Annual report as at March 31st, 2020 UniDividend Management Company: Union Investment Luxembourg S.A. In case of discrepancy between the English and German version, the German version shall prevail. Contents Page Preface 3 UniDividend 5 Investment policy 5 Performance of the fund 5 Breakdown by country 6 Breakdown by sector 6 Development during the last 3 financial years 7 Composition of the fund's assets 7 Attribution to the unit classes 7 Changes in the fund's assets 8 Income statement 8 Change to number of units in circulation 8 Schedule of assets 9 Exchange rates 11 Purchases and sales in the reporting period 11 Notes on the report 13 Auditor's report (Réviseur d’entreprises agréé) 15 Other information of the Management Company 17 Management Company, Board of Directors, 22 Managing Directors, Committee, Supervisory board, Shareholders, Portfolio Management, Auditor (Réviseur d'entreprises agréé), Depositary, Paying Agents and Distributors Note Units may be acquired only on the basis of the current sales prospectus and the key investor information accompanied by the most recent annual report and, if available, the semi-annual report. 2 Preface Union Investment – devoted to your interests US government bonds in demand as a safe haven The Union Investment Group manages assets of about EUR 350 The bond markets got off to a welcoming start in the year under billion, making it one of Germany's largest investment companies review. The US Fed changed its tone. Faced with the tougher for both private and institutional investors. It is an expert for environment, i.e. the trade conflict between the USA and China, Fund management within the cooperative finance association. it acted with more reliance on the market and data. At the end of Around 4.65 million private and institutional investors have July 2019, it cut interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time placed their trust in us as their partner for fund-based in ten years. In September and October, interest rates were cut investments. again, both times by another 25 basis points. With the cut in October, however, the Fed initially hinted at a pause in interest Today, the idea behind the foundation of the group in 1956 is rates due to signs of cautious economic stabilisation. more topical than ever: private investors should have the opportunity to benefit from economic developments – even with Due to poor economic data in the eurozone, the European only small monthly savings contributions. The interests of these Central Bank (ECB) also rather quickly retreated from its initially investors have always been our main concern and, together with more restrictive monetary policy stance. In September 2019, our 3,300 or so employees, we are committed to looking after numerous monetary policy measures were taken in view of the them. Around 1,255 public-investment and specialist funds offer eurozone's weak economic performance. As well as a reduction private and institutional investors solutions tailored to their in interest rates, the bond purchase programme was relaunched. individual requirements. These include share, bond and money- The yield on ten-year German bunds initially fell from plus 16 to market funds, open-end real estate funds, and intelligent minus 72 basis points. In Q4 2019, better economic data and a solutions for asset accumulation, risk management and private resolution in the trade dispute led to higher returns. and corporate pension schemes. After a mixed Q4 2019, German bunds and US Treasury notes Partner cooperation with advisers from the Volksbanken and got off to a positive start in the new year, quickly making up for Raiffeisen banks forms the basis of Union Investment’s strong the previous months' losses. However, the reasons behind the investor orientation. In approximately 9,400 branches our high demand were not very encouraging. Many investors viewed employees provide personalised advice on all investment matters. the securities more as a safe haven. A US attack in Iraq initially triggered a flight to quality. In the short term, investors feared a Our awards for individual funds – and our solid performance in further escalation of the crisis in the Middle East. And no sooner industry ratings – provide the best evidence of the quality of our had the events been digested than the coronavirus crisis hit. fund management. Numerous Union Investment funds were Despite extensive countermeasures, the virus, which had broken recognised by Finanzen Verlag for their good performance during out in China, spread rapidly and eventually reached Europe and different periods at the €uro Fund Awards 2020 in January 2020. the USA. Extensive restrictions on public life and the closure of The trade journal Capital again gave Union Investment the manufacturing facilities led to huge economic woes. highest rating of five stars in its Fund Compass in February 2020, and recognised it as the top fund management company. This Due to the great deal of uncertainty, risky securities suffered makes us the only fund management company to have received heavy price losses. During this time, risk premiums on securities this prestigious award every year since it was first awarded in from peripheral eurozone countries, corporate bonds and bonds 2003. from emerging markets increased significantly. There were also unusual market distortions. This ultimately prompted central In November 2019, Union Investment also received the Scope banks to put together comprehensive packages of measures. In Alternative Investment Award 2020 in the category “Retail Real addition to extensive purchasing programmes, interest rate cuts Estate Germany” and the Scope Investment Award for were approved and significant relief for banks implemented. UniInstitutional Corporate Hybrid Bonds in the category “Bonds These measures were flanked by fiscal measures. The scale of the EURO Corp. Investment Grade - Germany”. We also won the economic stimulus packages reached historic levels. Towards the “German Fund Champions 2020” in the category “ESG/ end of March, the bond market then stabilised somewhat. The Sustainability”, awarded for the first time by f-fex and systemic risks were largely minimised. However, the significant finanzen.net. economic risks remained. 3 Measured against the iBoxx Euro Sovereign Index, European Aside from the trade issues, Europe was also hit by political government bond valuations increased by 4.5% during the events. For example, uncertainty about Brexit had been looming reporting period. Bonds from peripheral countries (+6.4%) over the UK for a long time. The elections in mid-December 2019 outperformed those from core countries (+3.2%) over the entire finally gave the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson the room for period despite the recent price losses. There had long been a manoeuvre he needed to complete the exit from the EU on trend towards converging yields, which had led to declining risk 31 January 2020. The ECB took an offensive stance in terms of premiums. US government bond prices rose much more strongly its monetary policy. The Italian debt problem essentially remained at index level (JP Morgan Global Bond US Index), growing by unresolved. From mid-January 2020, the coronavirus also caused 14.2%. great uncertainty in Europe. Italy and Spain were the countries with the highest number of corona infections. The EURO STOXX Due to low yields, corporate bonds and emerging market 50 Index lost 16.9% on balance year-on-year and the STOXX securities were in demand for most of the period under review Europe 600 Index dropped by 15.6%. and recorded price gains. However, the market correction triggered by the coronavirus resulted in considerable losses, and For a long time, Japanese equities were unable to match the so the balance sheet is negative year-on-year. Corporate bonds, price gains in the US and Europe. The Nikkei 225 Index did not measured by the ICE BofA Euro Corporate Index, fell by 3.2%. start to rise significantly again until October 2019. Since mid- And bonds from emerging markets lost almost 7% (JP Morgan January 2020, however, the events surrounding the coronavirus EMBI Global Diversified Index). have also had an impact there, albeit not quite as severe as in western countries. The Nikkei 225 Index declined on balance by 10.8%. Emerging market stock exchanges have been hit Coronavirus ends uptick on the stock markets particularly hard by the trade conflict, the weakness of the Chinese economy and the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, Global stock markets were performing well for most of the period they fell by a total of 15.2% (in local currency). under review. But when the global coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020, they saw a sudden dramatic slump. The MSCI World Index fell by 13.1% in March alone. In the past twelve months, Important information: the index fluctuated but ultimately lost 11.4% (in local currency). Unless otherwise specified, the data source for the financial Up to January 2020, the easing of monetary policy, signs of indices is Datastream. All unit performance data on the following easing tensions in the trade dispute between the USA and China pages is taken from Union Investment's own calculations in and generally solid corporate results had boosted the stock accordance with the method applied by the German Investment markets. Despite a small setback in May 2019 due to the trade Funds Association (BVI), unless otherwise specified. The ratios conflict, the upward trend continued. In December, stronger illustrate past performance. Future results may be either higher or economic data and a first concrete agreement in the trade lower. dispute (Phase One Deal) led to a year-end rally. But with the global spread of the novel coronavirus from China, prices Detailed information on the Management Company and the collapsed from mid-January 2020 onwards. The subsequent Depositary of the investment fund (the "Fund") can be found on containment measures slowed economic activity massively, the last pages of this report.