Soon after its first anniversary on the Bulgarian market, Pioneer Investments reports more than USD 11 million assets under management from Bulgarian investors, through the distribution agreement with Bulbank. The majority of the investments as of the beginning of May 2004 are from direct sales (USD 6 595 631.00), the remaining amount (USD 5 124 093.00) are invested trough Avangarde, a very successful capital guaranteed structured Term Deposit designed and marketed by Bulbank and Pioneer Investments.

The total amount of USD 11 719 724.00 assets under management positions Pioneer Investments as the biggest player and Bulbank as the largest distributor of Mutual funds in the country with approximately 55% market share.

Martin Dybal, Head of New Markets division, Pioneer Investments commented, "As our name - Pioneer - suggests, we like to be the first on the market, lead the market and help the market to develop. Our first year in Bulgaria was a very interesting but not an easy one. We have learned a lot and we did a lot. The launch of Pioneer Funds in Bulgaria was supported by the improved global economy and several of our equity funds showed outstanding performance in year 2003. As a good achievement we consider the fact that we managed to extend the initially launched number of mutual funds from 5 to current 9. The four additionally added mutual funds were specially selected after a detail analyse of the market demand and investors intentions. Another very important fact for the good business is our close and continuous cooperation with regulatory authorities.

However, as our mission is to develop the mutual fund market and to create the financial wealth for the Bulgarian households via offering the best class products and support, we will continue with our activities to support our clients and of course to learn more about our clients. That is why we have also organized, and we would continue in this trend, a series of investment seminars with groups of Bulbank clients. "

"We are delighted with the possibility to offer to our clients by far the best mutual fund, (recently ranked AA by Fitch Agency) offering in the market. With Pioneer products, we are giving our clients a unique opportunity to diversify their investments and to earn additional return benefiting from positive performance in the international markets", Mr. Alessandro Decio, Deputy Chairman of the MB and COO of Bulbank comments.

Pioneer Investments offers through all Bulbank branches nine Sub-Funds of Pioneer Funds family domiciled in Luxembourg. The minimum initial investment amount in both EUR and USD units is EUR / USD 500 while a minimum subsequent investment is EUR / USD 150 and clients can invest or be advised at any Bulbank branches.

Both Bulbank AD and Pioneer Investments are part of the UniCredit Group. Detailed information regarding performance of Pioneer Mutual Funds, offered in Bulgaria could be obtained on the website www.pioneerinvestments.cz/bg.

Pioneer Investments is trading name of Pioneer Global Asset Management S.p.A group of companies.

Investors' information

Past performance does not guarantee future results. There can be no assurances that countries, markets or sectors will perform as expected. The information herein is an illustration and does not constitute an offering of investment fund shares. We strongly recommend to request free Pioneer Funds Prospectus and to read it carefully about conditions and risks before investing. The Prospectus is available at all Bulbank branches. We recommend discussing the risk tolerance with your investment professional. Pioneer Funds (the "Fund") is a fonds commun de placement with several separate sub-funds established under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Luxembourg domiciled sub-funds may not be publicly offered for sale in the United States of America, or in any of its territories or possessions subject to its jurisdiction or to/for benefit of a United States Person.