The Pioneer Development Fund (Aust)

Pioneer is an unlisted public company registered as a Pooled Development Fund (“PDF”) under a program designed and implemented by the Australian Government to facilitate the supply of equity capital to Australia’s Small to Medium Enterprises. PDFs are companies that are registered under the Pooled Development Funds Act 1992 (“the Act”) designed to help protect investors and regulate operations. In return, PDFs benefit from tax concessions for investors and the fund itself. The object of the Act is to develop and demonstrate the potential of the market for providing patient equity capital (including venture capital) to small or medium-sized Australian enterprises that carry on eligible businesses. To achieve this object, the Act establishes a scheme under which companies that provide this kind of capital can become Pooled Development Funds (PDFs) which entitles them to more competitive tax treatment.