Pioneer Investments in the press European Equities

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1 in the press

2 Taking the sting out of dividends Interview with Karl Huber, Portfolio Manager, Published in Citywire Global, Beyond the Boost (November 2012). Equity yields are strong but volatility and a lack of consistency dog the market. Pioneer Funds - European Equity Target Income offers a potentially winning combination between high dividend payouts and a call-option overlay to extract better results and to lower its risk profile. When safe haven assets and bonds do not deliver the income streams investors crave, it is time to consider equities. The 22.4 million Pioneer Funds - European Equity Target Income fund stands out from its peers for its novel approach to extracting yield. Launched last November, it combines the expertise of Pioneer Investments equity teams in Dublin, Milan and Munich with its experienced derivatives team. With lower risk assets delivering 2% yield at best, the fund aims to benefit from higher European dividends. Karl Huber says the STOXX 600 index currently offers a dividend yield between 4% and 4.5%. The 30 highest paying European stocks are paying, on average, in the range of 7% to 8%, he says. From a pure payout point of view, last year was an excellent time to launch a dividend fund. Whilst other equity income funds focus solely on dividends, payouts can be erratic and volatile. The Pioneer Funds - European Equity Target Income team looks for income, with a dedicated target for every year and capital growth to reduce the risk profile of the fund by using a covered calloverwriting strategy. The team looks for income, with a dedicated target for every year and capital growth to reduce the risk profile of the fund by using a covered call-overwriting strategy. Whilst the fund track record is short. it is living up to expectations. Huber says it is well on its way to meeting its internal expected target return, with two-thirds of returns generated from dividend stocks and the remainder from covered calls. Year-to-date, the fund has already delivered more than the expected target of 6.1% 1. To help us achieve these numbers, the fund process is extremely selective. Quant filtering and proprietary research helps to generate the underlying portfolio. Research concentrates on dividend, cash flow and coverage metrics. The high dividend element of the portfolio typically holds 35 to 60 European equities. It is only once these investments are finalised that the team then looks at overlay options to boost returns. The direction of the market influences whether Huber sells short-dated options on selective stocks in the fund. We obviously need to consider volatility but we prefer to sell an option. If the market sees some upward movement. this can allow us to get a higher premium and the risk for stocks to be called could be lower, resulting in a very actively managed portfolio, he says. The fund s derivative specialists typically write 105% to 110% out-of-the-money (OTM). This aims to ensure that capital appreciation can be achieved; even if the stock is being called. Strike prices may be lower if Huber is looking to reduce or liquidate a specific exposure.

3 When we want to remove a stock from the portfolio, we aim to extract the highest premium from it, he says. The overlay can drag on performance in rising markets. In such situations, turnover usually rises as the team repositions and alters the balance between the pure dividend element and overlay portion of the fund. Yet even in this year s rally, Pioneer Funds- European Equity Target Income has kept up with the best. We have outperformed the MSCI Europe High Dividend Yield index. When compared to the broad European market our returns are incredibly close but with a far lower volatility profile, says Huber. We obviously need to consider volatility but we prefer to sell an option. If the market sees some upward movement, this can allow us to get a higher premium and the risk for stocks to be called could be lower, resulting in a very actively managed portfolio He believes the corporate outlook is still positive, even if Europe s macro picture looks bleak. Having strengthened their balance sheets and cut costs, many companies are now stronger than the countries where their headquarters are located. Huber is keen on real estate, combining strong yields, good ratings and its inflation-hedge qualities. He also has exposure to financials. Tactical positions in Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas have sat beside more sustainable yields from insurers such as Allianz and Munich Re. We remain a little defensive. It is difficult to find a lot of strong cycles in a low growth situation, adds Huber. In a world of uncertain growth, income should remain a big part of the equation, Our product is designed to deliver on an appealing target annual income while offering participation to equity market capital appreciation. We are so convinced about our product and its value proposition that we are currently working on a global version, he concluded. Investing in High Dividends Approx. 40 to 70 high-dividend European equities Income from dividends Use of option overlay to enhance distributable Income Option Overlay Sell short-dated call options on selective stocks held by the fund Income from option premium earned Portfolio Construction Investment process overview Quantitative Screening of Investment Universe Fundamental Analysis of approx. 200 Equities Bottom-up Equity Selection Option Overlay Sell Discipline 2,000 high-dividened European equities Typical market capitalisation 1bn Reduction in the investment universe to approx. 200 stocks Valuation and company fundamentals Dividend analysis Diversified portfolio of 40 to 70 holdings > 80% long-term core holdings < 20% unconstrained opportunistic element Portfolio Construction Selling short-dated call options on selective stocks held by the fund Company is forecast to leave the high-dividend universe (dividend yield < MSCI Europe dividend yield) Deteriorating fundamentals Target price reachedunsustainable valuations More attractive alternatives

4 Rethinking Europe Interview with Hugh Prendergast, Pioneer Investments Head of Strategic Product and Marketing There has been much talk about renewed interest in Europe as an attractive investment story for the year ahead. Hugh Prendergast, Head of Strategic Product and Marketing for Pioneer Investments, discusses his take on the region and how investors can play the opportunities at hand. What makes Europe an attractive investment story in 2013? Where are the opportunities? The thing that makes Europe an interesting investment case is not growth we see growth being very low in 2013 and remaining very low into What makes Europe interesting, however, is a combination of two things: firstly European Equity valuations are really cheap in historical terms but also in terms of the additional spread that on high yielding assets is achievable in Europe, and secondly the fact that globally the world is very underweight Europe so any sort of movement of investment flow to get back to even a neutral position is likely to drive asset prices a good deal higher. The periphery of Europe remains a concern but I wouldn t underestimate the amount of progress that s already been made. We re going in the right direction. Two years ago to think of the level of budget cuts that have already been achieved in both Italy and Spain would have been unthinkable. The other factor that has made a difference is the amount of structural reform, particularly on some of the flexibility of labour, which has made quite a substantial difference. What is your advice to investors who are keen to invest in Europe the coming year? I would offer three pieces of advice to investors considering Europe. Firstly valuations for European equities are trading at a significant discount for a region where a lot of the listed companies are big exporters, particularly to the emerging markets. So, a significant amount of the revenue made by European listed companies is outside of the Eurozone. These are international companies that have been penalised by the sovereign issue of the euro crisis. If the euro crisis doesn t get worse, in theory equity valuations should normalise and we believe that the global investment community, which is very underweight Europe, should be getting back into the region and that could be a big driver of asset prices. The situation is similar for high yield. Euro-denominated high yield offers about a 200bps spread on top of its US high yield equivalent, again not because the default rate is any higher (in fact it s about the same or even lower than in the US dollar-denominated high yield), but it has again been penalised by the sovereign issue of the euro crisis. However we must note that the credit worthiness of the issuers hasn t changed meaningfully, there was just an underlying fear

5 that the euro would break up. We believe that there is a much lower probability of that occurring now, given all the progress that has been made of late. One final idea is for investors that are looking for income. A lot of investors have moved into bonds and out of the risk curve in order to achieve higher levels of income and are, in many cases, overweight in high yield. Indeed, the outlook for absolute return for high yield for 2013 is a good deal lower than it was in 2011 or An idea could be for investors to start thinking about the possibility of accessing dividends from equity, and investing in equities not for the capital appreciation, but actually for the dividend stream that it produces. The European equity market has a dividend yield of about 3.9%, and the higher dividend portion of the market could offer up to 4.5%-5%. With the aim of enhancing the income further, investors can even write call options on to some of the big names The fact that, globally, the world is very underweight Europe so any sort of movement of investment flow to get back to even a neutral position is likely to drive asset prices a good deal higher which may not have as much capital appreciation upside to them to try to achieve a higher overall income stream in a portfolio. It s a way of creating high-yield-like returns by using what are in many cases almost investment gradequality names. The objective of which is an overall strategy that can be more defensive when inflation is on the rise, making bond investing more challenging. In summation, Europe presents a range of compelling investment ideas for the discerning investor over the year ahead. Pioneer Investments offers relevant and innovative solutions to capitalise on these opportunities.

6 Important Information 1 The target set internally for 2012 was 6.1% Pioneer Funds European Equity Target Income. Income can be exceeded or undershot and should not be construed as an assurance or guarantee. The statements contained in this document were originally published as follows: Taking the sting out of Dividends, Citywire Global November 2012 edition Beyond the Boost. Rethinking Europe, InvestmentEurope March 2013 edition. Pioneer Funds European Equity Target Income is a sub-fund (the Sub-Fund ) of Pioneer Funds (the Fund ), a fonds commun de placement with several separate sub-funds established under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Past performance does not guarantee and is not indicative of future results. Unless otherwise stated, all views expressed are those of the investment professional. These views are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions and there can be no assurances that countries, markets or sectors will perform as expected. Investments involve certain risks, including political and currency risks. Investment return and principal value may go down as well as up and could result in the loss of all capital invested. More recent returns may be different than those shown. Please contact Pioneer Investments for more current performance results. This material is not a prospectus and does not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation to sell any units of the Fund or any services, by or to anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. For additional information on the Fund, a free prospectus should be requested from Pioneer Global Investments Limited ( PGIL ), 1 George s Quay Plaza, George s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland. Call Fax This information is not for distribution and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy any securities or services in the United States or in any of its territories or possessions subject to its jurisdiction to or for the benefi t of any United States person (being residents and citizens of the United States or partnerships or corporations organized under United States laws). The Fund has not been registered in the United States under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and units of the Fund are not registered in the United States under the Securities Act of This document is not intended for and no reliance can be placed on this document by retail clients, to whom the document should not be provided. This content of this document is approved by PGIL. In the UK, it is directed at professional clients and not at retail clients and it is approved for distribution by Pioneer Global Investments Limited (London Branch), Pioneer Global Investments Limited (London Branch), Portland House, 8th Floor, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5BH, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of UK business. The Fund is an unregulated collective investment scheme under the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and therefore does not carry the protection provided by the UK regulatory system. Pioneer Funds Distributor, Inc., 60 State Street, Boston, MA ( PFD ), a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, provides marketing services in connection with the distribution of Pioneer Investments products. PFD markets these products to financial intermediaries, both within and outside of the U.S. (in jurisdictions where permitted to do so) for sale to clients who are not United States persons. 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7 Contact Information 1 George s Quay Plaza George s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland.