UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number 811-21654
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
(Address of principal executive offices) (ZIP code)
Terrence J. Cullen, Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc.,
60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (617) 742-7825
Date of fiscal year end: November 30
Date of reporting period: December 1, 2016 through November 30, 2017
Form N-CSR is to be used by management investment companies to file reports with
the Commission not later than 10 days after the transmission to stockholders of
any report that is required to be transmitted to stockholders under Rule 30e-1
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30e-1). The Commission may
use the information provided on Form N-CSR in its regulatory, disclosure review,
inspection, and policymaking roles.
A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-CSR,
and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not
required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-CSR
unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget
("OMB") control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the
information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the
burden to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information
under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. ss. 3507.
ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.
Pioneer Floating
Rate Trust
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Annual Report | November 30, 2017
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Ticker Symbol: PHD
[LOGO] Amundi Pioneer
==============
ASSET MANAGEMENT
visit us: www.amundipioneer.com
Table of Contents
President's Letter 2
Portfolio Management Discussion 4
Portfolio Summary 10
Prices and Distributions 11
Performance Update 12
Schedule of Investments 13
Financial Statements 47
Financial Highlights 51
Notes to Financial Statements 53
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 67
Additional Information 68
Trustees, Officers and Service Providers 71
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 1
President's Letter
Robust, synchronized global economic growth and rising corporate profits drove
strong performance in both the credit and equity markets for the first three
quarters of 2017. U.S. stocks, as measured by the Standard & Poor's 500 Index,
had returned 14.23% from January 1, 2017, through September 30, 2017.
Fixed-income markets, while not generating the same dazzling returns as
equities, held their own, led by high-yield securities, which produced a return
of 7.05% in the U.S., as measured by the ICE Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S.
High Yield Index. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
returned 3.14% for the first three quarters of calendar year 2017.
Continued strong employment numbers and higher consumer confidence, together
with solid global economic growth and a depreciating U.S. dollar contributed to
better-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth of more than 3% in
both the second and third quarters of 2017. Outside the U.S., economic growth
also surprised to the upside across the Euro zone, China, and Japan. Meanwhile,
despite higher oil and commodities prices, inflation continued to be moderate,
both in the U.S. and globally, enabling major non-U.S. central banks to maintain
their easy monetary policies. As expected, however, the U.S. Federal Reserve
System (the Fed) began tapering its balance sheet in October. The Fed also
appears primed to raise interest rates a few more times in 2018, as it continues
to withdraw monetary stimulus.
As we transition into 2018, we believe the U.S. economy will experience modest
growth in the short term, depending on the mix of economic policies enacted as
the country moves away from monetary stimulus (driven by the Fed) and toward
fiscal stimulus (including tax reform) as well as lighter regulatory burdens.
Meanwhile, corporate earnings remain solid and we think they will improve even
further, despite the possibility of some pressure from wage increases. In
addition, it is our view that the economy will continue to grow and that we may
begin to see a modest upturn in inflation. In that scenario, we anticipate that
the Fed will continue to raise interest rates.
While economic and market conditions appear solid, there are always risks to
consider that could dampen the outlook. Geopolitical concerns, such as increased
tensions with North Korea, and continued political gridlock in Washington are
just some of the risks that could lead to increased market volatility.
2 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
It is for those reasons that we at Amundi Pioneer continue to believe that
investors can benefit from the experience and tenure of our investment teams who
make active and informed decisions across our funds.
As always, and particularly during times of market uncertainty, we encourage you
to work with your financial advisor to develop an overall investment plan that
addresses both your short- and long-term goals, and to implement such a plan in
a disciplined manner.
We greatly appreciate the trust you have placed in us and look forward to
continuing to serve you in the future.
Sincerely,
/s/ Lisa M. Jones
Lisa M. Jones
Head of the Americas, President and CEO of U.S.
Amundi Pioneer Asset Management USA, Inc.
November 30, 2017
Any information in this shareowner report regarding market or economic trends or
the factors influencing the Trust's historical or future performance are
statements of opinion as of the date of this report. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 3
Portfolio Management Discussion | 11/30/17
Investments in bank loans produced positive returns over the 12-month period
ended November 30, 2017. In the following interview, Jonathan Sharkey discusses
the factors that affected the performance of Pioneer Floating Rate Trust during
the period. Mr. Sharkey, a senior vice president and a portfolio manager at
Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc., is responsible for the day-to-day
management of the Trust.
Q How did the Trust perform during the 12-month period ended November 30,
2017?
A Pioneer Floating Rate Trust returned 5.55% at net asset value (NAV) and
3.43% at market price during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2017,
while the Trust's benchmark, the Standard & Poor's/Loan Syndications &
Trading Association Leveraged Loan Index (the S&P/LSTA Index), returned
4.91%. Unlike the Trust, the S&P/LSTA Index does not use leverage. While
the use of leverage increases investment opportunity, it also increases
investment risk.
During the same 12-month period, the average return (at market price) of
the 23 closed end funds in Lipper's Loan Participation Funds category
(which may or may not be leveraged), was 5.56%, and the average return (at
NAV) of the 36 closed end funds in the same Lipper category was 6.21%.
The shares of the Trust were selling at a 7.7% discount to NAV on November
30, 2017. Comparatively, the shares of the Trust were selling at a 5.0%
discount to NAV on April 30, 2017.
The Trust's standardized, 30-day SEC yield was 5.49% on November 30, 2017*.
Q How would you describe the investment environment for bank-loan investments
during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2017?
A The investment environment was generally positive. The economic backdrop
remained solid, and even improved over the course of the 12-month period.
After a slow start in the first quarter of the 2017 calendar year, the U.S.
gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate accelerated to better than 3% in
the second and third calendar quarters. As the economy picked up steam, the
nation's unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in November 2017, down from 4.6%
one year earlier. U.S. monetary policy did continue to tighten, albeit at a
gradual pace, as the U.S. Federal Reserve System (the Fed) raised
short-term interest rates three different times over the 12-month period.
The rate increases had been widely
* The 30-day SEC yield is a standardized formula that is based on the
hypothetical annualized earning power (investment income only) of the
Trust's portfolio securities during the period indicated.
4 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
anticipated by the markets, however, and so they had little or no slowing
effect on the positive growth trends. Late in the period, the Fed also
began gradually reducing its balance sheet by limiting reinvestment in its
portfolio of government-related securities.
In that environment, credit-sensitive securities, such as corporate bonds,
and other fixed-income investments more exposed to the ebbs and flows of
the economic cycle tended to perform well relative to Treasuries, as
investors seemed to anticipate that the economic momentum could receive
even further support from the passage of fiscal legislation, such as tax
reform, by lawmakers in Washington. Floating-rate bank loans delivered
positive total returns over the period, while high-yield corporate bonds
outpaced most other fixed-income asset classes.
In the bank-loan market, the 12-month period began in particularly strong
fashion, with a surge in demand setting off a vigorous rally. After loan
prices moved up and down in subsequent months, a sharp decline in crude oil
prices in June 2017 combined with a spike in new-loan supply to cause a
retreat in loan prices. August 2017 saw a further weakening of loan prices
as demand decreased. Overall, market prices for bank-loan investments rose
in six of the 12 months during the period, declined in five other months,
and remained basically flat for one month. By the end of the Trust's fiscal
year, however, the coupon income generated by bank loans had more than
offset some minor price erosion.
Over the 12-month period, the bank-loan market saw a significant amount of
debt refinancings, which resulted in the issuance of new loans and the
renegotiation of older loans at lower costs to borrowers, which in turn
generated less income for lenders and investors. Over the course of the
period, two-thirds of the entire bank-loan market was repriced. Meanwhile,
the credit fundamentals of bank loans continued to be strong and default
rates remained low by historical standards.
Q What factors had the greatest effects on the Trust's performance relative
to its benchmark during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2017?
A The use of leverage, or borrowed funds, enhanced the Trust's performance
during the period, as leverage typically amplifies positive performance in
a rising market, even as it can detract from results in a negative market.
Our preference for holding loans to well-financed companies caused us to
underweight the Trust's portfolio to the lower-quality loan tiers,
especially loans rated "CCC" or lower. For example, as of November 30,
2017, CCC-rated loans accounted for approximately 4% of the Trust's total
investment
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 5
portfolio, while CCC's represented roughly 7% of the benchmark S&P/LSTA
Index. We maintain this higher-quality focus in the Trust's portfolio
because we believe that the debt of well-financed companies will hold up
well over a full business cycle. Nevertheless, when market confidence about
the strength of the economy is high, as it was during the 12-month period,
lower-quality debt can outperform.
A positive contributor to the Trust's relative performance was the
portfolio's allocation to high-yield corporate bonds, one of the
top-performing asset classes during the period, which are not represented
in the S&P/LSTA Index. In addition, the Trust's small exposure to
insurance-linked securities (ILS), another non-benchmark allocation,
contributed positively to relative results, despite the fact that ILS
investments generally struggled over the final few months of the period
after several natural disasters caused significant damage in the
Continental U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico, generating numerous insurance
claims.
By industry group, the Trust's exposures to loans to cosmetics companies,
retailers, and home-furnishings corporations tended to be a drag on
benchmark-relative performance. Among the portfolio's holdings in loans to
cosmetics companies, a term loan to Revlon, which was facing destocking of
inventory in the retail channel, was a major disappointment for the Trust
during the period. In other sectors, loans to PetSmart, which has struggled
through some product losses as well as its acquisition of Chewy, JC Penney,
which has been impacted by the general decline of "brick-and-mortar" retail
sales to online alternatives, and Staples, which traded off after being
faced with potential competition from Amazon, also held back results.
Within the home-furnishings group, a loan to mattress company Serta Simmons
was another disappointing performer.
On the positive side, the portfolio's holdings of loans to health care and
electronics firms fared well during the period. Individual loans that aided
the Trust's performance during the 12-month period included the debt of
defense contractor IAP Worldwide, which showed improved operations, and
loans to Mill U.S. Acquisition (also known as CSM Bakery), which announced
the sale of one of its divisions to help de-lever the company. The debt of
Endemol, a producer of reality-themed television programs, and Jonah
Energy, an oil-and-gas corporation, also contributed positively to the
Trust's performance during the period. Endemol performed well as the
company started to see success with some new shows, while Jonah Energy's
performance benefited from its announcement that it would refinance loans
with bonds.
6 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Q How did the level of leverage in the Trust change over the 12-month period
ended November 30, 2017?
A The Trust employs leverage through a revolving credit facility.
At the end of the 12-month period on November 30, 2017, 31.8% of the
Trust's total managed assets were financed by leverage (or borrowed funds),
compared with 31.7% of the Trust's total managed assets financed by
leverage at the start of the period on December 1, 2016. The absolute
amount of funds borrowed by the Trust did not change during the period. The
increase in the percentage of leveraged funds was the result of
depreciation in the values of the Trust's holdings.
Q Did the Trust invest in any derivative securities during the 12-month
period ended November 30, 2017? If so, did the investments have an effect
on performance?
A The Trust did have a small position in high-yield bond credit-default
swaps, which we used to gain exposure to the strong performance of
high-yield corporate bonds. These investments had a slight positive effect
on the Trust's results during the 12-month period.
Q Did the Trust's distributions to shareholders change during the 12-month
period ended November 30, 2017?
A The Trust's monthly distributions to shareholders remained stable over the
12 months, at six cents per share. Nevertheless, the Trust has drawn on
accumulated net investment income in paying the Trust's distributions in
recent periods, but these reserves may be depleted over time.
Q What is your investment outlook?
A We have a positive view of the market. We anticipate that the present
favorable environment for credit-sensitive investments should continue,
helped by solid economic fundamentals and steady growth in corporate
earnings. We believe the U.S. economy will continue to expand and provide a
favorable backdrop for corporations to strengthen their finances and meet
their debt obligations. We also expect loan default rates to remain low.
We do anticipate some defaults, however, notably in the retail industry,
and so we continue to hold a significant underweight to retailers in the
Trust's portfolio. While we maintain our preference for holding
higher-quality, we have recently increased the portfolio's exposure to some
lower-quality loans, including some additional investments in B-rated
loans, because that was where the predominance of new issues came from
during the Trust's fiscal year. However, we plan to continue to be
judicious with our security selections, emphasizing loans to companies with
solid fundamentals.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 7
We expect that the Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy in the
coming months, with additional interest-rate increases. Should that occur,
we should see the potential for higher yields as well as greater income
from bank loans.
Please refer to the Schedule of Investments on pages 13-46 for a full listing of
Trust securities.
All investments are subject to risk, including the possible loss of principal.
In the past several years, financial markets have experienced increased
volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity, and heightened
uncertainty. These conditions may continue, recur, worsen, or spread.
The Trust may invest in derivative securities, which may include futures and
options, for a variety of purposes, including: in an attempt to hedge against
adverse changes in the marketplace of securities, interest rates or currency
exchange rates; as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities; to attempt
to increase the Trust's return as a non-hedging strategy that may be considered
speculative; and to manage portfolio characteristics. Using derivatives can
increase fund losses and reduce opportunities for gains when the market prices,
interest rates or the derivative instruments themselves behave in a way not
anticipated by the Trust. These types of instruments can increase price
fluctuation.
The Trust is not limited in the percentage of its assets that may
be invested in floating-rate senior loans and other securities which may be less
liquid or illiquid. Illiquid securities may be difficult to sell at a price
reflective of their value at times when the Trust believes it is desirable to do
so and the market price of illiquid securities is generally more volatile than
that of more liquid securities. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value,
and investment of the Trust's assets in illiquid securities may restrict the
Trust's ability to take advantage of market opportunities.
The Trust employs leverage through a revolving credit facility. Leverage creates
significant risks, including the risk that the Trust's income or capital
appreciation from investments purchased with the proceeds of leverage will not
be sufficient to cover the cost of leverage, which may adversely affect the
return for shareowners.
The Trust is required to maintain certain regulatory and other asset coverage
requirements in connection with its use of leverage. In order to maintain
required asset coverage levels, the Trust may be required to reduce the amount
of leverage employed by the Trust, alter the composition of its investment
portfolio or take other actions at what might be inopportune times in the
market. Such actions could reduce the net earnings or returns to shareowners
over time, which is likely to result in a decrease in the market value of the
Trust's shares.
8 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Investments in high-yield or lower-rated securities are subject to greater-than-
average risk. The Trust may invest in securities of issuers that are in default
or that are in bankruptcy.
Investing in foreign and/or emerging markets securities involves risks relating
to interest rates, currency exchange rates and economic and political
conditions.
These risks may increase share price volatility.
Any information in this shareowner report regarding market or economic trends or
the factors influencing the Trust's historical or future performance are
statements of opinion as of the date of this report. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 9
Portfolio Summary | 11/30/17
Portfolio Diversification*
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(As a percentage of total investment portfolio)
[THE FOLLOWING DATA WAS REPRESENTED AS A PIE CHART IN THE PRINTED MATERIAL]
Senior Secured Floating Rate Loan Interests 89.6%
Corporate Bonds & Notes 4.5%
U.S. Government and Agency Obligations 2.7%
Treasury Bills 1.2%
Exchange-Traded Funds 1.1%
Repurchase Agreements 0.7%
Common Stocks 0.1%
Asset Backed Security 0.1%
* Includes investments in Insurance Linked Securities totaling 1.0% of total
investment portfolio.
10 Largest Holdings
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(As a percentage of long-term holdings)**
1. U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.479% (3 Month Treasury Yield + 19 bps), 4/30/18 1.99%
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2. Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC (fka Bright Horizons Family
Solutions, Inc.), Term B Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps/PRIME + 125 bps),
11/7/23 0.75
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3. U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.561% (3 Month Treasury Yield + 27 bps), 1/31/18 0.74
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4. McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings LLC, First Lien Term B Loan, 5.35%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 5/4/22 0.66
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5. American Airlines, Inc., 2017 Replacement Term Loan, 3.328%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 6/27/20 0.64
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6. Scientific Games International, Inc., Initial Term B-4 Loan, 4.657%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 8/14/24 0.63
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7. MediArena Acquisition BV (fka AP NMT Acquisition BV), First Lien Dollar
Term B Loan, 7.085% (LIBOR + 575 bps), 8/13/21 0.57
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8. Altice US Finance I Corp., March 2017 Refinancing Term Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 7/28/25 0.55
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9. Staples, Inc., Term Loan B, 5.31% (LIBOR + 400 bps), 9/12/24 0.53
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10. Envision Healthcare Corp. (fka Emergency Medical Services Corp.), Initial
Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 12/1/23 0.53
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** This list excludes temporary cash investments and derivative instruments.
The portfolio is actively managed, and current holdings may be different.
The holdings listed should not be considered recommendations to buy or sell
any security listed.
10 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Prices and Distributions | 11/30/17
Market Value per Share^
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11/30/17 11/30/16
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Market Value $11.47 $11.78
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(Discount) (7.65)% (5.76)%
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Net Asset Value per Share^
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11/30/17 11/30/16
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Net Asset Value $12.42 $12.50
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Distributions per Share:* 12/1/16-11/30/17
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Net Investment Short-Term Long-Term
Income Capital Gains Capital Gains
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$0.73 $-- $--
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Yields
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11/30/17 11/30/16
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30-day SEC Yield 5.49% 4.12%
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The data shown above represents past performance, which is no guarantee of
future results.
^ Net asset value and market value are published in Barron's on Saturday, The
Wall Street Journal on Monday and The New York Times on Monday and
Saturday. Net asset value and market value are published daily on the
Trust's website at www.amundipioneer.com.
* The amount of distributions made to shareowners during the period was in
excess of the net investment income earned by the Trust during the period.
The Trust has accumulated undistributed net investment income which is part
of the Trust's NAV. A portion of this accumulated net investment income was
distributed to shareowners during the period. A decrease in distributions
may have a negative effect on the market value of the Trust's shares.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 11
Performance Update | 11/30/17
Investment Returns
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The mountain chart on the right shows the change in market value, including
reinvestment of dividends and distributions, of a $10,000 investment made in
shares of Pioneer Floating Rate Trust during the periods shown, compared with
the value of the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index, which provides broad and
comprehensive total return metrics of the U.S. universe of syndicated term
loans.
Average Annual Total Returns
(As of November 30, 2017)
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Net S&P/LSTA
Asset Leveraged
Value Market Loan
Period (NAV) Price Index
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10 Years 4.65% 4.59% 4.84%
5 Years 5.47 3.30 4.11
1 Year 5.55 3.43 4.91
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[THE FOLLOWING DATA WAS REPRESENTED AS A MOUNTAIN CHART IN THE PRINTED MATERIAL]
Value of $10,000 Investment
Pioneer Floating S&P/LSTA Leveraged
Rate Trust Loan Index
11/07 $10,000 $10,000
11/08 $ 4,790 $ 7,328
11/09 $ 9,150 $10,476
11/10 $11,220 $11,730
11/11 $11,512 $11,996
11/12 $13,314 $13,118
11/13 $13,203 $13,856
11/14 $12,896 $14,322
11/15 $13,065 $14,194
11/16 $15,145 $15,295
11/17 $15,665 $16,045
Call 1-800-225-6292 or visit www.amundipioneer.com for the most recent month-end
performance results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the
performance data quoted.
Performance data shown represents past performance. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results. Investment return and market price will fluctuate,
and your shares may trade below NAV, due to such factors as interest rate
changes, and the perceived credit quality of borrowers.
Total investment return does not reflect broker sales charges or commissions.
All performance is for shares of the Trust.
Shares of closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds, are not continuously offered.
There is a one-time public offering and, once issued, shares of closed-end funds
are bought and sold in the open market through a stock exchange and frequently
trade at prices lower than their NAV. NAV per share is total assets less total
liabilities, which include preferred shares, or borrowings, as applicable,
divided by the number of shares outstanding.
When NAV is lower than market price, dividends are assumed to be reinvested at
the greater of NAV or 95% of the market price. When NAV is higher, dividends are
assumed to be reinvested at prices obtained through open-market purchases under
the Trust's dividend reinvestment plan.
The performance table and graph do not reflect the deduction of fees and taxes
that a shareowner would pay on Trust distributions or the sale of Trust shares.
Had these fees and taxes been reflected, performance would have been lower.
Index returns are calculated monthly, assume reinvestment of dividends and,
unlike Trust returns, do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges. The
indices do not use leverage. You cannot invest directly in an index.
12 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17
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Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNAFFILIATED ISSUERS -- 150.4%
SENIOR SECURED FLOATING RATE LOAN
INTERESTS -- 134.8% of Net Assets*(f)
AUTOMOBILES & COMPONENTS -- 5.1%
Auto Parts & Equipment -- 3.8%
1,597,103 Allison Transmission, Inc., Term Loan B-3, 3.35%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 9/23/22 $ 1,610,704
1,520,750 American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc., Tranche B Term
Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 4/6/24 1,526,468
2,244,718 BBB Industries US Holdings, Inc., First Lien Term B Loan,
5.85% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 11/3/21 2,277,688
796,045 Cooper-Standard Automotive, Inc., Additional Term B-1
Loan, 3.583% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 11/2/23 801,319
1,481,987 Electrical Components International, Inc., Term Loan,
6.085% (LIBOR + 475 bps), 5/28/21 1,493,102
390,000 Horizon Global Corp., 2017 Replacement Term Loan,
5.85% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 6/30/21 393,900
497,500 Innovative Xcessories & Services LLC, Term Loan,
6.08% (LIBOR + 475 bps), 11/29/22 502,475
997,428 Superior Industries International, Inc., Closing Date Term
Loan, 5.813% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 5/22/24 1,007,402
2,017,913 Tower Automotive Holdings USA LLC, Initial Term Loan,
4.0% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 3/7/24 2,029,264
---------------
$ 11,642,322
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Automobile Manufacturers -- 1.1%
395,758 CH Hold Corp. (aka Caliber Collision), First Lien Initial
Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 2/1/24 $ 399,468
683,201 Federal-Mogul Corp., Tranche C Term Loan, 5.025%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 4/15/21 688,894
792,625 Octavius Corp. (Winnebago Industries), Tranche B Term
Loan, 5.796% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 11/8/23 803,524
1,081,458 TI Group Automotive Systems LLC, Initial US Term Loan,
4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/30/22 1,088,217
466,667 Visteon Corp., Term Loan B, 3.413% (LIBOR +
200 bps), 3/24/24 470,458
---------------
$ 3,450,561
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tires & Rubber -- 0.2%
691,667 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Second Lien Term Loan,
3.27% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/30/19 $ 694,260
---------------
Total Automobiles & Components $ 15,787,143
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPITAL GOODS -- 16.3%
Aerospace & Defense -- 5.6%
1,000,000 Accudyne Industries Borrower SCA/Accudyne Industries
LLC (fka Silver II US Holdings LLC), Initial Term Loan,
5.083% (LIBOR + 375 bps), 8/18/24 $ 1,006,328
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 13
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerospace & Defense -- (continued)
2,257,938(a) ADS Tactical, Inc., Term Loan, 8.833% (LIBOR +
750 bps), 12/31/22 $ 2,257,937
1,686,290 Alion Science and Technology Corp., First Lien Term
Loan, 5.85% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 8/19/21 1,689,188
1,582,806 DAE Aviation Holdings, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 5.1%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 7/7/22 1,594,677
1,318,365 DynCorp International, Inc., Term Loan B2, 7.75%
(LIBOR + 600 bps), 7/7/20 1,324,957
485,620 Engility Corp. (fka TASC, Inc.), Term B2 Loan, 4.617%
(LIBOR + 325bps/PRIME + 225 bps), 8/14/23 490,537
243,750 IAP Worldwide Services, Inc., Second Lien Term Loan,
8.0% (LIBOR + 650 bps), 7/18/19 240,094
1,750,000(b) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Ltd., Term Loan B
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 10/4/24 1,759,688
500,000 MRO Holdings, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 6.564%
(LIBOR + 525 bps), 10/25/23 503,750
994,041 Transdigm, Inc., Term Loan F, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/9/23 995,850
299,250 Transdigm, Inc., Tranche G Term Loan, 4.346%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 8/22/24 301,003
1,828,750 Turbocombustor Technology, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 5.833%
(LIBOR + 450 bps), 12/2/20 1,801,319
1,467,253 Vencore, Inc. (fka SI Organization, Inc.), First Lien Initial
Term Loan, 6.083% (LIBOR + 475 bps), 11/23/19 1,487,657
1,773,739 WP CPP Holdings LLC, First Lien Term B-3 Loan, 4.88%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/28/19 1,760,436
334,900 WP CPP Holdings LLC, Second Lien Term B-1 Loan, 9.13%
(LIBOR + 775 bps), 4/30/21 332,388
---------------
$ 17,545,809
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building Products -- 2.3%
1,147,525 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.093%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 3/31/23 $ 1,156,310
1,700,682 Builders FirstSource, Inc., Refinancing Term Loan, 4.333%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 2/29/24 1,709,716
306,968 NCI Building Systems, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 4.333%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 6/24/22 308,887
1,306,069 Quikrete Holdings, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 11/15/23 1,311,330
1,671,525(b) Summit Materials LLC, Term Loan B, 11/11/24 1,682,320
748,125 Unifrax I LLC, Initial Dollar Term Loan, 4.833%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 4/4/24 749,995
---------------
$ 6,918,558
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
14 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Construction & Engineering -- 0.8%
1,500,000 HD Supply Waterworks, Ltd., Initial Term Loan, 4.455%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 8/1/24 $ 1,510,312
948,125 Installed Building Products, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.35%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 4/15/24 950,794
---------------
$ 2,461,106
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Construction Machinery & Heavy Trucks -- 1.4%
745,727 Clark Equipment Co. (aka Doosan Bobcat, Inc.), Tranche B
Term Loan, 3.833% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 5/18/24 $ 750,388
1,739,063 Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., Term Loan B, 7.35%
(LIBOR + 600 bps), 3/30/23 1,752,105
1,114,155 Navistar, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 4.75%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 11/6/24 1,118,333
832,493 Terex Corp., Incremental US Term Loan, 3.583%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 1/31/24 836,308
---------------
$ 4,457,134
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electrical Components & Equipment -- 1.5%
2,195,352 Pelican Products, Inc., First Lien Term Loan, 5.583%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 4/10/20 $ 2,206,329
835,841 Southwire Company LLC, Initial Term Loan, 3.745%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 2/10/21 841,326
1,575,849 WireCo WorldGroup, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
6.979% (LIBOR + 550 bps), 9/29/23 1,580,280
---------------
$ 4,627,935
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrial Conglomerates -- 2.6%
500,000 AI Aqua Merger Sub, Inc., Incremental Term Loan B, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/13/23 $ 505,625
895,180 AVSC Holding Corp., First Lien New Term Loan, 4.869%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/29/24 903,013
215,952 CeramTec Service GmbH (CeramTec Acquisition
Corp.), Dollar Term B-3 Loan, 4.229% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 8/30/20 216,155
705,213 CeramTec Service GmbH (CeramTec Acquisition Corp.),
Initial Dollar Term B-1 Loan, 4.229% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 8/30/20 705,875
90,540 CeramTec Service GmbH (CeramTec Acquisition Corp.),
Initial Dollar Term B-2 Loan, 4.229% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 8/30/20 90,625
1,262,622 DTI Holdco, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 6.63% (LIBOR +
525 bps), 10/2/23 1,255,783
1,228,860 Filtration Group Corp., First Lien Term Loan, 4.38%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 11/23/20 1,239,484
654,520 Gates Global LLC, Initial B-2 Dollar Term Loan, 4.388%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 4/1/24 659,633
493,750 Hyster-Yale Materials Holding, Inc., Term Loan, 5.35%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 5/30/23 498,070
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 15
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrial Conglomerates -- (continued)
920,207 Milacron LLC, Term B Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 9/28/23 $ 923,083
843,998 ProAmpac PG Borrower LLC, First Lien Initial Term Loan,
5.351% (LIBOR + 400 bps/PRIME + 300 bps), 11/20/23 853,889
---------------
$ 7,851,235
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrial Machinery -- 2.0%
437,125 Blount International, Inc., Refinancing Term Loan, 5.492%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 4/12/23 $ 441,769
888,159 Columbus McKinnon Corp., Initial Term Loan, 4.333%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 1/31/24 894,820
1,156,843 Gardner Denver, Inc., Tranche B-1 Dollar Term Loan,
4.083% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 7/30/24 1,162,124
1,945,300 Mueller Water Products, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 3.845%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 11/25/21 1,960,701
584,550 NN, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 5.1% (LIBOR +
375 bps), 10/19/22 585,768
940,385 Welbilt, Inc. (fka Manitowoc Foodservice, Inc.), Term B
Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 3/3/23 949,201
---------------
$ 5,994,383
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trading Companies & Distributors -- 0.1%
344,901 WESCO Distribution, Inc., Tranche B-1 Term Loan, 4.35%
(LIBOR + 300 bps/PRIME + 200 bps), 12/12/19 $ 345,333
---------------
Total Capital Goods $ 50,201,493
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMERCIAL & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES -- 4.0%
Diversified Support Services -- 0.4%
299,248 Asurion LLC (fka Asurion Corp.), Replacement B-5 Term
Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 11/3/23 $ 300,905
456,646 KAR Auction Services, Inc., Tranche B-4 Term Loan,
3.625% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 3/11/21 459,405
597,010 KAR Auction Services, Inc., Tranche B-5 Term Loan,
3.875% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 3/9/23 601,363
---------------
$ 1,361,673
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental & Facilities Services -- 1.6%
884,682 Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (fka ADS Waste
Holdings, Inc.), Additional Term Loan, 3.452% (LIBOR +
225 bps), 11/10/23 $ 886,648
1,031,812 Infiltrator Water Technologies LLC, First Lien Term B-2
Loan, 4.333% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 5/27/22 1,041,162
571,820 Wastequip LLC, Term Loan, 4.5% (LIBOR +
450 bps), 8/9/19 573,607
1,724,384 WCA Waste Systems, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 4.063%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/11/23 1,727,617
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
16 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental & Facilities Services -- (continued)
553,293 Wrangler Buyer Corp. (aka Waste Industries USA, Inc.),
Initial Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 9/27/24 $ 557,196
---------------
$ 4,786,230
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Human Resource & Employment Services -- 0.2%
506,495 On Assignment, Inc., Tranche B-3 Term Loan, 3.35%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 6/3/22 $ 510,082
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office Services & Supplies -- 0.6%
350,000 Diamond (BC) BV, Term Loan, 4.423% (LIBOR +
300 bps), 9/6/24 $ 350,440
1,411,990 West Corp., Term B Loan, 5.35% (LIBOR +
400 bps), 10/10/24 1,411,660
---------------
$ 1,762,100
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security & Alarm Services -- 1.2%
928,768 Allied Universal Holdco LLC (fka USAGM Holdco LLC),
First Lien Initial Term Loan, 5.083% (LIBOR +
375 bps), 7/28/22 $ 925,700
1,278,271 GW Honos Security Corp. (Garda World Security Corp.),
Term B Loan, 4.972% (LIBOR + 350-400 bps/PRIME +
225 bps), 5/24/24 1,284,130
1,602,372 Prime Security Services Borrower LLC, First
Lien 2016-2 Refinancing Term B-1 Loan, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 5/2/22 1,616,017
---------------
$ 3,825,847
---------------
Total Commercial & Professional Services $ 12,245,932
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONSUMER DURABLES & APPAREL -- 2.7%
Homefurnishing Retail -- 0.9%
1,869,367 Serta Simmons Bedding LLC, First Lien Initial Term Loan,
4.849% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 11/8/23 $ 1,816,557
901,867 Serta Simmons Bedding LLC, Second Lien Initial Term
Loan, 9.244% (LIBOR + 800 bps), 11/8/24 828,590
---------------
$ 2,645,147
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household Appliances -- 0.5%
1,250,000 Global Appliance, Inc.,Tranche B Term Loan, 5.34%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 9/29/24 $ 1,264,844
350,000 Ring Container Technologies Group LLC, First Lien Initial
Term Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 10/31/24 351,094
---------------
$ 1,615,938
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Housewares & Specialties -- 0.9%
695,886 Prestige Brands, Inc., Term B-4 Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 1/26/24 $ 700,361
2,030,478 Reynolds Group Holdings, Inc., Incremental US Term
Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 2/5/23 2,041,905
---------------
$ 2,742,266
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 17
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leisure Products -- 0.4%
1,000,000 Bass Pro Group LLC, Initial Term Loan, 6.35%
(LIBOR + 500 bps), 9/25/24 $ 975,312
325,738 Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc., Term B Loan,
3.74% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 6/30/23 327,112
---------------
$ 1,302,424
---------------
Total Consumer Durables & Apparel $ 8,305,775
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONSUMER SERVICES -- 9.3%
Casinos & Gaming -- 2.0%
299,250 CityCenter Holdings LLC, Term B Loan, 3.85%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 4/18/24 $ 300,980
507,802 Eldorado Resorts, Inc., Term Loan, 3.554%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 4/17/24 508,542
2,064,366 Golden Nugget, Inc., Initial Term Loan B, 4.598%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/4/23 2,083,350
2,840,916 Scientific Games International, Inc., Initial Term B-4
Loan, 4.657% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 8/14/24 2,871,322
480,738 Station Casinos LLC, Term B Facility Loan, 3.82%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 6/8/23 482,074
---------------
$ 6,246,268
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Education Services -- 2.6%
3,379,434 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC (fka Bright
Horizons Family Solutions, Inc.), Term B Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps/PRIME + 125 bps), 11/7/23 $ 3,395,628
1,096,114 Cengage Learning Acquisitions, Inc., 2016 Refinancing
Term Loan, 5.495% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 6/7/23 1,048,942
1,715,175 KUEHG Corp. (fka KC MergerSub, Inc.), Term B-2 Loan,
5.083% (LIBOR + 375 bps), 8/12/22 1,724,555
1,675,880 Laureate Education, Inc., Series 2024 Term Loan, 5.85%
(LIBOR + 450 bps), 4/26/24 1,687,402
---------------
$ 7,856,527
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines -- 0.6%
538,328 Hilton Worldwide Finance LLC, Series B-2 Term Loan,
3.328% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 10/25/23 $ 541,723
1,140,402 Sabre GLBL, Inc. (fka Sabre, Inc.), 2017 B-1 Incremental
Term Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/22/24 1,146,816
---------------
$ 1,688,539
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leisure Facilities -- 1.5%
833,000 Cedar Fair LP, US Term B Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR +
225 bps), 4/13/24 $ 839,941
1,580,967 Fitness International LLC, Term B Loan, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 7/1/20 1,597,765
853,736 Life Time Fitness, Inc., 2017 Refinancing Term Loan,
4.229% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/10/22 856,404
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
18 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leisure Facilities -- (continued)
1,286,450 Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 3.321%
(LIBOR + 200 bps/PRIME + 100 bps), 6/30/22 $ 1,295,898
---------------
$ 4,590,008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restaurants -- 1.5%
1,486,909 1011778 BC Unlimited Liability Co. (New Red
Finance, Inc.) (aka Burger King/Tim Hortons), Term
B-3 Loan, 3.593% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/16/24 $ 1,488,768
249,375 NPC International, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
4.838% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/19/24 251,245
1,940,000 Red Lobster Management LLC, First Lien Initial Term
Loan, 6.6% (LIBOR + 525 bps), 7/28/21 1,953,337
42,735(b) TMK Hawk Parent Corp., First Lien Delayed Draw Term
Loan, 8/28/24 43,127
957,265 TMK Hawk Parent Corp., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
4.88% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 8/28/24 966,040
---------------
$ 4,702,517
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialized Consumer Services -- 1.1%
1,995,000 Constellis Holdings LLC, First Lien Term B Loan, 6.333%
(LIBOR + 500 bps), 4/21/24 $ 2,017,444
1,389,749 Creative Artists Agency LLC, Refinancing Term Loan, 4.75%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 2/15/24 1,401,257
---------------
$ 3,418,701
---------------
Total Consumer Services $ 28,502,560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIVERSIFIED FINANCIALS -- 3.8%
Asset Management & Custody Banks -- 0.5%
1,479,885 Vistra Group, Ltd., USD Term Loan, 4.6% (LIBOR +
325 bps), 10/26/22 $ 1,479,885
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Finance -- 0.3%
1,065,876 Trans Union LLC, 2017 Replacement Term B-3 Loan,
3.35% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/10/23 $ 1,071,538
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Capital Markets -- 0.3%
717,335 Freedom Mortgage Corp., Initial Term Loan, 6.956%
(LIBOR + 550 bps), 2/23/22 $ 728,992
342,128 Outfront Media Capital LLC (Outfront Media Capital
Corp.), Term Loan, 3.313% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 3/18/24 343,795
---------------
$ 1,072,787
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Banking & Brokerage -- 0.5%
424,859 Duff & Phelps Corp., Restatement Term Loan, 4.607%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/12/24 $ 426,551
630,522 Guggenheim Partners Investment Management Holdings
LLC, Term B Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 7/21/23 630,653
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 19
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Banking & Brokerage -- (continued)
448,750 LPL Holdings, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 3.652%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 9/23/24 $ 449,872
---------------
$ 1,507,076
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Diversified Financial Services -- 1.0%
324,373 Delos Finance S.a.r.l., New Term Loan, 3.333%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 10/6/23 $ 327,414
727,396 Fly Funding II S.a.r.l., New Term Loan, 3.41%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 2/9/23 728,760
1,962,875 Livingston International, Inc., First Lien Initial Term B-1
Loan, 5.583% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 4/18/19 1,913,803
---------------
$ 2,969,977
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialized Finance -- 1.2%
1,000,000(b) CTC AcquiCo GmbH, term Loan, 11/29/24 $ 997,500
1,220,537 DBRS, Ltd., Initial Term Loan, 6.729% (LIBOR +
525 bps), 3/4/22 1,223,588
1,496,250 Peraton Corp. (fka MHVC Acquisition Corp.), First Lien
Initial Term Loan, 6.6% (LIBOR + 525 bps), 4/29/24 1,507,472
---------------
$ 3,728,560
---------------
Total Diversified Financials $ 11,829,823
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENERGY -- 3.9%
Oil & Gas Drilling -- 0.8%
1,000,000 Gavilan Resources LLC, Second Lien Initial Term Loan,
7.245% (LIBOR + 600 bps), 3/1/24 $ 985,000
1,500,000 Traverse Midstream Partners LLC, Advance Term Loan,
5.33% (LIBOR + 400 bps), 9/27/24 1,516,500
---------------
$ 2,501,500
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil & Gas Equipment & Services -- 0.3%
1,626,138 FR Dixie Acquisition Corp., Term Loan, 6.229%
(LIBOR + 475 bps), 12/18/20 $ 1,000,075
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production -- 1.3%
1,000,000 California Resources Corp., Term Loan, 11.658%
(LIBOR + 1,038 bps), 12/31/21 $ 1,087,500
1,000,000 Chesapeake Energy Corp., Term Loan Class A, 8.954%
(LIBOR + 750 bps), 8/23/21 1,067,500
1,250,000 Medallion Midland Acquisition LLC, Initial Term Loan,
4.562% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/30/24 1,255,469
598,750 MEG Energy Corp., Initial Term Loan, 4.833%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/31/23 600,153
---------------
$ 4,010,622
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation -- 1.1%
1,195,887 Energy Transfer Equity LP, Refinanced Loan, 3.283%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 2/2/24 $ 1,192,483
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
20 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation -- (continued)
2,090,659 Gulf Finance LLC, Tranche B Term Loan, 6.59%
(LIBOR + 525 bps), 8/25/23 $ 1,965,219
---------------
$ 3,157,702
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pipeline -- 0.4%
1,199,250 Summit Midstream Partners Holdings LLC, Term Loan
Credit Facility, 7.35% (LIBOR + 600 bps), 5/13/22 $ 1,221,236
---------------
Total Energy $ 11,891,135
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING -- 2.0%
Food Distributors -- 0.9%
894,505 CTI Foods Holding Co., LLC, First Lien Term Loan, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 6/29/20 $ 800,583
1,000,000 CTI Foods Holding Co., LLC, Second Lien Term Loan, 8.6%
(LIBOR + 725 bps), 6/28/21 800,000
1,113,157 Mill US Acquisition, First Lien Term Loan, 5.34%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 7/3/20 1,095,764
---------------
$ 2,696,347
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food Retail -- 1.1%
1,382,437 Albertson's LLC, 2017-1 Term B-6 Loan, 4.462%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 6/22/23 $ 1,345,380
449,382 Packers Holdings LLC, Initial Term Loan, 4.743%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/2/21 451,254
1,550,000(b) Packers Holdings LLC, Term Loan, 11/18/24 1,556,781
---------------
$ 3,353,415
---------------
Total Food & Staples Retailing $ 6,049,762
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOD, BEVERAGE & TOBACCO -- 4.8%
Agricultural Products -- 0.5%
1,650,447 NVA Holdings, Inc., First Lien Term B-2 Loan, 4.833%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 8/14/21 $ 1,664,888
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Packaged Foods & Meats -- 4.3%
1,633,500 Amplify Snack Brands, Inc., Term Loan, 6.75%
(LIBOR + 550 bps), 9/2/23 $ 1,584,495
798,744 Chobani LLC, First Lien New Term Loan, 4.742%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 10/10/23 809,227
1,000,000 Del Monte Foods, Inc., Second Lien Initial Term Loan,
8.69% (LIBOR + 725 bps), 8/18/21 491,667
1,228,823 Dole Food Co., Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 4.034%
(LIBOR + 275 bps/PRIME + 175 bps), 4/6/24 1,235,187
1,450,000 Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp. (fka GG Foods
Acquisition Corp.), First Lien 2017 Term Loan, 5.704%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 7/29/23 1,466,312
1,688,288 Hearthside Group Holdings LLC, 2017 Replacement Term
Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 6/2/21 1,699,894
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 21
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Packaged Foods & Meats -- (continued)
985,050 JBS USA Lux SA (fka JBS USA LLC), Initial Term Loan,
3.764% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 10/30/22 $ 966,427
1,931,208 Pinnacle Foods Finance LLC, Initial Term Loan, 3.243%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 2/2/24 1,944,121
1,496,250 Post Holdings, Inc., Series A Incremental Term Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/24/24 1,503,615
1,455,000 Shearer's Foods LLC, First Lien Term Loan, 5.27%
(LIBOR + 394 bps), 6/30/21 1,449,544
---------------
$ 13,150,489
---------------
Total Food, Beverage & Tobacco $ 14,815,377
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES -- 14.1%
Health Care Distributors -- 0.3%
1,000,000(b) PharMerica Corp., First Lien Term Loan, 9/26/24 $ 1,006,562
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Equipment -- 0.4%
1,243,750 Cidron Healthcare, Ltd. (aka ConvaTec, Inc.), Term B
Loan, 3.583% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 10/25/23 $ 1,262,406
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Facilities -- 3.4%
1,515,913 Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc., Tranche B-2 Term Loan,
3.992% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 2/16/23 $ 1,526,967
1,288,737 ATI Holdings Acquisition, Inc., First Lien Initial Term
Loan, 4.847% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 5/10/23 1,301,625
168,215 CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., Incremental
2019 Term G Loan, 4.229% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 12/31/19 164,219
645,524 CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., Incremental
2021 Term H Loan, 4.479% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 1/27/21 618,533
1,962,858 Kindred Healthcare, Inc., New Term Loan, 4.875%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/9/21 1,970,317
1,000,000 NVA Holdings, Inc., Second Lien Term Loan, 8.333%
(LIBOR + 700 bps), 8/14/22 1,008,333
992,635 Quorum Health Corp., Term Loan, 8.1% (LIBOR +
675 bps), 4/29/22 998,633
1,403,599 Select Medical Corp., Tranche B Term Loan, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350bps/PRIME + 250 bps), 3/1/21 1,423,319
1,290,368 Vizient, Inc., Term B-3 Loan, 4.85% (LIBOR +
350 bps), 2/13/23 1,296,417
---------------
$ 10,308,363
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Services -- 6.7%
967,500 Aegis Toxicology Sciences Corp., First Lien Initial Term
Loan, 5.828% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 2/24/21 $ 948,150
1,500,000 Alliance HealthCare Services, Inc., Second Lien Initial
Term Loan, 11.38% (LIBOR + 1,000 bps), 4/24/24 1,477,500
259,596 Ardent Legacy Acquisitions, Inc. (Ardent Mergeco LLC),
Term Loan, 6.833% (LIBOR + 550 bps), 8/4/21 259,596
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
22 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Services -- (continued)
1,549,463(c) CCS Medical, Inc., Second Lien Term Loan, 13.25%
(13.25% PIK 0.0% cash) (PRIME + 900 bps), 5/1/18 $ 23,242
860,092 DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc., Term Loan B2, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/24/21 869,441
2,386,640 Envision Healthcare Corp. (fka Emergency Medical
Services Corp.), Initial Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR +
300 bps), 12/1/23 2,394,845
891,017 ExamWorks Group, Inc. (fka Gold Merger Co., Inc.),
Term B-1 Loan, 4.6% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 7/27/23 897,421
1,451,250 Genex Holdings, Inc., First Lien Term B Loan, 5.6%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 5/28/21 1,444,901
1,287,024 Genoa Healthcare Co., LLC, First Lien Term Loan, 4.6%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/30/23 1,297,481
100,000 Genoa Healthcare Co., LLC, Second Lien Initial Term
Loan, 9.35% (LIBOR + 800 bps), 10/28/24 101,500
608,263 GHX Ultimate Parent Corp., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
4.583% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 6/28/24 610,544
1,472,437 HC Group Holdings III, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
6.35% (LIBOR + 500 bps), 4/7/22 1,489,002
1,104,792 Jaguar Holding Co. I LLC (fka Jaguar Holding Co. I),
2017 Term Loan, 4.091% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/18/22 1,108,036
489,907 MPH Acquisition Holdings LLC, Initial Term Loan, 4.333%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 6/7/23 490,913
1,627,963 National Mentor Holdings, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan,
4.333% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 1/31/21 1,639,664
1,308,934 nThrive, Inc. (fka Precyse Acquisition Corp.), Additional
Term B-2 Loan, 5.85% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 10/20/22 1,316,501
1,975,000 Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., Term Loan, 7.5%
(LIBOR + 600 bps), 6/30/22 1,981,123
497,500 Team Health Holdings, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 2/6/24 486,617
1,765,439 US Renal Care, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan, 5.583%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 12/30/22 1,726,158
---------------
$ 20,562,635
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Supplies -- 1.6%
1,150,181 Greatbatch, Ltd., New Term B Loan, 4.5% (LIBOR +
325 bps), 10/27/22 $ 1,160,245
1,365,198 Halyard Health, Inc., Term Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 11/1/21 1,375,437
673,313 Kinetic Concepts, Inc., Dollar Term Loan, 4.583%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 2/2/24 672,387
1,808,288 Sterigenics-Nordion Holdings LLC, Incremental Term
Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 5/15/22 1,808,288
---------------
$ 5,016,357
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 23
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care Technology -- 1.5%
1,578,227 Change Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (fka Emdeon, Inc.),
Closing Date Term Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 3/1/24 $ 1,584,022
1,125,775(a) Medical Card System, Inc., Term Loan, 1.859%
(LIBOR + 50 bps), 5/31/19 731,754
1,212,219 MJ Acquisition Corp., Term Loan, 4.321% (LIBOR +
300 bps/PRIME + 200 bps), 6/1/22 1,225,812
1,143,869 Press Ganey Holdings, Inc., First Lien Replacement
Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 10/23/23 1,151,971
---------------
$ 4,693,559
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Managed Health Care -- 0.2%
349,456 MMM Holdings, Inc., MMM Term Loan, 10.25%
(LIBOR + 875 bps), 6/30/19 $ 342,466
254,053 MSO of Puerto Rico, Inc., Term Loan, 10.25%
(LIBOR + 875 bps), 6/30/19 248,972
---------------
$ 591,438
---------------
Total Health Care Equipment & Services $ 43,441,320
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOUSEHOLD & PERSONAL PRODUCTS -- 2.8%
Cleaning Products -- 0.4%
498,750 Parfums Holding Co., Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan,
6.083% (LIBOR + 475 bps), 6/30/24 $ 504,673
1,000,000 Parfums Holding Co., Inc., Second Lien Initial Term
Loan, 10.09% (LIBOR + 875 bps), 6/30/25 988,750
---------------
$ 1,493,423
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household Products -- 2.0%
1,500,000 Alphabet Holding Co., Inc. (aka Nature's Bounty), Term
Loan, 9.083% (LIBOR + 775 bps), 9/26/25 $ 1,365,000
500,000 Alphabet Holding Co., Inc. (aka Nature's Bounty), Term
Loan B, 4.833% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 9/26/24 479,584
960,973 Spectrum Brands, Inc., 2017 Refinanced USD Term
Loan, 3.373% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 6/23/22 967,459
1,237,224 Springer Science + Business Media GmbH, Term Loan B,
4.979% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 8/14/22 1,244,622
72,838 Wash Multifamily Parent, Inc., First Lien Initial Canadian
Term Loan, 4.6% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 5/16/22 73,157
415,911 Wash Multifamily Parent, Inc., First Lien Initial US Term
Loan, 4.6% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 5/16/22 417,730
1,496,250 WKI Holding Co., Inc., Initial Term Loan, 5.377%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 5/1/24 1,496,250
---------------
$ 6,043,802
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal Products -- 0.4%
496,182 Atrium Innovations, Inc., First Lien Initial Tranche B-1
Term Loan, 4.583% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 2/15/21 $ 499,903
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
24 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal Products -- (continued)
937,729 Revlon Consumer Products Corp., Initial Term Loan B,
4.85% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 9/7/23 $ 704,730
---------------
$ 1,204,633
---------------
Total Household & Personal Products $ 8,741,858
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDUSTRIALS -- 0.3%
Industrial Machinery -- 0.3%
1,000,000(b) Circor International, Inc., Term Loan, 11/21/24 $ 1,000,312
---------------
Total Industrials $ 1,000,312
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY -- 0.7%
Communications Equipment -- 0.7%
2,000,000(b) Avaya, Inc., Term Loan, 11/8/24 $ 1,976,250
---------------
Total Information Technology $ 1,976,250
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INSURANCE -- 3.3%
Insurance Brokers -- 0.4%
1,272,661 NFP Corp., Term B Loan, 4.85% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 1/8/24 $ 1,282,107
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life & Health Insurance -- 0.6%
1,870,960 Integro, Ltd., Initial Term Loan, 7.133% (LIBOR +
575 bps), 10/31/22 $ 1,866,283
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multi-Line Insurance -- 0.2%
654,153 Alliant Holdings I LLC, Term Loan B, 4.578% (LIBOR +
325 bps), 8/12/22 $ 657,875
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Property & Casualty Insurance -- 2.1%
1,643,745 Acrisure LLC, First Lien 2017-2 Refinancing Term Loan,
5.647% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 11/22/23 $ 1,661,210
500,000 Confie Seguros Holding II Co., Second Lien Term Loan,
10.979% (LIBOR + 950 bps), 5/8/19 490,000
2,385,355 Confie Seguros Holding II Co., Term B Loan, 6.729%
(LIBOR + 525 bps), 4/19/22 2,371,639
270,000(b) USI, Inc. (fka Compass Investors, Inc.), Initial Term
Loan, 5/16/24 269,381
1,400,000 USI, Inc. (fka Compass Investors, Inc.), Initial Term
Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 5/16/24 1,398,541
---------------
$ 6,190,771
---------------
Total Insurance $ 9,997,036
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATERIALS -- 16.1%
Construction Materials -- 1.3%
991,063 84 Lumber Co., Term B-1 Loan, 6.537% (LIBOR +
525 bps), 10/25/23 $ 1,000,973
1,238,741 American Bath Group LLC, First Lien Replacement Term
Loan, 6.583% (LIBOR + 525 bps), 9/30/23 1,253,451
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 25
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Construction Materials -- (continued)
497,500 American Builders & Contractors Supply Co., Inc.,
Additional Term B-1 Loan, 3.85% (LIBOR +
250 bps), 10/31/23 $ 500,143
498,750 Associated Asphalt Partners LLC, Tranche B Term Loan,
6.6% (LIBOR + 525 bps), 4/5/24 458,850
872,813 Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp., Tranche B
Term Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/27/24 877,176
---------------
$ 4,090,593
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Chemicals -- 4.0%
819,584 Allnex (Luxembourg) & Cy SCA (fka AI Chem & Cy SCA),
Tranche B-2 Term Loan, 4.712% (LIBOR +
325 bps), 9/13/23 $ 823,682
617,466 Allnex (Luxembourg) & Cy SCA (fka AI Chem & Cy SCA),
Tranche B-3 Term Loan, 4.712% (LIBOR +
325 bps), 9/13/23 620,553
500,000 Avantor, Inc., Initial Dollar Term Loan, 5.287%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 11/21/24 501,250
1,244,087 Axalta Coating Systems Dutch Holding B BV (Axalta
Coating Systems US Holdings, Inc.), Term B-2 Dollar
Loan, 3.333% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 6/1/24 1,250,048
1,214,711 Azelis Finance SA (Azelis US Holding, Inc.), 2017
Refinancing Dollar Term Loan, 5.053% (LIBOR +
375 bps), 12/16/22 1,226,859
1,678,814 Nexeo Solutions LLC, Term B Loan, 5.147%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 6/9/23 1,689,830
565,612 Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH, Initial Dollar Term
Loan, 3.833% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 7/25/24 568,087
609,878 Plaskolite LLC, First Lien Term Loan, 5.333%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 11/3/22 612,928
1,361,963 Tata Chemicals North America, Term Loan, 4.125%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/7/20 1,367,479
408,140 Tronox, Ltd., First Lien Blocked Dollar Term Loan, 4.323%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 9/23/24 412,323
941,860 Tronox, Ltd., First Lien Initial Dollar Term Loan, 4.323%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 9/23/24 951,514
1,798,472 Univar USA, Inc., Term Loan B, 3.838%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 7/1/24 1,806,527
500,000 Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc., First Lien Closing Date
Term Loan, 5.371% (LIBOR + 400 bps), 10/28/24 504,271
---------------
$ 12,335,351
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Metals & Mining -- 1.5%
1,732,500 Global Brass and Copper, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 4.625%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 7/18/23 $ 1,756,322
965,000 Hi-Crush Partners LP, Advance, 5.083%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 4/28/21 965,000
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
26 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Metals & Mining -- (continued)
780,000 Oxbow Carbon LLC (Oxbow Calcining LLC), Tranche B
Term Loan, 4.85% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 1/17/20 $ 790,237
985,268 US Silica Co., Term Loan, 4.375%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 7/23/20 988,142
---------------
$ 4,499,701
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals -- 0.6%
1,710,625 Methanol Holdings (Trinidad), Ltd. (Methanol Holdings
(Delaware) LLC), Initial Term Loan, 4.85% (LIBOR +
350 bps), 6/30/22 $ 1,711,651
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metal & Glass Containers -- 2.3%
1,004,333 Berry Global, Inc. (fka Berry Plastics Corp.), Term M
Loan, 3.559% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 10/1/22 $ 1,008,649
956,608 BWay Holding Co., Initial Term Loan, 4.598%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 4/3/24 962,189
1,437,843 Coveris Holdings SA (fka Exopack Holdings SA), USD
Term B-1 Loan, 5.583% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 6/29/22 1,441,438
1,304,689 Tank Holding Corp., Initial Term Loan, 5.561%
(LIBOR +425 bps/PRIME + 325 bps), 3/16/22 1,314,069
1,050,000 Trident TPI Holdings, Inc., Tranche B-1 Term Loan, 4.673%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/17/24 1,056,890
1,246,875 Twist Beauty International Holdings SA, Facility B, 5.406%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 4/22/24 1,257,785
---------------
$ 7,041,020
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paper Packaging -- 1.8%
2,023,185 Caraustar Industries, Inc., Refinancing Term Loan, 6.833%
(LIBOR + 550 bps), 3/14/22 $ 2,029,507
1,514,750 Expera Specialty Solutions LLC, Term Loan B, 5.6%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 11/3/23 1,535,578
1,104,375 Onex Wizard Acquisition Co. I S.a.r.l. (aka SIG Combibloc
Group), Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 3/11/22 1,110,817
1,000,000 Plastipak Holdings, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 4.02%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 10/14/24 1,006,458
---------------
$ 5,682,360
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paper Products -- 0.6%
307,407 Ranpak Corp., Second Lien Initial Term Loan, 8.533%
(LIBOR + 725 bps), 10/3/22 $ 305,871
1,565,027 Ranpak Corp., Tranche B-1 USD Term Loan, 4.6%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 10/1/21 1,576,764
---------------
$ 1,882,635
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialty Chemicals -- 2.1%
1,458,349 Ferro Corp., US Dollar Term Loan, 3.85%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 2/14/24 $ 1,465,640
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 27
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialty Chemicals -- (continued)
350,000 H.B. Fuller Co., Commitment, 3.533%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 10/20/24 $ 351,750
1,169,860 MacDermid, Inc. (Platform Specialty Products Corp.),
Tranche B-6 Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 6/7/23 1,177,659
1,580,000 Omnova Solutions, Inc., Term B-2 Loan, 5.6%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 8/25/23 1,603,700
1,348,544 PQ Corp., Second Amendment Tranche B-1 Term Loan,
4.63% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 11/4/22 1,363,295
498,741 Versum Materials, Inc. (fka Versum Materials LLC), Term
Loan, 3.333% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 9/29/23 501,858
---------------
$ 6,463,902
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steel -- 1.9%
1,965,382 Atkore International, Inc., First Lien Initial Incremental
Term Loan, 4.34% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 12/22/23 $ 1,980,326
1,000,000 Big River Steel LLC, Closing Date Term Loan, 6.333%
(LIBOR + 500 bps), 8/23/23 1,022,500
862,898 TMS International Corp. (aka Tube City IMS Corp.),
Term B-1 Loan, 4.246% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 8/14/24 867,213
1,953,860 Zekelman Industries, Inc. (fka JMC Steel Group, Inc.),
Term Loan, 4.073% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/14/21 1,968,026
---------------
$ 5,838,065
---------------
Total Materials $ 49,545,278
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA -- 11.8%
Advertising -- 1.8%
1,936,148 CB Poly Investments LLC, First Lien Closing Date Term
Loan, 6.1% (LIBOR + 475 bps), 8/16/23 $ 1,951,879
611,200 Checkout Holding Corp., First Lien Term B Loan, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/9/21 471,863
1,952,625 Crossmark Holdings, Inc., First Lien Term Loan, 4.833%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/20/19 1,137,404
2,000,000(b) Red Ventures LLC (New Imagitas, Inc.), First Lien Term
Loan, 11/8/24 1,994,250
---------------
$ 5,555,396
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broadcasting -- 3.9%
760,276 A-L Parent LLC (aka Learfield Communications), First Lien
Initial Term Loan, 4.6% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 12/1/23 $ 763,760
750,000(b) Beasley Mezzanine Holdings LLC, Term Loan B, 11/17/23 754,700
195,000 CBS Radio, Inc., Term B-1 Loan, 4.172%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 11/18/24 195,792
497,500 CSC Holdings LLC (fka CSC Holdings, Inc. (Cablevision)),
March 2017 Refinancing Term Loan, 3.514% (LIBOR +
225 bps), 7/17/25 495,013
528,756 Gray Television, Inc., Term B-2 Loan, 3.493%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/7/24 531,665
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
28 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broadcasting -- (continued)
678,333 Hubbard Radio LLC, Term Loan, 4.6%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 5/27/22 $ 680,029
2,619,000 MediArena Acquisition BV (fka AP NMT Acquisition BV),
First Lien Dollar Term B Loan, 7.085% (LIBOR +
575 bps), 8/13/21 2,583,643
525,000 Raycom TV Broadcasting LLC, Term Loan B, 4.078%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/23/24 529,758
1,972,692 Sinclair Television Group, Inc., Tranche B Term Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 1/3/24 1,973,497
1,238,842 Townsquare Media, Inc., Additional Term B Loan, 4.423%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 4/1/22 1,244,519
2,105,327 Univision Communications, Inc., 2017 Replacement
Repriced First Lien Term Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 3/15/24 2,094,507
---------------
$ 11,846,883
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cable & Satellite -- 2.2%
349,125 Cable One, Inc., Incremental Term B-1 Loan, 3.57%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/1/24 $ 350,434
1,958,088 Charter Communications Operating LLC (aka CCO
Safari LLC), Term F-1 Loan, 3.35% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 1/3/21 1,966,926
1,838,400 MCC Iowa LLC, Tranche M Term Loan, 3.21%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 1/15/25 1,844,527
425,000 Telenet Financing USD LLC, Term Loan AI Facility, 4.0%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/30/25 426,063
1,099,000 UPC Financing Partnership, Facility AR, 3.75%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 1/15/26 1,101,944
1,117,713 Virgin Media Bristol LLC, Facility K, 3.75%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 1/15/26 1,118,511
---------------
$ 6,808,405
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Movies & Entertainment -- 1.7%
1,134,750 AMC Entertainment, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 3.5%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 12/15/22 $ 1,139,252
1,000,000 CDS US Intermediate Holdings, Inc. (Cirque Du Soleil
Canada, Inc.), Second Lien Initial Term Loan, 9.583%
(LIBOR + 825 bps), 7/10/23 999,167
323,529 Kasima LLC, Term Loan, 3.842%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 5/17/21 326,562
474,434 Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., Term B-3 Loan, 3.625%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 10/31/23 478,289
1,053,250 Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc., Term Loan,
4.083% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 5/14/20 1,060,272
1,275,132 WMG Acquisition Corp., Tranche D Term Loan, 3.828%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 11/1/23 1,278,918
---------------
$ 5,282,460
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 29
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publishing -- 2.2%
729,699 DH Publishing LP, Term B-5 Loan, 3.91%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 8/21/23 $ 733,008
857,040 Houghton Mifflin Holdings, Inc., Term Loan, 4.35%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 5/28/21 799,190
59,120 Lee Enterprises, Inc., First Lien Term Loan, 7.6%
(LIBOR + 625 bps), 3/31/19 59,303
2,962,500 McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings LLC, First Lien
Term B Loan, 5.35% (LIBOR + 400 bps), 5/4/22 2,971,758
1,716,334 Quincy Newspapers, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.611%
(LIBOR + 325 bps/PRIME + 225 bps), 11/2/22 1,727,061
549,911 Trader Corp., First Lien 2017 Refinancing Term Loan,
4.41% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 9/28/23 552,661
---------------
$ 6,842,981
---------------
Total Media $ 36,336,125
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHARMACEUTICALS, BIOTECHNOLOGY & LIFE
SCIENCES -- 3.2%
Biotechnology -- 0.5%
1,071,516 Alkermes, Inc., 2021 Term Loan, 4.07%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 9/25/21 $ 1,080,222
447,750 Lantheus Holdings, Inc., Term Loan, 5.097%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 6/30/22 450,759
---------------
$ 1,530,981
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life Sciences Tools & Services -- 1.3%
1,750,000 Albany Molecular Research, Inc., First Lien Initial Term
Loan, 4.583% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 8/30/24 $ 1,758,204
1,000,000 Albany Molecular Research, Inc., Second Lien Initial
Term Loan, 8.333% (LIBOR + 700 bps), 8/30/25 1,020,000
430,726 Catalent Pharma Solutions, Inc. (fka Cardinal Health
409, Inc.), Dollar Term Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR +
225 bps), 5/20/24 433,918
897,727 Explorer Holdings, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 5.13%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 5/2/23 907,827
---------------
$ 4,119,949
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pharmaceuticals -- 1.4%
1,605,975 Endo Luxembourg Finance Company I S.a.r.l., Initial
Term Loan, 5.625% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 4/29/24 $ 1,618,521
895,500 Horizon Pharma, Inc., Third Amendment Refinanced
Term Loan, 4.563% (LIBOR + 325 bps), 3/29/24 901,657
606,745 Mallinckrodt International Finance SA, 2017 Term B
Loan, 4.083% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 9/24/24 606,998
300,000 Parexel International Corp., Term Loan B, 4.35%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 9/27/24 302,063
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
30 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pharmaceuticals -- (continued)
687,057 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Series F
Tranche B Term Loan, 4.75% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/1/22 $ 692,639
---------------
$ 4,121,878
---------------
Total Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences $ 9,772,808
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REAL ESTATE -- 2.0%
Diversified REITs -- 0.3%
445,508 ESH Hospitality, Inc., Repriced Term Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 8/30/23 $ 447,133
500,000(b) iStar, Inc. (fka iStar Financial, Inc.), Term Loan, 10/1/21 504,362
---------------
$ 951,495
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotel & Resort REIT -- 0.4%
1,344,525 MGM Growth Properties Operating Partnership LP, Term B
Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 4/25/23 $ 1,352,088
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retail REITs -- 0.7%
1,982,319 DTZ US Borrower LLC, First Lien Initial Term Loan, 4.694%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 11/4/21 $ 1,953,616
85,106 DTZ US Borrower LLC, Second Lien Initial Term Loan,
9.63% (LIBOR + 825 bps), 11/4/22 85,532
---------------
$ 2,039,148
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialized REIT -- 0.6%
1,955,287 Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. (CSL
Capital LLC), Shortfall Term Loan, 4.35% (LIBOR +
300 bps), 10/24/22 $ 1,886,598
---------------
Total Real Estate $ 6,229,329
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETAILING -- 3.6%
Apparel Retail -- 0.6%
518,433 Hudson's Bay Co., Term Loan B, 4.718%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 9/30/22 $ 511,305
1,210,152 Men's Wearhouse, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.785%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 6/18/21 1,199,940
---------------
$ 1,711,245
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Automotive Retail -- 0.4%
1,098,034 CWGS Group LLC, Term Loan, 4.243%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 11/8/23 $ 1,106,041
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department Stores -- 0.3%
450,000 Archroma Finance S.a.r.l., First Lien Facility B2, 5.602%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 8/12/24 $ 453,375
493,631 J.C. Penney Corp., Inc., Term Loan, 5.729%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 6/23/23 450,849
---------------
$ 904,224
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 31
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home Improvement Retail -- 0.4%
1,400,603 Apex Tool Group LLC, Term Loan, 4.6%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 1/31/20 $ 1,395,787
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specialty Stores -- 1.9%
745,852 Michaels Stores, Inc., 2016 New Replacement Term B-1
Loan, 4.07% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 1/30/23 $ 740,899
724,935 Party City Holdings, Inc., 2016 Replacement Term Loan,
4.44% (LIBOR + 300 bps), 8/19/22 726,351
2,446,944 PetSmart, Inc., Tranche B-2 Term Loan, 4.34%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 3/11/22 2,106,921
2,500,000 Staples, Inc., Term Loan B, 5.31%
(LIBOR + 400 bps), 9/12/24 2,396,875
---------------
$ 5,971,046
---------------
Total Retailing $ 11,088,343
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR
EQUIPMENT -- 1.6%
Semiconductor Equipment -- 0.8%
265,443 Entegris, Inc., New Tranche B Term Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 4/30/21 $ 266,439
1,724,946 MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (fka
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.), Initial
Term Loan, 3.563% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/17/24 1,726,024
248,741 Micron Technology, Inc., Term Loan, 3.39%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/26/22 251,259
242,529 MKS Instruments, Inc., Tranche B-3 Term Loan, 3.35%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 5/1/23 245,106
---------------
$ 2,488,828
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Semiconductors -- 0.8%
498,750 Bright Bidco BV (aka Lumileds LLC), First Lien Term B
Loan, 5.836% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 6/30/24 $ 504,829
285,644 Microsemi Corp., Term Loan B, 3.383%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 1/13/23 286,956
1,194,375 Mirion Technologies (Finance) LLC (Mirion
Technologies, Inc.), First Lien Initial Term Loan, 6.083%
(LIBOR + 475 bps), 3/31/22 1,194,747
417,499 ON Semiconductor Corp., 2017 New Replacement Term
Loan, 3.60% (LIBOR +225 bps), 3/31/23 $ 419,645
---------------
$ 2,406,177
---------------
Total Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment $ 4,895,005
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOFTWARE & SERVICES -- 8.9%
Application Software -- 2.1%
800,000 Applied Systems, Inc., First Lien Initial Term Loan, 4.574%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 9/19/24 $ 809,438
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
32 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Software -- (continued)
750,000 Applied Systems, Inc., Second Lien Initial Term Loan,
8.324% (LIBOR + 700 bps), 9/19/25 $ 774,688
595,508 Greeneden US Holdings I LLC, Tranche B-2 Dollar Term
Loan, 5.083% (LIBOR + 375 bps), 12/1/23 599,353
762,913 Infor (US), Inc. (fka Lawson Software, Inc.), Tranche B-6
Term Loan, 4.083% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 2/1/22 763,199
508,981 Quest Software US Holdings, Inc., First Lien 2017
Incremental Term Loan, 6.919% (LIBOR +
550 bps), 10/31/22 515,026
1,714,134 STG-Fairway Acquisitions, Inc., First Lien Term Loan,
6.583% (LIBOR + 525 bps), 6/30/22 1,705,563
1,328,301 Verint Systems, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 3.627%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 6/28/24 1,334,112
---------------
$ 6,501,379
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data Processing & Outsourced Services -- 1.3%
297,716 Black Knight InfoServ LLC, Term B Loan, 3.625%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/27/22 $ 300,073
1,753,336 First Data Corp., 2022D New Dollar Term Loan, 3.563%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 7/8/22 1,756,129
1,131,090 First Data Corp., 2024A New Dollar Term Loan, 3.563%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 4/26/24 1,133,211
740,625 WEX, Inc., Term B-2 Loan, 4.1% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 6/30/23 747,105
---------------
$ 3,936,518
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home Entertainment Software -- 0.4%
1,241,064 MA Financeco., LLC (aka Micro Focus International Plc),
Tranche B-2 Term Loan, 3.85% (LIBOR +
250 bps), 11/19/21 $ 1,242,460
97,000 MA Financeco., LLC (aka Micro Focus International
Tranche B-3 Term Loan, 4.063% (LIBOR +
275 bps), 6/21/24 96,960
---------------
$ 1,339,420
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Software & Services -- 1.2%
942,190 Avast Holding BV, Refinancing Dollar Term Loan, 4.061%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 9/30/23 $ 949,845
908,093 Match Group, Inc. (fka The Match Group, Inc.), Additional
Term B-1 Loan, 3.854% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 11/16/22 914,904
1,891,135 Rackspace Hosting, Inc., First Lien Term B Loan, 4.385%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 11/3/23 1,893,499
---------------
$ 3,758,248
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT Consulting & Other Services -- 2.5%
772,683 Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., New Refinancing Tranche B
Term Loan, 3.496% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 6/30/23 $ 777,126
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 33
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT Consulting & Other Services -- (continued)
999,917 Evergreen Skills Lux S.a.r.l., Second Lien Initial Term
Loan, 9.6% (LIBOR + 825 bps), 4/28/22 $ 888,676
996,426 Go Daddy Operating Co., LLC (GD Finance Co, Inc.),
Tranche B-1 Term Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/15/24 1,000,579
471,443 Kronos, Inc., First Lien Incremental Term Loan, 4.902%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 11/1/23 474,415
500,000 Project Silverback Holdings Corp., First Lien Initial Term
Loan, 5.441% (LIBOR + 400 bps), 8/21/24 505,000
700,000 Rocket Software, Inc., Second Lien Term Loan, 10.833%
(LIBOR + 950 bps), 10/14/24 712,250
492,006 Science Applications International Corp., Incremental
Tranche B Term Loan, 3.938% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 5/4/22 495,491
1,347,500 Sitel Worldwide Corp., First Lien Term B-1 Loan, 6.875%
(LIBOR + 550 bps), 9/18/21 1,349,465
1,347,250 Tempo Acquisition LLC, Initial Term Loan, 4.35%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 5/1/24 1,346,071
---------------
$ 7,549,073
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Systems Software -- 1.4%
1,885,908 EZE Software Group LLC, First Lien Term B-2 Loan, 4.333%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 4/6/20 $ 1,900,052
323,466 Ivanti Software, Inc. (fka LANDesk Group, Inc.), First Lien
Term Loan, 5.6% (LIBOR + 425 bps), 1/20/24 314,894
1,229,175 Rovi Solutions Corp., Term B Loan, 3.85%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 7/2/21 1,237,011
653,000 Seattle Spinco, Inc. (aka Micro Focus International Plc),
Initial Term Loan, 4.063% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/21/24 654,640
---------------
$ 4,106,597
---------------
Total Software & Services $ 27,191,235
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT -- 2.0%
Communications Equipment -- 0.1%
368,500 Commscope, Inc., Tranche 5 Term Loan, 3.378%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 12/29/22 $ 370,796
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electronic Components -- 0.2%
653,600 Generac Power Systems, Inc., 2017 New Term Loan,
3.585% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/31/23 $ 656,255
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electronic Manufacturing Services -- 0.2%
857,865 4L Technologies, Inc. (fka Clover Holdings, Inc.), Term
Loan, 5.813% (LIBOR + 450 bps), 5/8/20 $ 617,127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Distributors -- 0.6%
786,946 CDW LLC (aka AP Exhaust Acquisition LLC) (fka CDW
Corp.), Term Loan, 3.34% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 8/17/23 $ 793,635
897,277 SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., 2017 Refinancing
New Term B-1 Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 7/8/22 903,766
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
34 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Distributors -- (continued)
38,937 SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., 2017 Refinancing
New Term B-2 Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 7/8/22 $ 39,219
---------------
$ 1,736,620
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals -- 0.9%
1,136,105 Dell International LLC, Refinancing Term B Loan, 3.35%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 9/7/23 $ 1,138,401
878,088 Diebold Nixdorf, Inc. (fka Diebold, Inc.), New Dollar
Term B Loan, 4.0% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 11/6/23 881,929
790,030 Western Digital Corp., US Term B-3 Loan, 3.313%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/29/23 794,062
---------------
$ 2,814,392
---------------
Total Technology Hardware & Equipment $ 6,195,190
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES -- 4.4%
Integrated Telecommunication Services -- 2.6%
1,750,000 CenturyLink, Inc., Initial Term B Loan, 4.1%
(LIBOR + 275 bps/PRIME + 175 bps), 1/31/25 $ 1,683,099
241,272 Cincinnati Bell, Inc., Term Loan, 4.993%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 10/2/24 244,590
598,500 Frontier Communications Corp., Term B-1 Loan, 5.09%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 6/15/24 570,285
956,872 GCI Holdings, Inc., New Term B Loan, 3.6%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/2/22 960,162
1,243,406 Level 3 Financing, Inc., Tranche B 2024 Term Loan,
3.696% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 2/22/24 1,244,183
250,000 Securus Technologies Holdings, Inc., Second Lien Term
Loan, 9.6% (LIBOR + 825 bps), 11/1/25 253,281
250,000 Securus Technologies Holdings, Inc., Term Loan, 5.85%
(LIBOR + 450 bps), 11/1/24 252,695
2,000,000 SFR Group SA, USD Term Loan B-12, 4.349%
(LIBOR + 300 bps), 1/31/26 1,968,334
285,000 Telenet Financing USD LLC, Term Loan AL Facility,
4.059% (LIBOR + 250 bps), 3/1/26 285,000
547,125 Windstream Services LLC (fka Windstream Corp.),
2016 Term Loan Tranche B-6, 5.27% (LIBOR +
400 bps), 3/29/21 512,382
---------------
$ 7,974,011
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wireless Telecommunication Services -- 1.8%
2,513,862 Altice US Finance I Corp., March 2017 Refinancing Term
Loan, 3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 7/28/25 $ 2,496,580
325,000 Digicel International Finance, Ltd., First Lien Initial Term B
Loan, 5.08% (LIBOR + 375 bps), 5/27/24 326,320
525,829 Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA, Tranche B-2 Term Loan,
4.212% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 6/30/19 525,369
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 35
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wireless Telecommunication Services -- (continued)
2,064,625 Sprint Communications, Inc., Initial Term Loan, 3.875%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 2/2/24 $ 2,067,464
---------------
$ 5,415,733
---------------
Total Telecommunication Services $ 13,389,744
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSPORTATION -- 4.7%
Airlines -- 2.9%
840,000 Air Canada, Refinanced Term Loan, 3.568%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 10/6/23 $ 844,725
1,254,938 American Airlines, Inc., 2017 Class B Term Loan, 3.25%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 12/14/23 1,256,245
2,881,181 American Airlines, Inc., 2017 Replacement Term Loan,
3.328% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 6/27/20 2,885,143
2,079,000 American Airlines, Inc., Replacement Class B Term
Loan, 3.347% (LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/28/23 2,079,649
1,428,750 Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2014 Term B-1 Loan, 3.764%
(LIBOR + 250 bps), 10/18/18 1,436,452
239,422 United Air Lines, Inc., Term Loan B, 3.416%
(LIBOR + 200 bps), 4/1/24 240,320
---------------
$ 8,742,534
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marine -- 0.7%
1,592,674 Commercial Barge Line Co., Initial Term Loan, 10.1%
(LIBOR + 875 bps), 11/12/20 $ 1,027,275
1,218,750 Navios Maritime Partners LP, Initial Term Loan, 6.32%
(LIBOR + 500 bps), 9/14/20 1,217,798
---------------
$ 2,245,073
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trucking -- 1.1%
399,731 PODS LLC, Tranche B-2 Term Loan, 4.495%
(LIBOR + 325 bps), 2/2/22 $ 401,980
400,000(b) PODS, Inc., Term Loan B, 11/21/24 402,417
770,000 Syncreon Global Finance, Inc., Term Loan, 5.63%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 10/28/20 692,037
1,962,780 YRC Worldwide, Inc., Tranche B-1 Term Loan, 9.85%
(LIBOR + 850 bps), 7/26/22 1,951,740
---------------
$ 3,448,174
---------------
Total Transportation $ 14,435,781
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTILITIES -- 3.4%
Electric Utilities -- 1.8%
1,358,357 APLH Holdings, Ltd., Partnership, Term Loan, 4.85%
(LIBOR + 350 bps), 4/13/23 $ 1,372,577
2,154,375 Calpine Construction Finance Co., LP, Term B-1 Loan,
3.6% (LIBOR + 225 bps), 5/3/20 2,157,068
237,910 Helix Gen Funding LLC, Term Loan, 5.083%
(LIBOR + 375 bps), 6/3/24 239,819
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
36 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Utilities -- (continued)
1,047,422 TPF II Power LLC (TPF II Convert Midco LLC), Term Loan,
5.1% (LIBOR + 375 bps), 10/2/23 $ 1,057,755
102,143 Vistra Operations Co., LLC (fka Tex Operations Co., LLC),
Initial Term C Loan, 4.084% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/4/23 102,717
444,498 Vistra Operations Co., LLC (fka Tex Operations Co., LLC),
Initial Term Loan, 4.097% (LIBOR + 275 bps), 8/4/23 446,999
---------------
$ 5,376,935
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders -- 1.4%
1,622,650 Calpine Corp., Term Loan B, 4.09%
(LIBOR + 275 bps), 1/15/24 $ 1,625,804
1,192,506 NRG Energy, Inc., Term Loan, 3.583%
(LIBOR + 225 bps), 6/30/23 1,194,813
1,412,428 TerraForm AP Acquisition Holdings LLC, Term Loan, 5.583%
(LIBOR + 425 bps), 6/27/22 1,424,787
---------------
$ 4,245,404
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water Utilities -- 0.2%
372,188 Culligan NewCo, Ltd., First Lien Tranche B-1 Term Loan,
4.85% (LIBOR + 350 bps), 12/13/23 $ 376,375
310,870(b) WTG Holdings III Corp., First Lien Term Loan, 1/15/21 313,395
---------------
$ 689,770
---------------
Total Utilities $ 10,312,109
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL SENIOR SECURED FLOATING RATE
LOAN INTERESTS
(Cost $417,727,301) $ 414,176,723
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASSET BACKED SECURITY -- 0.2% of Net Assets
FINANCIALS -- 0.2%
Thrifts & Mortgage Finance -- 0.2%
500,000(f) Hertz Fleet Lease Funding LP, Series 2016-1,
Class E, 4.746% (1 Month USD LIBOR + 350 bps),
4/10/30 (144A) $ 502,637
---------------
Total Financials $ 502,637
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL ASSET BACKED SECURITY
(Cost $503,250) $ 502,637
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORPORATE BONDS & NOTES --
6.8% of Net Assets
AUTOMOBILES & COMPONENTS -- 0.3%
Auto Parts & Equipment -- 0.3%
1,000,000 International Automotive Components Group SA,
9.125%, 6/1/18 (144A) $ 1,005,000
---------------
Total Automobiles & Components $ 1,005,000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 37
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANKS -- 0.4%
Diversified Banks -- 0.4%
1,100,000(d)(e) BNP Paribas SA, 7.625% (5 Year USD Swap Rate +
631 bps) (144A) $ 1,215,500
---------------
Total Banks $ 1,215,500
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPITAL GOODS -- 0.3%
Trading Companies & Distributors -- 0.3%
900,000 United Rentals North America, Inc., 4.625%, 7/15/23 $ 927,000
---------------
Total Capital Goods $ 927,000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENERGY -- 0.9%
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production -- 0.3%
500,000 Gulfport Energy Corp., 6.625%, 5/1/23 $ 511,250
419,000 WPX Energy, Inc., 7.5%, 8/1/20 454,615
---------------
$ 965,865
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation -- 0.6%
1,000,000(f) Golar LNG Partners LP, 5.846% (3 Month USD
LIBOR + 440 bps), 5/22/20 $ 950,000
800,000(f) Golar LNG Partners LP, 7.666% (3 Month USD
LIBOR + 625 bps), 5/18/21 (144A) 785,991
---------------
$ 1,735,991
---------------
Total Energy $ 2,701,856
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH CARE -- 0.3%
Pharmaceuticals -- 0.3%
1,000,000 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., 5.5%,
11/1/25 (144A) $ 1,012,600
---------------
Total Health Care $ 1,012,600
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES -- 0.2%
Health Care Facilities -- 0.2%
200,000 CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., 6.25%, 3/31/23 $ 187,000
1,000,000 CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., 6.875%, 2/1/22 602,500
---------------
Total Health Care Equipment & Services $ 789,500
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INSURANCE -- 1.6%
Reinsurance -- 1.6%
500,000(f) Alamo Re, Ltd., 6.092% (3 Month Treasury Bill +
481 bps), 6/7/18 (144A) (Cat Bond) $ 505,750
400,000+(g)(h) Berwick Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 2/1/18 19,000
250,000+(g)(h) Carnoustie Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 11/30/20 27,050
250,000+(g)(h) Carnoustie Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 11/30/21 225,000
250,000+(g)(h) Gleneagles Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 11/30/20 29,300
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
38 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reinsurance -- (continued)
400,000+(g)(h) Gullane Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.), Variable
Rate Notes, 11/30/20 $ 8,720
400,000+(g)(h) Gullane Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.), Variable
Rate Notes, 11/30/21 392,080
400,000(f) Kilimanjaro II Re, Ltd., 7.209% (6 Month USD
LIBOR + 600 bps), 4/20/21 (144A) (Cat Bond) 389,280
250,000(f) Kilimanjaro Re, Ltd., Series 2015-1, Class D, 10.532%
(3 Month Treasury Bill + 925 bps), 12/6/19 (144A)
(Cat Bond) 243,900
250,000(f) Kilimanjaro Re, Ltd., Series 2015-1, Class E, 8.032%
(3 Month Treasury Bill + 675 bps), 12/6/19 (144A)
(Cat Bond) 252,200
250,000+(g)(h) Madison Re, Variable Rate Notes, 3/31/19 15,875
400,000+(g)(h) Pangaea Re Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Series 2016-1, Variable Rate Notes, 2/1/20 26,440
400,000+(g)(h) Pangaea Re Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Series 2017-1, Variable Rate Notes, 2/1/21 325,080
400,000+(g)(h) Pinehurst Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 1/16/18 398,040
300,000+(g)(h) Resilience Re, Ltd., Variable Rate Notes, 4/6/18 262,350
300,000+(g)(h) Resilience Re, Ltd., Variable Rate Notes, 1/8/19 (144A) 300,000
400,000+(g)(h) St. Andrews Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 2/1/18 56,240
400,000+(g)(h) St. Andrews Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 2/1/19 415,080
347,597+(g)(h) St. Andrews Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 6/1/19 357,851
300,000+(g)(h) Sunningdale 2017 Segregated Account (Artex SAC, Ltd.),
Variable Rate Notes, 1/16/18 297,180
250,000(f) Ursa Re, Ltd., 3.5% (ZERO + 350 bps), 5/27/20
(144A) (Cat Bond) 249,450
---------------
Total Insurance $ 4,795,866
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATERIALS -- 0.3%
Commodity Chemicals -- 0.3%
758,000 Rain CII Carbon LLC/CII Carbon Corp., 7.25%,
4/1/25 (144A) $ 832,375
---------------
Total Materials $ 832,375
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA -- 0.7%
Broadcasting -- 0.1%
300,000 CSC Holdings LLC, 5.5%, 4/15/27 (144A) $ 304,125
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cable & Satellite -- 0.6%
750,000 Hughes Satellite Systems Corp., 5.25%, 8/1/26 $ 761,295
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 39
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($) Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cable & Satellite -- (continued)
1,000,000 Sirius XM Radio, Inc., 3.875%, 8/1/22 (144A) $ 1,007,700
---------------
$ 1,768,995
---------------
Total Media $ 2,073,120
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETAILING -- 0.1%
Automotive Retail -- 0.1%
208,000 Penske Automotive Group, Inc., 3.75%, 8/15/20 $ 211,380
---------------
Total Retailing $ 211,380
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES -- 0.9%
Integrated Telecommunication Services -- 0.9%
1,000,000 Frontier Communications Corp., 10.5%, 9/15/22 $ 792,500
2,000,000 Windstream Services LLC/Windstream Finance Corp.,
8.625%, 10/31/25 (144A) 1,945,040
---------------
Total Telecommunication Services $ 2,737,540
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSPORTATION -- 0.4%
Airlines -- 0.4%
365,000 Air Canada 2015-1 Class C Pass Through Trust,
5.0%, 3/15/20 (144A) $ 374,582
1,000,000 Intrepid Aviation Group Holdings LLC/Intrepid
Finance Co., 6.875%, 2/15/19 (144A) 985,000
---------------
Total Transportation $ 1,359,582
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTILITIES -- 0.4%
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders -- 0.4%
1,125,000 NRG Energy, Inc., 6.25%, 7/15/22 $ 1,171,406
---------------
Total Utilities $ 1,171,406
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL CORPORATE BONDS & NOTES
(Cost $20,943,601) $ 20,832,725
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY OBLIGATIONS --
4.0% of Net Assets
8,980,000(f) U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.479% (3 Month Treasury
Yield + 19 bps), 4/30/18 $ 8,988,487
3,365,000(f) U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.561% (3 Month Treasury
Yield + 27 bps), 1/31/18 3,366,817
---------------
$ 12,355,304
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY OBLIGATIONS
(Cost $12,352,493) $ 12,355,304
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
40 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS -- 1.7% of Net Assets
DIVERSIFIED FINANCIALS -- 1.7%
Asset Management & Custody Banks -- 0.6%
40,000 BlackRock Floating Rate Income Strategies Fund, Inc. $ 555,600
30,000 Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Income Trust 427,800
50,000 First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II 645,500
50,000 Invesco Senior Income Trust 220,500
---------------
$ 1,849,400
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Diversified Financial Services -- 1.1%
27,000 iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF $ 2,370,060
42,000 PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio 968,100
---------------
$ 3,338,160
---------------
Total Diversified Financials $ 5,187,560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS
(Cost $5,127,287) $ 5,187,560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS -- 0.2% of Net Assets
CONSUMER DURABLES & APPAREL -- 0.0%+
Homebuilding -- 0.0%+
31,348(a)(i) WAICCS Las Vegas 3 LLC $ 100,000
---------------
Total Consumer Durables & Apparel $ 100,000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES -- 0.0%+
Health Care Technology -- 0.0%+
209,625(a)(i) Medical Card System, Inc. $ 2,096
---------------
Total Health Care Equipment & Services $ 2,096
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA -- 0.0%+
Publishing -- 0.0%+
1,242(i) Solocal Group SA $ 1,338
---------------
Total Media $ 1,338
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHARMACEUTICALS, BIOTECHNOLOGY & LIFE
SCIENCES -- 0.0%+
Biotechnology -- 0.0%+
2,454(i) Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 14,184
---------------
Total Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences $ 14,184
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETAILING -- 0.1%
Computer & Electronics Retail -- 0.1%
91,346(a)(i) Targus Cayman SubCo., Ltd. $ 179,952
---------------
Total Retailing $ 179,952
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSPORTATION -- 0.1%
Air Freight & Logistics -- 0.1%
710(i) CEVA Holdings LLC $ 301,661
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 41
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Airlines -- 0.0%+
732 Delta Air Lines, Inc. $ 38,737
----------------
Total Transportation $ 340,398
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTILITIES -- 0.0%+
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders -- 0.0%+
775 NRG Energy, Inc. $ 21,429
----------------
Total Utilities $ 21,429
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(Cost $1,519,027) $ 659,397
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal
Amount
USD ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEMPORARY CASH INVESTMENTS --
2.7% of Net Assets
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS -- 0.9%
855,000 $855,000 RBC Capital Markets LLC, 1.04%, dated
11/30/17 plus accrued interest on 12/1/17
collateralized by the following:
$872,101 Freddie Mac Giant, 3.5% -- 4.0%,
1/1/47-12/1/47. $ 855,000
1,990,000 $1,990,000 ScotiaBank, 1.04%, dated 11/30/17
plus accrued interest on 12/1/17 collateralized
by the following:
$2,029,934 U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.125%, 7/31/21. 1,990,000
----------------
$ 2,845,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TREASURY BILLS -- 1.8%
1,130,000(j) U.S. Treasury Bills, 12/21/17 $ 1,129,327
4,320,000(j) U.S. Treasury Bills, 12/28/17 4,316,387
----------------
$ 5,445,714
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL TEMPORARY CASH INVESTMENTS
(Cost $8,290,574) $ 8,290,714
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN UNAFFILIATED
ISSUERS -- 150.4%
(Cost $466,463,533) $ 462,005,060
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES -- (50.4)% $ (154,809,895)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET ASSETS -- 100.0% $ 307,195,165
============================================================================================================
BPS Basis Point.
LIBOR London Interbank Offered Rate.
PRIME U.S. Federal Funds Rate.
REIT Real Estate Investment Trust.
ZERO Zero Constant Index.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
42 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
(144A) Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the
Securities Act of 1933. Such securities may be resold normally to
qualified institutional buyers in a transaction exempt from
registration. At November 30, 2017, the value of these securities
amounted to $11,911,130, or 3.9% of net assets.
(Cat Bond) Catastrophe or event-linked bond. At November 30, 2017, the value of
these securities amounted to $1,640,580, or 0.5% of net assets. See
Notes to Financial Statements -- Note 1F.
+ Amount rounds to less than 0.1%.
* Senior secured floating rate loan interests in which the Fund invests
generally pay interest at rates that are periodically redetermined by
reference to a base lending rate plus a premium. These base lending
rates are generally (i) the lending rate offered by one or more major
European banks, such as LIBOR, (ii) the prime rate offered by one or
more major United States banks, (iii) the rate of a certificate of
deposit or (iv) other base lending rates used by commercial lenders.
The interest rate shown is the rate accruing at November 30, 2017.
+ Securities that used significant unobservable inputs to determine
their value.
(a) Security is valued using fair value methods (other than prices
supplied by independent pricing services).
(b) This term loan will settle after November 30, 2017, at which time the
interest rate will be determined.
(c) Payment in Kind (PIK) security which may pay interest in the form of
additional principal amount.
(d) The interest rate is subject to change periodically. The interest
rate, reference index and spread shown at November 30, 2017.
(e) Security is perpetual in nature and has no stated maturity date.
(f) Floating rate note. Coupon rate, reference index and spread shown at
November 30, 2017.
(g) Structured reinsurance investment. At November 30, 2017, the value of
these securities amounted to $3,155,286, or 1.0% of net assets.
(h) Rate to be determined.
(i) Non-income producing security.
(j) Security issued with a zero coupon. Income is recognized through
accretion of discount.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 43
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
SWAP CONTRACTS
CENTRALLY CLEARED CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP CONTRACTS -- SELL PROTECTION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obligation Annual Premiums
Notional Reference/ Pay/ Fixed Expiration Paid/ Unrealized Market
Amount ($)(1) Index Receive(2) Rate Date (Received) Appreciation Value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,056,000 Markit CDX North Pay 5.00% 6/20/20 $ 63,568 $ 16,025 $ 79,593
America High Yield
Index Series 24
1,081,550 Markit CDX North Pay 5.00% 12/20/20 (10,286) 93,807 83,521
America High Yield
Index Series 25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL SWAP CONTRACTS $ 53,282 $109,832 $163,114
====================================================================================================
(1) The notional amount is the maximum amount that a seller of credit
protection would be obligated to pay upon occurrence of a credit event.
(2) Pays Quarterly
Purchases and sales of securities (excluding temporary cash investments) for the
year ended November 30, 2017 were as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchases Sales
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-Term U.S. Government $ -- $ 3,271,507
Other Long-Term Securities $339,840,429 $335,496,082
The Trust is permitted to engage in purchase and sale transactions ("cross
trades") with certain funds and accounts for which Amundi Pioneer Asset
Management, Inc. (the "Adviser"), serves as the investment adviser, as set forth
in Rule 17a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, pursuant to procedures
adopted by the Board of Trustees. Under these procedures, cross trades are
effected at current market prices. During the year ended November 30, 2017, the
Trust engaged in purchases and sales pursuant to these procedures amounting to
$11,681,516 and $6,660,739, respectively resulting in a gain/loss of $--.
At November 30, 2017, the net unrealized depreciation on investments based on
cost for federal tax purposes of $466,759,741 was as follows:
Aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in
which there is an excess of value over tax cost $ 4,899,460
Aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in
which there is an excess of tax cost over value (9,491,027)
------------
Net unrealized depreciation $(4,591,567)
============
Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Trust's investments.
These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels below.
Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.
Level 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for
similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risks,
etc.). See Notes to Financial Statements -- Note 1A.
Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs (including the Trust's own assumptions
in determining fair value of investments). See Notes to Financial
Statements -- Note 1A.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
44 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
The following is a summary of the inputs used as of November 30, 2017, in
valuing the Trust's investments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Secured Floating Rate
Loan Interests
Capital Goods
Aerospace & Defense $ -- $ 15,287,872 $ 2,257,937 $ 17,545,809
Health Care
Equipment & Services
Health Care Technology -- 3,961,805 731,754 4,693,559
All Other Senior Secured
Floating Rate Loan Interests -- 391,937,355 -- 391,937,355
Asset Backed Security -- 502,637 -- 502,637
Corporate Bonds & Notes
Insurance
Reinsurance -- 1,640,580 3,155,286 4,795,866
All Other Corporate
Bonds & Notes -- 16,036,859 -- 16,036,859
U.S. Government and
Agency Obligations -- 12,355,304 -- 12,355,304
Exchange-Traded Funds 5,187,560 -- -- 5,187,560
Common Stocks
Consumer Durables & Apparel
Homebuilding -- -- 100,000 100,000
Health Care
Equipment & Services
Health Care Technology -- -- 2,096 2,096
Retailing
Computer &
Electronics Retail -- -- 179,952 179,952
Transportation
Air Freight & Logistics -- 301,661 -- 301,661
All Other common Stocks 75,688 75,688
Repurchase Agreements -- 2,845,000 -- 2,845,000
Treasury Bills -- 5,445,714 -- 5,445,714
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Investments in Securities $ 5,263,248 $ 450,314,787 $ 6,427,025 $ 462,005,060
===================================================================================================
Other Financial Instruments
Swap contracts, at value $ -- $ 163,114 $ -- $ 163,114
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Other Financial Instruments $ -- $ 163,114 $ -- $ 163,114
===================================================================================================
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 45
Schedule of Investments | 11/30/17 (continued)
The following is a reconciliation of assets valued using significant
unobservable inputs (Level 3):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in
Balance Realized unrealized Accrued Transfers Transfers Balance
as of gain appreciation discounts/ into out of as of
11/30/16 (loss)(1) (depreciation)(2) Purchases Sales premiums Level 3* Level 3* 11/30/17
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Secured
Floating Rate
Loan Interests
Capital Goods
Aerospace &
Defense $ -- $154 $ 18,537 $2,252,250 $ (17,063) $ 4,059 $ -- $ -- $2,257,937
Health Care
Equipment &
Services
Health Care
Technology 731,754 -- (43,676) -- -- 43,676 -- -- 731,754
Corporate Bonds
& Notes
Insurance
Reinsurance 3,255,179 -- (140,790) 3,066,422 (2,991,992) (33,533) -- -- 3,155,286
Common Stocks
Consumer Durables
& Apparel
Homebuilding -- -- (274,922) -- -- -- 374,922 -- 100,000
Health Care
Equipment &
Services
Health Care
Technology 2,096 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,096
Retailing
Computer &
Electronics
Retail 88,606 -- 91,346 -- -- -- -- -- 179,952
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $4,077,635 $154 $ (349,505) $5,318,672 $ (3,009,055) $ 14,202 $374,922 $ -- $6,427,025
===================================================================================================================================
(1) Realized gain (loss) on these securities is included in the realized gain
(loss) from investments in the Statement of Operations.
(2) Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on these securities is included in
the change in unrealized gain (loss) from investments in the Statement of
Operations.
* Transfers are calculated on the beginning of period values. For the year
ended November 30, 2017, there were no transfers between Levels 1 and 2.
Securities valued at $374,922 transferred from Level 2 to Level 3 as there
were no longer observable inputs available to determine their values.
Net change in unrealized depreciation of Level 3 investments still held and
considered Level 3 at November 30, 2017: $329,245
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
46 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 11/30/17
ASSETS:
Investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value (cost $466,463,533) $462,005,060
Cash 895,627
Foreign currencies, at value (cost $74,966) 67,505
Swap contracts, at value (net premiums paid $53,282) 163,114
Variation margin for centrally cleared swap contracts 397
Swaps collateral 200,790
Receivables --
Investment securities sold 1,594,560
Interest 1,955,031
Dividends 33,749
Other assets 5,645
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total assets $466,921,478
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIABILITIES:
Payables --
Credit agreement $143,450,000
Investment securities purchased 14,043,939
Distributions 1,484,290
Trustees' fees 2,976
Interest expense 284,596
Due to broker for swaps 163,626
Due to affiliates 43,684
Accrued expenses 253,202
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total liabilities $159,726,313
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET ASSETS:
Paid-in capital $375,104,820
Distributions in excess of net investment income (35,437)
Accumulated net realized loss on investments (63,518,116)
Net unrealized depreciation on investments (4,356,102)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net assets $307,195,165
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE:
No par value (unlimited number of shares authorized)
Based on $ 307,195,165 / 24,738,174 shares $ 12.42
===================================================================================
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 47
Statement of Operations
For the Year Ended 11/30/17
INVESTMENT INCOME:
Interest from unaffiliated issuers $24,045,340
Dividend from unaffiliated issuers 245,655
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total investment income $ 24,290,995
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXPENSES:
Management fees $ 3,176,110
Administrative expense 194,247
Transfer agent fees 14,825
Shareowner communications expense 27,141
Custodian fees 85,126
Professional fees 112,840
Printing expense 31,229
Pricing fees 46,126
Trustees' fees 17,212
Interest expense 2,938,605
Miscellaneous 200,464
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total expenses $ 6,843,925
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net investment income $ 17,447,070
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS:
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments in unaffiliated issuers $ (786,302)
Swap contracts 74,845
Other assets and liabilities denominated
in foreign currencies (76) $ (711,533)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments in unaffiliated issuers $ (848,459)
Swap contracts (4,200)
Unfunded loan commitments (2,741)
Other assets and liabilities denominated
in foreign currencies 15,932 $ (839,468)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net realized and unrealized loss on investments $ (1,551,001)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations $ 15,896,069
=======================================================================================
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
48 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Statements of Changes in Net Assets
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Year
Ended Ended
11/30/17 11/30/16*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FROM OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss) $ 17,447,070 $ 19,154,376
Net realized gain (loss) on investments (711,533) (10,303,504)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
on investments (839,468) 13,912,597
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations $ 15,896,069 $ 22,763,469
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREOWNERS:
Net investment income ($0.73 and $0.72 per
share, respectively) $ (18,009,391) $ (17,811,485)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total distributions to shareowners $ (18,009,391) $ (17,811,485)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets $ (2,113,322) $ 4,951,984
NET ASSETS:
Beginning of year 309,308,487 304,356,503
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of year $ 307,195,165 $ 309,308,487
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Undistributed (distributions in excess of)
net investment income $ (35,437) $ 1,539,947
====================================================================================
* The Trust was audited by an independent registered public accounting firm
other than Ernst & Young LLP.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 49
Statement of Cash Flows
For the Year Ended 11/30/17
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations $ 15,896,069
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets resulting from operations to
net cash and foreign currencies from operating activities:
Purchases of investment securities $ (354,576,953)
Proceeds from disposition and maturity of investment securities 338,955,901
Net proceeds from temporary cash investments 15,008,646
Net accretion and amortization of discount/premium on investment securities (899,661)
Net realized loss on investments in unaffiliated issuers 786,302
Change in unrealized appreciation on investments in unaffiliated issuers 848,459
Change in unrealized depreciation on unfunded loan commitments 2,741
Change in unrealized appreciation on other assets and liabilities denominated
in foreign currencies (7,435)
Increase in swap contracts, at value (163,114)
Decrease in variation margin for centrally cleared swap contracts 3,560
Increase in swaps collateral (200,790)
Decrease in restricted cash 198,060
Decrease in interest receivable 351,702
Increase in dividends receivable (224)
Increase in other assets (5,645)
Increase in interest expense payable 283,260
Increase in due to broker for swaps 163,626
Increase in distributions payable 1,484,290
Decrease in administration fee payable (128,307)
Decrease in due to affiliates (207,140)
Increase in accrued expenses 64,901
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash and foreign currencies from operating activities $ 17,858,248
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities:
Distributions to shareowners, net of reinvestments $ (18,009,391)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash and foreign currencies used in financing activities $ (18,009,391)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effect of Foreign Exchange Fluctuations on Cash:
Effect of foreign exchange fluctuations on cash $ 7,435
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and Foreign Currencies:
Beginning of the year $ 1,106,840
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of the year $ 963,132
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow Information:
Cash paid for interest $ 2,655,345
=================================================================================================
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
50 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Financial Highlights
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Year Year Year Year
Ended Ended Ended Ended Ended
11/30/17 11/30/16* 11/30/15* 11/30/14* 11/30/13
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of period $ 12.50 $ 12.30 $ 12.82 $ 13.06 $ 13.06
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (decrease) from investment operations: (a)
Net investment income $ 0.71 $ 0.77 $ 0.76 $ 0.75 $ 1.01
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (0.06) 0.15 (0.58) (0.19) 0.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions to preferred shareowners from:
Net investment income $ -- $ -- $ -- $ (0.00)(b) $ (0.12)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase from investment operations $ 0.65 $ 0.92 $ 0.18 $ 0.56 $ 0.90
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions to common shareowners from:
Net investment income and previously undistributed net
investment income $ (0.73)** $ (0.72) $ (0.70) $ (0.80)** $ (0.90)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase (decrease) in net asset value $ (0.08) $ 0.20 $ (0.52) $ (0.24) $ --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net asset value, end of period $ 12.42 $ 12.50 $ 12.30 $ 12.82 $ 13.06
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Market value, end of period $ 11.47 $ 11.78 $ 10.83 $ 11.36 $ 12.41
===========================================================================================================================
Total return at net asset value (c) 5.55% 8.31% 1.96% 4.74% 7.07%
Total return at market value (c) 3.43% 15.92% 1.31% (2.32)% (0.84)%
Ratios to average net assets of shareowners:
Total expenses plus interest expense (d)(e) 2.21% 1.96% 1.81% 1.80% 1.47%
Net investment income before preferred share distributions 5.62% 6.32% 6.00% 5.73% 7.70%
Preferred share distributions --% --% --% 0.01% 0.94%
Net investment income available to shareowners 5.62% 6.32% 6.00% 5.72% 6.76%
Portfolio turnover 75% 52% 38% 61% 63%
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) $307,195 $309,308 $304,357 $317,236 $323,127
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 51
Financial Highlights (continued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Year Year Year Year
Ended Ended Ended Ended Ended
11/30/17 11/30/16* 11/30/15* 11/30/14* 11/30/13
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preferred shares outstanding (in thousands) $ -- $ -- $ -- $ --(f) $182,450
Asset coverage per preferred share, end of period $ -- $ -- $ -- $ --(f) $ 69,280
Average market value per preferred share (g) $ -- $ -- $ -- $ --(f) $ 25,000
Liquidation value, including dividends payable, per preferred share $ -- $ -- $ -- $ --(f) $ 25,003
Total amount of debt outstanding (in thousands) $ 143,450 $ 143,450 $ 150,450 $ 155,450 $ --
Asset coverage per $1,000 of indebtedness $ 3,141 $ 3,156 $ 3,023 $ 3,041 $ --
=============================================================================================================================
* The Trust was audited by an independent registered public accounting firm
other than Ernst & Young LLP.
** The amount of distributions made to shareholders during the period was in
excess of the net investment income earned by the Trust during the period.
The Trust has accumulated undistributed net investments income which is
the part of the Trust's NAV. A portion of this accumulated net investment
income was distributed to shareowners during the period. A decrease in
distributions may have a negative effect on the market value of the Trust's
shares.
(a) The per common share data presented above is based upon the average common
shares outstanding for the periods presented.
(b) Amount rounds to less than $(0.005) per share.
(c) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of common shares
at the current net asset value or market value on the first day and a sale
at the current net asset value or market value on the last day of the
periods reported. Dividends and distributions, if any, are assumed for
purposes of this calculation to be reinvested at prices obtained under the
Trust's dividend reinvestment plan. Total investment return does not
reflect brokerage commissions. Past performance is not a guarantee of
future results.
(d) Expense ratios do not reflect the effect of distribution payments to
preferred shareowners.
(e) Includes interest expense of 0.95%, 0.63%, 0.51%, 0.49% and 0.00%,
respectively.
(f) Preferred shares were redeemed during the period.
(g) Market value is redemption value without an active market.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
52 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Notes to Financial Statements | 11/30/17
1. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust (the "Trust") was organized as a Delaware statutory
trust on October 6, 2004. Prior to commencing operations on December 28, 2004,
the Trust had no operations other than matters relating to its organization and
registration as a closed-end management investment company under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Trust is a diversified fund. The investment
objective of the Trust is to provide a high level of current income and the
Trust may, as a secondary objective, also seek preservation of capital to the
extent consistent with its investment objective of high current income.
On July 3, 2017, Amundi acquired Pioneer Investments, a group of asset
management companies located throughout the world. Amundi, one of the world's
largest asset managers, is headquartered in Paris, France. As a result of the
transaction, Pioneer Investment Management, Inc., the Trust's investment
adviser, became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Amundi and Amundi's
wholly owned subsidiary, Amundi USA, Inc. Prior to July 3, 2017, Pioneer
Investments was owned by Pioneer Global Asset Management S.p.A., a wholly owned
subsidiary of UniCredit S.p.A.
In connection with the transaction, the names of the Trust's investment adviser
and principal underwriter changed. Effective July 3, 2017, the name of Pioneer
Investment Management, Inc. changed to Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc.
(the "Adviser") and the name of Pioneer Funds Distributor, Inc. changed to
Amundi Pioneer Distributor, Inc. (the "Distributor").
In October 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") released its
Final Rule on Investment Company Reporting Modernization. In addition to
introducing two new regulatory reporting forms (Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN), the
Final Rule amends Regulation S-X, which impacts financial statement
presentation, particularly related to the presentation of derivative
investments. The Trust's financial statements were prepared in compliance with
the amendments to Regulation S-X.
The Trust's financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") that require the
management of the Trust to make estimates and assumptions that affect the
reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets
and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported
amounts of income, expenses and gain or loss on investments during the reporting
period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 53
The Trust is an investment company and follows investment company accounting and
reporting guidance under U.S. GAAP. The following is a summary of significant
accounting policies followed by the Trust in the preparation of its financial
statements:
A. Security Valuation
The net asset value of the Trust is computed once daily, on each day the
New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, as of the close of regular
trading on the NYSE.
Fixed income securities are valued by using prices supplied by independent
pricing services, which consider such factors as market prices, market
events, quotations from one or more brokers, Treasury spreads, yields,
maturities and ratings, or may use a pricing matrix or other fair value
methods or techniques to provide an estimated value of the security or
instrument. A pricing matrix is a means of valuing a debt security on the
basis of current market prices for other debt securities, historical
trading patterns in the market for fixed income securities and/or other
factors. Non-U.S. debt securities that are listed on an exchange will be
valued at the bid price obtained from an independent third party pricing
service. When independent third party pricing services are unable to supply
prices, or when prices or market quotations are considered to be
unreliable, the value of that security may be determined using quotations
from one or more broker-dealers.
Loan interests are valued in accordance with guidelines established by the
Board of Trustees at the mean between the last available bid and asked
prices from one or more brokers or dealers as obtained from Loan Pricing
Corporation, an independent third party pricing service. If price
information is not available from Loan Pricing Corporation, or if the price
information is deemed to be unreliable, price information will be obtained
from an alternative loan interest pricing service. If no reliable price
quotes are available from either the primary or alternative pricing
service, broker quotes will be solicited.
Event-linked bonds or catastrophe bonds are valued at the bid price
obtained from an independent third party pricing service. Other insurance
linked securities (including sidecars, collateralized reinsurance and
industry loss warranties) may be valued at the bid price obtained from an
independent pricing service, or through a third party using a pricing
matrix, insurance industry valuation models, or other fair value methods or
techniques to provide an estimated value of the instrument.
Equity securities that have traded on an exchange are valued by using the
last sale price on the principal exchange where they are traded. Equity
securities that have not traded on the date of valuation, or securities for
which sale
54 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
prices are not available, generally are valued using the mean between the
last bid and asked prices or, if both last bid and asked prices are not
available, at the last quoted bid price. Last sale and bid and asked prices
are provided by independent third party pricing services. In the case of
equity securities not traded on an exchange, prices are typically
determined by independent third party pricing services using a variety of
techniques and methods.
The value of foreign securities is translated in U.S. dollars based on
foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a third party pricing
source. Trading in non-U.S. equity securities is substantially completed
each day at various times prior to the close of the NYSE. The values of
such securities used in computing the net asset value of the Trust's shares
are determined as of such times. The Trust may use a fair value model
developed by an independent pricing service to value non-U.S. equity
securities.
Swap contracts, including interest rate swaps, caps and floors (other than
centrally cleared swap contracts) are valued at the dealer quotations
obtained from reputable International Swap Dealers Association members.
Centrally cleared swaps are valued at the daily settlement price provided
by the central clearing counterparty.
Shares of open-end registered investment companies (including money market
mutual funds) are valued at such funds' net asset value. Repurchase
agreements are valued at par. Cash may include overnight time deposits at
approved financial institutions.
Securities or loan interests for which independent pricing services or
broker-dealers are unable to supply prices or for which market prices
and/or quotations are not readily available or are considered to be
unreliable are valued by a fair valuation team comprised of certain
personnel of the Adviser, pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trust's
Board of Trustees. The Adviser's fair valuation team uses fair value
methods approved by the Valuation Committee of the Board of Trustees. The
Adviser's fair valuation team is responsible for monitoring developments
that may impact fair valued securities and for discussing and assessing
fair values on an ongoing basis, and at least quarterly, with the Valuation
Committee of the Board of Trustees.
Inputs used when applying fair value methods to value a security may
include credit ratings, the financial condition of the company, current
market conditions and comparable securities. The Trust may use fair value
methods if it is determined that a significant event has occurred after the
close of the exchange or market on which the security trades and prior to
the determination of the Trust's net asset value. Examples of a significant
event might include political or economic news, corporate restructurings,
natural
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 55
disasters, terrorist activity or trading halts. Thus, the valuation of the
Trust's securities may differ significantly from exchange prices and such
differences could be material.
At November 30, 2017, five securities were valued using fair value methods
(in addition to securities valued using prices supplied by independent
pricing services, broker-dealers or using a third party insurance pricing
model) representing 1.1% of net assets. The value of these fair valued
securities is $3,271,739.
B. Investment Income and Transactions
Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date, except that certain
dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend date may have
passed are recorded as soon as the Trust becomes aware of the ex-dividend
data in the exercise of reasonable diligence. Interest income, including
interest on income bearing cash accounts, is recorded on an accrual basis,
net of unrecoverable foreign taxes withheld at the applicable country rates
and net of income accrued on defaulted securities.
Discounts and premiums on purchase prices of debt securities are accreted
or amortized, respectively, daily, into interest income on an effective
yield to maturity basis with a corresponding increase or decrease in the
cost basis of the security. Premiums and discounts related to certain
mortgage-backed securities are amortized or accreted in proportion to the
monthly paydowns. Interest and dividend income payable by delivery of
additional shares is reclassified as PIK (payment in kind) income upon
receipt and is included in interest and divided income, respectively.
Security transactions are recorded as of trade date. Gains and losses on
sales of investments are calculated on the identified cost method for both
financial reporting and federal income tax purposes.
C. Foreign Currency Translation
The books and records of the Trust are maintained in U.S. dollars. Amounts
denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using
current exchange rates.
Net realized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions, if any,
represent, among other things, the net realized gains and losses on foreign
currency contracts, disposition of foreign currencies and the difference
between the amount of income accrued and the U.S. dollars actually
received. Further, the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange
rates on investments are not segregated in the Statement of Operations from
the effects of changes in the market price of those securities but are
included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss on investments.
56 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
D. Forward Foreign Currency Contracts
The Trust may enter into forward foreign currency contracts (contracts) for
the purchase or sale of a specific foreign currency at a fixed price on a
future date. All contracts are marked to market daily at the applicable
exchange rates, and any resulting unrealized appreciation or depreciation
are recorded in the Trust's financial statements. The Trust records
realized gains and losses at the time a contract is offset by entry into a
closing transaction or extinguished by delivery of the currency. Risks may
arise upon entering into these contracts from the potential inability of
counterparties to meet the terms of the contracts and from unanticipated
movements in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
During the year ended November 30, 2017, the Trust did not enter into any
forward foreign currency contracts.
E. Federal Income Taxes
It is the Trust's policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal
Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute
all of its net taxable income and net realized capital gains, if any, to
its shareowners. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required. As
of November 30, 2017, the Trust did not accrue any interest or penalties
with respect to uncertain tax positions, which if applicable, would be
recorded as an income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. Tax
returns filed within the prior three years remain subject to examination by
federal and state tax authorities.
The amount and character of income and capital gain distributions to
shareowners are determined in accordance with federal income tax rules,
which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Distributions in excess of net investment
income or net realized gains are temporary overdistributions for financial
statement and tax purposes. Capital accounts within the financial
statements are adjusted for permanent book/tax differences to reflect tax
character, but are not adjusted for temporary differences.
At November 30, 2017, The Trust reclassified $62,461,980 to decrease
paid-in capital, $1,013,063 to increase distributions in excess of net
investment income and $63,475,043 to decrease accumulated net realized loss
on investments to reflect permanent book/tax differences. These adjustments
have no impact on the net assets or results of operations.
At November 30, 2017, the Trust was permitted to carry forward $1,194,615
of short-term capital losses and $32,128,522 of long-term capital losses
without limitation. Additionally, at November 30, 2017, the Trust had a net
capital loss carry forward of $30,163,525 of which the following amounts
will expire between 2018 and 2019 if not utilized: $11,415,660 in 2018 and
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 57
$18,747,865 in 2019. Since unlimited losses are required to be used first,
loss carry forwards that are subject to expiration may be more likely to
expire unused.
The tax character of distributions paid to shareowners during the year
ended November 30, 2017 and November 30, 2016 were as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions paid from:
Ordinary income $18,009,391 $17,811,485
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $18,009,391 $17,811,485
==============================================================================
The following shows the components of distributable earnings (losses) on a
federal income tax basis at November 30, 2017:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributable earnings:
Undistributed ordinary income $ 176,035
Capital loss carryforward (63,486,662)
Other book/tax temporary differences (242,926)
Unrealized depreciation (4,356,102)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $(67,909,655)
==============================================================================
The difference between book basis and tax basis unrealized depreciation is
attributable to the tax adjustments relating to premium and amortization,
catastrophe bonds, partnerships, defaulted bonds, and swaps.
F. Insurance-Linked Securities ("ILS")
The Trust invests in event-linked bonds. Event-linked bonds are floating
rate debt obligations for which the return of principal and the payment of
interest are contingent on the non-occurrence of a pre-defined "trigger"
event, such as a hurricane or an earthquake of a specific magnitude. The
trigger event's magnitude may be based on losses to a company or industry,
industry indexes or readings of scientific instruments, or may be based on
specified actual losses. If a trigger event occurs, as defined within the
terms of an event-linked bond, the Trust may lose a portion or all of its
accrued interest and/or principal invested in such event-linked bond. The
Trust is entitled to receive principal and interest payments so long as no
trigger event occurs of the description and magnitude specified by the
instrument. In addition to the specified trigger events, event-linked bonds
may expose the Trust to other risks, including but not limited to issuer
(credit) default, adverse regulatory or jurisdictional interpretations and
adverse tax consequences.
58 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
The Trust's investments in ILS may include special purpose vehicles
("SPVs") or similar instruments structured to comprise a portion of a
reinsurer's catastrophe-oriented business, known as quota share instruments
(sometimes referred to as reinsurance sidecars), or to provide reinsurance
relating to specific risks to insurance or reinsurance companies through a
collateralized instrument, known as collateralized reinsurance. Structured
reinsurance investments also may include industry loss warranties ("ILWs").
A traditional ILW takes the form of a bilateral reinsurance contract, but
there are also products that take the form of derivatives, collateralized
structures, or exchange traded instruments.
Structured reinsurance investments, including quota share instruments,
collateralized reinsurance investments and ILWs, generally are subject to
the same risks as event-linked bonds. In addition, where the instruments
are based on the performance of underlying reinsurance contracts, the Trust
has limited transparency into the individual underlying contracts and
therefore must rely upon the risk assessment and sound underwriting
practices of the issuer. Accordingly, it may be more difficult for the
Adviser to fully evaluate the underlying risk profile of the Trust's
structured reinsurance investments and therefore the Trust's assets are
placed at greater risk of loss than if the Adviser had more complete
information. Structured reinsurance instruments generally will be
considered illiquid securities by the Trust. These securities may be
difficult to purchase, sell or unwind. Illiquid securities also may be
difficult to value. If the Trust is forced to sell an illiquid asset, the
Trust may be forced to sell at a loss.
G. Risks
At times, the Trust's investments may represent industries or industry
sectors that are interrelated or have common risks, making the Trust more
susceptible to any economic, political, or regulatory developments or other
risks affecting those industries and sectors.
The value of securities held by the Trust may go up or down, sometimes
rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions, such as real or
perceived adverse economic, political or regulatory conditions, inflation,
changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond markets or adverse
investor sentiment. In the past several years, financial markets have
experienced increased volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity
and heightened uncertainty. These conditions may continue, recur, worsen or
spread.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 59
The Trust invests in below investment grade (high yield) debt securities,
floating rate loans and event-linked bonds sometimes referred to as
"catastrophe" bonds or "insurance-linked" bonds. The Trust may invest in
securities and other obligations of any credit quality, including those
that are rated below investment grade, or are unrated but are determined by
the investment adviser to be of equivalent credit quality. Below investment
grade securities are commonly referred to as "junk bonds" and are
considered speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay
interest and repay principal. Below investment grade securities, including
floating rate loans, involve greater risk of loss, are subject to greater
price volatility, and may be less liquid and more difficult to value,
especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change, than higher
rated debt securities. Certain securities in which the Trust invests,
including floating rate loans, once sold, may not settle for an extended
period (for example, several weeks or even longer). The Trust will not
receive its sale proceeds until that time, which may constrain the Trust's
ability to meet its obligations. The Trust may invest in securities of
issuers that are in default or that are in bankruptcy. The value of
collateral, if any, securing a floating rate loan can decline or may be
insufficient to meet the issuer's obligations or may be difficult to
liquidate. No active trading market may exist for many floating rate loans,
and many loans are subject to restrictions on resale. Any secondary market
may be subject to irregular trading activity and extended settlement
periods. The Trust's investments in certain foreign markets or countries
with limited developing markets may subject the Trust to a greater degree
of risk than in a developed market. These risks include disruptive
political or economic conditions and the possible imposition of adverse
governmental laws or currency exchange restrictions.
Interest rates in the U.S. recently have been historically low, so the
Trust faces a heightened risk that interest rates may rise. A general rise
in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed income
securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and
liquidity of fixed income securities.
H. Repurchase Agreements
Repurchase agreements are arrangements under which the Trust purchases
securities from a broker-dealer or a bank, called the counterparty, upon
the agreement of the counterparty to repurchase the securities from the
Trust at a later date, and at a specific price, which is typically higher
than the purchase price paid by the Trust. The securities purchased serve
as the Trust's collateral for the obligation of the counterparty to
repurchase the securities. The value of the collateral, including accrued
interest, is required to be equal to or in excess of the repurchase price.
The collateral for all repurchase agreements is held in safekeeping in the
customer-only account of the Trust's custodian or a sub custodian of the
Trust. The Adviser is responsible for determining that the value of the
collateral remains at least equal to the repurchase price. In the
60 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
event of a default by the counterparty, the Trust is entitled to sell the
securities, but the Trust may not be able to sell them for the price at
which they were purchased, thus causing a loss to the Trust. Additionally,
if the counterparty becomes insolvent, there is some risk that the Trust
will not have a right to the securities, or the immediate right to sell the
securities. Open repurchase agreements as of November 30, 2017 are
disclosed in the Trust's Schedule of Investments.
I. Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan
All shareowners whose shares are registered in their own names
automatically participate in the Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the
"Plan"), under which participants receive all dividends and capital gain
distributions (collectively, dividends) in full and fractional shares of
the Trust in lieu of cash. Shareowners may elect not to participate in the
Plan. Shareowners not participating in the Plan receive all dividends and
capital gain distributions in cash. Participation in the Plan is completely
voluntary and may be terminated or resumed at any time without penalty by
notifying American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the agent for
shareowners in administering the Plan (the "Plan Agent"), in writing prior
to any dividend record date; otherwise such termination or resumption will
be effective with respect to any subsequently declared dividend or other
distribution.
If a shareowner's shares are held in the name of a brokerage firm, bank or
other nominee, the shareowner can ask the firm or nominee to participate in
the Plan on the shareowner's behalf. If the firm or nominee does not offer
the Plan, dividends will be paid in cash to the shareowner of record. A
firm or nominee may reinvest a shareowner's cash dividends in shares of the
Trust on terms that differ from the terms of the Plan.
Whenever the Trust declares a dividend on shares payable in cash,
participants in the Plan will receive the equivalent in shares acquired by
the Plan Agent either (i) through receipt of additional unissued but
authorized shares from the Trust or (ii) by purchase of outstanding shares
on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere. If, on the payment date for
any dividend, the net asset value per share is equal to or less than the
market price per share plus estimated brokerage trading fees (market
premium), the Plan Agent will invest the dividend amount in newly issued
shares. The number of newly issued shares to be credited to each account
will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the dividend by the net
asset value per share on the date the shares are issued, provided that the
maximum discount from the then current market price per share on the date
of issuance does not exceed 5%. If, on the payment date for any dividend,
the net asset value per share is greater than the market value (market
discount), the Plan Agent will invest the dividend amount in shares
acquired in open-market purchases. There are no
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 61
brokerage charges with respect to newly issued shares. However, each
participant will pay a pro rata share of brokerage trading fees incurred
with respect to the Plan Agent's open-market purchases. Participating in
the Plan does not relieve shareowners from any federal, state or local
taxes which may be due on dividends paid in any taxable year. Shareowners
holding Plan shares in a brokerage account may be able to transfer the
shares to another broker and continue to participate in the Plan.
J. Credit Default Swap Contracts
A credit default swap is a contract between a buyer of protection and a
seller of protection against a pre-defined credit event on an underlying
reference obligation, which may be a single security or a basket or index
of securities. The Trust may buy or sell credit default swap contracts to
seek to increase the Trust's income, or to attempt to hedge the risk of
default on portfolio securities. A credit default swap index is used to
hedge risk or take a position on a basket of credit entities or indices. As
a seller of protection, the Trust would be required to pay the notional (or
other agreed-upon) value of the referenced debt obligation to the
counterparty in the event of a default by a U.S. or foreign corporate
issuer of a debt obligation, which would likely result in a loss to the
Trust. In return, the Trust would receive from the counterparty a periodic
stream of payments during the term of the contract provided that no event
of default occurred. The maximum exposure of loss to the seller would be
the notional value of the credit default swaps outstanding. If no default
occurs, the Trust would keep the stream of payments and would have no
payment obligation. The Trust may also buy credit default swap contracts in
order to hedge against the risk of default of debt securities, in which
case the Trust would function as the counterparty referenced above.
When the Trust enters into credit default swap contracts, the protection
buyer makes an upfront or periodic payment to the protection seller in
exchange for the right to receive a contingent payment. An upfront payment
made by the Trust, as the protection buyer, is recorded as an asset in the
Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Periodic payments received or paid by
the Trust are recorded as realized gains or losses in the Statement of
Operations.
Credit default swap contracts are marked-to-market daily using valuations
supplied by independent sources and the change in value, if any, is
recorded within the "Swap contracts, at value" line item in the Statement
of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received or made as a result of a
credit event or upon termination of the contract are recognized, net of the
appropriate amount of the upfront payment, as realized gains or losses in
the Statement of Operations.
62 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Credit default swap contracts involving the sale of protection may involve
greater risks than if the Trust had invested in the referenced debt
instrument directly. Credit default swap contracts are subject to general
market risk, liquidity risk, counterparty risk and credit risk. If the
Trust is a protection buyer and no credit event occurs, it will lose its
investment. If the Trust is a protection seller and a credit event occurs,
the value of the referenced debt instrument received by the Trust, together
with the periodic payments received, may be less than the amount the Trust
pays to the protection buyer, resulting in a loss to the Trust.
Certain swap contracts that are cleared through a central clearinghouse are
referred to as centrally cleared swaps. All payments made or received by
the Trust are pursuant to a centrally cleared swap contracts with the
central clearing party rather than the original counterparty. Upon entering
into a centrally cleared swap contract, the Trust is required to make an
initial margin deposit, either in cash or in securities. The daily change
in value on open centrally cleared swap contracts is recorded as variation
margin on centrally cleared swaps on the Statement of Assets and
Liabilities.
The amount of cash deposited with the broker as collateral at November 30,
2017 is recorded as "Swaps collateral" on the Statement of Assets and
Liabilities.
Open credit default swap contracts at November 30, 2017 are listed in the
Schedule of Investments. The average market value of credit default swap
contracts open during the year ended November 30, 2017 was $161,948.
2. Management Agreement
The Adviser manages the Trust's portfolio. Management fees payable under the
Trust's Advisory Agreement with the Adviser are calculated daily at the annual
rate of 0.70% of the Trust's average daily managed assets. "Managed assets"
means (a) the total assets of the Trust, including any form of investment
leverage, minus (b) all accrued liabilities incurred in the normal course of
operations, which shall not include any liabilities or obligations attributable
to investment leverage obtained through (i) indebtedness of any type (including,
without limitation, borrowing through a credit facility or the issuance of debt
securities), (ii) the issuance of preferred stock or other similar preference
securities, and/or (iii) any other means. For the year ended November 30, 2017
the net management fee was 0.70% of the Trust's average daily managed assets,
which was equivalent to 1.02% of the Trust's average daily net assets.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 63
In addition, under the Adviser's management and administration agreements,
certain other services and costs are paid by the Adviser and reimbursed by the
Trust. At November 30, 2017, $43,684 was payable to the Adviser related to
management costs, administrative costs and certain other services is included in
"Due to affiliates" in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
3. Transfer Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company ("AST") serves as the transfer agent
with respect to the Trust's shares. The Trust pays AST an annual fee, as is
agreed to from time to time by the Trust and AST, for providing such services.
In addition, the Trust reimbursed the transfer agent for out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by the transfer agent related to shareowner communications activities
such as proxy and statement mailings and outgoing calls.
4. Additional Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
The Trust's use of derivatives may subject it to the following risks:
Interest rate risk relates to the fluctuations in the value of interest-bearing
securities due to changes in the prevailing levels of market interest rates.
Credit risk relates to the ability of the issuer of a financial instrument to
make further principal or interest payments on an obligation or commitment that
it has to the Trust.
Foreign exchange rate risk relates to fluctuations in the value of an asset or
liability due to changes in currency exchange rates.
Equity risk relates to the fluctuations in the value of financial instruments as
a result of changes in market prices (other than those arising from interest
rate risk or foreign exchange risk), whether caused by factors specific to an
individual investment, its issuer, or all factors affecting all instruments
traded in a market or market segment.
Commodity risk relates to the risk that the value of a commodity or commodity
index will fluctuate based on increases or decreases in the commodities market
and factors specific to a particular industry or commodity.
The fair value of open derivative instruments (not considered to be hedging
instruments for accounting disclosure purposes) by risk exposure at November 30,
2017 was as follows:
64 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Interest Credit Foreign Equity Commodity
Rate Risk Risk Exchange Risk Risk Risk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets:
Swap contracts,
at value $-- $163,114 $-- $-- $--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value $-- $163,114 $-- $-- $--
===========================================================================================
The effect of derivative instruments (not considered to be hedging instruments
for accounting disclosure purposes) in the Statement of Operations by risk
exposure at November 30, 2017 was as follows:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement of Operations
Interest Credit Foreign Equity Commodity
Rate Risk Risk Exchange Risk Risk Risk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net realized
gain (loss):
Swap contracts $-- $74,845 $-- $-- $--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value $-- $74,845 $-- $-- $--
===========================================================================================
Change in net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation) on:
Swap contracts $-- $(4,200) $-- $-- $--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value $-- $(4,200) $-- $-- $--
===========================================================================================
5. Unfunded Loan Commitments
The Trust may enter into unfunded loan commitments. Unfunded loan commitments
may be partially or wholly unfunded. During the contractual period, the Trust is
obligated to provide funding to the borrower upon demand. A fee is earned by the
Trust on the unfunded commitment and is recorded as interest income in the
Statement of Operations.
As of November 30, 2017, the Trust had the following unfunded loan commitments
outstanding:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unrealized
Loan Principal Cost Value Appreciation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. $ 530,000 $ 530,000 $ 530,000 $ --
Centene Corp. 1,640,000 1,640,000 1,640,000 --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value Bridge Loans $2,170,000 $2,170,000 $2,170,000 $ --
==============================================================================================
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 65
6. Trust Shares
Transactions in shares of beneficial interest for the year ended November 30,
2017 and the year ended November 30, 2016 were as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/30/17 11/30/16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares outstanding at beginning of year 24,738,174 24,738,174
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares outstanding at end of year 24,738,174 24,738,174
================================================================================
7. Credit Agreement
Effective November 26, 2013, the Trust entered into a Revolving Credit Facility
(the "Credit Agreement") with the Bank of Nova Scotia in the amount of
$160,000,000. The Credit Agreement was established in conjunction with the
redemption of all the Trust's auction market preferred shares. Effective
November 23, 2016, the Trust extended the maturity of the Credit Agreement to
November 22, 2019.
At November 30, 2017, the Trust had a borrowing outstanding under the Credit
Agreement totaling $143,450,000. The interest rate charged at November 30, 2017
was 2.23%. During the year ended November 30, 2017, the average daily balance
was $143,450,000 at an average interest rate of 2.0%. Interest expense of
$2,938,605 in connection with the Credit Agreement is included in the Statement
of Operations.
The Trust is required to maintain 300% asset coverage with respect to amounts
outstanding under the Credit Agreement. Asset coverage is calculated by
subtracting the Trust's total liabilities not including any bank loans and
senior securities, from the Trust's total assets and dividing such amount by the
principal amount of the borrowing outstanding.
8. Subsequent Events
A monthly dividend was declared on December 4, 2017 from undistributed and
accumulated net investment income of $0.0600 per share payable December 18,
2017, to shareowners of record on December 14, 2017.
66 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Trustees and the Shareholders of Pioneer Floating Rate Trust:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Pioneer
Floating Rate Trust (the "Trust"), including the schedule of investments, as of
November 30, 2017, and the related statements of operations, changes in net
assets, cash flows and the financial highlights for the year then ended and the
financial highlights for the year ended November 30, 2013. These financial
statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund's
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements and financial highlights based on our audit. The statement of changes
in net assets for the year ended November 30, 2016 and the financial highlights
for periods ended November 30, 2014, November 30, 2015 and November 30, 2016
were audited by another independent registered public accounting firm whose
report, dated January 25, 2017, expressed an unqualified opinion on the
statement of changes in net assets and those financial highlights.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were
not engaged to perform audit of the Trust's internal control over financial
reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial
reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the
circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the
effectiveness of the Trust's internal control over financial reporting.
Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used
and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of
securities owned as of November 30, 2017, by correspondence with the custodian,
brokers and others or by other appropriate auditing procedures where replies
from brokers and others were not received. We believe that our audit provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to
above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust at November 30, 2017, the results of its operations
and its cash flows for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets, and
the financial highlights for the year then ended and the financial highlights
for the year ended November 30, 2013, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
January 25, 2018
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 67
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (unaudited)
During the period, there have been no material changes in the Trust's investment
objective or fundamental policies that have not been approved by the
shareowners. There have been no changes in the Trust's charter or By-Laws that
would delay or prevent a change in control of the Trust which has not been
approved by the shareowners. During the period, there have been no changes in
the principal risk factors associated with investment in the Trust. There were
no changes in the persons who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day
management of the Trust's portfolio.
Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 23(c) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940 that the Trust may purchase, from time to time, its shares
in the open market.
Change in Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Prior to July 3, 2017 Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. ("the Adviser"), the
Trust's investment adviser, was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of
UniCredit S.p.A. ("UniCredit"). On that date, UniCredit completed the sale of
its Pioneer Investments business, which includes the Adviser, to Amundi (the
"Transaction"). As a result of the Transaction, the Adviser became an indirect,
whollyowned subsidiary of Amundi. Amundi is controlled by Credit Agricole S.A.
Amundi is headquartered in Paris, France, and, as of September 30, 2016, had
more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management worldwide.
Deloitte & Touche LLP ("D&T"), the Trust's previous independent registered
public accounting firm, informed the Audit Committee and the Board that it would
no longer be independent with respect to the Trust upon the completion of the
Transaction as a result of certain services being provided to Amundi and Credit
Agricole, and, accordingly, that it intended to resign as the Trust's
independent registered public accounting firm upon the completion of the
Transaction. D&T's resignation was effective on July 3, 2017, when the
Transaction was completed.
During the periods as to which D&T has served as the Trust's independent
registered public accounting firm, including the Trust's two most recent fiscal
years, D&T's reports on the Trust's financial statements have not contained an
adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and have not been qualified or modified
as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. Further, there have
been no disagreements with D&T on any matter of accounting principles or
practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure,
which, if not resolved to the satisfaction of D&T, would have caused D&T to make
reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in connection with its
report on the financial statements. In addition, there have been no reportable
events of the kind described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
68 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Effective immediately following the completion of the Transaction on July 3,
2017, the Board, acting upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee, engaged
a new independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP ("EY").
Prior to its engagement, EY had advised the Trust's Audit Committee that EY had
identified the following matters, in each case relating to services rendered by
other member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, all of which are located
outside the United States, to UniCredit and certain of its subsidiaries during
the period commencing July 1, 2016, that it determined to be inconsistent with
the auditor independence rules set forth by the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"): (a) project management support services to UniCredit in the
Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Serbia and Slovenia in relation to twenty-two
projects, that were determined to be inconsistent with Rule 2-01(c)(4)(vi) of
Regulation S-X (management functions); (b) two engagements for UniCredit in
Italy where fees were contingent/success based and that were determined to be
inconsistent with Rule 2-01(c)(5) of Regulation S-X (contingent fees); (c) four
engagements where legal and expert services were provided to UniCredit in the
Czech Republic and Germany, and twenty engagements where the legal advisory
services were provided to UniCredit in Austria, Czech Republic, Italy and
Poland, that were determined to be inconsistent with Rule 2-01(c)(4)(ix) and (x)
of Regulation S-X (legal and expert services); and (d) two engagements for
UniCredit in Italy involving assistance in the sale of certain assets, that were
determined to be inconsistent with Rule 2-01(c)(4)(viii) of Regulation S-X
(broker-dealer, investment advisor or investment banking services). None of the
foregoing services involved the Trust, any of the other funds in the Pioneer
Family of Funds or any other Pioneer entity sold by UniCredit in the
Transaction.
EY advised the Audit Committee that it had considered the matters described
above and had concluded that such matters would not impair EY's ability to
exercise objective and impartial judgment in connection with the audits of the
financial statements of the Trust under the SEC and Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board independence rules, and that a reasonable investor with
knowledge of all relevant facts and circumstances would reach the same
conclusion. Management and the Audit Committee considered these matters and
discussed the matters with EY and, based upon EY's description of the matters
and statements made by EY, Management and the Audit Committee believe that EY
will be capable of exercising objective and impartial judgment in connection
with the audits of the financial statements of the Trust, and Management further
believes that a reasonable investor with knowledge of all relevant facts and
circumstances would reach the same conclusion.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 69
Results of Shareholder Meeting
At a special meeting of shareholders held on June 13, 2017, shareholders of the
Trust were asked to consider the proposal described below. A report of the total
votes cast by the Trust's shareholders follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Against Abstain Broker Non-Votes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal 1 - To approve 19,919,728.000 351,243.000 271,920.000 0.000
a New Management
Agreement with
the Adviser
At the annual meeting held on September 21, 2017, shareholders of the Trust were
asked to consider the proposal described below. A report of the total votes cast
by the Trust's shareholders follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Withheld
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal 2 - To elect three Class II Trustees
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin M. Friedman 22,248,547.471 425,215.064
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margaret B.W. Graham 22,243,427.314 430,335.221
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenneth J. Taubes 22,287,342.102 386,420.433
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
70 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Trustees, Officers and Service Providers
Investment Adviser
Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc.
Custodian and Sub-Administrator
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP
Principal Underwriter
Amundi Pioneer Distributor, Inc.
Legal Counsel
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Shareowner Services and Transfer Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of the Fund are available without charge,
upon request, by calling our toll free number (1-800-225-6292). Information
regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the
most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is publicly available to shareowners
at www.amundipioneer.com. This information is also available on the Securities
and Exchange Commission's web site at www.sec.gov.
Trustees and Officers
The Trust's Trustees and officers are listed below, together with their
principal occupations and other directorships they have held during at least the
past five years. Trustees who are interested persons of the Trust within the
meaning of the 1940 Act are referred to as Interested Trustees. Trustees who are
not interested persons of the Trust are referred to as Independent Trustees.
Each of the Trustees serves as a Trustee of each of the 44 U.S. registered
investment portfolios for which Amundi Pioneer serves as investment adviser (the
"Pioneer Funds"). The address for all Trustees and all officers of the Trust is
60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
The Statement of Additional Information of the Fund includes additional
information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request,
by calling 1-800-225-6292.
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 71
Independent Trustees
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name, Age and Term of Office and Other Directorships
Position Held With the Trust Length of Service Principal Occupation Held by Trustee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas J. Perna (67) Class III Trustee since 2006. Private investor (2004 - 2008 and 2013 - Director, Broadridge
Chairman of the Board Term expires in 2018. present); Chairman (2008 - 2013) and Financial Solutions, Inc.
and Trustee Chief Executive Officer (2008 - 2012), (investor communications and
Quadriserv, Inc. (technology products for securities processing
securities lending industry); and Senior provider for financial
Executive Vice President, The Bank of New services industry) (2009 -
York (financial and securities services) present); Director,
(1986 - 2004) Quadriserv, Inc. (2005 -
2013); and Commissioner, New
Jersey State Civil Service
Commission (2011 - 2015)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David R. Bock (73) Class I Trustee since 2005. Managing Partner, Federal City Capital Director of New York
Trustee Term expires in 2019. Advisors (corporate advisory services Mortgage Trust
company) (1997 - 2004 and 2008 - (publicly-traded mortgage
present); Interim Chief Executive REIT) (2004 - 2009, 2012 -
Officer, Oxford Analytica, Inc. present); Director of The
(privately held research and consulting Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.
company) (2010); Executive Vice President (closed-end fund) (2010 -
and Chief Financial Officer, I-trax, Inc. present); Director of Oxford
(publicly traded health care services Analytica, Inc. (2008 -
company) (2004 - 2007); and Executive present); and Director of
Vice President and Chief Financial Enterprise Community
Officer, Pedestal Inc. (internet-based Investment, Inc.
mortgage trading company) (2000 - 2002); (privately-held affordable
Private Consultant (1995 - 1997); housing finance company)
Managing Director, Lehman Brothers (1992 (1985 - 2010)
- 1995); Executive, The World Bank (1979
- 1992)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin M. Friedman (73) Class II Trustee since 2008. William Joseph Maier Professor of Trustee, Mellon
Trustee Term expires in 2020. Political Economy, Harvard University Institutional Funds
(1972 - present) Investment Trust and Mellon
Institutional Funds Master
Portfolio (oversaw 17
portfolios in fund complex)
(1989 - 2008)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
72 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name, Age and Term of Office and Other Directorships
Position Held With the Trust Length of Service Principal Occupation Held by Trustee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margaret B.W. Graham (70) Class II Trustee since 2003. Founding Director, Vice-President and None
Trustee Term expires in 2020. Corporate Secretary, The Winthrop Group,
Inc. (consulting firm) (1982 - present);
Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill
University (1999 - present); and Manager
of Research Operations and Organizational
Learning, Xerox PARC, Xerox's advance
research center (1990-1994)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorraine H. Monchak (61) Class I Trustee since 2015. Chief Investment Officer, 1199 SEIU Funds None
Trustee Term expires in 2019. (healthcare workers union pension funds)
(2001 - present); Vice President -
International Investments Group, American
International Group, Inc. (insurance
company) (1993 - 2001); Vice President,
Corporate Finance and Treasury Group,
Citibank, N.A. (1980 - 1986 and 1990 -
1993); Vice President - Asset/Liability
Management Group, Federal Farm Funding
Corporation (government-sponsored issuer
of debt securities) (1988 - 1990);
Mortgage Strategies Group, Shearson
Lehman Hutton, Inc. (investment bank)
(1987 - 1988); Mortgage Strategies Group,
Drexel Burnham Lambert, Ltd. (investment
bank) (1986 - 1987)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marguerite A. Piret (69) Class III Trustee since 2003. President and Chief Executive Officer, Director of New America High
Trustee Term expires in 2018. Newbury Piret Company (investment banking Income Fund, Inc.
firm) (1981 - present) (closed-end investment
company) (2004 - present);
and Member, Board of
Governors, Investment
Company Institute (2000 -
2006)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred J. Ricciardi (70) Class III Trustee since 2014. Consultant (investment company services) None
Trustee Term expires in 2018. (2012 - present); Executive Vice
President, BNY Mellon (financial and
investment company services) (1969 -
2012); Director, BNY International
Financing Corp. (financial services)
(2002 - 2012); Director, Mellon Overseas
Investment Corp. (financial services)
(2009 - 2012)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 73
Interested Trustees
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name, Age and Term of Office and Other Directorships
Position Held With the Trust Length of Service Principal Occupation Held by Trustee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Jones (55)* Class I Trustee since 2014. Chair, Director, CEO and President of None
Trustee, President and Chief Term expires in 2019. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management USA, Inc.
Executive Officer (since September 2014); Chair, Director
and CEO of Amundi Pioneer Asset
Management, Inc. (since September 2014);
Chair, Director and CEO of Amundi Pioneer
Distributor, Inc. (since September 2014);
Chair, Director, CEO and President of
Amundi Pioneer Institutional Asset
Management, Inc. (since September 2014);
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
Investment Management (2010 - 2013);
Director of Institutional Business, CEO
of International, Eaton Vance Management
(2005 - 2010)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenneth J. Taubes (59)* Class II Trustee since 2014. Director and Executive Vice President None
Trustee Term expires in 2020. (since 2008) and Chief Investment
Officer, U.S. (since 2010) of Amundi
Pioneer Asset Management USA, Inc.;
Executive Vice President and Chief
Investment Officer, U.S. of Amundi
Pioneer (since 2008); Executive Vice
President of Amundi Pioneer Institutional
Asset Management, Inc. (since 2009);
Portfolio Manager of Amundi Pioneer
(since 1999)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Ms. Jones and Mr. Taubes are Interested Trustees because they are officers
or directors of the Trust's investment adviser and certain of its
affiliates.
74 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
Trust Officers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name, Age and Term of Office and Other Directorships
Position Held With the Trust Length of Service Principal Occupation Held by Trustee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher J. Kelley (52) Since 2004. Serves at the Vice President and Associate General None
Secretary and Chief Legal discretion of the Board Counsel of Amundi Pioneer since January
Officer 2008; Secretary and Chief Legal Officer
of all of the Pioneer Funds since June
2010; Assistant Secretary of all of the
Pioneer Funds from September 2003 to May
2010; Vice President and Senior Counsel
of Amundi Pioneer from July 2002 to
December 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carol B. Hannigan (56) Since 2010. Serves at the Fund Governance Director of Amundi None
Assistant Secretary discretion of the Board Pioneer since December 2006 and Assistant
Secretary of all the Pioneer Funds since
June 2010; Manager - Fund Governance of
Amundi Pioneer from December 2003 to
November 2006; and Senior Paralegal of
Amundi Pioneer from January 2000 to
November 2003
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Reyes (55) Since 2010. Serves at the Senior Counsel of Amundi Pioneer since None
Assistant Secretary discretion of the Board May 2013 and Assistant Secretary of all
the Pioneer Funds since June 2010;
Counsel of Amundi Pioneer from June 2007
to May 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark E. Bradley (58) Since 2008. Serves at the Vice President - Fund Treasury of Amundi None
Treasurer and Chief discretion of the Board Pioneer; Treasurer of all of the Pioneer
Financial and Accounting Funds since March 2008; Deputy Treasurer
Officer of Amundi Pioneer from March 2004 to
February 2008; and Assistant Treasurer of
all of the Pioneer Funds from March 2004
to February 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luis I. Presutti (52) Since 2004. Serves at the Director - Fund Treasury of Amundi None
Assistant Treasurer discretion of the Board Pioneer; and Assistant Treasurer of all
of the Pioneer Funds
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Sullivan (59) Since 2004. Serves at the Fund Accounting Manager - Fund Treasury None
Assistant Treasurer discretion of the Board of Amundi Pioneer; and Assistant
Treasurer of all of the Pioneer Funds
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17 75
Trust Officers (continued)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name, Age and Term of Office and Other Directorships
Position Held With the Trust Length of Service Principal Occupation Held by Trustee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David F. Johnson (38) Since 2009. Serves at the Fund Administration Manager - Fund None
Assistant Treasurer discretion of the Board Treasury of Amundi Pioneer since November
2008; Assistant Treasurer of all of the
Pioneer Funds since January 2009; Client
Service Manager - Institutional Investor
Services at State Street Bank from March
2003 to March 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jean M. Bradley (65) Since 2010. Serves at the Chief Compliance Officer of Amundi None
Chief Compliance Officer discretion of the Board Pioneer and of all the Pioneer Funds
since March 2010; Chief Compliance
Officer of Amundi Pioneer Institutional
Asset Management, Inc. since January
2012; Chief Compliance Officer of
Vanderbilt Capital Advisors, LLC since
July 2012: Director of Adviser and
Portfolio Compliance at Amundi Pioneer
since October 2005; Senior Compliance
Officer for Columbia Management Advisers,
Inc. from October 2003 to October 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelly O'Donnell (46) Since 2006. Serves at the Director - Transfer Agency Compliance of None
Anti-Money Laundering discretion of the Board Amundi Pioneer and Anti-Money Laundering
Officer Officer of all the Pioneer Funds since
2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
76 Pioneer Floating Rate Trust | Annual Report | 11/30/17
How to Contact Amundi Pioneer
We are pleased to offer a variety of convenient ways for you to contact us for
assistance or information.
You can call American Stock Transfer & Trust Company (AST) for:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account Information 1-800-710-0935
Or write to AST:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Write to
General inquiries, lost dividend checks, American Stock
change of address, lost stock certificates, Transfer & Trust
stock transfer Operations Center
6201 15th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11219
Dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) American Stock
Transfer & Trust
Wall Street Station
P.O. Box 922
New York, NY 10269-0560
Website www.amstock.com
For additional information, please contact your investment advisor or visit our
web site www.amundipioneer.com.
The Trust files a complete schedule of investments with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for the first and third quarters for each fiscal year on
Form N-Q. Shareowners may view the filed Form N-Q by visiting the Commission's
web site at www.sec.gov. The filed form may also be viewed and copied at the
Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information regarding the
operations of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling
1-800-SEC-0330.
[LOGO] Amundi Pioneer
==============
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc.
60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
www.amundipioneer.com
Securities offered through Amundi Pioneer Distributor, Inc.
60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
Underwriter of Pioneer Mutual Funds, Member SIPC
(C) 2018 Amundi Pioneer Asset Management 19447-11-0118
ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.
(a) Disclose whether, as of the end of the period covered by the report, the
registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to the registrant's
principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting
officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of
whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party. If
the registrant has not adopted such a code of ethics, explain why it has not
done so.
The registrant has adopted, as of the end of the period covered by this report,
a code of ethics that applies to the registrant's principal executive officer,
principal financial officer, principal accounting officer and controller.
(b) For purposes of this Item, the term "code of ethics" means written standards
that are reasonably designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote:
(1) Honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual
or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional
relationships;
(2) Full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in
reports and documents that a registrant files with, or submits to, the
Commission and in other public communications made by the registrant;
(3) Compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules, and
regulations;
(4) The prompt internal reporting of violations of the code to an
appropriate person or persons identified in the code; and
(5) Accountability for adherence to the code.
(c) The registrant must briefly describe the nature of any amendment, during the
period covered by the report, to a provision of its code of ethics that applies
to the registrant's principal executive officer, principal financial officer,
principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar
functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the
registrant or a third party, and that relates to any element of the code of
ethics definition enumerated in paragraph (b) of this Item. The registrant must
file a copy of any such amendment as an exhibit pursuant to Item 10(a), unless
the registrant has elected to satisfy paragraph (f) of this Item by posting its
code of ethics on its website pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this Item, or by
undertaking to provide its code of ethics to any person without charge, upon
request, pursuant to paragraph (f)(3) of this Item.
The registrant has made no amendments to the code of ethics during the period
covered by this report.
(d) If the registrant has, during the period covered by the report, granted a
waiver, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the code of ethics to
the registrant's principal executive officer, principal financial officer,
principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar
functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the
registrant or a third party, that relates to one or more of the items set forth
in paragraph (b) of this Item, the registrant must briefly describe the nature
of the waiver, the name of the person to whom the waiver was granted, and the
date of the waiver.
Not applicable.
(e) If the registrant intends to satisfy the disclosure requirement under
paragraph (c) or (d) of this Item regarding an amendment to, or a waiver from,
a provision of its code of ethics that applies to the registrant's principal
executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or
controller, or persons performing similar functions and that relates to any
element of the code of ethics definition enumerated in paragraph (b) of this
Item by posting such information on its Internet website, disclose the
registrant's Internet address and such intention.
Not applicable.
(f) The registrant must:
(1) File with the Commission, pursuant to Item 12(a)(1), a copy of
its code of ethics that applies to the registrant's principal
executive officer,principal financial officer, principal accounting
officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions,
as an exhibit to its annual
report on this Form N-CSR (see attachment);
(2) Post the text of such code of ethics on its Internet website and
disclose, in its most recent report on this Form N-CSR, its Internet
address and the fact that it has posted such code of ethics on its
Internet website; or
(3) Undertake in its most recent report on this Form N-CSR to provide to
any person without charge, upon request, a copy of such code of ethics
and explain the manner in which such request may be made.
See Item 10(2)
ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.
(a) (1) Disclose that the registrant's board of trustees has determined that
the registrant either:
(i) Has at least one audit committee financial expert serving on its audit
committee; or
(ii) Does not have an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit
committee.
The registrant's Board of Trustees has determined that the registrant has at
least one audit committee financial expert.
(2) If the registrant provides the disclosure required by paragraph
(a)(1)(i) of this Item, it must disclose the name of the audit committee
financial expert and whether that person is "independent." In order to be
considered "independent" for purposes of this Item, a member of an audit
committee may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit
committee, the board of trustees, or any other board committee:
(i) Accept directly or indirectly any consulting, advisory, or other
compensatory fee from the issuer; or
(ii) Be an "interested person" of the investment company as defined in
Section 2(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(19)).
Ms. Marguerite A. Piret, an independent trustee, is such an audit committee
financial expert.
(3) If the registrant provides the disclosure required by paragraph (a)(1)
(ii) of this Item, it must explain why it does not have an audit committee
financial expert.
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
(a) Disclose, under the caption AUDIT FEES, the aggregate fees billed for each
of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal
accountant for the audit of the registrant's annual financial statements or
services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with
statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years.
The audit fees for the Trust were $55,000
payable to Ernst & Young LLP for the year ended
November 30, 2017 and $76,738 payable to Deloitte & Touche LLP
for the year ended November 30, 2016.
(b) Disclose, under the caption AUDIT-RELATED FEES, the aggregate fees billed in
each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services by the
principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit
of the registrant's financial statements and are not reported under
paragraph (a) of this Item. Registrants shall describe the nature of the
services comprising the fees disclosed under this category.
There were no audit-related services in 2017 or 2016.
(c) Disclose, under the caption TAX FEES, the aggregate fees billed in each of
the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal
accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning. Registrants shall
describe the nature of the services comprising the fees disclosed under this
category.
The tax fees for the Trust were $10,115
payable to Ernst & Young LLP for the year ended
November 30, 2017 and $9,904 payable to Deloitte & Touche LLP
for the year ended November 30, 2016.
(d) Disclose, under the caption ALL OTHER FEES, the aggregate fees billed in
each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the
principal accountant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through
(c) of this Item. Registrants shall describe the nature of the services
comprising the fees disclosed under this category.
There were no other fees in 2017 or 2016.
(e) (1) Disclose the audit committee's pre-approval policies and procedures
described in paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.
PIONEER FUNDS
APPROVAL OF AUDIT, AUDIT-RELATED, TAX AND OTHER SERVICES
PROVIDED BY THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR
SECTION I - POLICY PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY
The Pioneer Funds recognize the importance of maintaining the independence of
their outside auditors. Maintaining independence is a shared responsibility
involving Amudi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc, the audit committee and
the independent auditors.
The Funds recognize that a Fund's independent auditors: 1) possess knowledge of
the Funds, 2) are able to incorporate certain services into the scope of the
audit, thereby avoiding redundant work, cost and disruption of Fund personnel
and processes, and 3) have expertise that has value to the Funds. As a result,
there are situations where it is desirable to use the Fund's independent
auditors for services in addition to the annual audit and where the potential
for conflicts of interests are minimal. Consequently, this policy, which is
intended to comply with Rule 210.2-01(C)(7), sets forth guidelines and
procedures to be followed by the Funds when retaining the independent audit firm
to perform audit, audit-related tax and other services under those
circumstances, while also maintaining independence.
Approval of a service in accordance with this policy for a Fund shall also
constitute approval for any other Fund whose pre-approval is required pursuant
to Rule 210.2-01(c)(7)(ii).
In addition to the procedures set forth in this policy, any non-audit services
that may be provided consistently with Rule 210.2-01 may be approved by the
Audit Committee itself and any pre-approval that may be waived in accordance
with Rule 210.2-01(c)(7)(i)(C) is hereby waived.
Selection of a Fund's independent auditors and their compensation shall be
determined by the Audit Committee and shall not be subject to this policy.
SECTION II - POLICY
---------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
SERVICE SERVICE CATEGORY DESCRIPTION SPECIFIC PRE-APPROVED SERVICE SUBCATEGORIES
CATEGORY
---------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
I. AUDIT Services that are directly o Accounting research assistance
SERVICES related to performing the o SEC consultation, registration
independent audit of the Funds statements, and reporting
o Tax accrual related matters
o Implementation of new accounting
standards
o Compliance letters (e.g. rating agency
letters)
o Regulatory reviews and assistance
regarding financial matters
o Semi-annual reviews (if requested)
o Comfort letters for closed end
offerings
---------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
II. Services which are not o AICPA attest and agreed-upon procedures
AUDIT-RELATED prohibited under Rule o Technology control assessments
SERVICES 210.2-01(C)(4) (the "Rule") o Financial reporting control assessments
and are related extensions of o Enterprise security architecture
the audit services support the assessment
audit, or use the
knowledge/expertise gained
from the audit procedures as a
foundation to complete the
project. In most cases, if
the Audit-Related Services are
not performed by the Audit
firm, the scope of the Audit
Services would likely
increase. The Services are
typically well-defined and
governed by accounting
professional standards (AICPA,
SEC, etc.)
---------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVAL POLICY AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORTING POLICY
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
o "One-time" pre-approval o A summary of all such
for the audit period for all services and related fees
pre-approved specific service reported at each regularly
subcategories. Approval of the scheduled Audit Committee
independent auditors as meeting.
auditors for a Fund shall
constitute pre approval for
these services.
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
o "One-time" pre-approval o A summary of all such
for the fund fiscal year within services and related fees
a specified dollar limit (including comparison to
for all pre-approved specified dollar limits)
specific service subcategories reported quarterly.
o Specific approval is
needed to exceed the
pre-approved dollar limit for
these services (see general
Audit Committee approval policy
below for details on obtaining
specific approvals)
o Specific approval is
needed to use the Fund's
auditors for Audit-Related
Services not denoted as
"pre-approved", or
to add a specific service
subcategory as "pre-approved"
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
SECTION III - POLICY DETAIL, CONTINUED
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
SERVICE CATEGORY SERVICE CATEGORY SPECIFIC PRE-APPROVED SERVICE SUBCATEGORIES
DESCRIPTION
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
III. TAX SERVICES Services which are not o Tax planning and support
prohibited by the Rule, o Tax controversy assistance
if an officer of the Fund o Tax compliance, tax returns, excise
determines that using the tax returns and support
Fund's auditor to provide o Tax opinions
these services creates
significant synergy in
the form of efficiency,
minimized disruption, or
the ability to maintain a
desired level of
confidentiality.
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
------------------------------------- -------------------------
AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVAL POLICY AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORTING POLICY
------------------------------------- -------------------------
------------------------------------- -------------------------
o "One-time" pre-approval o A summary of
for the fund fiscal year all such services and
within a specified dollar limit related fees
(including comparison
to specified dollar
limits) reported
quarterly.
o Specific approval is
needed to exceed the
pre-approved dollar limits for
these services (see general
Audit Committee approval policy
below for details on obtaining
specific approvals)
o Specific approval is
needed to use the Fund's
auditors for tax services not
denoted as pre-approved, or to add a specific
service subcategory as
"pre-approved"
------------------------------------- -------------------------
SECTION III - POLICY DETAIL, CONTINUED
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
SERVICE CATEGORY SERVICE CATEGORY SPECIFIC PRE-APPROVED SERVICE SUBCATEGORIES
DESCRIPTION
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
IV. OTHER SERVICES Services which are not o Business Risk Management support
prohibited by the Rule, o Other control and regulatory
A. SYNERGISTIC, if an officer of the Fund compliance projects
UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS determines that using the
Fund's auditor to provide
these services creates
significant synergy in
the form of efficiency,
minimized disruption,
the ability to maintain a
desired level of
confidentiality, or where
the Fund's auditors
posses unique or superior
qualifications to provide
these services, resulting
in superior value and
results for the Fund.
----------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------- ------------------------
AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVAL POLICY AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORTING POLICY
------------------------------------- --------------------------
o "One-time" pre-approval o A summary of
for the fund fiscal year within all such services and
a specified dollar limit related fees
(including comparison
to specified dollar
limits) reported
quarterly.
o Specific approval is
needed to exceed the
pre-approved dollar limits for
these services (see general
Audit Committee approval policy
below for details on obtaining
specific approvals)
o Specific approval is
needed to use the Fund's
auditors for "Synergistic" or
"Unique Qualifications" Other
Services not denoted as
pre-approved to the left, or to
add a specific service
subcategory as "pre-approved"
------------------------------------- --------------------------
SECTION III - POLICY DETAIL, CONTINUED
----------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
SERVICE CATEGORY SERVICE CATEGORY SPECIFIC PROHIBITED SERVICE SUBCATEGORIES
DESCRIPTION
----------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
PROHIBITED SERVICES Services which result 1. Bookkeeping or other services
in the auditors losing related to the accounting records or
independence status financial statements of the audit
under the Rule. client*
2. Financial information systems design
and implementation*
3. Appraisal or valuation services,
fairness* opinions, or
contribution-in-kind reports
4. Actuarial services (i.e., setting
actuarial reserves versus actuarial
audit work)*
5. Internal audit outsourcing services*
6. Management functions or human
resources
7. Broker or dealer, investment
advisor, or investment banking services
8. Legal services and expert services
unrelated to the audit
9. Any other service that the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board
determines, by regulation, is
impermissible
----------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVAL POLICY AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORTING POLICY
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
o These services are not to be o A summary of all
performed with the exception of the(*) services and related
services that may be permitted fees reported at each
if they would not be subject to audit regularly scheduled
procedures at the audit client (as Audit Committee meeting
defined in rule 2-01(f)(4)) level will serve as continual
the firm providing the service. confirmation that has
not provided any
restricted services.
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVAL POLICY:
o For all projects, the officers of the Funds and the Fund's auditors will each
make an assessment to determine that any proposed projects will not impair
independence.
o Potential services will be classified into the four non-restricted service
categories and the "Approval of Audit, Audit-Related, Tax and Other
Services" Policy above will be applied. Any services outside the specific
pre-approved service subcategories set forth above must be specifically
approved by the Audit Committee.
o At least quarterly, the Audit Committee shall review a report summarizing the
services by service category, including fees, provided by the Audit firm as
set forth in the above policy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Disclose the percentage of services described in each of paragraphs (b)
through (d) of this Item that were approved by the audit committee pursuant
to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.
Non-Audit Services
Beginning with non-audit service contracts entered
into on or after May 6, 2003, the effective date of the
new SEC pre-approval rules, the Trust's audit
committee is required to pre-approve services to
affiliates defined by SEC rules to the extent that the
services are determined to have a direct impact on the
operations or financial reporting of the Trust. For the
years ended November 30 2017 and 2016, there were no
services provided to an affiliate that required the
Trust's audit committee pre-approval.
(f) If greater than 50 percent, disclose the percentage of hours expended on the
principal accountants engagement to audit the registrant's financial statements
for the most recent fiscal year that were attributed to work performed by
persons other than the principal accountant's full-time, permanent employees.
N/A
(g) Disclose the aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrants accountant
for services rendered to the registrant, and rendered to the registrants
investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily
portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment
adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control
with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant for each of
the last two fiscal years of the registrant.
The aggregate non-audit fees for the Trust were $10,115
payable to Ernst & Young LLP for the year ended
November 30, 2017 and $9,904 payable to Deloitte & Touche LLP
for the year ended November 30, 2016.
(h) Disclose whether the registrants audit committee of the board of trustees
has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to
the registrants investment adviser (not including any subadviser whose role is
primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another
investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common
control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the
registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of
Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal
accountant's independence.
The Fund's audit committee of the Board of Trustees
has considered whether the provision of non-audit
services that were rendered to the Affiliates (as
defined) that were not pre- approved pursuant to
paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is
compatible with maintaining the principal accountant's
independence.
ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS
(a) If the registrant is a listed issuer as defined in Rule 10A-3
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.10A-3), state whether
or not the registrant has a separately-designated standing
audit committee established in accordance with Section
3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(58)(A)).
If the registrant has such a committee, however designated,
identify each committee member. If the entire board of directors
is acting as the registrant's audit committee as specified in
Section 3(a)(58)(B) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(58)(B)),
so state.
N/A
(b) If applicable, provide the disclosure required by Rule 10A-3(d)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.10A-3(d)) regarding an exemption
from the listing standards for audit committees.
N/A
ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.
File Schedule of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers
as of the close of the reporting period as set forth in 210.1212
of Regulation S-X [17 CFR 210.12-12], unless the schedule is
included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item
1 of this Form.
Included in Item 1
ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR
CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
A closed-end management investment company that is filing an annual report on
this Form N-CSR must, unless it invests exclusively in non-voting securities,
describe the policies and procedures that it uses to determine how to vote
proxies relating to portfolio securities, including the procedures that the
company uses when a vote presents a conflict between the interests of its
shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the company's investment adviser;
principal underwriter; or any affiliated person (as defined in Section 2(a)(3)
of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(3)) and the rules
thereunder) of the company, its investment adviser, or its principal
underwriter, on the other. Include any policies and procedures of the company's
investment adviser, or any other third party, that the company uses, or that are
used on the company's behalf, to determine how to vote proxies relating to
portfolio securities.
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of
Pioneer Investment Management, Inc.
VERSION DATED July, 2004
Overview
Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. ("Pioneer") is a fiduciary that owes
each of its client's duties of care and loyalty with respect to all
services undertaken on the client's behalf, including proxy voting. When
Pioneer has been delegated proxy-voting authority for a client, the duty of
care requires Pioneer to monitor corporate events and to vote the proxies.
To satisfy its duty of loyalty, Pioneer must place its client's interests
ahead of its own and must cast proxy votes in a manner consistent with the
best interest of its clients. Pioneer will vote all proxies presented in a
timely manner.
The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are designed to complement
Pioneer's investment policies and procedures regarding its general
responsibility to monitor the performance and/or corporate events of
companies that are issuers of securities held in accounts managed by
Pioneer. Pioneer's Proxy Voting Policies summarize Pioneer's position on a
number of issues solicited by companies held by Pioneer's clients. The
policies are guidelines that provide a general indication on how Pioneer
would vote but do not include all potential voting scenarios.
Pioneer's Proxy Voting Procedures detail monitoring of voting, exception
votes, and review of conflicts of interest and ensure that case-by-case
votes are handled within the context of the overall guidelines (i.e. best
interest of client). The overriding goal is that all proxies for US and
non-US companies that are received promptly will be voted in accordance
with Pioneer's policies or specific client instructions. All shares in a
company held by Pioneer-managed accounts will be voted alike, unless a
client has given us specific voting instructions on an issue or has not
delegated authority to us or the Proxy Voting Oversight Group determines
that the circumstances justify a different approach.
Pioneer does not delegate the authority to vote proxies relating to its
clients to any of its affiliates, which include other subsidiaries of
UniCredito.
Any questions about these policies and procedures should be directed to the
Proxy Coordinator.
1
Proxy Voting Procedures
Proxy Voting Service
Pioneer has engaged an independent proxy voting service to assist in the
voting of proxies. The proxy voting service works with custodians to ensure
that all proxy materials are received by the custodians and are processed
in a timely fashion. To the extent applicable, the proxy voting service
votes all proxies in accordance with the proxy voting policies established
by Pioneer. The proxy voting service will refer proxy questions to the
Proxy Coordinator (described below) for instructions under circumstances
where: (1) the application of the proxy voting guidelines is unclear; (2) a
particular proxy question is not covered by the guidelines; or (3) the
guidelines call for specific instructions on a case-by-case basis. The
proxy voting service is also requested to call to the Proxy Coordinator's
attention specific proxy questions that, while governed by a guideline,
appear to involve unusual or controversial issues. Pioneer reserves the
right to attend a meeting in person and may do so when it determines that
the company or the matters to be voted on at the meeting are strategically
important to its clients.
Proxy Coordinator
Pioneer's Director of Investment Operations (the "Proxy Coordinator")
coordinates the voting, procedures and reporting of proxies on behalf of
Pioneer's clients. The Proxy Coordinator will deal directly with the proxy
voting service and, in the case of proxy questions referred by the proxy
voting service, will solicit voting recommendations and instructions from
the Director of Portfolio Management US or, to the extent applicable,
investment sub-advisers. The Proxy Coordinator is responsible for ensuring
that these questions and referrals are responded to in a timely fashion and
for transmitting appropriate voting instructions to the proxy voting
service. The Proxy Coordinator is responsible for verifying with the
Compliance Department whether Pioneer's voting power is subject to any
limitations or guidelines issued by the client (or in the case of an
employee benefit plan, the plan's trustee or other fiduciaries).
Referral Items
From time to time, the proxy voting service will refer proxy questions to
the Proxy Coordinator that are described by Pioneer's policy as to be voted
on a case-by-case basis, that are not covered by Pioneer's guidelines or
where Pioneer's guidelines may be unclear with respect to the matter to be
voted on. Under such certain circumstances, the Proxy Coordinator will seek
a written voting recommendation from the Director of Portfolio Management
US. Any such recommendation will include: (i) the manner in which the
proxies should be voted; (ii) the rationale underlying any such decision;
and (iii) the disclosure of any contacts or communications made between
Pioneer and any outside parties concerning the proxy proposal prior to the
time that the voting instructions are provided. In addition, the Proxy
Coordinator will ask the Compliance Department to review the question for
any actual or apparent conflicts of interest as described below under
"Conflicts of
2
Interest." The Compliance Department will provide a "Conflicts of Interest
Report," applying the criteria set forth below under "Conflicts of
Interest," to the Proxy Coordinator summarizing the results of its review.
In the absence of a conflict of interest, the Proxy Coordinator will vote
in accordance with the recommendation of the Director of Portfolio
Management US.
If the matter presents a conflict of interest for Pioneer, then the Proxy
Coordinator will refer the matter to the Proxy Voting Oversight Group for a
decision. In general, when a conflict of interest is present, Pioneer will
vote according to the recommendation of the Director of Portfolio
Management US where such recommendation would go against Pioneer's interest
or where the conflict is deemed to be immaterial. Pioneer will vote
according to the recommendation of its proxy voting service when the
conflict is deemed to be material and the Pioneer's internal vote
recommendation would favor Pioneer's interest, unless a client specifically
requests Pioneer to do otherwise. When making the final determination as to
how to vote a proxy, the Proxy Voting Oversight Group will review the
report from the Director of Portfolio Management US and the Conflicts of
Interest Report issued by the Compliance Department.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest occurs when Pioneer's interests interfere, or appear
to interfere with the interests of Pioneer's clients. Occasionally, Pioneer
may have a conflict that can affect how its votes proxies. The conflict may
be actual or perceived and may exist when the matter to be voted on
concerns:
o An affiliate of Pioneer, such as another company belonging to
the UniCredito Italiano S.p.A. banking group (a "UniCredito
Affiliate");
o An issuer of a security for which Pioneer acts as a sponsor,
advisor, manager, custodian, distributor, underwriter, broker, or
other similar capacity (including those securities specifically
declared by PGAM to present a conflict of interest for Pioneer);
o An issuer of a security for which UniCredito has informed Pioneer
that a UniCredito Affiliate acts as a sponsor, advisor, manager,
custodian, distributor, underwriter, broker, or other similar
capacity; or
o A person with whom Pioneer (or any of its affiliates) has an
existing, material contract or business relationship that was not
entered into in the ordinary course of Pioneer's business.
o Pioneer will abstain from voting with respect to companies
directly or indirectly owned by UniCredito Italiano Group, unless
otherwise directed by a client. In addition, Pioneer will inform
PGAM Global Compliance and the PGAM Independent Directors before
exercising such rights.
Any associate involved in the proxy voting process with knowledge of any
apparent or actual conflict of interest must disclose such conflict to the
Proxy Coordinator and the Compliance Department. The Compliance Department
will review each item referred to Pioneer to determine whether an actual or
potential conflict of interest with Pioneer exists in connection with the
proposal(s) to be voted upon. The review will be conducted by comparing the
apparent parties affected by the proxy proposal being
3
voted upon against the Compliance Department's internal list of interested
persons and, for any matches found, evaluating the anticipated magnitude
and possible probability of any conflict of interest being present. For
each referral item, the determination regarding the presence or absence of
any actual or potential conflict of interest will be documented in a
Conflicts of Interest Report to the Proxy Coordinator.
Securities Lending
In conjunction with industry standards Proxies are not available to be
voted when the shares are out on loan through either Pioneer's lending
program or a client's managed security lending program. However, Pioneer
will reserve the right to recall lent securities so that they may be voted
according to the Pioneer's instructions. If a portfolio manager would like
to vote a block of previously lent shares, the Proxy Coordinator will work
with the portfolio manager and Investment Operations to recall the
security, to the extent possible, to facilitate the vote on the entire
block of shares.
Share-Blocking
"Share-blocking" is a market practice whereby shares are sent to a
custodian (which may be different than the account custodian) for record
keeping and voting at the general meeting. The shares are unavailable for
sale or delivery until the end of the blocking period (typically the day
after general meeting date).
Pioneer will vote in those countries with "share-blocking." In the event a
manager would like to sell a security with "share-blocking", the Proxy
Coordinator will work with the Portfolio Manager and Investment Operations
Department to recall the shares (as allowable within the market time-frame
and practices) and/or communicate with executing brokerage firm. A list of
countries with "share-blocking" is available from the Investment Operations
Department upon request.
Record Keeping
The Proxy Coordinator shall ensure that Pioneer's proxy voting service:
o Retains a copy of the proxy statement received (unless the proxy
statement is available from the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering,
Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system);
o Retains a record of the vote cast;
o Prepares Form N-PX for filing on behalf of each client that is a
registered investment company; and
o Is able to promptly provide Pioneer with a copy of the voting
record upon its request.
4
The Proxy Coordinator shall ensure that for those votes that may require
additional documentation (i.e. conflicts of interest, exception votes and
case-by-case votes) the following records are maintained:
o A record memorializing the basis for each referral vote cast;
o A copy of any document created by Pioneer that was material in
making the decision on how to vote the subject proxy; and
o A copy of any conflict notice, conflict consent or any other
written communication (including emails or other electronic
communications) to or from the client (or in the case of an
employee benefit plan, the plan's trustee or other fiduciaries)
regarding the subject proxy vote cast by, or the vote
recommendation of, Pioneer.
o Pioneer shall maintain the above records in the client's file for a
period not less than ten (10) years.
Disclosure
Pioneer shall take reasonable measures to inform its clients of the process
or procedures clients must follow to obtain information regarding how
Pioneer voted with respect to assets held in their accounts. In addition,
Pioneer shall describe to clients its proxy voting policies and procedures
and will furnish a copy of its proxy voting policies and procedures upon
request. This information may be provided to clients through Pioneer's Form
ADV (Part II) disclosure, by separate notice to the client, or through
Pioneer's website.
Proxy Voting Oversight Group
The members of the Proxy Voting Oversight Group are Pioneer's: Director of
Portfolio Management US, Head of Investment Operations, and Director of
Compliance. Other members of Pioneer will be invited to attend meetings and
otherwise participate as necessary. The Head of Investment Operations will
chair the Proxy Voting Oversight Group.
The Proxy Voting Oversight Group is responsible for developing, evaluating,
and changing (when necessary) Pioneer's Proxy Voting Policies and
Procedures. The group meets at least annually to evaluate and review these
policies and procedures and the services of its third-party proxy voting
service. In addition, the Proxy Voting Oversight Group will meet as
necessary to vote on referral items and address other business as
necessary.
Amendments
Pioneer may not amend its Proxy Voting Policies And Procedures without the
prior approval of the Proxy Voting Oversight Group and its corporate
parent, Pioneer Global Asset Management S.p.A
5
Proxy Voting Policies
Pioneer's sole concern in voting proxies is the economic effect of the
proposal on the value of portfolio holdings, considering both the short-
and long-term impact. In many instances, Pioneer believes that supporting
the company's strategy and voting "for" management's proposals builds
portfolio value. In other cases, however, proposals set forth by management
may have a negative effect on that value, while some shareholder proposals
may hold the best prospects for enhancing it. Pioneer monitors developments
in the proxy-voting arena and will revise this policy as needed.
All proxies that are received promptly will be voted in accordance with the
specific policies listed below. All shares in a company held by
Pioneer-managed accounts will be voted alike, unless a client has given us
specific voting instructions on an issue or has not delegated authority to
us. Proxy voting issues will be reviewed by Pioneer's Proxy Voting
Oversight Group, which consists of the Director of Portfolio Management US,
the Director of Investment Operations (the Proxy Coordinator), and the
Director of Compliance.
Pioneer has established Proxy Voting Procedures for identifying and
reviewing conflicts of interest that may arise in the voting of proxies.
Clients may request, at any time, a report on proxy votes for securities
held in their portfolios and Pioneer is happy to discuss our proxy votes
with company management. Pioneer retains a proxy voting service to provide
research on proxy issues and to process proxy votes.
Administrative
While administrative items appear infrequently in U.S. issuer proxies, they
are quite common in non-U.S. proxies.
We will generally support these and similar management proposals:
o Corporate name change.
o A change of corporate headquarters.
o Stock exchange listing.
o Establishment of time and place of annual meeting.
o Adjournment or postponement of annual meeting.
o Acceptance/approval of financial statements.
o Approval of dividend payments, dividend reinvestment plans and other
dividend-related proposals.
o Approval of minutes and other formalities.
6
o Authorization of the transferring of reserves and allocation of
income.
o Amendments to authorized signatories.
o Approval of accounting method changes or change in fiscal year-end.
o Acceptance of labor agreements.
o Appointment of internal auditors.
Pioneer will vote on a case-by-case basis on other routine business;
however, Pioneer will oppose any routine business proposal if insufficient
information is presented in advance to allow Pioneer to judge the merit of
the proposal. Pioneer has also instructed its proxy voting service to
inform Pioneer of its analysis of any administrative items inconsistent, in
its view, with supporting the value of Pioneer portfolio holdings so that
Pioneer may consider and vote on those items on a case-by-case basis.
Auditors
We normally vote for proposals to:
o Ratify the auditors. We will consider a vote against if we are
concerned about the auditors' independence or their past work for
the company. Specifically, we will oppose the ratification of
auditors and withhold votes from audit committee members if
non-audit fees paid by the company to the auditing firm exceed the
sum of audit fees plus audit-related fees plus permissible tax
fees according to the disclosure categories proposed by the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
o Restore shareholder rights to ratify the auditors.
We will normally oppose proposals that require companies to:
o Seek bids from other auditors.
o Rotate auditing firms, except where the rotation is statutorily
required or where rotation would demonstrably strengthen financial
disclosure.
o Indemnify auditors.
o Prohibit auditors from engaging in non-audit services for the
company.
Board of Directors
On issues related to the board of directors, Pioneer normally supports
management. We will, however, consider a vote against management in
instances where corporate performance has been very poor or where the board
appears to lack independence.
7
General Board Issues
Pioneer will vote for:
o Audit, compensation and nominating committees composed of
independent directors exclusively.
o Indemnification for directors for actions taken in good faith in
accordance with the business judgment rule. We will vote against
proposals for broader indemnification.
o Changes in board size that appear to have a legitimate business
purpose and are not primarily for anti-takeover reasons.
o Election of an honorary director.
We will vote against:
o Minimum stock ownership by directors.
o Term limits for directors. Companies benefit from experienced
directors, and shareholder control is better achieved through
annual votes.
o Requirements for union or special interest representation on the
board.
o Requirements to provide two candidates for each board seat.
We will vote on a case-by case basis on these issues:
o Separate chairman and CEO positions. We will consider voting with
shareholders on these issues in cases of poor corporate
performance.
Elections of Directors
In uncontested elections of directors we will vote against:
o Individual directors with absenteeism above 25% without valid
reason. We support proposals that require disclosure of director
attendance.
o Insider directors and affiliated outsiders who sit on the audit,
compensation, stock option or nominating committees. For the
purposes of our policy, we accept the definition of affiliated
directors provided by our proxy voting service.
We will also vote against:
o Directors who have failed to act on a takeover offer where the
majority of shareholders have tendered their shares.
o Directors who appear to lack independence or are associated with
very poor corporate performance.
8
We will vote on a case-by case basis on these issues:
o Re-election of directors who have implemented or renewed a
dead-hand or modified dead-hand poison pill (a "dead-hand poison
pill" is a shareholder rights plan that may be altered only by
incumbent or "dead " directors. These plans prevent a potential
acquirer from disabling a poison pill by obtaining control of the
board through a proxy vote).
o Contested election of directors.
o Prior to phase-in required by SEC, we would consider supporting
election of a majority of independent directors in cases of poor
performance.
o Mandatory retirement policies.
o Directors who have ignored a shareholder proposal that has been
approved by shareholders for two consecutive years.
Takeover-Related Measures
Pioneer is generally opposed to proposals that may discourage takeover
attempts. We believe that the potential for a takeover helps ensure that
corporate performance remains high.
Pioneer will vote for:
o Cumulative voting.
o Increase ability for shareholders to call special meetings.
o Increase ability for shareholders to act by written consent.
o Restrictions on the ability to make greenmail payments.
o Submitting rights plans to shareholder vote.
o Rescinding shareholder rights plans ("poison pills").
o Opting out of the following state takeover statutes:
o Control share acquisition statutes, which deny large holders voting
rights on holdings over a specified threshold.
o Control share cash-out provisions, which require large holders to
acquire shares from other holders.
o Freeze-out provisions, which impose a waiting period on large
holders before they can attempt to gain control.
o Stakeholder laws, which permit directors to consider interests of
non-shareholder constituencies.
9
o Disgorgement provisions, which require acquirers to disgorge profits
on purchases made before gaining control.
o Fair price provisions.
o Authorization of shareholder rights plans.
o Labor protection provisions.
o Mandatory classified boards.
We will vote on a case-by-case basis on the following issues:
o Fair price provisions. We will vote against provisions requiring
supermajority votes to approve takeovers. We will also consider
voting against proposals that require a supermajority vote to
repeal or amend the provision. Finally, we will consider the
mechanism used to determine the fair price; we are generally
opposed to complicated formulas or requirements to pay a premium.
o Opting out of state takeover statutes regarding fair price
provisions. We will use the criteria used for fair price
provisions in general to determine our vote on this issue.
o Proposals that allow shareholders to nominate directors.
We will vote against:
o Classified boards, except in the case of closed-end mutual funds.
o Limiting shareholder ability to remove or appoint directors. We
will support proposals to restore shareholder authority in this
area. We will review on a case-by-case basis proposals that
authorize the board to make interim appointments.
o Classes of shares with unequal voting rights.
o Supermajority vote requirements.
o Severance packages ("golden" and "tin" parachutes). We will support
proposals to put these packages to shareholder vote.
o Reimbursement of dissident proxy solicitation expenses. While we
ordinarily support measures that encourage takeover bids, we
believe that management should have full control over corporate
funds.
o Extension of advance notice requirements for shareholder proposals.
o Granting board authority normally retained by shareholders (e.g.,
amend charter, set board size).
o Shareholder rights plans ("poison pills"). These plans generally
allow shareholders to buy additional shares at a below-market
price in the event of a change in control and may deter some bids.
10
Capital Structure
Managements need considerable flexibility in determining the company's
financial structure, and Pioneer normally supports managements' proposals
in this area. We will, however, reject proposals that impose high barriers
to potential takeovers.
Pioneer will vote for:
o Changes in par value.
o Reverse splits, if accompanied by a reduction in number of shares.
o Share repurchase programs, if all shareholders may participate on
equal terms.
o Bond issuance.
o Increases in "ordinary" preferred stock.
o Proposals to have blank-check common stock placements (other than
shares issued in the normal course of business) submitted for
shareholder approval.
o Cancellation of company treasury shares.
We will vote on a case-by-case basis on the following issues:
o Reverse splits not accompanied by a reduction in number of shares,
considering the risk of delisting.
o Increase in authorized common stock. We will make a determination
considering, among other factors:
o Number of shares currently available for issuance;
o Size of requested increase (we would normally approve increases of up to
100% of current authorization);
o Proposed use of the additional shares; and
o Potential consequences of a failure to increase the number of shares
outstanding (e.g., delisting or bankruptcy).
o Blank-check preferred. We will normally oppose issuance of a new
class of blank-check preferred, but may approve an increase in a
class already outstanding if the company has demonstrated that it
uses this flexibility appropriately.
o Proposals to submit private placements to shareholder vote.
o Other financing plans.
We will vote against preemptive rights that we believe limit a company's
financing flexibility.
11
Compensation
Pioneer supports compensation plans that link pay to shareholder returns
and believes that management has the best understanding of the level of
compensation needed to attract and retain qualified people. At the same
time, stock-related compensation plans have a significant economic impact
and a direct effect on the balance sheet. Therefore, while we do not want
to micromanage a company's compensation programs, we will place limits on
the potential dilution these plans may impose.
Pioneer will vote for:
o 401(k) benefit plans.
o Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), as long as shares
allocated to ESOPs are less than 5% of outstanding shares. Larger
blocks of stock in ESOPs can serve as a takeover defense. We will
support proposals to submit ESOPs to shareholder vote.
o Various issues related to the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act
of 1993 (OBRA), including:
o Amendments to performance plans to conform with OBRA;
o Caps on annual grants or amendments of administrative features;
o Adding performance goals; and
o Cash or cash-and-stock bonus plans.
o Establish a process to link pay, including stock-option grants, to
performance, leaving specifics of implementation to the company.
o Require that option repricings be submitted to shareholders.
o Require the expensing of stock-option awards.
o Require reporting of executive retirement benefits (deferred
compensation, split-dollar life insurance, SERPs, and pension
benefits).
o Employee stock purchase plans where the purchase price is equal to
at least 85% of the market price, where the offering period is no
greater than 27 months and where potential dilution (as defined
below) is no greater than 10%.
12
We will vote on a case-by-case basis on the following issues:
o Executive and director stock-related compensation plans. We will
consider the following factors when reviewing these plans:
o The program must be of a reasonable size. We will approve plans
where the combined employee and director plans together would
generate less than 15% dilution. We will reject plans with 15% or
more potential dilution.
Dilution = (A + B + C) / (A + B + C + D), where
A = Shares reserved for plan/amendment,
B = Shares available under continuing plans,
C = Shares granted but unexercised and
D = Shares outstanding.
o The plan must not:
o Explicitly permit unlimited option repricing authority or that
have repriced in the past without shareholder approval.
o Be a self-replenishing "evergreen" plan, plans that grant
discount options and tax offset payments.
o We are generally in favor of proposals that increase participation beyond
executives.
o We generally support proposals asking companies to adopt rigorous
vesting provisions for stock option plans such as those that vest
incrementally over, at least, a three- or four-year period with a pro
rata portion of the shares becoming exercisable on an annual basis
following grant date.
o We generally support proposals asking companies to disclose their
window period policies for stock transactions. Window period policies
ensure that employees do not exercise options based on insider
information contemporaneous with quarterly earnings releases and other
material corporate announcements.
o We generally support proposals asking companies to adopt stock holding
periods for their executives.
o All other employee stock purchase plans.
o All other compensation-related proposals, including deferred
compensation plans, employment agreements, loan guarantee programs
and retirement plans.
o All other proposals regarding stock compensation plans, including
extending the life of a plan, changing vesting restrictions,
repricing options, lengthening exercise periods or accelerating
distribution of awards and pyramiding and cashless exercise
programs.
13
We will vote against:
o Pensions for non-employee directors. We believe these retirement
plans reduce director objectivity.
o Elimination of stock option plans.
We will vote on a case-by case basis on these issues:
o Limits on executive and director pay.
o Stock in lieu of cash compensation for directors.
Corporate Governance
Pioneer will vote for:
o Confidential Voting.
o Equal access provisions, which allow shareholders to contribute
their opinion to proxy materials.
o Proposals requiring directors to disclose their ownership of shares
in the company.
We will vote on a case-by-case basis on the following issues:
o Change in the state of incorporation. We will support
reincorporations supported by valid business reasons. We will
oppose those that appear to be solely for the purpose of
strengthening takeover defenses.
o Bundled proposals. We will evaluate the overall impact of the
proposal.
o Adopting or amending the charter, bylaws or articles of association.
o Shareholder appraisal rights, which allow shareholders to demand
judicial review of an acquisition price.
We will vote against:
o Shareholder advisory committees. While management should solicit
shareholder input, we prefer to leave the method of doing so to
management's discretion.
o Limitations on stock ownership or voting rights.
o Reduction in share ownership disclosure guidelines.
14
Mergers and Restructurings
Pioneer will vote on the following and similar issues on a case-by-case
basis:
o Mergers and acquisitions.
o Corporate restructurings, including spin-offs, liquidations, asset
sales, joint ventures, conversions to holding company and
conversions to self-managed REIT structure.
o Debt restructurings.
o Conversion of securities.
o Issuance of shares to facilitate a merger.
o Private placements, warrants, convertible debentures.
o Proposals requiring management to inform shareholders of merger
opportunities.
We will normally vote against shareholder proposals requiring that the
company be put up for sale.
Mutual Funds
Many of our portfolios may invest in shares of closed-end mutual funds or
exchange-traded funds. The non-corporate structure of these investments
raises several unique proxy voting issues.
Pioneer will vote for:
o Establishment of new classes or series of shares.
o Establishment of a master-feeder structure.
Pioneer will vote on a case-by-case on:
o Changes in investment policy. We will normally support changes
that do not affect the investment objective or overall risk level
of the fund. We will examine more fundamental changes on a
case-by-case basis.
o Approval of new or amended advisory contracts.
o Changes from closed-end to open-end format.
o Authorization for, or increase in, preferred shares.
o Disposition of assets, termination, liquidation, or mergers.
o Classified boards of closed-end mutual funds, but will typically
support such proposals.
15
Social Issues
Pioneer will abstain on stockholder proposals calling for greater
disclosure of corporate activities with regard to social issues. "Social
Issues" may generally be described as shareholder proposals for a company
to:
o Conduct studies regarding certain issues of public concern and
interest;
o Study the feasibility of the company taking certain actions with
regard to such issues; or
o Take specific action, including ceasing certain behavior and
adopting company standards and principles, in relation to issues
of public concern and interest.
We believe these issues are important and should receive management
attention.
Pioneer will vote against proposals calling for substantial changes in the
company's business or activities. We will also normally vote against
proposals with regard to contributions, believing that management should
control the routine disbursement of funds.
16
ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
(a) If the registrant is a closed-end management investment company that
is filing an annual report on this Form N-CSR,provide the following
information:
(1) State the name, title, and length of service of the person or persons
employed by or associated with the registrant or an investment adviser
of the registrant who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management
of the registrant's portfolio ("Portfolio Manager"). Also state each Portfolio
Manager's business experience during the past 5 years.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER
OTHER ACCOUNTS MANAGED BY THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER
The table below indicates, for the portfolio manager of the fund, information
about the accounts other than the fund over which the portfolio manager has
day-to-day investment responsibility. All information on the number of accounts
and total assets in the table is as of November 30, 2017. For purposes of the
table, "Other Pooled Investment Vehicles" may include investment partnerships,
undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities ("UCITS")
and other non-U.S. investment funds and group trusts, and "Other Accounts" may
include separate accounts for institutions or individuals, insurance company
general or separate accounts, pension funds and other similar institutional
accounts but generally do not include the portfolio manager's personal
investment accounts or those which the manager may be deemed to own
beneficially under the code of ethics. Certain funds and other accounts managed
by the portfolio manager may have substantially similar investment strategies.
NUMBER OF ASSETS
ACCOUNTS MANAGED
MANAGED FOR FOR WHICH
WHICH ADVISORY ADVISORY
NUMBER OF FEE IS FEE IS
NAME OF ACCOUNTS TOTAL ASSETS PERFORMANCE- PERFORMANCE-
PORTFOLIO MANAGER TYPE OF ACCOUNT MANAGED MANAGED (000'S) BASED BASED (000'S)
------------------- ---------------------------------- ----------- ----------------- ---------------- --------------
Jonathan Sharkey Other Registered Investment
Companies 3 $5,180,881 N/A N/A
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles 0 $ 0 N/A N/A
Other Accounts 0 $ 0 N/A N/A
------------------- ---------------------------------- ----------- ---------- ---------------- --------------
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
When a portfolio manager is responsible for the management of more than one
account, the potential arises for the portfolio manager to favor one account
over another. The principal types of potential conflicts of interest that may
arise are discussed below. For the reasons outlined below, Amundi Pioneer does
not believe that any material conflicts are likely to arise out of a portfolio
manager's responsibility for the management of the fund as well as one or more
other accounts. Although Amundi Pioneer has adopted procedures that it believes
are reasonably designed to detect and prevent violations of the federal
securities laws and to mitigate the potential for conflicts of interest to
affect its portfolio management decisions, there can be no assurance that all
conflicts will be identified or that all procedures will be effective in
mitigating the potential for such risks. Generally, the risks of such conflicts
of interest are increased to the extent that a portfolio manager has a
financial incentive to favor one account over another. Amundi Pioneer has
structured its compensation arrangements in a manner that is intended to limit
such potential for conflicts of interest. See "Compensation of Portfolio
Managers" below.
o A portfolio manager could favor one account over another in allocating new
investment opportunities that have limited supply, such as initial public
offerings and private placements. If, for example, an initial public
offering that was expected to appreciate in value significantly shortly
after the offering was allocated to a single account, that account may be
expected to have better investment performance than other accounts that did
not receive an allocation of the initial public offering. Generally,
investments for which there is limited availability are allocated based upon
a range of factors including available cash and consistency with the
accounts' investment objectives and policies. This allocation methodology
necessarily involves some subjective elements but is intended over time to
treat each client in an equitable and fair manner. Generally, the investment
opportunity is allocated among participating accounts on a pro rata
0
basis. Although Amundi Pioneer believes that its practices are reasonably
designed to treat each client in an equitable and fair manner, there may be
instances where a fund may not participate, or may participate to a lesser
degree than other clients, in the allocation of an investment opportunity.
o A portfolio manager could favor one account over another in the order in
which trades for the accounts are placed. If a portfolio manager determines
to purchase a security for more than one account in an aggregate amount that
may influence the market price of the security, accounts that purchased or
sold the security first may receive a more favorable price than accounts
that made subsequent transactions. The less liquid the market for the
security or the greater the percentage that the proposed aggregate purchases
or sales represent of average daily trading volume, the greater the
potential for accounts that make subsequent purchases or sales to receive a
less favorable price. When a portfolio manager intends to trade the same
security on the same day for more than one account, the trades typically are
"bunched," which means that the trades for the individual accounts are
aggregated and each account receives the same price. There are some types of
accounts as to which bunching may not be possible for contractual reasons
(such as directed brokerage arrangements). Circumstances may also arise
where the trader believes that bunching the orders may not result in the
best possible price. Where those accounts or circumstances are involved,
Amundi Pioneer will place the order in a manner intended to result in as
favorable a price as possible for such client.
o A portfolio manager could favor an account if the portfolio manager's
compensation is tied to the performance of that account to a greater degree
than other accounts managed by the portfolio manager. If, for example, the
portfolio manager receives a bonus based upon the performance of certain
accounts relative to a benchmark while other accounts are disregarded for
this purpose, the portfolio manager will have a financial incentive to seek
to have the accounts that determine the portfolio manager's bonus achieve
the best possible performance to the possible detriment of other accounts.
Similarly, if Amundi Pioneer receives a performance-based advisory fee, the
portfolio manager may favor that account, whether or not the performance of
that account directly determines the portfolio manager's compensation.
o A portfolio manager could favor an account if the portfolio manager has a
beneficial interest in the account, in order to benefit a large client or to
compensate a client that had poor returns. For example, if the portfolio
manager held an interest in an investment partnership that was one of the
accounts managed by the portfolio manager, the portfolio manager would have
an economic incentive to favor the account in which the portfolio manager
held an interest.
o If the different accounts have materially and potentially conflicting
investment objectives or strategies, a conflict of interest could arise. For
example, if a portfolio manager purchases a security for one account and
sells the same security for another account, such trading pattern may
disadvantage either the account that is long or short. In making portfolio
manager assignments, Amundi Pioneer seeks to avoid such potentially
conflicting situations. However, where a portfolio manager is responsible
for accounts with differing investment objectives and policies, it is
possible that the portfolio manager will conclude that it is in the best
interest of one account to sell a portfolio security while another account
continues to hold or increase the holding in such security.
COMPENSATION OF PORTFOLIO MANAGER
Amundi Pioneer has adopted a system of compensation for portfolio managers that
seeks to align the financial interests of the portfolio managers with those of
shareholders of the accounts (including Pioneer funds) the portfolio managers
manage, as well as with the financial performance of Amundi Pioneer. The
compensation program for all Amundi Pioneer portfolio managers includes a base
salary (determined by the rank and tenure of the employee) and an annual bonus
program, as well as customary benefits that are offered generally to all
full-time employees. Base compensation is fixed and normally reevaluated on an
annual basis. Amundi Pioneer seeks to set base compensation at market rates,
taking into account the experience and responsibilities of the portfolio
manager. The bonus plan is intended to provide a competitive level of annual
bonus compensation that is tied to the portfolio manager achieving superior
investment performance and align the interests of the investment professional
with those of shareholders, as well as
1
with the financial performance of Amundi Pioneer. Any bonus under the plan is
completely discretionary, with a maximum annual bonus that may be in excess of
base salary. The annual bonus is based upon a combination of the following
factors:
o QUANTITATIVE INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE. The quantitative investment performance
calculation is based on pre-tax investment performance of all of the
accounts managed by the portfolio manager (which includes the fund and any
other accounts managed by the portfolio manager) over a one-year period (20%
weighting) and four-year period (80% weighting), measured for periods ending
on December 31. The accounts, which include the fund, are ranked against a
group of mutual funds with similar investment objectives and investment
focus (60%) and a broad-based securities market index measuring the
performance of the same type of securities in which the accounts invest
(40%), which, in the case of the fund, is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch
High Yield Master II Index. As a result of these two benchmarks, the
performance of the portfolio manager for compensation purposes is measured
against the criteria that are relevant to the portfolio manager's
competitive universe.
o QUALITATIVE PERFORMANCE. The qualitative performance component with respect
to all of the accounts managed by the portfolio manager includes objectives,
such as effectiveness in the areas of teamwork, leadership, communications
and marketing, that are mutually established and evaluated by each portfolio
manager and management.
o AMUNDI PIONEER RESULTS AND BUSINESS LINE RESULTS. Amundi Pioneer's financial
performance, as well as the investment performance of its investment
management group, affect a portfolio manager's actual bonus by a leverage
factor of plus or minus (+/-) a predetermined percentage.
The quantitative and qualitative performance components comprise 80% and 20%,
respectively, of the overall bonus calculation (on a pre-adjustment basis). A
portion of the annual bonus is deferred for a specified period and may be
invested in one or more Pioneer funds.
Certain portfolio managers participate in other programs designed to reward and
retain key contributors. Portfolio managers also may participate in a deferred
compensation program, whereby deferred amounts are invested in one or more
Pioneer funds.
SHARE OWNERSHIP BY PORTFOLIO MANAGER
The following table indicates as of November 30, 2017 the value, within the
indicated range, of shares beneficially owned by the portfolio manager of the
fund.
BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
NAME OF PORTFOLIO MANAGER OF THE FUND*
--------------------------- ---------------------
Jonathan Sharkey A
--------------------------- ---------------------
* Key to Dollar Ranges
A. None
B. $1 - $10,000
C. $10,001 - $50,000
D. $50,001 - $100,000
E. $100,001 - $500,000
F. $500,001 - $1,000,000
G. Over $1,000,000
2
ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.
(a) If the registrant is a closed-end management investment company,
in the following tabular format, provide the information specified in
paragraph (b) of this Item with respect to any purchase made by or on
behalf of the registrant or any affiliated purchaser, as defined in
Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.10b-18(a)(3)), of
shares or other units of any class of the registrant's equity securities
that is registered by the registrant pursuant to Section 12 of the
Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 781).
During the period covered by this report, there were no purchases
made by or on behalf of the registrant or any affiliated purchaser
as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (the Exchange Act), of shares of the registrants equity
securities that are registered by the registrant pursuant to
Section 12 of the Exchange Act.
ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.
Describe any material changes to the procedures by which shareholders
may recommend nominees to the registrant's board of directors, where
those changes were implemented after the registrant last provided
disclosure in response to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of
Regulation S-R(17 CFR 229.407)(as required by Item 22(b)(15))
of Schedule 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-101), or this Item.
There have been no material changes to the procedures by which the
shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant's board of
directors since the registrant last provided disclosure in response
to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-R of Schedule 14(A)
in its definitive proxy statement, or this item.
ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
(a) Disclose the conclusions of the registrant's principal executive and
principal financials officers, or persons performing similar functions,
regarding the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Act (17 CFR
270.30a-3(c))) as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report
that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph,
based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule
30a-3(b) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30(a)-3(b) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).
The registrant's principal executive officer
and principal financial officer have
concluded that the registrant's disclosure
controls and procedures are effective based
on the evaluation of these controls and
procedures as of a date within 90 days of the
filing date of this report.
(b) Disclose any change in the registrant's internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act (17CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that
occured during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report
that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,
the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.
There were no significant changes in the
registrant's internal control over financial
reporting that occurred during the second
fiscal quarter of the period covered by this
report that have materially affected, or are
reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial
reporting.
The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial
officer, however, voluntarily are reporting the following information:
In August of 2006 the registrant's investment adviser
enhanced its internal procedures for reporting performance
information required to be included in prospectuses.
Those enhancements involved additional internal controls
over the appropriateness of performance data
generated for this purpose. Such enhancements were made
following an internal review which identified
prospectuses relating to certain classes of shares of
a limited number of registrants where, inadvertently,
performance information not reflecting the deduction of
applicable sales charges was included. Those prospectuses
were revised, and the revised prospectuses were distributed to
shareholders.
Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End
Management Investment Companies.
(a) If the registrant is a closed-end management investment company,
provide the following dollar amounts of income and compensation related
to the securities lending activities of the registrant during its most
recent fiscal year:
N/A
(1) Gross income from securities lending activities;
N/A
(2) All fees and/or compensation for each of the following securities
lending activities and related services: any share of revenue generated
by the securities lending program paid to the securities lending agent(s)
(revenue split); fees paid for cash collateral management services
(including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment
vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split; administrative
fees that are not included in the revenue split; fees for
indemnification that are not included in the revenue split; rebates
paid to borrowers; and any other fees relating to the securities lending
program that are not included in the revenue split, including a description
of those other fees;
N/A
(3) The aggregate fees/compensation disclosed pursuant to paragraph (2); and
N/A
(4) Net income from securities lending activities (i.e., the dollar amount in
paragraph (1) minus the dollar amount in paragraph (3)).
If a fee for a service is included in the revenue split, state that the fee
is included in the revenue split.
N/A
(b) If the registrant is a closed-end management investment company, describe
the services provided to the registrant by the securities lending agent in
the registrants most recent fiscal year.
N/A
ITEM 13. EXHIBITS.
(a) File the exhibits listed below as part of this Form. Letter or number the
exhibits in the sequence indicated.
(1) Any code of ethics, or amendment thereto, that is the subject of the
disclosure required by Item 2, to the extent that the registrant intends to
satisfy the Item 2 requirements through filing of an exhibit.
(2) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal
financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act
(17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) , exactly as set forth below:
Filed herewith.
SIGNATURES
[See General Instruction F]
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
(Registrant) Pioneer Floating Rate Trust
By (Signature and Title)* /s/ Lisa M. Jones
Lisa M. Jones, President & Chief Executive Officer
Date January 26, 2018
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.
By (Signature and Title)* /s/ Lisa M. Jones
Lisa M. Jones, President & Chief Executive Officer
Date January 26, 2018
By (Signature and Title)* /s/ Mark E. Bradley
Mark E. Bradley, Treasurer & Chief Accounting & Financial Officer
Date January 26, 2018
* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.