Le Lézard
Classified in: Covid-19 virus
Subjects: Closed End Fund, Letter, Proxy/Proxy Vote

Pioneer Floating Rate Trust Sends Letter to Shareholders


Pioneer Floating Rate Trust (NYSE: PHD), a registered closed-end investment fund (the "Fund"), today announced that, in connection with its upcoming 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on September 16, 2020, the Fund is sending the following letter to shareholders:

August 14, 2020

Dear Pioneer Floating Rate Trust Shareholder,

We are writing to you again regarding this year's upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as it is vital you are aware of how the impressive qualifications and credentials of the gender-diverse slate of trustee nominees recommended by your Board stand in stark contrast to those of the hand-picked, all-male slate of nominees proposed by Saba Capital Management, L.P.

Your Board unanimously recommends and strongly encourages you to vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR ALL" of the Board's highly qualified and very experienced nominees - Diane P. Durnin, Benjamin M. Friedman, and Kenneth J. Taubes - and "AGAINST" Saba's proposal to terminate the Fund's investment advisory agreement with Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Inc.

THE BOARD'S HIGHLY QUALIFIED, HIGHLY CREDENTIALED, AND GENDER-DIVERSE SLATE OF NOMINEES BRINGS TO YOUR BOARD CRITICAL AND COMPLEMENTARY SKILL SETS, BACKGROUNDS, AND PERSPECTIVES THAT ARE CENTRAL TO THE BOARD'S OVERSIGHT OF THE FUND.

In deciding to vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR ALL" of the Board's highly qualified and very experienced nominees, we urge you to consider the following:

Consider the extremely impressive backgrounds and credentials of each of the Board's nominees:

Diane P. Durnin

Benjamin M. Friedman

Kenneth J. Taubes

IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE BOARD'S HIGHLY QUALIFIED, HIGHLY CREDENTIALED, AND GENDER-DIVERSE SLATE OF NOMINEES, YOUR BOARD BELIEVES THAT SABA'S ALL-MALE SLATE OF NOMINEES, HANDPICKED FROM THE SABA NOMINEE BULLPEN, LACKS ANY RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, SKILL SETS, OR COMPETENCIES NOT ALREADY PRESENT AMONG THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

We call to the attention of shareholders some of our specific concerns with Saba's proposed nominees:

Charles I. Clarvit

Stephen J. Flanagan

Frederic Gabriel

Don't be fooled by Saba and its attempt to have you believe its proxy contest and its proposed slate of nominees are intended to improve the Fund and its returns.

We have little doubt that Saba, through its proxy contest and its proposed nominees, is not seeking to enhance the Fund's performance or the ability of the Fund to meet its stated investment objective. We believe that Saba's proxy contest is nothing more than a transparent tactic intended to facilitate Saba's ability to "hijack" the Fund and force a liquidity event, possibly even a complete liquidation of the Fund, that results in all of Saba's shares being cashed-out at a per share price that approximates NAV, an outcome that would provide Saba with a quick profit but one that could make the Fund less viable and less able to meet its investment objective of providing investors with a high level of current income.

Preserve your Fund's future and its viability as an investment vehicle for those investors seeking a high level of current income by opposing Saba's self-serving proxy contest, the three candidates Saba handpicked from its nominee "bullpen," and Saba's potentially devastating proposal to terminate the Fund's investment advisory agreement.

Your vote is important, no matter how many shares you own. Your Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR ALL" of the Fund's highly qualified and very experienced nominees, all of whom are valued members of your Board, and "AGAINST" Saba's proposal to terminate the Fund's investment advisory agreement with Amundi Pioneer. You may also vote by telephone or Internet by following the instructions on the enclosed WHITE proxy card. Your Board encourages you to vote each WHITE proxy card you receive.

If you hold shares through a broker, bank, or other custodian, you will receive voting materials from that firm. You can complete the WHITE voting instruction form by internet, telephone, or mail. The voting instruction form will contain instructions on how to access and utilize those voting methods. Since this is a contested proxy solicitation, if you do not give voting instructions to your broker, bank, or other custodian, pursuant to the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, your broker, bank, or other custodian will not be able to vote your shares with respect to the election of trustees or Saba's proposal to terminate the Fund's investment advisory agreement. We urge you to instruct your broker, bank, or other custodian to vote your shares on the WHITE proxy card.

If you have any questions or need assistance in voting your WHITE proxy card or voting instruction form, we encourage you to contact our proxy solicitor, Okapi Partners LLC, at +1 877- 566-1922 (Toll Free).

Please do not return or otherwise vote any other proxy card or voting instruction form sent to you by Saba?even as a protest vote against Saba as this may cancel your prior vote for your Board's nominees and your vote against Saba's proposal to terminate the Fund's investment advisory agreement. If you have previously returned a proxy card or voting instruction form sent to you by Saba, you can change your vote (1) by signing, dating and returning the enclosed WHITE proxy card or voting instruction form in the postage-paid envelope provided herewith; (2) by recording your voting instructions via telephone or the internet following the instructions on the enclosed WHITE proxy card or voting instruction form; or (3) by voting at the Annual Meeting. Only your latest-dated vote will count.

On behalf of your Board, we thank you for your continued support. We look forward to communicating further with you in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Perna
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

If you have any questions, or need assistance voting your WHITE proxy card, please contact:

OKAPI Partners
1212 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10036

Telephone for Banks, Brokers, and International Shareholders: +1 212-297-0720
Shareholders may call toll-free (from the U.S. and Canada): +1 877-566-1922
Email: [email protected]

About Pioneer Floating Rate Trust

Pioneer Floating Rate Trust is an NYSE listed closed-end fund that seeks a high level of current income. It also seeks capital preservation as a secondary objective to the extent consistent with its primary objective.

About Amundi Pioneer Asset Management

Amundi Pioneer is the U.S. business of Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager by assets under management and ranked among the ten largest globally[1]. Boston is one of Amundi's six main global investment hubs and offers a broad range of fixed-income, equity, and multi-asset investment solutions in close partnership with wealth management firms, distribution platforms, and institutional investors across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Our long history of proprietary research, robust risk management, disciplined investment processes, and strong client relationships has made Amundi Pioneer an investment adviser of choice among leading institutional and individual investors worldwide. Amundi Pioneer had approximately $85 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020.

[1]

Source IPE "Top 400 asset managers" published in June 2020 and based on AUM as of December 31, 2019.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release is not an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of the Fund. This press release may contain statements regarding plans and expectations for the future that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA"), and such statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the PSLRA. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking and can sometimes be identified as such by the context of the statements, including words such as "believe," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "may," "will," "would," "should," "intend," "possible," "continue" "project," "estimate," "guidance" and other similar terms and phrases, whether in the negative or affirmative, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. Similarly, statements that describe the objectives, plans, or goals of the Fund or its investment adviser are forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proxy contest by Saba and the other participants in its solicitation of proxies from the Fund's shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Fund's 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the potential impact to the Fund if Saba's three proposed nominees are elected to the Fund's Board of Trustees in lieu of the three incumbent trustees recommended for re-election by the Fund's Board of Trustees, the potential impact to the Fund if Saba is successful in having its proposal to terminate the Fund's investment adviser terminated and the Fund is left without a replacement investment adviser, the Fund's efforts to drive investment returns and continue to create shareholder value, the ability of the Fund to continue to perform well against it peers and its benchmark index, the ability of the Fund to mitigate the gap between its net asset value per share and the Fund's per share trading price, the potential impact to the Fund if it pursues a liquidity event as a result of Saba's proxy contest, the viability of the Fund as an investment vehicle, taking into consideration its stated investment objective, if it was to pursue a liquidity event as a result of Saba's proxy contest, the impact on the Fund if it needed to sell assets to fund a liquidity event, the ability of the Fund to generate attractive multi-year returns as the economy recovers, and the ability of the Fund to continue to execute against its stated investment objective. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans, expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections and management's current beliefs and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, and events to differ materially from those described in the Fund's forward-looking statements. Additionally, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties are or will be contained in the Fund's filings with the SEC, including the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders on Form N-CSR for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, and its subsequent filings with the SEC. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, the Fund undertakes no obligation to revise these statements, whether to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise, following the date of this press release.

Important Additional Information And Where To Find It

The Fund's trustees, executive officers, and certain persons associated with the Fund's investment adviser and its parent company are deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Fund's shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. On August 3, 2020, the Fund filed a definitive proxy statement and an accompanying definitive WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies from the Fund's shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Fund's 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Information regarding the names of the Fund's trustees, executive officers, and certain persons associated with the Fund's investment adviser and its parent company and their respective direct or indirect interests in the Fund by security holdings or otherwise can be found in such definitive proxy statement, including the schedules and appendices thereto. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ ANY SUCH PROXY STATEMENT AND THE ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE FUND WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders may obtain the definitive proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement, the accompanying WHITE proxy card, and other documents filed by the Fund with the SEC for no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available free of charge at the Fund's website at https://www.amundipioneer.com/us, by writing to the Fund's Secretary at Pioneer Floating Rate Trust, 60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, or by contacting the Fund's investor relations department at 1.800.859.8508.

Disclaimer

The Fund has neither sought nor obtained the consent from any third party to use any statements or information contained in this press release that have been obtained or derived from statements made or published by any such third party. Any such statements or information should not be viewed as indicating the support of any such third party for the views expressed herein.


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