipline, up to and including termination of employment and referral to law enforcement, when required.

PUBLIC March 31, 2021  

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Personal Securities Trading Policy

POLICY NUMBER: I-A-045

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4.1.1Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest

You must not put your own interests ahead of the Firm and its clients. You must, comply with all applicable legal requirements, securities laws and the Code of Conduct. Employees must treat all Firm and client information as confidential. Refer to the Firms Code of Conduct for additional guidance. You are prohibited from placing transactions in securities if this would create, or be perceived to create a conflict of interest between you, your clients or the Firm. In accordance with securities and/or Market Abuse laws, you are prohibited from engaging in Insider Trading, trading while in possession of Material Non-Public Information (MNPI) as defined by the Firms Information Barrier Policy (I-A-046), Front Running (as defined in Section 7.1 of this Policy) or any other potential market manipulative trading activity.

If you possess MNPI or have knowledge about client holdings, transactions, or recommendations, you must not:

Engage or attempt to engage in trading on the basis of such information
Recommend that another person engages in dealing or induce another person to engage in trading on the basis of the information; or
Unlawfully disclose the information (Tipping)
4.1.2Trading in BNY Mellon Securities

If you invest or trade in Firm securities, you must be aware of your responsibilities and be sensitive to even the appearance of impropriety. The following prohibitions apply to all transactions in the Firms publicly traded securities, whether owned directly (i.e., in your name) or indirectly (see definition of Indirect Ownership in Section 7.1 of this Policy. The following activities are prohibited:

Short Sales
Short-Term Trading: Defined as purchasing and selling, or selling and purchasing Firm securities within any 60 calendar day period. If you engage in short-term trading, you will be required to disgorge profits as determined by the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group. This includes transactions in the Firm related employee benefit plans such as the BNY Mellon 401(k).
Margin Transactions: However, you may use Firm securities to collateralize full-recourse loans for non-securities purposes or for the acquisition of securities other than those issued by the Firm.
Option Transactions: Defined as any derivative transaction involving or having its value based upon any securities issued by the Firm, including the buying and writing of over-the-counter and exchange traded options.
Major Firm Events: Non-publicly announced events of which you have knowledge (prohibition will expire 24 hours after a public announcement is made).
4.1.3Prohibitions When Trading in Non-Firm Securities

You must be sensitive to any impropriety in connection with your personal securities transactions in securities of any issuer, including those owned indirectly (see Indirect Ownership defined in Section 7.1). You are prohibited from:

Engaging in FX derivative trading
Spread Betting: Taking bets on securities pricing, including FX spread-betting to reflect market/currency movement activities
Short Selling
4.1.4Initial Public Offerings (IPO)

You are prohibited from acquiring securities through an allocation by the underwriter of an IPO without the prior approval of the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group. Approval is only likely to be given in the following circumstances:

PUBLIC March 31, 2021  

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Personal Securities Trading Policy

POLICY NUMBER: I-A-045

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The allocation comes through an employee of the issuer who has a direct family relationship to the Firm employee
The issuance is arranged by governments to promote the public ownership of previously state owned assets
Where a bank, savings and loan or insurance company converts from a structure owned by policyholders to one owned by investors (demutualization)

Approval may not be available to employees of registered broker-dealers due to certain laws and regulations (e.g., FINRA rules in the U.S.). If you have any questions as to whether a particular offering constitutes an IPO, consult the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group before submitting an indication of interest to purchase the security.

4.1.5Private Placements

You are prohibited from acquiring any security in a private placement unless you obtain prior written approval from the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group, your Manager and Compliance Officer. Refer to MySource to obtain a copy of the Private Placement/Volcker Covered Fund to initiate the approval request Additional requirements include:

If you are holding an investment of a privately-held (i.e., not traded on an exchange) Firm affiliated fund and you wish to divest all or a portion of your investment, you are required to obtain pre-approval from the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group prior to redemption. Refer to MySource for a copy of the request Affiliated Fund Request form.

 

The Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group will generally not approve any private placement requests that appear to present an actual or potential conflict of interest. This includes instances where, among other things, the opportunity is being offered to you by virtue of your position with the company or its affiliates or your relationship to a managed fund or account and whether or not the investment opportunity being offered to you could be re-allocated to a client. So that no actual or potential conflict exists between the proposed private placement purchase and the interests of any managed fund or account, you must comply with any and all requests for information and/or documentation necessary for the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group.

 

Within 30 days of being designated a Monitored Employee (see Sections 4.2 to 4.4 for information), you must disclose any existing private placement securities to the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group who will determine if you will be permitted to continue to hold the investment.
4.1.6BNY Mellon Affiliated Volcker Covered Funds

You are prohibited from acquiring any initial or subsequent investment in a Firm affiliated Volcker Covered Fund (Refer to the Volcker Compliance site on MySource) unless you obtain prior written approval from the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group, your Manager and Compliance Officer. Unless your job duties are directly related to providing investment advisory, commodity trading advisory or other services to the fund, your investment in such funds will not be permitted. Refer to MySource for a copy of the Private Placement/Volcker Covered Fund request form.

If you are newly hired and you hold an investment (either directly or indirectly) in an affiliated Firm Volcker Covered Fund you must receive permission to continue to hold that investment. You must disclose your investment within 30 calendar days of your hire date. Refer to MySource for a copy of the Private Placement/Volcker Covered Fund request form. You may be required to divest your ownership interest.

4.2Monitored Employees

If you are determined to be at risk for receiving Firm or client information as described below, your personal trading and accounts where you have Indirect Ownership (as defined in Section 7.1) are required to be monitored

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and you are thus deemed a Monitored Employee. There are strict limitations on such trading for Monitored Employees as further described in Section 4.4.

Monitored Employees are employees who, as a routine and normal course of their job:

Are deemed to be at a high risk of receiving MNPI of issuer clients (generally, certain employees located in Private Side businesses as defined by the Firms Information Barrier Policy I-A-046.
Have nonpublic information regarding advisory clients purchase or sale of securities or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of a Proprietary Fund, is involved in making securities recommendations to advisory clients, or has access to such recommendations before they are public.
Have foreknowledge of the clients trading positions or plans such that the information may elevate the risk of Front Running or similar manipulative trading.
Have access to inside information with respect to the Firms financial results in advance of such results being released to the public.
Required by regulation employees who work for a company broker-dealer or investment adviser (or their equivalents).
4.3Classifications of Monitored Employees

The Firm has assigned Monitored Employees a classification that will correspond to the type of information they routinely are exposed to as performing their job duties. They are as follows:

Classification Type Definition
Access Decision Maker (ADM) Employee Employees within Investment Management who are Portfolio Managers or Research Analysts and make or participate in recommendations or decisions regarding the purchase or sale of securities for mutual funds or managed accounts. Portfolio Managers of broad-based index funds and traders are not typically classified as ADM Employees.
Insider Risk Employee Employees who in the normal course of business are likely to receive MNPI regarding issuer clients. Typically includes employees in Issuer Services, Global Client Management and Treasury Services as well as certain Corporate Staff functions.
Investment Employee

Employees in the normal course of business who:

       Have access to nonpublic information regarding advisory clients purchase or sale of securities or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of a Firm Proprietary Fund

       Are involved in making securities recommendations to advisory clients, or has access to such recommendations before they are public.

       Have foreknowledge of clients trading positions or plans such that the information may elevate the risk of Front Running
This classification typically includes employees in Investment and Wealth Management businesses as well as employees in other Public side businesses or Corporate Functions who have an elevated risk (clear access to pre-trade settlement information) of Front Running.

       Employees of a Firm business regulated by certain investment company laws. Examples are:

       In the U.S., employees who are advisory persons or access persons under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 or access persons under Rule 204A-1 of the Advisers Act.

 

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·         In the U.K., employees in companies undertaking specified activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities), Order 2001, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

·         Any member of the Firms Senior Management who, as part of his/her usual duties, has management responsibility for fiduciary activities or routinely has access to information about advisory clients securities transactions.

Pre-Release Earning Group (PREG) Employee Includes all Executive Committee members, their administrative assistants and any individual determined by the Corporate Finance Department to have access to the Firms earnings in advance of public announcements.
Broker Dealer Monitored Employee Employees that by regulation are required to have their personal trading monitored.
4.4Additional Requirements and Restrictions for Monitored Employees

In addition to the requirements which apply to all employees as described in Section 3.1 of this Policy, all Monitored Employees are also subject to the additional requirements noted below. These requirements apply to all securities accounts and holdings, for which you have direct and indirect ownership.

4.4.1Reporting for All Monitored Employees

You are required to file various reports via the Personal Trading Assistant (PTA), the Firms electronic personal trading monitoring system. Required reports must also include any securities (except those deemed exempt as defined in Section 7.1), held outside of an account (for example, if you hold physical securities outside of a brokerage account, you must report those securities). You are required to file the following reports in order to be in compliance with the Policy:

Initial Reports: Within 10 calendar days of being notified by the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group you are a Monitored Employee, you must file an Initial Broker Accounts and an Initial Holdings Report. These reports must contain a listing of all accounts that trade, or are capable of trading, securities. Initial Holdings Reports must be an accurate recording of accounts and securities holdings within the preceding 45 days of your being deemed a monitored employee.

 

Annual Reports: On an annual basis and within 30 calendar days after the end of the year, you must file an Annual Holdings Report. The report must contain an accurate and current listing of securities held in all accounts that trade, or are capable of trading securities.

 

Ongoing Reporting: If you open a new account, or receive securities through a gift or inheritance, you must update your holdings in the PTA system within 10 calendar days of the event (i.e., account opening or date of receipt of securities). For gifts/inheritance, you must disclose the name of the person receiving or giving the gift or inheritance, date of the transaction, and name of the broker through which the transaction was effected (if applicable). A gift of securities must be one where the donor does not receive anything of monetary value in return. Preclearance is required for all reportable holdings that are being liquidated (e.g. an executor liquidating a portfolio).

 

Updating Holdings: You are responsible for your securities holdings being accurate in the PTA System. This may require you to make manual adjustments for changes to your securities holdings (excluding exempt securities as defined in Section7.1 of this Policy) that occur as a result of corporate actions, dividend reinvestments, or similar activity. These adjustments must be reported as soon as possible, but no less than annually.
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4.4.2Additional Reporting for ADM and Investment Employees

Further reporting requirements for ADM and Investment Employees include:

Quarterly Reports (Investment and ADM employees only): Within 30 calendar days after the end of the quarter, you must file a Quarterly Transactions Report. The report must contain a list of all reportable transactions that occurred in the quarter. You must certify all broker accounts that are capable of trading in reportable securities and all reportable securities held. Your report must be current within 45 calendar days of the date the report is filed.

 

Contemporaneous Disclosure Reports (ADM employees only): Prior to making or acting upon a portfolio recommendation (buy/hold/sell) in a security you have direct or indirect ownership, written authorization must be obtained. Under no circumstances may you provide portfolio recommendations or place trades based on their potential impact to your personal securities holdings, nor may you refuse to provide a recommendation or execute a transaction within the portfolio.to avoid submitting a Contemporaneous Disclosure. There are a limited number of transactions that are exempt from this requirement. More information, including a copy of the Contemporaneous Disclosure Form can be found on MySource.
4.4.3Account Statements and Trade Confirmations

Monitored Employees are required to provide duplicate statements and trade confirmations directly to the Firm. You must adhere to the following requirements:

U.S., UK or India-based Monitored Employees
You must maintain all accounts with an approved broker-dealer (refer to MySource for the Approved Broker List). If you have securities held in a physical form or held directly with an issuer, you must provide copies of account statements and trade confirmations.

Note: The approved broker requirement for employees based in the U.K. or India will be effective June 30, 2021.

All other Monitored Employees (non-U.S., non-U.K. or non-India-based Monitored Employees)
You must provide copies of account statements and trade confirmations to your designated local Compliance Officer, upon receipt or at least quarterly. You are also required to enter your trade confirmation details into the PTA System within 10 calendar days of the transaction. You may be compelled to move your accounts and hold them with an electronic broker-dealer where legally permissible and in jurisdictions where the Firm has made arrangements with a broker-dealer to provide automated electronic feeds to the PTA system. You will be notified when this requirement becomes effective within your jurisdiction and are no longer required to manually enter your trade details into PTA.
4.4.4Preclearance Prior to Trading
Monitored Employees must receive approval in the PTA system to trade any security unless the security is expressly Exempt as defined in Section 7.1 of this Policy. You must also obtain preclearance for trades made by indirect owners.
NOTE: if you are classified as a Broker Dealer Monitored Employee, you are not required to preclear trades in any security; and if you are classified as a PREG employee (see Section 3.7 of this Policy), you are only required to preclear trades in Firm securities (equities, fixed income, or derivatives) of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.

 

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Although preclearance approval does not obligate you to place a trade, you should not seek preclearance for transactions you do not intend to make. Do not discuss the response (e.g. approval or denial) to a preclearance request with anyone (excluding any account co-owners or indirect owners). If you have questions regarding a response to a trade request, contact the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group.

 

If you receive approval to trade, the trade must be executed by the close of business the following day in the local jurisdiction. For example, if you receive approval on Monday at 3 PM EST, the preclearance is only valid until the close of the trading day on Tuesday. You should be aware that all preclearance time stamps in the PTA are in EST.

You are only permitted to place day only orders which are orders that expire at the end of the trading day. Orders that extend beyond a single trading day, such as good-until-cancelled or similar orders, are not permitted

You may also be subject to additional approvals, for example approval from your supervisor, depending upon your classification. Please check with your local Compliance Officer for additional information.
4.4.5Additional Preclearance Restrictions for ADM and Investment Employees (de minimis limits)

ADM and Investment Employees will generally not be given preclearance approval to execute a transaction in any security that appears on their business units Blackout List (as defined in Section 7.1).

4.4.5.1Approval for De Minimis Transactions for ADM Employees and Investment Employees for Securities on Blackout List
ADM and Investment Employees are eligible to receive approval for two de minimis trades in the securities of any one issuer in each calendar month even if the security is on the Blackout List.
De Minimis transactions are as follows:
ADMs: transaction limit of 100 shares or $10,000 (whichever value is greater) for companies with a market capitalization of $5 billion or higher.
Investment Employees: transaction limit of up to $50,000 for companies having a market capitalization of $20 billion or more; 250 shares or $25,000 (whichever value is greater) for companies having a market capitalization between $5 billion and $20 billion; and $100 shares or $10,000 (whichever value is greater) for companies having a market capitalization between $250 million and $5 billion.
Note: Currency is listed in USD. Use the local currency equivalent outside of the US.
4.4.5.1.1.1Additional Restrictions for ADM employees (7 Day Blackout Period)
You are not permitted to buy or sell a security within 7 calendar days before and 7 calendar days after the investment company or managed account for which you are affiliated has effected a transaction in that security.
Any trade initiated within the 7 Day Blackout Period is deemed a violation of Policy and as such you will be required to disgorge profits per the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group in their sole discretion. This does not apply to approved de minimis transactions during the 7 day Blackout Period.
4.5Managed Accounts

If you have an account fully managed by a third-party (you have an investment management, trust or similar agreement) which specifically documents in writing that you are unable to direct trades in the account, you must contact the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group to determine if the account is eligible for exclusion from the reporting requirements, providing duplicate account statements/trade confirms or preclearance requirements noted within this Policy. You must comply with all provisions of the Policy until the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group deems the account to be excluded in writing.

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If your account is approved as managed, you are required to complete an annual certification in PTA attesting that the account continues to be maintained under the account provisions the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group relied upon to provide approval. In addition, you are required to provide copies of statements to the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group when requested.

4.6Prohibition on Short-Term Trading
Non-Firm Securities: Employees classified as ADM, Investment and Insider Risk are prohibited from engaging in short-term trading. Short term trading is defined as the purchasing then selling, or selling then purchasing, the same or equivalent (derivative) security within 30 calendar days. PREG and Broker-Dealer Monitored employees are not subject to a holding period for non-Firm securities.

 

Firm Securities: All employees are prohibited from purchasing then selling, or selling then purchasing any Firm securities (Firm securities include any securities issued by The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and its subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, shares of common stock, preferred stock or bonds of the Firm) within 60 calendar days.
Employees who engage in short-term trading in non-Firm securities (within 30 calendar days) or Firm securities (within 60 calendar days) will be issued a violation and any profits realized must be disgorged.

Example: Transactions resulting in a position that is liquidated (sell), and then a new position is re-established (buy), would meet the criteria for a profit disgorgement.

Profit is based upon the difference between the most recent purchase and sale prices for the most recent transactions. You should be aware that profit for disgorgement purposes may differ from the capital gains calculations for tax purposes.
The disposition of any disgorged profits will be at the discretion of the Firm to a bona fide and legally permitted charity. You will be responsible for any tax and related costs.
Profit disgorgement, where applicable, is not required for any security that is deemed Exempt (as defined in Section 7.1 of this Policy) and trades in Proprietary Funds conducted within the BNY Mellon 401(k).
4.7Specific Restrictions for PREG Employees

Every quarter the Firm imposes a restriction on PREG employees. As such, you are prohibited from trading in the Firms securities from 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time, on the 15th day of the month preceding the end of each calendar quarter through the first trading day after the public announcement of the Firms earnings for that quarter.

For example, if earnings are released on Wednesday at 9:30 AM Eastern Standard Time, you may not trade the Firms securities until Thursday at 9:30 AM Eastern Standard Time. Non-trading days, such as weekends or holidays, are not counted as part of the restricted period. At its discretion, the Firm may extend the blackout period for some or all PREG Employees. You will be notified if there is such an extension.

The Blackout Period includes trades in various employee plans. Specifically, you may not make payroll deductions, investment elections changes or reallocation of balances that might impact your holdings in company stock in the BNY Mellon 401(k) Plan; you may not exercise options granted through the employee incentive compensation or similar plan; you may not enroll in, or make payroll deduction changes, in your Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

If you trade Firm securities made during the Blackout Period, you must unwind the trade and surrender profits as determined by the Firm in its sole discretion. Any losses due to the unwinding are yours to incur. Further, you may be subject to disciplinary action or referral to law enforcement when necessary.

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5Governance and Responsibilities
5.1All Employees are responsible for:
Adhering to all sections of this Policy as it relates to their role.
Immediately contacting the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group or your Compliance Officer (or anonymously through the Firms Ethics Help Line or Ethics Hot Line) if a known or suspected violation of this Policy occurred.
5.2Businesses and Corporate Functions

Management of the Firms Business and Corporate Staff groups are responsible for:

Classifying employees and developing business line polices/procedures to describe the protocols for assigning classifications that are consistent with this this Policy, seeking guidance from Compliance as needed.
Retaining accurate records of each employees classifications in their business unit, maintaining proper controls so that the classifications are current and providing an attestation to Compliance that the classification of the employees are accurate, when requested.
Communicating employees classification and overseeing staff so that they are properly trained on the Policy requirements.
Overseeing the timely completion of all required reports, violation notices and certifications as required by this Policy.
Constructing (and keeping current) a list of securities appropriate for Policy restrictions; typically this will consist of trading systems required for employee monitoring, portfolio manager codes, and designated approvers. Generally this detail will be required only in instances where a Business or Corporate Functions have staff classified as an Investment or ADM employee.
When required, providing timely and accurate updates to the list of Proprietary Funds (those that are advised, sub-advised or underwritten by the business) to the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group.
5.3Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct Group

The Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group is responsible for:

Maintaining all necessary records to demonstrate compliance with this Policy in a readily accessible place, for seven years from their creation. This includes but is not limited to versions of this Policy, record of employee violations and actions taken, holdings and transaction reports required by this Policy, list of monitored employees and their classifications, and lists of securities appropriate for restriction as reported by a Line of Business and/or Corporate Function.
Treating employee related records as highly confidential, to the extent permissible by law.
5.4Compliance Officers

Compliance Officers are responsible for:

Providing policy training to employees when requested by the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group.
Reporting compliance with this Policy, including detail on violations, to Legal Entity and Fund Boards, as required by law, regulation or policy.
When requested by the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group, approving requests for investment.
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5.5Legal Department

The Legal Department is responsible for providing legal analysis of new and revised legislation of all jurisdictions regarding personal securities trading laws and regulations and participating in the review of material policy amendments.

5.6Technology Department

The Technology Department is responsible for providing support for internally hosted applications so that systems function properly, including various files are properly loaded into the system, developing an alert process to detect any failed or non-received files, and adequately testing all software updates or hardware installations.

6Adherence and Control

Failure to comply with any aspect of this Policy may result in the imposition of serious sanctions and employee will be issued a violation notice. You may also receive additional sanctions, which include, but are not limited to, the disgorgement of profits, cancellation of trades, selling of positions, and suspension of personal trading privileges, and may result in an employee being subject to corrective action as outlined in Managing Performance and Conduct Through Corrective Action (II-H-610-US) for U.S.-based employees (or the applicable corrective action policy for non-U.S. based employees),1 up to and including termination of employment and referral to law enforcement, when required.

If you know of or suspect a violation of this Policy has occurred, immediately contact the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group or your Compliance Officer. You may also report known or suspected violations anonymously through the Firms Ethics Help Line or Ethics Hot Line.

Amendments to or waivers of any requirements discussed above are at the discretion of the Chief Compliance Officer or their designee. When required, the concurrence of other officers or directors of the Firm may also be needed. Any waiver or exemption must be evidenced in writing to be valid.

7Appendices
7.1Definitions
Term Definition/Meaning of Term
Automatic Investment Plan A program in which regular periodic purchases (withdrawals) are made automatically to/from investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. Examples include: Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPS), payroll deductions, bank account drafts or deposits, automatic mutual fund investments/withdrawals (PIPS/SWIPS), and asset allocation accounts.
Blackout List List of securities submitted by a Business Unit for which there are pending or executed transactions for an affiliated account (other than an index fund).
Firm Securities Include any securities issued by The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and its subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, shares of common stock, preferred stock or bonds of the Company.

 

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1       View the Policies Portal or consult your local HR Partner for the policy for the relevant jurisdiction.

 

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Exempt Securities/Financial Instruments (Collectively Exempt Securities or Exempt)

All securities require reporting and preclearance unless expressly exempt by this Policy. The following securities are exempt for all classifications of employees:

       Cash, cash-like securities, such as bankers acceptances, bank CDs and time deposits, money market funds, FX spot transactions, commercial paper and repurchase agreements.

       Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they are held (in brokerage exchange accounts or in personal cryptocurrency wallets).
Note: Direct participation investments in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), pooling money with others with the intent to invest in digital assets or cryptocurrencies and creating investment vehicles to sell interest in Limited Partnerships (LPs) or Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) for the purpose of investing in digital assets or cryptocurrencies are all considered to be private securities transactions that must be reported.

 

       Employee investments in their sovereign governments. Obligations of other instrumentalities or quasi-government agencies are not exempt.

       Securities issued by open-end investment companies (i.e., mutual funds and variable capital companies) that are not Proprietary Funds. Proprietary Funds are exempt for employees classified as Insider Risk.

       Securities in retirement plans properly organized under local law of companies not associated with the Firm (e.g., spouses plan, previous employers plan, etc.). This exemption is not applicable to any plan wherein the trades can be directed in common stock by the account holder.

       Securities in college tuition plans for dependents properly organized under local law. It should be noted that this exemption is not applicable securities that are deemed to be a Proprietary Fund for employees classified as an ADM and Investment Employees.

       Fixed annuities.

       Variable annuities, as long as the sub-accounts are not invested in Proprietary Fund sub-accounts.

     Securities held in approved non-discretionary (managed) accounts.

 

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       Non-financial commodities (e.g., agricultural futures, metals, oil, gas, etc.), currency, crypto-based currency, and financial futures (excluding stock and narrow-based stock index futures).

       Non-Proprietary ETFs are exempt from Preclearance but are required to be reported for ADM, Investment and Insider Risk Employees.

       Transactions that are involuntary (such as stock dividends or sales of fractional shares); however, sales initiated by brokers to satisfy margin calls are not considered involuntary.

       Transactions pursuant to the exercise of rights (purchases or sales) by an issuer made pro rata to all holders of a class of securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer.

       Sales effected pursuant to a bona fide tender offer.

Transactions pursuant to an automatic investment plan, including payroll withholding to purchase Proprietary Funds.

Front Running The purchase or sale of securities for your own or the companys accounts on the basis of your knowledge of the companys or companys clients trading positions or plans.
Index Fund An investment company or managed portfolio (including indexed accounts and model driven accounts) that contain securities in proportions designed to replicate the performance of an independently maintained, broad-based index or that is based not on investment discretion but on computer models using prescribed objective criteria to replicate such an independently maintained index.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Indirect Ownership

Generally, you are the indirect owner of securities if you are named as power of attorney on the account or, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, you have the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to share at any time in any profit derived from a transaction in them. This includes trades which are effected by or on behalf of the employee when the trade is carried out for the account of any of the persons referenced below. Common indirect ownership situations include, but are not limited to:

       Securities held by members of your Immediate Family by blood, marriage, adoption, or otherwise, who share the same household with you;
Immediate Family includes any person with whom they have a family relationship, or whom they have close links, such as your spouse, domestic partner, children (including stepchildren, foster children, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law), grandchildren, parents (including step-parents, mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law), grandparents, and siblings (including brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and stepbrothers and stepsisters):

       Any person in conjunction with whom the employee has a direct or indirect material interest in the outcome of the trade other than obtaining a fee or commission for the execution of the trade;
Employees must consider this requirement and report trades which fit under the above definition to avoid violations and breaches of both regulations and Policy.

Initial Public Offering (IPO) The first offering of a company's securities to the public.
Investment Clubs Organizations whose members make joint decisions on which securities to buy or sell. The securities are generally held in the name of the investment club. Prior to participating in an investment club, all Monitored Employees are required to obtain written permission from their local Compliance Officer to participate in the club. If permission is granted, the account is subject to all aspects of this Policy.
Investment Company A company that issues securities that represent an undivided interest in the net assets held by the company. Mutual funds are open-end investment companies that issue and sell redeemable securities representing an undivided interest in the net assets of the company.

 

 

 

 

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Money Market Fund A mutual fund that invests in short-term debt instruments where its portfolio is valued at amortized cost so as to seek to maintain a stable net asset value (typically of $1 per share).
Non-Discretionary (Managed) Account An account in which the employee has a beneficial interest but no direct or indirect control over the investment decision making process. Any such accounts of Monitored employees must be approved by the Employee Compliance/Securities Trading Conduct group in writing in order to be exempt from the reporting and preclearance requirements noted in this Policy.
Option A security which gives the investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific security at a specified price within a specified time frame.
Short term trading in option positions Opening and closing or closing and opening an option position within 30 days of each other or opening an option position within 30 days of expiration will result in any profits being subject to disgorgement. When opening an option position against an existing common stock holding you must have held that position for at least 30 days to avoid any profits being subject to disgorgement.
Private Placement An offering of securities exempt from registration under various laws and rules, such as the Securities Act of 1933 in the U.S. and the Listing Rules in the U.K. Such offerings are exempt from registration because they do not constitute a public offering. Private placements can include limited partnerships, certain cooperative investments in real estate, co-mingled investment vehicles such as hedge funds, investments in privately-held and family owned businesses and Volcker Covered Funds. For the purpose of this policy, time-shares and cooperative investments in real estate used as a primary or secondary residence are not considered to be private placements.
Proprietary Fund An investment company or collective fund for which a Company subsidiary serves as an investment adviser, sub-adviser or principal underwriter. The Proprietary Fund Listing can be found on MySource on the Compliance and Ethics homepage.
Securities/Financial Instruments (Collectively Securities) Any investment that represents an ownership stake or debt stake in a company, partnership, governmental unit, business or other enterprise. It includes stocks, bonds, notes, evidences of indebtedness, certificates of participation in any profit-sharing agreement, units in collective investment undertakings, collateral trust certificates and certificates of deposit. It also includes security-based derivatives and swaps and many types of puts, calls, straddles and options on any security or group of securities; fractional undivided interests in oil, gas, or other mineral rights; and investment contracts, variable life insurance policies and variable annuities

 

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  whose cash values or benefits are tied to the performance of an investment account. Unless expressly exempt, all securities transactions are covered under the provisions of this policy (See exempt securities).
Short Sale The sale of a security that is not owned by the seller at the time of the trade.
Spread Betting A type of speculation that involves taking a bet on the price movement of a security. A spread betting company quotes two prices, the bid and offer price (also, called the spread), and investors bet whether the price of the underlying security will be lower than the bid or higher than the offer. The investor does not own the underlying security in spread betting, they simply speculate on the price movement of the stock.
Tender Offer An offer to purchase some or all shareholders' shares in a corporation. The price offered is usually at a premium to the market price.
Volcker Covered Fund Generally, a Volcker Covered Fund is a domestic or foreign hedge fund, private equity fund, venture capital fund, commodity pool or alternative investment fund (AIF) that is sold in a private, restricted or unregistered offering to investors who must meet certain net worth, income or sophistication standards or is sold to a restricted number of investors.
Generally, the fund is not registered with a securities/commodity regulator and therefore cannot be offered to the general or retail public unless the investor meets some type of qualification to demonstrate the investor does not need the protection of the securities or commodities regulations.
A complete list of Covered Funds can be found at the Volcker Compliance Site on MySource or refer to the Volcker Covered Funds Policy (Corporate Policy I-A-049).
7.2Addendums (if necessary)

N/A

7.3Document Governance
7.3.1Periodic Review

This Level 3 Policy will have a mandatory periodic review of 12 months.

Note: If this Policy requires changes outside of the periodic review date AND the Policy is reviewed in its entirety at such time that the changes are incorporated, the periodic review date will be refreshed.

7.3.2Ownership/Questions

Ownership of this Policy lies with the Owner noted below. Questions should be directed to the Owner or Contact(s) noted below:

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Personal Securities Trading Policy

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Policy Owner Policy Approver Version Review and Approval Date Next Review Date Additional Contact(s) for Questions
Steven Wachtel
Global Head of Securities Trading Compliance
Diane Hausman
Global Head of Employee Compliance
13 December 22, 2020 December 22, 2021 [email protected]
7.4Version Control
Version Number Date of Change Author (and Role of Author) of Change Description of Change
15 March 29, 2021 Carol Cersosimo
Manager
Personal Securities Trading Group

Revised to remove reference to old policy;

Correction of typo in Section 4.1.5.

14 January 26, 2021 Carol Cersosimo
Manager
Personal Securities Trading Group
Revised to reflect reporting requirement for Insider Risk employees for Non-Proprietary ETFs
13 January 15, 2021 Steven Wachtel
Global Head of Securities Trading Compliance
Streamlined employee classifications, added Approved Broker requirement for UK and India-based employees, updated indirect ownership section to comply with MiFID II and instituted a strict 30 day hold requirement for non-company securities.
12 January 15, 2019 Carol Cersosimo
Manager
Personal Securities Trading Group
Revised to transfer the classification responsibility from Local Compliance to the 1st Line of Business for Investment Services; removed reference to IEC Oversight and Senior Leadership Team Members.
11 June 8, 2018 Gerald DiMarco
Manager
Global Ethics Office
The document was reviewed and reapproved without changes, pending substantive revisions anticipated for July 2018.
10 April 3, 2018 Gerald DiMarco
Manager
Global Ethics Office
Revised to include existing requirement for pre-approval prior to divesting from an affiliated fund; other minor edits.
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7.5Document Hierarchy
Document Type Name of Document Relationship
Level 3 Policy Employee Compliance Policy (II-A-600) Parent
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading Compliance (III-A-200) Child
Tier III Policy Risk Personal Securities Trading Policy (III-GG-420) Child
Tier III Procedure Technology Personal Securities Trading Administration Procedure (III-PI-1.057) Child
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading: Overview (III-RG-041) Child
Tier III Policy Personal Securities Trading Policy (III-KW-7.05) Child
Tier III Policy Middle Office Personal Securities Trading Policy (III-PC-43.624) Child
Tier II Policy Investment Management Personal Securities Trading - Employee Classification Policy (II-K-010) Child
Tier III Policy Personal Securities Trading AS (III-OA-0.039) Child
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading (III-H-15) Child
Tier III Procedure CCM Personal Securities Trading Procedure (III-OB-1.1241) Child
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading: Overview (III-OC-1.395-210) Child
Tier II Policy Operations Personal Securities Trading Policy (II-PC-10.100) Child
Tier III Procedure Depositary Receipts Securities Firewall and Personal Securities Trading Procedure (III-OD-1.106) Child
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading (III-TS-1.197-105) Child
Tier III Procedure Personal Securities Trading (III-J-180) Child
Tier III Procedure Accounting Services Personal Trading Classification Procedure (III-PC-46.019) Child

 

 

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7.6Other Applicable Documents
Document Type Name of Document
Tier I Policy Code of Conduct (I-A-010)
Tier I Policy Business Conflicts of Interest (I-A-035)
Tier I Policy Information Barrier Policy (I-A-046)
Tier I Policy Policy on Rule 10b5-1 Plans (I-C-170)
Tier I Policy Market Abuse Policy (I-A-040)
Tier I Policy Volcker Covered Funds Policy (I-A-049)
Tier I Policy Managing Performance and Conduct through Corrective Action (II-H-610)

 

 

 

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