Is Benihana required to hold Advertising Contributions in a trust fund or any other fund dedicated exclusively for advertising or promotion?

co-mingled with our general funds and nothing in this Disclosure Document or the Franchise Agreement shall be interpreted to mean that receipt by us of any Advertising Contributions constitutes a trust fund or any other fund dedicated exclusively for advertising or promotion. We do not have any specific obligations to apply Advertising Contributions in any specific manner other than in our sole and absolute discretion, we intend as a general matter to use Advertising Contributions for expenses related to brand advertising, public relations, and in-store, local, national or regional advertising placed by us. We have no obligation to make expenditures for you that are equivalent or proportionate to Advertising Contributions paid by you under this Agreement or to insure that you benefit directly or on a pro rata basis from expenditures of Advertising Contributions. As of the date of this Disclosure Document, in our last fiscal year, our expenses for marketing, advertising, trademark maintenance, and public relations exceed the amount of Advertising Contributions we received from franchisees. We do not make available for review specific financial information related to Advertising Contribution expenditures, and you will not receive a periodic accounting of Advertising Contribution expenditures. We may, in our sole discretion, use the Advertising Contributions principally to solicit new franchise sales.

Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 36–47)