Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock

Transcription

1 LASSALLESTRASSE 1, VIENNA 2, AUSTRIA Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock A co-ownership fund pursuant to the 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act (InvFG), as amended Report for the accounting year April 16, April 15, 2016

2 Organs of Pioneer Investments Austria Supervisory Board Dir. Dr. Wolfgang FEUCHTMÜLLER (Chairman) Dir. Domenico AIELLO (Deputy Chairman) Dir. Matteo GERMANO Dir. Mag. Christian NOISTERNIG Dir. Mag. Günter SCHNAITT Dir. Mag. Susanne WENDLER Karin PASEKA Stefan ZDRAZIL Beate SCHEIBER State Commissioner Sonja HALZL, Head of Department Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, Vienna Mag. Elisabeth DOHNAL, Deputy Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, Vienna Executive Board Dir. DDr. Werner KRETSCHMER (Chairman) Dir. Stefano PREGNOLATO Dir. Mag. Hannes ROUBIK Dir. Hannes SALETA (to June 30, 2016) Custodian Bank UniCredit Bank Austria AG, Vienna Auditor Deloitte Audit Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbH Company belonging to the UniCredit Banking Group, listed in the Register of Banking Groups. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

3 Remuneration information: 1. Total remuneration paid to employees (incl. management) of the asset management company: EUR 14,138,346.76, of which variable remuneration: EUR 2,951, Number of employees: 142, of which beneficiaries (other risk bearers) pursuant to 20 (2) no. 5: Total remuneration paid to the management: EUR 2,852, Total remuneration paid to other risk bearers (incl. managers and employees with supervisory roles): EUR 8,049, Total remuneration paid to managers: EUR 5,200, Total remuneration paid to employees with supervisory roles: EUR 516, All of the details provided in nos. 1 and 2 refer to the asset management company s assets, income and risk statement of December 31, The overall remuneration consists of fixed and variable components. The fixed elements reflect the position, the level of responsibility, the educational background and the competences of the individual officer holders. Variable components are used in order to establish a direct link between pay and risk-adjusted performance on a short-term and long-term basis and thus to establish a balance between clients interests, the interests of the company and its stakeholders and those of its employees and executive bodies. For these purposes, fund units are also used as a component of the variable remuneration received by employees involved in fund management. Variable remuneration is calculated on the basis of a scoring system which is based on individual risk-based quantitative and qualitative criteria for a multiple-year assessment period. 4. At their meeting held on December 10, 2015, the remuneration committee and the supervisory board reviewed the principles of the remuneration policy and resolved a new version of PIA s Remuneration Policy in which, in particular, fund units serve as a component of the variable remuneration of the employees involved in fund management. The most recent central independent review was performed in the summer of The remuneration committee and the supervisory board were notified of the detailed results at their meeting held on December 10, No irregularities were identified and no objections were raised. 5. See no. 4. Details of the management company s current remuneration policy may be found on its website ( and will be made available in paper form upon request, free-of-charge. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

4 Dear unitholder, Pioneer Investments Austria is pleased to present its annual report for Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock, a co-ownership fund pursuant to the 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act (InvFG), as amended, for the accounting year from April 16, 2015 to April 15, Fund characteristics The fund is an equity fund. The fund s management invests mainly (i.e. at least 66 % of the fund s volume) in equities from Austrian issuers. The investment fund may also acquire convertible and warrant-linked bonds. As well as for hedging purposes, the fund makes use of derivative financial instruments as an objective of its investment policy. The fund s investment goal is to realize long-term capital growth subject to an appropriate level of risk-spreading. In line with its assessment of the economy and the capital markets, within the scope of its investment policy the fund chiefly acquires equities or other investment securities from Austrian issuers. The fund pursues an active management strategy. The fund manager seeks to achieve an optimized performance through targeted overweighting or underweighting of sectors and individual equities and by controlling the level of investment. This fund complies with the UCITS directive. Capital market trend *) The period under review was characterized by a huge correction of the stock markets in two large waves in the period up to mid-february. In the 2 nd quarter of 2015, the markets moved sideways following the huge price rises of the past few months/years. The previous rapid price gains were mainly attributable to the tail wind resulting from the further relaxation of monetary policy through the quantitative easing programs of the ECB and the Bank of Japan, which buoyed hopes of increasing economic momentum. In the past, significant price gains had resulted in increased valuation levels. However, investors expectations of higher corporate profits were not fulfilled in The geopolitical trends reinforced investors uncertainty and the rising US dollar had an impact on corporate profits for US companies with international operations. Moreover, the expectation of an interest-rate turnaround in the USA prompted skepticism on the part of investors due to the expectation that the Fed might already, in September 2015, increase the central bank s interest rates, which had amounted to 0.25 % since Over the course of the accounting year, several economic and geopolitical events resulted in significantly higher levels of volatility. Greece s financial problems and Alexis Tsipras government s attempt to break free from the austerity policy dictated by the EU led to fears of a Grexit (Greece s exit from the Eurozone), and Greece s bankruptcy was only averted through a bailout package. In 2015, the question of an interest-rate turnaround in the USA also prompted discussions, and Janet Yellen came under permanent pressure from the markets in relation to her handling of the Fed s forward guidance (announcement of the Fed s future moves). The ECB s quantitative easing countered this trend. Through cheap money it sought to encourage the banks lending, to push interest rates even lower, to weaken the euro and thus to support the Eurozone economy. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia continued. The economic sanctions which the west imposed on Russia worsened Russia s recession. From mid-august especially, the decline on Chinese stock exchanges triggered shock waves on the international stock markets. China s stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen had realized gains of up to +150 % in the period between mid-2014 and mid Chinese private investors were gripped by stock-market fever. Besides many new issues, they increasingly borrowed money in order to buy equities. The bubble burst in June 2015, the Chinese yuan was devalued and through a series of measures the government and the central bank attempted to halt the price collapse of up to -47 %. However, this goal was only achieved once the sentiment indicators improved slightly. In this turbulent environment, US equities failed to achieve gains for the first time since Corporate profits (particularly those of internationally active corporations) were adversely affected, above all, by the firm US dollar and by the slump in energy firms profits (approx. -50 % for corporate profits). Due to the rise in the value of the dollar, from the point of view of euro investors their performance on a currency-adjusted basis was nonetheless better than that of European equities. European equities fell by -16 % in the period from March 2015 to March To be sure, the weak price of oil is having a positive impact on companies (lower costs) and consumers (reduced expenditure for petrol and also heating/cooling). The weak euro is positively affecting the export sector. The low interest rates are supporting investments and boosting the private consumer sector, since investors are receiving very low interest rates on their savings. However, not even the stabilization of the Eurozone crisis, the relatively favorable valuations and the international orientation of companies (they realize around half of their sales outside Europe) have significantly improved sentiment. Corporate profits worldwide were adversely affected by the weak energy, commodities and industrial sectors especially. Corporate profits (measured against the MSCI World) thus fell by approx. -13 % relative to their highs of November At a sector level, all of the sectors in Europe registered declines. Financials (-25.9 %) and basic manufacturing (-23.4 %) in particular came under huge pressure, while defensive consumer goods especially were outperformers, with a result of -1.0 %. Asian stock markets corrected about as strongly as European stock exchanges, above all due to their proximity to China. Japan achieved a somewhat better performance thanks to the support provided through the Bank of Japan s huge quantitative easing program. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

5 Austrian stock market In the new year, the Austrian stock market (ATXPrime) was unable to maintain the strong performance trend which it had realized in 2015 and suffered strong losses over the first two months in line with the international trend. The strongest-performing stocks in the period under review included Cross Industries (+84.8 %), DO&CO (+51.8 %), Kapsch Trafficcom (+37.8 %), Strabag ( %) and Flughafen (+21.9 %), while Zumtobel (-54.7 %), Vienna Insurance Group (-51.1 %), RHI (-35.6 %), Warimpex (-34.9 %) and Uniqa (-33.4 %) registered the weakest performances. Investment strategy **) The fund pursues an active management strategy. The fund manager seeks to achieve an attractive, risk-adjusted performance through targeted overweighting or underweighting of individual equities and thus sectors and by controlling the level of investment. Derivatives may be used for hedging of assets and as an active component of the fund s investment strategy. In the period under review, the fund was overweighted in the automotive, semiconductors, IT, real estate, consumer goods and basic manufacturing industry groups while the industrial goods, banks, energy, utilities, transport and telecommunications industry groups were underweighted. During the reporting period, the fund made the following changes at the level of industry groups: Reduction of its underweight in the industrial goods segment through additional purchases of Andritz, Semperit, Rosenbauer and Wienerberger. Reduction of the fund s energy holdings through a reduction of its OMV weighting. Reduction of the fund s weighting in the insurance sector through a reduction of its weighting in Uniqa and Vienna Insurance Group. Increase in the fund s weighting in the consumer goods segment through additional purchases of DO&CO. The fund s overweight in the automobile segment was reduced through Miba AG s withdrawal from the stock market. On the other hand, the fund increased its weighting in Polytec. We also reduced our weighting in AMS. On an individual stock basis, our strongest overweights were in Polytec, AMS, AT&S, Semperit, Raiffeisen Bank International, AMAG, Agrana, Rosenbauer and FACC, while we were most strongly underweighted in the following stocks: Erste Group, OMV, Wienerberger, Verbund, Telekom Austria, Flughafen Wien, Strabag and Zumtobel. Market-wide bluechip stocks with strong ATX weightings are a key investment area at the level of individual securities. Our commitment to second-line stocks mainly focused on securities with particularly favorable valuations and/or above-average growth. Securities were selected on the basis of fundamental analysis methods. In the past accounting year Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock entered into transactions involving derivative financial instruments in order to control its level of investment. In the past accounting year, the fund did not make use of any derivative instruments covered by the reporting requirements under the ESMA Guidelines, ESMA/2012/832. Method for calculation of overall risk: Commitment approach (pursuant to the 3 rd chapter of the 4 th Austrian Derivatives Risk Calculation and Reporting Ordinance (Derivate- Risikoberechnungs- und Meldeverordnung). *) Regarding valuations in the current market situation, please see our comments in the Annex concerning the calculation of the fund s net asset value ( Valuation of illiquid securities ). **) Discrepancies may arise in the percentage figures for the investment strategy and the statement of assets held on account of different calculation methods. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

6 Performance of Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock in the past accounting year Fund assets: EUR 285,965, as of 4/16/2015 and EUR 212,091, as of 4/15/2016 Income-distributing units AT Units outstanding: 1,562, units on 4/16/2015 and 1,305, units on 4/15/2016 Net asset value per unit: EUR on 4/15/2016 Income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax AT Units outstanding: 2,019, units on 4/16/2015 and 1,704, units on 4/15/2016 Net asset value per unit: EUR on 4/15/2016 Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (Austrian tranche) AT Units outstanding: 75, units on 4/16/2015 and 72, units on 4/15/2016 Net asset value per unit: EUR on 4/15/2016 Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (foreign tranche) AT Units outstanding: 99, units on 4/16/2015 and 89, units on 4/15/2016 Net asset value per unit: EUR on 4/15/2016 Distribution for income-distributing units - AT From June 15, 2016, the custodian banks will distribute an amount of EUR 1.75 per unit upon presentation of coupon no. 27. The paying agent is obliged to withhold from the distribution capital gains tax of EUR per unit, unless grounds for an exemption apply. Payment for income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax - AT From June 15, 2016, the custodian banks will pay capital gains tax of EUR per income-reinvesting unit with deduction of capital gains tax upon presentation of coupon no. 27, unless grounds for an exemption apply. Payment for income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (Austrian tranche) - AT Pursuant to 58 (2) InvFG, no payment will be made for income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (full income reinvestment Austrian tranche). Payment for income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (non-austrian tranche) - AT Pursuant to 58 (2) InvFG, no payment will be made for income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (full income reinvestment non-austrian tranche). Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

7 Summary of the fund s last five accounting years in EUR Income-distributing units 4/15/2012 4/15/2013 4/15/2014 4/15/2015 4/15/2016 Overall fund assets 207,204, ,560, ,330, ,965, ,091, Calculated unit value Distribution per unit Performance as % Income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax 4/15/2012 4/15/2013 4/15/2014 4/15/2015 4/15/2016 Overall fund assets 207,204, ,560, ,330, ,965, ,091, Calculated unit value Reinvested income Payment pursuant to 58 (2) InvFG Performance as % Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (Austrian tranche) 4/15/2012 4/15/2013 4/15/2014 4/15/2015 4/15/2016 Overall fund assets 207,204, ,560, ,330, ,965, ,091, Calculated unit value Reinvested income Performance as % Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (non-austrian tranche) 4/15/2012 4/15/2013 4/15/2014 4/15/2015 4/15/2016 Overall fund assets 207,204, ,560, ,330, ,965, ,091, Calculated unit value Reinvested income Performance as % Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

8 Income statement and development of fund assets in 2015/2016 in EUR 1. Development in past accounting year (fund performance) Calculated in accordance with method provided by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB): per unit in fund currency (EUR), excluding subscription fee Income-distributing units AT Unit value at start of accounting year Distribution on 6/15/2015 of EUR 1.40 (corresponds to units) *) Unit value at end of accounting year Total value incl. units (fictitiously) acquired through distribution ( x 58.32) Performance of a unit in the accounting year in % Net income per unit Performance of a unit in the calendar year 2015 in % Income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax AT Unit value at start of accounting year Payment (capital gains tax) on 6/15/2015 of EUR 0.30 (corresponds to units) **) - Unit value at end of accounting year Total value incl. units (fictitiously) acquired through distribution ( x 72.57) Performance of a unit in the accounting year in % Net income per unit Performance of a unit in the calendar year 2015 in % Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (Austrian tranche) AT Unit value at start of accounting year Unit value at end of accounting year Performance of a unit in the accounting year in % Net income per unit Performance of a unit in the calendar year 2015 in % Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (foreign tranche) AT Unit value at start of accounting year Unit value at end of accounting year Performance of a unit in the accounting year in % Net income per unit Performance of a unit in the calendar year 2015 in % The custodian bank calculates the unit value separately for each unit certificate class. The annual performance figures for the individual unit certificate classes may vary. *) Net asset value for an income-distributing unit on 6/11/2015 (ex-date): EUR **) Net asset value for an income-reinvesting unit with deduction of capital gains tax on 6/11/2015 (ex-date): EUR Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

9 Income statement and development of fund assets in 2015/2016 in EUR 2. Fund result a. Realized fund result Ordinary income Income (without profit or loss from price changes) 3,757, Interest income (incl. ordinary income from foreign subfunds) 3.25 Dividend income 5,030, Withholding tax levied on dividends -1,273, ,757, Expenses -4,021, Remuneration for management company -3,499, Custodian bank fee -279, Costs for auditor and tax representation -24, Publication costs -4, Portfolio custody fees -212, Other management expenses -1, Ordinary fund result (excl. equalization of income) -264, Realized profit or loss from price changes 1) 2) Profits realized from securities (incl. extraordinary distribution-equivalent income from foreign subfunds) 24,812, Profits realized from derivative instruments (incl. exchange gains) 958, Losses realized from securities -13,578, Losses realized from derivative instruments (incl. exchange losses) -940, Realized profit or loss from price changes (excl. equalization of income) 11,251, Realized fund result (excl. equalization of income) 10,986, b. Non-realized profit or loss from price changes 1) 2 Change in non-realized profit or loss from price changes -43,088, Income in accounting year -32,101, c. Equalization of income Equalization of income for income realized in accounting year -892, Overall fund result -32,993, Overall transaction costs in accounting year in EUR -155, Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

10 3. Development of fund assets Fund assets at start of accounting year 3) 285,965, Distribution/payment on 6/15/2015 (incl. equalization of distribution) Distribution (income-distributing units) (AT ) -1,897, Payment (income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax) (AT ) -595, ,492, Issue and redemption of units (incl. equalization of distribution) -38,387, Issue of 519, units and redemption of 1,103, units Overall fund result (for a detailed presentation of the fund result, please see Item 2) -32,993, Fund assets at end of accounting year 4) 212,091, ) Realized profits and losses are not specific to a particular period. Accordingly, like the change in the non-realized profit or loss from price changes, they may not relate to the fund s performance in the past accounting year. 2) Total profit/loss from price changes without equalization of income (realized profit/loss from price changes without equalization of income plus change in the non-realized profit/loss from price changes): EUR -31,836, ) Units outstanding at start of accounting year: 1,562, income-distributing units, 2,019, income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax, 75, income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (VTI), 99, income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (VTA). 4) Units outstanding at end of accounting year: 1,305, income-distributing units, 1,704, income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax, 72, income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (VTI), 89, income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax (VTA). Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

11 Statement of assets as of 4/15/2016 Items/ Purchases/ Sales/ % Asset class ISIN units/ Holdings additions disposals Price Market value of fund currency (in thou.) 4/15/2016 in period under review in EUR assets Exchange-traded securities Equities in EUR AGRANA BETEILIGUNGS- AT ITEMS 41,849 17,849 0 EUR ,534, AGSTAMMAKTIEN O.N. AMAG Austria Metall AGAktien ohne AT00000AMAG3 ITEMS 115,824 45,824 0 EUR ,822, Nennwert ANDRITZ AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 383, ,900 42,400 EUR ,350, AT+S AUSTRIA TECHN.U SYSTEMT. AT ITEMS 469, , ,830 EUR ,046, AGAKTIEN O.N. BUWOG AG INH.-AKT.O.N. AT00BUWOG001 ITEMS 325, ,700 EUR ,128, CA IMMOBILIEN ANLAGEN AGAKTIEN AT ITEMS 500,600 74, ,500 EUR ,730, O.N. CONWERT IMMOBILIEN INVEST AT ITEMS 382, , ,900 EUR ,305, SEINHABERAKTIEN O.N. DO + CO AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 55,100 55,100 0 EUR ,802, ERSTE GROUP BANK AT ITEMS 736, , ,100 EUR ,839, AGSTAMMAKTIEN OHNE NENNWERT EVN AGSTAMMAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 168, ,600 EUR ,751, FACC AGStammaktie o.n. AT00000FACC2 ITEMS 810,000 70,000 42,715 EUR ,075, IMMOFINANZ AGINHABERAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 5,826, ,700 2,168,000 EUR ,595, LENZING AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 42, ,269 EUR ,921, LINZ TEXTIL HOLDING AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 8, EUR ,360, MAYR-MELNHOF KARTON AGAKTIEN AT ITEMS 74,400 3,000 14,100 EUR ,588, O.N. OESTERREICHISCHE POST AT0000APOST4 ITEMS 224,300 51,500 27,100 EUR ,996, AGAKTIEN O.N. OMV AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 383, ,000 EUR ,584, PALFINGER AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 89, ,000 EUR ,354, POLYTEC Holding AGInhaber-Aktien AT0000A00XX9 ITEMS 734, ,600 0 EUR ,871, EUR 1 RAIFFEISEN BANK INTERNATIONAL AT ITEMS 867, , ,700 EUR ,847, AGINHABERAKTIEN O.N. RHI AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 65, ,000 EUR ,188, ROSENBAUER INTERNATIONAL AT ITEMS 58,000 58,000 0 EUR ,497, AGAKTIEN O.N. S IMMO AGINHABERAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 328,848 15,000 9,352 EUR ,737, SCHOELLER-BLECKMANN OILFIELD AT ITEMS 41,447 17,000 0 EUR ,417, EQU.AGAKTIEN ZU EUR 1,- SEMPERIT AG HOLDINGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 168, ,702 0 EUR ,440, STRABAG SESTAMMAKTIEN O.N. AT000000STR1 ITEMS 12,000 12,000 0 EUR , UNIQA Insurance Group AGStamm- AT ITEMS 779,600 25, ,400 EUR ,860, Aktien o.n. Valneva SEActions au Porteur Pref. -,01 FR ITEMS 136, EUR , VIENNA INSURANCE AT ITEMS 212,600 7,000 54,400 EUR ,260, GROUPSTAMMAKTIEN O.N. VOESTALPINE AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 627,000 93, ,800 EUR ,769, WIENERBERGER AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS 95,200 95,200 0 EUR ,585, Equities in CHF AMS AGInhaber-Aktien o.n. AT0000A18XM4 ITEMS 170,000 23, ,000 CHF ,794, Total exchange-traded securities EUR 194,420, Non-quoted securities Equities in EUR Intercell AGAnsprüche auf Nachbesserung (Umt.) AT0000A10BA2 ITEMS 420, EUR Other securities in EUR Bank Austria Creditanstalt/claim for AT0000A0AJ61 ITEMS 107, EUR possible suppl. payment/cash settlement Immoeast AGClaim for poss. rectification AT0000A0GYT7 ITEMS 4,500, EUR of exchange ratio MIBA AG -ANSPR. NACHZ. AT0000A1FQW7 ITEMS 20,000 40,000 20,000 EUR Total non-quoted securities EUR Total securities holdings EUR 194,420, Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

12 Market value in EUR % of fund assets Derivatives (A minus sign next to holdings denotes sold positions) Equity index derivatives Receivables/liabilities Equity index futures contracts FATF JUN/16 FT ITEMS 1, , Total equity index derivatives EUR -660, Bank balances EUR balances: EUR 14,720, ,720, EUR 3,610, ,610, Total bank balances EUR 18,331, Fund assets EUR 212,091, Income-distributing units AT ITEMS 1,305, Unit value EUR Income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax AT ITEMS 1,704, Unit value EUR Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax AT ITEMS 72, Unit value EUR Income-reinvesting units without deduction of capital gains tax AT ITEMS 89, Unit value EUR Exchange rates (indirect quotation) as of 4/18/2016 Swiss franc CHF = 1 euro (EUR) Transactions concluded during the reporting period and not listed in the statement of assets: Purchases and sales of securities, investment units and promissory note loans (market allocation as of reporting date) Items/ Purchases/ Sales/ Asset class ISIN units/ additions disposals currency (in thou.) Exchange-traded securities Equities Conwert Immobilien Invest SEZum Verkauf eingereichte Aktien AT0000A1D8V9 ITEMS - 236,350 FLUGHAFEN WIEN AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS - 10,661 Kapsch TrafficCom AGInhaber-Aktien o.n. AT000KAPSCH9 ITEMS - 100,000 MIBA AGVORZUGSAKTIEN KAT. B O.N. AT ITEMS - 20,000 MIBA AGNACHFRIST ZUM VERKAUF EINGER.AKTIEN AT0000A1FQU1 ITEMS 40,000 40,000 RATH AGAKTIEN O.N. AT ITEMS - 72,000 Valneva SEActions au Porteur EO -,15 FR ITEMS - 189,000 VERBUND AGINHABERAKTIEN KAT. A O.N. AT ITEMS - 83,000 CENTURY CASINOS INC.Registered Shares DL -,01 US ITEMS - 357,307 Vienna, July 27, 2016 Pioneer Investments Austria GmbH DDr. Werner Kretschmer Stefano Pregnolato Mag. Hannes Roubik Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

13 Audit certificate We have audited the attached annual fund report as of April 15, 2016 including the related accounts prepared by Pioneer Investments Austria GmbH, Vienna, for its fund Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock, a co-ownership fund pursuant to the 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act (InvFG), as amended, for the accounting year from April 16, 2015 to April 15, Statutory representatives responsibility for preparation of the annual fund report, management of the fund and keeping of the accounts The statutory representatives of the management company and the custodian bank are responsible for keeping the accounts, valuing the fund, calculating withholding taxes, preparing the annual fund report and managing the fund in accordance with the Austrian Investment Fund Act, the supplementary provisions in the fund regulations and applicable tax legislation. This responsibility includes the setup, execution and maintenance of an internal control system where this is significant for the registration and valuation of the fund and preparation of the annual fund report so that this report is free from significant factual misstatements resulting from intentional or unintentional errors; selection and application of suitable valuation methods; estimates which appear appropriate in view of applicable outline conditions. Responsibility of the auditor and type and scope of statutory audit of the annual fund report We are responsible for providing an audit opinion for this annual fund report on the basis of our audit. We performed our audit pursuant to 49 (5) of the Austrian Investment Fund Act while complying with applicable Austrian statutory regulations and the principles of orderly balance-sheet auditing. These principles require compliance with rules of professional conduct and planning and execution of the audit so that we are able to form an opinion, with a reasonable degree of certainty, on whether the annual fund report is free from significant factual misstatements. An audit includes the performance of audit activities to obtain documentation of the figures and other disclosures in the annual fund report. The audit activities are chosen at the discretion of the auditor, while considering its assessment of the risk of significant factual misstatements resulting from intentional or unintentional errors. In performing the risk assessment the auditor gives consideration to the internal control system, where this is of significance for preparation of the annual fund report and valuation of the fund, so as to specify suitable audit activities in view of applicable outline conditions. No audit opinion is provided on the effectiveness of the internal control measures implemented by the management company and the custodian bank, however. The audit also includes an assessment of the appropriateness of the valuation methods used and the key estimates made by the statutory representatives as well as an evaluation of the overall statement provided in the annual fund report. In our opinion we have obtained sufficient and suitable documentation for our audit, so that it provides an adequate degree of certainty on which to base our judgment. Audit outcome Our audit has not met with any objections. On the basis of our audit findings, in our view the annual fund report as of April 15, 2016 for Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock, a co-ownership fund pursuant to the 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act (InvFG), as amended, complies with applicable statutory requirements. Compliance with the Austrian Investment Fund Act and the fund regulations Pursuant to 49 (5) InvFG our audit includes an assessment of whether this annual fund report complies with the Austrian Federal Act on Investment Funds (Austrian Investment Fund Act) and the fund regulations. We have performed our audit in accordance with the above principles, so that we are able to determine with a sufficient level of certainty whether this annual fund report essentially complies with the provisions of the Austrian Investment Fund Act and the fund regulations. According to our audit findings, the provisions of the Austrian Federal Act on Investment Funds (Austrian Investment Fund Act) and the fund regulations have been complied with. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

14 Report on activities performed during the past accounting year We have undertaken a critical assessment of the disclosures provided by the management company s management in the annual fund report on its activities in the past accounting year, but these were not subject to special audit activities in accordance with the above principles. Accordingly, our audit opinion does not include these statements. In the context of the overall picture set out in this annual fund report, the disclosures concerning the accounting year are consistent with the figures provided in the report. Vienna, July 27, 2016 Deloitte Audit Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbH Mag. Robert PEJHOVSKY Dr. Peter BITZYK Auditor Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

15 Tax treatment of Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock for income-distributing units (ISIN AT ) in EUR per unit: All income realized by the fund has final taxation status for income tax purposes for private investors, on account of the deduction of capital gains tax amounting to EUR for each income-distributing unit. No action is required on the part of the unitholder. for income-reinvesting units with deduction of capital gains tax (ISIN AT ) in EUR per unit: All income realized by the fund has final taxation status for income tax purposes for private investors, on account of the deduction of capital gains tax amounting to EUR for each income-reinvesting unit with deduction of capital gains tax. No action is required on the part of the unitholder. Pioneer Investments Austria will shortly provide details of the tax treatment for this fund and further information prepared on the basis of the audited annual fund report via the download center at We should like to point out that the fund s tax treatment was not covered by the audit performed by the auditor. Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016

16 Valuation of illiquid securities The value of a unit is calculated by dividing the entire value of the investment fund inclusive of its income by the number of units. The total value of the investment fund is calculated on the basis of the current market prices of the securities, money market instruments and subscription rights in the fund plus the value of the fund s financial investments, cash holdings, credit balances, receivables and other rights net of its payables. That value will be calculated by the custodian bank. The net assets are calculated in accordance with the following principles: a) In principle, the value of assets quoted or traded on a stock market or on another regulated market will be determined on the basis of the most recently available price. b) Where an asset is not quoted or traded on a stock market or another regulated market or where the price for an asset quoted or traded on a stock market or another regulated market does not appropriately reflect its actual market value, the prices provided by reliable data providers or, alternatively, market prices for equivalent securities or other recognized valuation methods shall be used. There is a risk of valuation prices for specific securities deviating from their actual selling prices if prices are determined on illiquid markets (valuation risk). Pioneer Funds Austria - Austria Stock April 16, April 15, 2016