SCHEDULE 14A
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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[ ] Preliminary Proxy Statement [ ] Confidential, For Use of the Commission | Expires: January 31, 2008 |
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[X] Definitive Additional Materials | Estimated average burden |
[ ] Soliciting Material Pursuant to Rule 14a-12 | hours per response... 14 |
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Pioneer Tax Advantaged Balanced Trust
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
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[LOGO] PIONEER
Investments(R)
IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM YOUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES
April 24, 2007
Dear Fellow Shareholder:
We are sending you the enclosed proxy statement and WHITE proxy card for
your Fund's Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 8, 2007. Your
Board of Trustees recommends that you carefully review the enclosed proxy
material and that you support the re-election of three experienced trustees of
the Fund and oppose proposals 2A, 2B and 2C by signing, dating and mailing the
enclosed WHITE proxy card.
YOU SELECTED A FUND WITH A UNIQUE INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Your Fund implements a unique investment strategy of combining municipal
bonds that generate income that is 100% exempt from regular federal income
tax AND equity securities that pay dividends qualifying for a special
federal tax rate of 15%, and that also offer the potential for long-term
capital appreciation, also taxed at a 15% federal rate.
In addition to this innovative investment strategy and equally important is
the utilization of financial leverage to enhance the Fund's total return
potential.
YOUR FUND IS PROVIDING WHAT IT PROMISED YOU
Your Fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of after-tax
return, including attractive tax-advantaged income.
As of March 31, 2007, your Fund had average annual total returns of 19.42%
for the one-year period, 7.07% for the three-year period, and 4.34% since
inception (January 30, 2004), based on its market price. Based on your
Fund's net asset value, your Fund's average annual total returns for those
same periods were 13.12%, 9.98%, and 9.70%, respectively. Furthermore, your
federal tax-adjusted return based on the Fund's net asset value was 12.65%
for the one-year period ended March 31, 2007 (assuming you continued to
hold your investment and assuming continuation of the low effective tax
rate described below).
Just as important is the fact that shareholders were able to keep over 90%
of the Fund's combined dividends and capital gain distributions for the
latest calendar year (2006), after paying federal taxes, because the Fund
produced income that resulted in a maximum average effective regular
federal income tax rate of only 9.117%.
VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TO KEEP YOUR FUND ON TRACK!
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YOUR FUND'S UNIQUE INVESTMENT STRATEGY REQUIRES A
HIGHLY QUALIFIED INVESTMENT ADVISER
Blending municipal bonds, equity securities that pay tax qualified
dividends, and leverage into an integrated portfolio is an innovative and
sophisticated strategy that requires management expertise in all three
areas.
The seven independent trustees of your Fund recognize this and look to a
highly qualified investment adviser like Pioneer to implement the Fund's
sophisticated strategy. None of the seven independent trustees is
affiliated with Pioneer.
Pioneer is part of a global investment firm with offices in 22 countries
and approximately $310 billion in assets under management as of March 31,
2007, of which approximately $82 billion is managed by Pioneer in the U.S.
As of March 31, 2007, Pioneer managed approximately $44 billion in U.S.
fixed income investments and approximately $38 billion in U.S. equity
investments.
The independent trustees annually review Pioneer's services as your Fund's
investment adviser and last November approved continuation of Pioneer as
your Fund's adviser.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation. If you have any questions or
need any assistance in voting your shares, please contact our proxy solicitor:
The Altman Group
(800) 232-1064
(toll free)
* * * * *
By now, you may have learned that a dissident shareholder has filed a proxy
statement with the intention of launching a hostile and costly proxy contest for
three seats on your Fund's Board of Trustees. As a result, you may also receive
proxy solicitation materials and a green proxy card from that dissident seeking
your vote to elect his slate of hand-picked nominees, all of whom, he indicates,
favor changing the Fund's investment objective from that of seeking a high level
of after-tax return, including attractive tax-advantaged income, to an objective
of seeking capital appreciation by investing in equity securities. Furthermore,
a second dissident has nominated a completely different slate of three nominees,
and you may or may not receive proxy solicitation materials for that different
dissident slate as well.
YOUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES VIGOROUSLY OPPOSES THE DISSIDENT
PROXY SOLICITATIONS AND STRONGLY URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN
OR RETURN ANY GREEN OR OTHER COLORED PROXY CARD
SENT TO YOU BY ANY DISSIDENT.
VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TO KEEP YOUR FUND ON TRACK!
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Your Board of Trustees is committed to the integrity of your Fund's
investment strategy and believes that the Fund's management team is best
positioned to continue the Fund's success.
TRUSTEES BOCK, COGAN AND WEST UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT
CONTINUATION OF YOUR FUND'S UNIQUE INVESTMENT STRATEGY
The three trustees who are standing for re-election have strong backgrounds
and are part of a cohesive Board that has brought a variety of skills to
their oversight of your Fund since its inception. Their experience with
your Fund's innovative and sophisticated strategy is unmatched. They bring
diverse talents to the Board and are not affiliated with one another except
by their common Board service. Do not replace them with three nominees who
admit they all would vote for an agenda of radically changing your Fund's
investment strategy.
Mr. Cogan is a prominent figure in the mutual fund industry. Mr. Bock has
served as a senior financial executive at Lehman Brothers and the World
Bank, among others. Mr. West has been for many years a respected leader in
the securities and financial bar and has served as legal counsel to
numerous investment companies and investment advisers.
DO NOT ABANDON YOUR FUND'S UNIQUE TAX-ADVANTAGED INVESTMENT
STRATEGY FOR AN ORDINARY
EQUITY INVESTMENT STRATEGY
You invested in the Fund because the Fund's investment strategy is
consistent with your long-term investment objective. Unless your investment
objective has changed, turning your Fund into an ordinary equity fund will
destroy your Fund's ability to meet your investment needs and goals.
* * * * *
Please be sure to complete, sign and date the enclosed WHITE proxy card to
ensure that your vote is counted. If you hold your shares in a brokerage or bank
account (in "street name"), your broker or bank cannot vote your shares this
year (as it has in past annual meetings) unless you complete, sign, date and
return the voting instructions form it will send to you. In addition, if you
hold your shares in a brokerage or bank account, your broker or bank may allow
you to provide your voting instructions by telephone or Internet. Please consult
the materials you receive from your broker or bank prior to providing voting
instructions to it by telephone or Internet.
If you have previously returned any proxy card sent to you by a dissident
shareholder or any person other than the Fund, you may change any vote you may
have indicated by signing, dating and returning the enclosed WHITE proxy card in
the accompanying envelope. You may also revoke a proxy or change it by written
notice to the Fund at Pioneer Tax Advantaged
4
Balanced Trust, c/o Pioneer Investments, 60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts
02109 (Attention: Secretary), by submitting a subsequently executed and dated
proxy or by attending the Meeting and casting your vote in person. Attending the
Meeting will not automatically revoke your prior proxy.
The Board unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the election of the
Board's three nominees and AGAINST each of the three shareholder proposals that
may be presented at the meeting on the enclosed WHITE proxy card. The Board
unanimously urges that you NOT vote for any of the individuals on either of the
two slates that were put forward by dissidents or any of the three shareholder
proposals. The Board unanimously believes that the Board's nominees will better
serve the interests of the shareholders of the Fund than any of the hand-picked
nominees of the two dissident groups and that the shareholder proposals are not
in the best interests of the Fund or its long-term shareholders.
Please vote only the WHITE card. Do not sign or send back the green card
(or any other color card you receive) even as a protest vote against the
dissident nominees, as doing so will cancel out any prior vote you cast FOR your
Board's nominees on the WHITE card.
On Behalf of the Board of Trustees
Your Fund has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission regarding the matters to be acted upon at the 2007 Annual Meeting.
Shareholders are urged to carefully review the proxy statement and the Fund's
other proxy materials, when available, because they contain important
information. Among other things, the proxy statement provides information about
the Fund and its trustees and executive officers, who may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies in favor of the Board's nominees,
and additional information about the solicitation. This letter may be deemed to
be solicitation material with respect to the proxy statement. A copy of the
proxy statement has accompanied the copy of this letter that has been mailed to
all shareholders. Investors may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement and
other proxy materials (when available) at the Securities and Exchange
Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Investors may also obtain free copies of
the proxy statement and other documents filed by the Fund in connection with the
Annual Meeting by directing a request to:
The Altman Group
1200 Wall Street West
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
(800) 232-1064
(toll free)
(C)2007 Pioneer Investments Management, Inc., 60 State Street,
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
Member of the UniCredito Italiano Banking Group, Register of Banking Groups