Federated Core Trust III N-CSR Certified annual shareholder report (management investment company)

United States

Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C.  20549

Form N-CSR

Certified Shareholder Report of Registered Management Investment Companies

811-22217

(Investment Company Act File Number)

Federated Core Trust III

_______________________________________________________________

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Federated Investors Funds

4000 Ericsson Drive

Warrendale, Pennsylvania 15086-7561

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(412) 288-1900

(Registrant's Telephone Number)

John W. McGonigle, Esquire

Federated Investors Tower

1001 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-3779

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

(Notices should be sent to the Agent for Service)

Date of Fiscal Year End:  3/31/10

Date of Reporting Period:  3/31/10

Item 1.                      Reports to Stockholders

Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund

A Portfolio of Federated Core Trust III

ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER REPORT

March 31, 2010

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
SHAREHOLDER EXPENSE EXAMPLE
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS SUMMARY TABLE
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND TRUST OFFICERS

EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF ADVISORY CONTRACT
VOTING PROXIES ON FUND PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO SCHEDULE

Financial Highlights

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout The Period)

Period Ended March 31	20101
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$10.00
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income	0.15
Net realized and unrealized loss on investments	(0.07)
TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS	0.08
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.15)
Distributions from net realized gain on investments	(0.00)2
TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS	(0.15)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.93
Total Return3	0.76%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses	0.00%4
Net investment income	2.13%4
Expense waiver/reimbursement5	0.83%4
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$97,645
Portfolio turnover	21%

1	Reflects operations for the period from August 26, 2009 (date of initial investment) to March 31, 2010.
2	Represents less than $0.01.
3	Based on net asset value. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above.

See Notes which are integral part of the Financial Statements

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Shareholder Expense Example (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur ongoing costs, including management fees and to the extent applicable, distribution (12b-1) fees and/or shareholder services fees and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you to understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. It is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from October 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

ACTUAL EXPENSES

The first section of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this section, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you incurred over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first section under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses attributable to your investment during this period.

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES

The second section of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund's actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund's actual return. Thus, you should not use the hypothetical account values and expenses to estimate the actual ending account balance or your expenses for the period. Rather, these figures are required to be provided to enable you to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund with other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only. Therefore, the second section of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds.

	Beginning Account Value 10/1/2009	Ending Account Value 3/31/2010	Expenses Paid During Period1
Actual	$1,000	$1,014.30	$0.00
Hypothetical (assuming a 5% return before expenses)	$1,000	$1,024.93	$0.00

1 Expenses are equal to the Fund's annualized net expense ratio of 0.00%, multiplied by 182/365 (to reflect the one-half-year period).

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Performance data quoted represents past performance which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Management's Discussion of Fund Performance (unaudited)

The Fund's¹ return, based on net asset value, since inception on August 26, 2009 was 0.76%. The total return of the one-month LIBOR (London InterBank Offered Rate) Index (Index)² was 0.02% for the same period. The Fund's total return for the most recently completed fiscal period reflected actual cash flows, transaction costs and other expenses which were not reflected in the total return of the Index.

During the reporting period, the most significant factors affecting the Fund's performance relative to the Index were: (1) the selection of individual securities within each sector; and (2) the cash balance of the Fund.

The most significant factor for the Fund's outperformance relative to the Index was security selection. The cash position of the Fund constrained the Fund's outperformance of the index.

Security Selection

The Fund invested in a diversified portfolio of trade finance assets. Geographically, the portfolio is invested in Egypt, India, Mongolia, Angola, Mexico, Ukraine, Ghana, Russia, Indonesia and Azerbaijan. The sectors in which the Fund invested during the reporting period included Energy, Basic Materials, Consumer Staples and Financials. At the end of the reporting period, the invested portion of the Fund had a weighted average spread to the Index of 476 basis points.

Cash Balance

The component that most significantly constrained the Fund's performance was the cash balance. At the end of the reporting period the cash balance was approximately 60%. The Fund was initially funded in August 2009 but did not receive its most significant funding until February 2010. At the end of the reporting period the Fund continued to seek appropriate investments to become fully invested.

1

Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund is NOT a mutual fund. The Fund operates as an open-end extended payment fund. Shareholders of the Fund will have a restricted ability to redeem shares of the Fund (“Shares”). When a redeeming shareholder presents Shares to the transfer agent in proper order for redemption, the Fund has up to thirty-one (31) days to make payment to the redeeming shareholder. The price of the redeemed Shares will be determined as of the closing net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund twenty-four (24) days after receipt of a shareholder redemption request or if such date is a weekend or holiday, on the preceding business day (the “Redemption Pricing Date”). Under normal circumstances, the Fund will make payment to the redeeming shareholder one business day after the Redemption Pricing Date (the “Redemption Payment Date”). However, the Fund reserves the right to make payment up to seven (7) days after the Redemption Pricing Date, provided such date does not exceed thirty-one (31) days after the Shares have been presented for redemption in proper order. Shareholders that redeem Shares will incur the risk that the value of their Shares presented for redemption will be worth less on the Redemption Pricing Date than on the date they submitted their redemption request.

2

The London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks borrow unsecured Funds from other banks in the London wholesale money market (or interbank market).

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GROWTH OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT

The graph below illustrates the hypothetical investment of $10,000¹ in Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund (the “Fund”) from August 26, 2009 (start of performance) to March 31, 2010, compared to the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).²

Cumulative Total Return for the Period Ended 3/31/2010
Start of Performance (8/26/2009)	0.76%

Performance data quoted represents past performance which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Fund performance changes over time and current performance may be lower or higher than what is stated. For current to the most recent month-end performance and after-tax returns, call 1-800-341-7400. Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. The Fund is not an obligation of or guaranteed by any bank and is not federally insured.

1	Represents a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in the Fund. The Fund's performance assumes the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions.
2	The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks borrow unsecured Funds from other banks in the London wholesale money market ( or interbank market).

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Portfolio of Investments Summary Table (unaudited)

At March 31, 2010, the Fund's portfolio composition¹ was as follows:

Security Type	Percentage of Total Net Assets
Trade Finance Agreements	35.9%
Cash Equivalents2	63.7%
Other Assets and Liabilities — Net3	0.4%
TOTAL	100.0%

1	See the Fund's Confidential Private Offering Memorandum and Statement of Additional Information for a description of these security types.
2	Cash Equivalents include any investments in money market mutual funds and/or overnight repurchase agreements.
3	Assets, other than investments in securities, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

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Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2010

Principal Amount or Shares			Value
		Trade Finance Agreements – 35.9%
$1,837,838		Afrexim, Unsub., 3.541%, 5/28/2010	$1,834,162
1,000,000		Arrocera Convadonga SA de CV, 8.50%, 12/17/2010	999,500
2,000,000		Energy Resources LLC, 9.249%, 4/27/2011	1,975,000
1,777,778		Erdenet, 9.249%, 7/8/2011	1,765,333
1,000,000		Ferrexpo UK Ltd., 7.249%, 12/17/2012	984,000
5,000,000		Golden Star Resources Ltd., 3.667%, 9/30/2012	4,912,500
2,000,000		International Bank of Azerbaijan, 3.50%, 12/25/2010	1,987,000
5,000,000		OJSC Suek, 2.50%, 3/10/2011	5,000,000
5,000,000		PT Berau Coal, 4.75%, 12/28/2010	4,917,500
4,666,667		Severstal, 2.642%, 9/23/2013	4,578,000
2,222,222		Sonangol Finance Ltd., 3.249%, 11/30/2012	2,207,778
875,000		SV Oil & Natural Gas Ltd., 4.249%, 9/14/2013	868,438
1,403,586		TAAG Angola Airlines, 5.25%, 6/30/2011	1,409,200
1,596,414		TAAG Angola Airlines, 5.25%, 8/1/2011	1,602,800
		TOTAL TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS (IDENTIFIED COST $35,061,086)	35,041,211
		MUTUAL FUND – 63.7%
62,237,946	1,2	Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares, 0.13% (AT NET ASSET VALUE)	62,237,946
		TOTAL INVESTMENTS — 99.6% (IDENTIFIED COST $97,299,032)3	97,279,157
		OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES - NET — 0.4%4	365,598
		TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100%	$97,644,755

1	Affiliated company.
2	7-Day net yield.
3	The cost of investments for federal tax purposes amounts to $97,299,617.
4	Assets, other than investments in securities, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Note: The categories of investments are shown as a percentage of total net assets at March 31, 2010.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

Level 2 — other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level 3 — significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used, as of March 31, 2010, in valuing the Fund's assets carried at fair value:

Valuation Inputs
	Level 1 -  Quoted Prices and Investments in Mutual Funds	Level 2 -  Other Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 -  Significant Unobservable Inputs	Total
Debt Securities:
Trade Finance Agreements	$ —	$35,041,211	$ —	$35,041,211
Mutual Fund	62,237,946	—	—	62,237,946
TOTAL SECURITIES	$62,237,946	$35,041,211	$ —	$97,279,157

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities

March 31, 2010

Assets:
Total investments in securities, at value including $62,237,946 of investments in an affiliated issuer (Note 5) (identified cost $97,299,032)		$97,279,157
Cash		76,228
Income receivable		215,390
Receivable for investments sold		87,500
Receivable for shares sold		30,000
TOTAL ASSETS		97,688,275
Liabilities:
Payable for custodian fees	$1,095
Payable for transfer and dividend disbursing agent fees and expenses	2,252
Payable for auditing fees	28,500
Payable for legal fees	1,167
Payable for portfolio accounting fees	8,978
Accrued expenses	1,528
TOTAL LIABILITIES		43,520
Net assets for 9,835,231 shares outstanding		$97,644,755
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital		$97,603,378
Net unrealized depreciation of investments		(19,875)
Accumulated net realized gain on investments		14,455
Undistributed net investment income		46,797
TOTAL NET ASSETS		$97,644,755
Net Asset Value, Offering Price and Redemption Proceeds Per Share:
$97,644,755 ÷ 9,835,231 shares outstanding, no par value, unlimited shares authorized		$9.93

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Statement of Operations

Period Ended March 31, 2010¹

Investment Income:
Interest			$442,942
Dividends received from an affiliated issuer (Note 5)			26,258
TOTAL INCOME			469,200
Expenses:
Investment adviser fee (Note 5)		$22,131
Administrative personnel and services fee (Note 5)		89,589
Custodian fees		2,373
Transfer and dividend disbursing agent fees and expenses		2,320
Auditing fees		28,500
Legal fees		3,843
Portfolio accounting fees		30,269
Insurance premiums		4,311
TOTAL EXPENSES		183,336
Waivers and Reimbursements (Note 5):
Waiver/reimbursement of investment adviser fee	$(22,131)
Waiver of administrative personnel and services fee	(89,589)
Reimbursement of other operating expenses	(71,616)
TOTAL WAIVERS AND REIMBURSEMENTS		(183,336)
Net expenses			—
Net investment income			469,200
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments:
Net realized gain on investments			15,330
Net change in unrealized depreciation of investments			(19,875)
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments			(4,545)
Change in net assets resulting from operations			$464,655

1 Reflects operations for the period from August 26, 2009 (date of initial investment) to March 31, 2010.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

Period Ended March 31	20101
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
Operations:
Net investment income	$469,200
Net realized gain on investments	15,330
Net change in unrealized depreciation of investments	(19,875)
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	464,655
Distributions to Shareholders:
Distributions from net investment income	(422,988)
Distributions from net realized gain on investments	(290)
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS	(423,278)
Share Transactions:
Proceeds from sale of shares	97,180,100
Net asset value of shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	423,278
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM SHARE TRANSACTIONS	97,603,378
Change in net assets	97,644,755
Net Assets:
Beginning of period	—
End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $46,797)	$97,644,755

1 Reflects operations for the period from August 26, 2009 (date of initial investment) to March 31, 2010.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Notes to Financial Statements

March 31, 2010

1. ORGANIZATION

Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund (the “Fund”) is a non-diversified portfolio of Federated Core Trust III (the “Trust”). The Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to provide total return. Currently, the Fund is only availiable for purchase by organizations or entities that are “accredited investors” within the meaning of Regulation D of the 1933 Act and “qualified purchases “ as defined in Section 2(a)(51) of the Act.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements. These policies are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Investment Valuation

In calculating its net asset value (NAV), the Fund generally values investments as follows:

• Fixed-income securities acquired with remaining maturities greater than 60 days are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Board of Trustees (the ”Trustees“).
• Fixed-income securities acquired with remaining maturities of 60 days or less are valued at their cost (adjusted for the accretion of any discount or amortization of any premium).
• Equity securities listed on an exchange or traded through a regulated market system are valued at their last reported sale price or official closing price in their principal exchange or market.
• Shares of other mutual funds are valued based upon their reported NAVs.
• Derivative contracts listed on exchanges are valued at their reported settlement or closing price.
• Over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Trustees.

If the Fund cannot obtain a price or price evaluation from a pricing service for an investment, the Fund may attempt to value the investment based upon the mean of bid and asked quotations or fair value the investment based on price evaluations, from one or more dealers. If any price, quotation, price evaluation or other pricing source is not readily available when the NAV is calculated, the Fund uses the fair value of the investment determined in accordance with the procedures described below. There can be no assurance that the Fund could purchase or sell an investment at the price used to calculate the Fund's NAV.

Fair Valuation and Significant Events Procedures

The Trustees have authorized the use of pricing services to provide evaluations of the current fair value of certain investments for purposes of calculating the NAV. Factors considered by pricing services in evaluating an investment include the yields or prices of investments of comparable quality, coupon, maturity, call rights and other potential prepayments, terms and type, reported transactions, indications as to values from dealers and general market conditions. Some pricing services provide a single price evaluation reflecting the bid-side of the market for an investment (a “bid” evaluation). Other pricing services offer both bid evaluations and price evaluations indicative of a price between the prices bid and asked for the investment (a “mid” evaluation). The Fund normally uses bid evaluations for U.S. Treasury and Agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and municipal securities. The Fund normally uses mid evaluations for other types of fixed-income securities and OTC derivative contracts. In the event that market quotations and price evaluations are not available for an investment, the fair value of the investment is determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trustees.

The Trustees also have adopted procedures requiring an investment to be priced at its fair value whenever the Adviser determines that a significant event affecting the value of the investment has occurred between the time as of which the price of the investment would otherwise be determined and the time as of which the NAV is computed. An event is considered significant if there is both an affirmative expectation that the investment's value will change in response to the event and a reasonable basis for quantifying the resulting change in value. Examples of significant events that may occur after the close of the principal market on which a security is traded, or after the time of a price evaluation provided by a pricing service or a dealer, include:

• With respect to securities traded in foreign markets, significant trends in U.S. equity markets or in the trading of foreign securities index futures or options contracts;
• With respect to price evaluations of fixed-income securities determined before the close of regular trading on the NYSE, actions by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee and other significant trends in U.S. fixed-income markets;
• Political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded; and
• Announcements concerning matters such as acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, a natural disaster affecting the issuer's operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer's industry.

The Trustees have approved the use of a pricing service to determine the fair value of equity securities traded principally in foreign markets when the Adviser determines that there has been a significant trend in the U.S. equity markets or in index futures trading. The Fund may seek to obtain more current quotations or price evaluations from alternative pricing sources. If a reliable alternative pricing source is not available, the Fund will determine the fair value of the investment using another method approved by the Trustees.

Investment Income, Expenses and Distributions

Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified-cost basis. Interest income and expenses are accrued daily. Dividend income and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Foreign dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date or when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Distributions of net investment income are declared daily and paid monthly. Non-cash dividends included in dividend income, if any, are recorded at fair value.

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Premium and Discount Amortization

All premiums and discounts on fixed-income securities are amortized/accreted for financial statement purposes.

Federal Taxes

It is the Fund's policy to comply with the Subchapter M provision of the Internal Revenue Code and to distribute to shareholders each year substantially all of its income. Accordingly, no provision for federal income tax is necessary. As of and during the period ended March 31, 2010, the Fund did not have a liability for any uncertain tax positions. The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to tax liabilities as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. As of March 31, 2010, tax year 2010 will be subject to examination by the Fund's major tax jurisdictions, which include the United States of America and the state of Delaware.

Other

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues reported in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimated.

3. SHARES OF BENEFICIAL INTEREST

The following table summarizes share activity:

Period Ended March 31	20101
Shares sold	9,792,606
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	42,625
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM FUND SHARE TRANSACTIONS	9,835,231

1 Reflects operations for the period from August 26, 2009 (date of initial investment) to March 31, 2010.

4. FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION

The timing and character of income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from GAAP. These differences are due to differing treatments for discount accretion/premium amortization on debt securities.

For the period ended March 31, 2010, permanent differences identified and reclassified among the components of net assets were as follows:

Increase (Decrease)
Undistributed Net Investment Income (Loss)	Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss)
$585	$(585)

Net investment income (loss), net realized gains (losses) and net assets were not affected by this reclassification.

The tax character of distributions as reported on the Statement of Changes in Net Assets for the period ended March 31, 2010, was as follows:

	2010
Ordinary income1	$423,278

1 For tax purposes, short-term capital gain distributions are considered ordinary income distributions.

As of March 31, 2010, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

Undistributed ordinary income	$61,837
Net unrealized depreciation	$(20,460)

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis net unrealized appreciation/depreciation is attributable to differing treatments for discount accretion/premium amortization on debt securities.

At March 31, 2010, the cost of investments for federal tax purposes was $97,299,617. The net unrealized depreciation of investments for federal tax purposes was $20,460. This consists of net unrealized appreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of value over cost of $29,021 and net unrealized depreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of cost over value of $49,481.

5. INVESTMENT ADVISER FEE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Adviser Fee

Federated Investment Management Company is the Fund's investment adviser (the “Adviser”). The advisory agreement between the Fund and the Adviser provides for an annual fee equal to 0.10% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Adviser may voluntarily choose to waive any portion of its fee and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund. The Adviser can modify or terminate this voluntary waiver and/or reimbursement at any time at its sole discretion. For the period ended March 31, 2010, the Adviser voluntarily waived $4,239 of its fee and voluntarily reimbursed $71,616 of other operating expenses.

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Administrative Fee

Federated Administrative Services (FAS), under the Administrative Services Agreement, provides the Fund with administrative personnel and services. The fee paid to FAS is based on the average aggregate daily net assets of certain Federated funds as specified below:

Administrative Fee	Average Aggregate Daily Net Assets of the Federated Funds
0.150%	on the first $5 billion
0.125%	on the next $5 billion
0.100%	on the next $10 billion
0.075%	on assets in excess of $20 billion

The administrative fee received during any fiscal year shall be at least $150,000 per portfolio and $40,000 per each additional class of Shares. FAS may voluntarily choose to waive any portion of its fee. FAS can modify or terminate this voluntary waiver at any time at its sole discretion. For the period ended March 31, 2010, FAS waived its entire fee of $89,589.

General

Certain Officers and Trustees of the Fund are Officers and Directors or Trustees of the above companies.

Transactions with Affiliated Companies

Affiliated holdings are mutual funds which are managed by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser. The Adviser has agreed to reimburse the Fund for certain investment adviser fees as a result of transactions in other affiliated mutual funds. For the period ended March 31, 2010, the Adviser reimbursed $17,892. Transactions with the affiliated company during the period ended March 31, 2010, were as follows:

Affiliate	Balance of Shares Held 8/26/2009	Purchases/ Additions	Sales/ Reductions	Balance of Shares Held 3/31/2010	Value	Dividend Income
Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares	—	103,107,419	40,869,473	62,237,946	$62,237,946	$26,258

6. Investment TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding long-term U.S. government securities and short-term obligations, for the period ended March 31, 2010, were as follows:

Purchases	$38,278,647
Sales	$3,120,495

7. line of credit

The Fund participates in a $100,000,000 unsecured, uncommitted revolving line of credit (LOC) agreement with PNC Bank. The LOC was made available for extraordinary or emergency purposes, primarily for financing redemption payments. Borrowings are charged interest at a rate offered to the Fund by PNC Bank at the time of the borrowing. As of March 31, 2010, there were no outstanding loans. During the period ended March 31, 2010, the Fund did not utilize the LOC.

8. INTERFUND LENDING

Pursuant to an Exemptive Order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fund, along with other funds advised by subsidiaries of Federated Investors, Inc., may participate in an interfund lending program. This program provides an alternative credit facility allowing the Fund to borrow from other participating affiliated funds. As of March 31, 2010, there were no outstanding loans. During the period ended March 31, 2010, the program was not utilized.

9. Legal Proceedings

Since October 2003, Federated Investors, Inc. and related entities (collectively, “Federated”), and various Federated sponsored mutual funds (Federated Funds) have been named as defendants in several class action lawsuits now pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The lawsuits were purportedly filed on behalf of people who purchased, owned and/or redeemed shares of certain Federated Funds during specified periods beginning November 1, 1998. The suits are generally similar in alleging that Federated engaged in illegal and improper trading practices including market timing and late trading in concert with certain institutional traders, which allegedly caused financial injury to the mutual fund shareholders. Federated without admitting the validity of any claim has reached a preliminary settlement with the Plaintiffs in these cases. Any settlement would have to be approved by the Court. Federated entities have also been named as defendants in several additional lawsuits that are now pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. These lawsuits have been consolidated into a single action alleging excessive advisory fees involving one of the Federated Funds. The Board of the Federated Funds retained the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro LLP to represent the Federated Funds in these lawsuits. Federated and the Federated Funds, and their respective counsel, have been defending this litigation, and none of the Federated Funds remains a defendant in any of the lawsuits. Additional lawsuits based upon Annual Shareholder Report

12

similar allegations may be filed in the future. The potential impact of these lawsuits, all of which seek monetary damages, attorneys' fees and expenses, and future potential similar suits is uncertain. Although we do not believe that these lawsuits will have a material adverse effect on the Federated Funds, there can be no assurance that these suits, ongoing adverse publicity and/or other developments resulting from the allegations in these matters will not result in increased redemptions, or reduced sales of shares of the Federated Funds or other adverse consequences for the Federated Funds.

10. Subsequent events

Management has evaluated subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued, and determined that no events have occurred that require additional disclosure.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF FEDERATED CORE TRUST III AND THE SHAREHOLDERS OF FEDERATED PROJECT AND TRADE FINANCE CORE FUND:

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund (“the Fund”), a series of the Federated Core Trust III, as of March 31, 2010, and the related statements of operations, changes in net assets, and financial highlights for the period from August 26, 2009 (commencement of operations) to March 31, 2010. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of March 31, 2010, by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent, and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund as of March 31, 2010, the results of its operations, changes in its net assets, and financial highlights for the period specified in the first paragraph above, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Boston, Massachusetts
May 25, 2010

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Board of Trustees and Trust Officers

The Board is responsible for managing the Trust's business affairs and for exercising all the Trust's powers except those reserved for the shareholders. The following tables give information about each Board member and the senior officers of the Fund. Where required, the tables separately list Board members who are “interested persons” of the Fund (i.e., “Interested” Board members) and those who are not (i.e., “Independent” Board members). Unless otherwise noted, the address of each person listed is Federated Investors Tower, 1001 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. The address of all Independent Board members listed is 4000 Ericsson Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086-7561; Attention: Federated Core Trust III Board. As of December 31, 2009, the Trust comprised one portfolio, and the Federated Fund Complex consisted of 43 investment companies (comprising 145 portfolios). Unless otherwise noted, each Officer is elected annually. Unless otherwise noted, each Board member oversees all portfolios in the Federated Fund Complex and serves for an indefinite term. The Fund's Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about Trust Trustees and is available, without charge and upon request, by calling 1-800-341-7400.

Interested Trustees Background

Name Birth Date Positions Held with Trust Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held and Previous Position(s)
John F. Donahue* Birth Date: July 28, 1924 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; Chairman and Director, Federated Investors, Inc.; Chairman of the Federated Fund Complex's Executive Committee. Previous Positions: Chairman of the Federated Fund Complex; Trustee, Federated Investment Management Company; Chairman and Director, Federated Investment Counseling.
J. Christopher Donahue* Birth Date: April 11, 1949 PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Principal Executive Officer and President of the Federated Fund Complex; Director or Trustee of some of the Funds in the Federated Fund Complex; President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Federated Investors, Inc.; Chairman and Trustee, Federated Investment Management Company; Trustee, Federated Investment Counseling; Chairman and Director, Federated Global Investment Management Corp.; Chairman, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania and Passport Research, Ltd. (investment advisory subsidiary of Federated); Trustee, Federated Shareholder Services Company; Director, Federated Services Company. Previous Positions: President, Federated Investment Counseling; President and Chief Executive Officer, Federated Investment Management Company, Federated Global Investment Management Corp. and Passport Research, Ltd.

* Family relationships and reasons for “interested” status: John F. Donahue is the father of J. Christopher Donahue; both are “interested” due to their beneficial ownership of shares of Federated Investors, Inc. and the positions they hold with Federated and its subsidiaries.

INDEPENDENT Trustees Background

Name Birth Date Positions Held with Trust Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications
John T. Conroy, Jr., Ph.D. Birth Date: June 23, 1937 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; Chairman of the Board, Investment Properties Corporation; Partner or Trustee in private real estate ventures in Southwest Florida; Assistant Professor in Theology, Blessed Edmund Rice School for Pastoral Ministry. Previous Positions: President, Investment Properties Corporation; Senior Vice President, John R. Wood and Associates, Inc., Realtors; President, Naples Property Management, Inc. and Northgate Village Development Corporation. Qualifications: Business management and director experience.
Nicholas P. Constantakis, CPA Birth Date: September 3, 1939 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupation: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex. Other Directorship Held: Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, Michael Baker Corporation (architecture, engineering and construction services). Previous Position: Partner, Andersen Worldwide SC. Qualifications: Public accounting and director experience.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Trust Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications
John F. Cunningham Birth Date: March 5, 1943 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008.	Principal Occupation: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex. Other Directorships Held: Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cunningham & Co., Inc. (strategic business consulting); Trustee Associate, Boston College. Previous Positions: Director, Redgate Communications and EMC Corporation (computer storage systems); Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Computer Consoles, Inc.; President and Chief Operating Officer, Wang Laboratories; Director, First National Bank of Boston; Director, Apollo Computer, Inc. Qualifications: Business management and director experience.
Maureen Lally-Green Birth Date: July 5, 1949 TRUSTEE Began serving: August 2009	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; Director, Office of Church Relations, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Adjunct Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law. Other Directorships Held: Director, Auberle; Trustee St. Francis University; Director, Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh; Director, UPMC Mercy Hospital; Regent, St. Vincent Seminary; Director, Epilepsy Foundation of Western and Central Pennsylvania; Director, Saint Thomas More Society, Allegheny County; Director, Carlow University. Previous Position: Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge. Qualifications: Legal and director experience.
Peter E. Madden Birth Date: March 16, 1942 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupation: Director or Trustee, and Chairman of the Board of Directors or Trustees, of the Federated Fund Complex. Other Directorship Held: Board of Overseers, Babson College. Previous Positions: Representative, Commonwealth of Massachusetts General Court; President, Chief Operating Officer and Director, State Street Bank and Trust Company and State Street Corporation (retired); Director, VISA USA and VISA International; Chairman and Director, Massachusetts Bankers Association; Director, Depository Trust Corporation; Director, The Boston Stock Exchange. Qualifications: Business management, mutual fund services and director experience.
Charles F. Mansfield, Jr. Birth Date: April 10, 1945 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Federated Fund Complex; Management Consultant. Previous Positions: Chief Executive Officer, PBTC International Bank; Partner, Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young LLP); Chief Financial Officer of Retail Banking Sector, Chase Manhattan Bank; Senior Vice President, HSBC Bank USA (formerly, Marine Midland Bank); Vice President, Citibank; Assistant Professor of Banking and Finance, Frank G. Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University; Executive Vice President DVC Group, Inc. (marketing, communications and technology). Qualifications: Banking, business management, public accounting and director experience.
R. James Nicholson Birth Date: February 4, 1938 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; Senior Counsel, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schrek, P.C.; Former Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See; Former Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Other Directorships Held: Director, Horatio Alger Association; Director, The Daniels Fund. Previous Positions: Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve; Partner, Calkins, Kramer, Grimshaw and Harring, P.C.; General Counsel, Colorado Association of Housing and Building; Chairman and CEO, Nicholson Enterprises, Inc. (real estate holding company); Chairman and CEO, Renaissance Homes of Colorado. Qualifications: Legal, government, business management and mutual fund director experience.
Thomas M. O'Neill Birth Date: June 14, 1951 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; Sole Proprietor, Navigator Management Company (investment and strategic consulting). Other Directorships Held: Board of Overseers, Children's Hospital of Boston; Visiting Committee on Athletics, Harvard College. Previous Positions: Chief Executive Officer and President, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Fleet Investment Advisors; President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeltus Investment Management, Inc.; General Partner, Hellman, Jordan Management Co., Boston, MA; Chief Investment Officer, The Putnam Companies, Boston, MA; Credit Analyst and Lending Officer, Fleet Bank; Director and Consultant, EZE Castle Software (investment order management software); Director, Midway Pacific (lumber). Qualifications: Business management, mutual fund, director and investment experience.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Trust Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications
John S. Walsh Birth Date: November 28, 1957 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; President and Director, Heat Wagon, Inc. (manufacturer of construction temporary heaters); President and Director, Manufacturers Products, Inc. (distributor of portable construction heaters); President, Portable Heater Parts, a division of Manufacturers Products, Inc. Previous Position: Vice President, Walsh & Kelly, Inc. Qualifications: Business management and director experience.
James F. Will Birth Date: October 12, 1938 TRUSTEE Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Fund Complex; formerly, Vice Chancellor and President, Saint Vincent College. Other Directorships Held: Trustee, Saint Vincent College; Alleghany Corporation. Previous Positions: Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Armco, Inc.; President and Chief Executive Officer, Cyclops Industries; President and Chief Operating Officer, Kaiser Steel Corporation. Qualifications: Business management, education and director experience.

OFFICERS

Name Birth Date Address Positions Held with Trust Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years and Previous Position(s)
John W. McGonigle Birth Date: October 26, 1938 EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Federated Fund Complex; Vice Chairman, Executive Vice President, Secretary and Director, Federated Investors, Inc. Previous Positions: Trustee, Federated Investment Management Company and Federated Investment Counseling; Director, Federated Global Investment Management Corp., Federated Services Company and Federated Securities Corp.
Richard A. Novak Birth Date: December 25, 1963 TREASURER Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Federated Fund Complex; Senior Vice President, Federated Administrative Services; Financial and Operations Principal for Federated Securities Corp., Edgewood Services, Inc. and Southpointe Distribution Services, Inc. Previous Positions: Controller of Federated Investors, Inc.; Vice President, Finance of Federated Services Company; held various financial management positions within The Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh; Auditor, Arthur Andersen & Co.
Brian P. Bouda Birth Date: February 28, 1947 CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of the Federated Fund Complex; Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Federated Investors, Inc. and Chief Compliance Officer of its subsidiaries. Mr. Bouda joined Federated in 1999 and is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar Association of Wisconsin.
Robert J. Ostrowski Birth Date: April 26, 1963 VICE PRESIDENT and CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER Began serving: February 2008	Principal Occupations: Robert J. Ostrowski joined Federated in 1987 as an Investment Analyst and became a Portfolio Manager in 1990. He was named Chief Investment Officer of taxable fixed-income products in 2004 and also serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager. He has been a Senior Vice President of the Fund's Adviser since 1997. Mr. Ostrowski has received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He received his M.S. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Evaluation and Approval of Advisory Contract - May 2009

Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund (the “Fund”)

The Fund's Board reviewed the Fund's investment advisory and subadvisory contracts at meetings held in May 2009. Because the Fund did not yet have a meaningful operating history, the Board's decision to approve these contracts reflects the exercise of its business judgment primarily on whether to authorize the continued offering of this new investment vehicle, as originally proposed by, and based on information previously requested by the Board and provided by, the Federated organization, and based on Federated's recommendation to go forward with the Fund. The Fund is distinctive in that it is designed for the efficient management of a particular asset class, is made available for investment only to other Federated Funds and a limited number of other accredited investors and is wholly comprised of structured trade finance.

The Federated funds' Board had previously appointed a Senior Officer, whose duties include specified responsibilities relating to the process by which advisory fees are to be charged to a Federated fund. The Senior Officer has the authority to retain consultants, experts, or staff as may be reasonably necessary to assist in the performance of his duties, reports directly to the Board, and may be terminated only with the approval of a majority of the independent members of the Board. The Senior Officer prepared and furnished to the Board an independent, written evaluation that covered topics discussed below. The Board considered that evaluation, along with other information, in deciding to approve the advisory and subadvisory contracts.

The Board also considered the compensation and benefits received by the Adviser and subadviser. This included fees received or to be received for services provided to the Fund by other entities in the Federated organization and research services (if any) received by the Adviser from brokers that execute fund trades, as well as advisory fees. The Board is also familiar with and considered judicial decisions concerning allegedly excessive investment advisory fees, which have indicated that the following factors may be relevant to an Adviser's fiduciary duty with respect to its receipt of compensation from a fund: the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser, including the performance of the Fund; the Adviser's cost of providing the services; the extent to which the Adviser may realize “economies of scale” as the Fund grows larger; any indirect benefits that may accrue to the Adviser and its affiliates as a result of the Adviser's relationship with the Fund; performance and expenses of comparable funds; and the extent to which the independent Board members are fully informed about all facts the Board deems relevant bearing on the Adviser's services and fees. The Board further considered management fees (including any components thereof) charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser and subadviser for what might be viewed as like services, and the cost to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the management fee agreements, excluding any intra-corporate profit and profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates for supplying such services. The Board was aware of these factors and was guided by them in its review of the Fund's advisory and subadvisory contracts to the extent it considered them to be appropriate and relevant, as discussed further below.

The Board considered and weighed these circumstances in light of its substantial accumulated experience in working with Federated on matters relating to other Federated funds, and was assisted in its deliberations by independent legal counsel. The Board's consideration of the advisory and subadvisory contracts included review of the Senior Officer's evaluation, accompanying data and additional reports covering such matters as: the Adviser's and subadviser's investment philosophy, revenue, profitability, personnel and processes; investment and operating strategies; the Fund's investment objectives; the Fund's expenses (including the advisory fee itself and the overall expense structure of the Fund, both in absolute terms and relative to similar and/or competing funds, with due regard for contractual or voluntary expense limitations); and the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services to be provided to the Fund by the Adviser and its affiliates. The Board also considered the preferences and expectations of Fund shareholders and their relative sophistication; the continuing state of competition in the mutual fund industry and market practices; the range of comparable fees for similar funds in the mutual fund industry; the Fund's relationship to the Federated family of funds which include a comprehensive array of funds with different investment objectives, policies and strategies which are available for exchange without the incurrence of additional sales charges; compliance and audit reports concerning the Federated funds and the Federated companies that service them (including communications from regulatory agencies), as well as Federated's responses to any issues raised therein; and relevant developments in the mutual fund industry and how the Federated funds and/or Federated are responding to them. The Board's evaluation process is evolutionary. The criteria considered and the emphasis placed on relevant criteria change in recognition of changing circumstances in the mutual fund marketplace.

With respect to the Fund's expenses in particular, the Board has generally found the use of comparisons to other mutual funds with comparable investment programs to be particularly useful, given the high degree of competition in the mutual fund business. The Board focuses on comparisons with other similar mutual funds more heavily than non-mutual fund products or services because it is believed that they are more relevant. For example, to the extent that similar mutual funds exist, they are readily available to Fund shareholders as alternative investment vehicles, and they may be the type of investment vehicle in fact chosen and maintained by the Fund's anticipated investors. The range of their fees and expenses therefore appears to be a generally reliable indication of what consumers have found to be reasonable in the precise Annual Shareholder Report

18

marketplace in which the Fund will compete. In this regard, however, the Senior Officer noted that he had been unable to identify any comparable US mutual funds, given its uniqueness and the fact that it will not be a publicly offered fund. He also reviewed Federated's fees for providing advisory services to products outside the Federated family of funds (e.g., institutional and separate accounts). He concluded that mutual funds and institutional accounts are inherently different products. Those differences include, but are not limited to, different types of targeted investors; being subject to different laws and regulations; different legal structures; different average account sizes; different associated costs; different portfolio management techniques made necessary by different cash flows; and portfolio manager time spent in review of securities pricing. The Senior Officer did not consider these fee schedules to be determinative in judging the appropriateness of mutual fund advisory contracts.

It was recognized that the factors mentioned above relating to such matters as fund performance and any indirect benefits that may accrue to the Adviser and its affiliates as a result of the Adviser's relationship with the Fund, are essentially impossible to apply before the Fund has experienced any meaningful operating history. Nevertheless, the Board will monitor the Fund's performance quarterly as information becomes available. Moreover, in connection with the Board's governance of other Federated funds, it should be noted that the Board regularly receives financial information about Federated, including reports on the compensation and benefits Federated derives from its relationships with the other Federated funds. These reports cover not only the fees under the advisory contracts, but also fees received by Federated's subsidiaries for providing other services to the Federated funds under separate contracts (e.g., for serving as the Federated funds' administrator). The reports also discuss any indirect benefit Federated may derive from its receipt of research services from brokers who execute Federated fund trades. In addition, the Board considered the fact that, in order for a fund to be competitive in the marketplace, Federated and its affiliates frequently waive fees and/or reimburse expenses and have disclosed to fund investors and/or indicated to the Board their intention to do so in the future, where appropriate. Moreover, the Board receives regular reports regarding the institution or elimination of these voluntary waivers.

In connection with the Board's initial consideration of advisory contracts, Federated furnishes reports, requested by the Senior Officer, that make estimates of the allocation of expenses for Funds, using allocation methodologies specified by the Senior Officer. In this case, however, since the fund was not yet effective and no fees or expenses were incurred, no allocation of expenses was completed.

The Board and the Senior Officer also reviewed a report compiled by Federated comparing profitability information for Federated to other publicly held fund management companies. In this regard, the Senior Officer noted the limited availability of such information, but nonetheless concluded that Federated's profit margins did not appear to be excessive and the Board agreed.

The Senior Officer's evaluation also discussed the notion of possible realization of “economies of scale” as a fund grows larger. The Board considered in this regard that the Adviser has made significant and long-term investments in areas that support all of the Federated funds, such as personnel and processes for the portfolio management, compliance, and risk management functions; and systems technology; and that the benefits of these efforts (as well as any economies, should they exist) were likely to be enjoyed by the fund complex as a whole. Finally, the Board also noted the absence of any applicable regulatory or industry guidelines on this subject, which (as discussed in the Senior Officer's evaluation) is compounded by the lack of any common industry practice or general pattern with respect to structuring fund advisory fees with “breakpoints” that serve to reduce the fee as the fund attains a certain size. The Senior Officer did not recommend institution of breakpoints in pricing Federated's fund advisory servicesat this time.

The Board reviewed the contractual fee rate and other expenses of the Fund with the Adviser and was satisfied that the overall expense structure of the Fund remained competitive.

The Senior Officer's evaluation noted his belief that the information and observations contained in his evaluation supported a finding that the proposed management fees are reasonable, and that Federated appeared to provide appropriate administrative services to the Fund for the fees paid. Under these circumstances, no changes were recommended to, and no objection was raised to, the continuation of the Fund's advisory and subadvisory contracts. With due regard for the fact that the Fund did not yet have a meaningful operating history, the Board concluded that the nature, quality and scope of services provided the Fund by the Adviser and its affiliates were satisfactory.

In its decision to continue an existing investment advisory contract, the Board was mindful of the potential disruptions of the Fund's operations and various risks, uncertainties and other effects that could occur as a result of a decision to terminate or not renew an advisory contract. In particular, the Board recognized that shareholders may invest in the Fund on the strength of the Adviser's industry standing and reputation and with the expectation that the Adviser will have a continuing role in providing advisory services to the Fund.

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The Board based its decision to approve the contracts on the totality of the circumstances and relevant factors, and with a view to past and future long-term considerations. As noted, not all of the factors and considerations identified above were relevant to the Fund, nor did the Board consider any one of them to be determinative. With respect to the factors that are relevant, the Board's decision to approve the contracts reflects its determination that, based upon the information previously requested and supplied, Federated's proposal to establish and manage the Fund, and its past performance and actions in providing services to other mutual funds, provide a satisfactory basis to support the business decision to continue the existing arrangements. Annual Shareholder Report

20

Voting Proxies on Fund Portfolio Securities

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies, if any, relating to securities held in the Fund's portfolio, as well as a report on “Form N-PX” of how the Fund voted any such proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, are available, without charge and upon request, by calling 1-800-341-7400. These materials are also available at the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov.

Quarterly Portfolio Schedule

Each Fund files with the SEC a complete schedule of its portfolio holdings, as of the close of the first and third quarters of its fiscal year, on “Form N-Q.” These filings are available on the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. (Call 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the operation of the Public Reference Room.)

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The Fund is not a bank deposit or obligation, is not guaranteed by any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. Investment in the Fund involves investment risk, including the possible loss of principal.

This Report is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only when preceded or accompanied by the Fund's Confidential Private Offering Memorandum, which contains facts concerning its objective and policies, management fees, expenses and other information.

Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund
Federated Investors Funds
4000 Ericsson Drive
Warrendale, PA 15086-7561

Contact us at FederatedInvestors.com
or call 1-800-341-7400.

Federated Securities Corp., Distributor

Cusip 31415N103

Q450320 (5/10)

Federated is a registered mark of Federated Investors, Inc.
2010 Federated Investors, Inc.

Item 2.                      Code of Ethics

(a) As of the end of the period covered by this report, the registrant has adopted a code of ethics (the "Section 406 Standards for Investment Companies - Ethical Standards for Principal Executive and Financial Officers") that applies to the registrant's Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer; the registrant's Principal Financial Officer also serves as the Principal Accounting Officer.

(c) Not Applicable

(d) Not Applicable

(e) Not Applicable

(f)(3) The registrant hereby undertakes to provide any person, without charge, upon request, a copy of the code of ethics.  To request a copy of the code of ethics, contact the registrant at 1-800-341-7400, and ask for a copy of the Section 406 Standards for Investment Companies - Ethical Standards for Principal Executive and Financial Officers.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert

The registrant's Board has determined that each of the following members of the Board's Audit Committee is an “audit committee financial expert,” and is "independent," for purposes of this Item:   Nicholas P. Constantakis, Charles F. Mansfield, Jr. and Thomas M. O’Neill.

Item 4.                      Principal Accountant Fees and Services

(a)           Audit Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2010 - $28,500

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

(b)                      Audit-Related Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2010 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2009 - NA

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and NA respectively.

(c)                       Tax Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2010 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and NA respectively.

(d)                      All Other Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2010 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and NA respectively.

(e)(1)                      Audit Committee Policies regarding Pre-approval of Services.

The Audit Committee is required to pre-approve audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditor in order to assure that the provision of such services do not impair the auditor’s independence.  Unless a type of service to be provided by the independent auditor has received general pre-approval, it will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.  Any proposed services exceeding pre-approved cost levels will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

Certain services have the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee.  The term of the general pre-approval is 12 months from the date of pre-approval, unless the Audit Committee specifically provides for a different period.  The Audit Committee will annually review the services that may be provided by the independent auditor without obtaining specific pre-approval from the Audit Committee and may grant general pre-approval for such services.  The Audit Committee will revise the list of general pre-approved services from time to time, based on subsequent determinations.  The Audit Committee will not delegate its responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the independent auditor to management.

The Audit Committee has delegated pre-approval authority to its Chairman.  The Chairman will report any pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.  The Committee will designate another member with such pre-approval authority when the Chairman is unavailable.

AUDIT SERVICES

The annual Audit services engagement terms and fees will be subject to the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee.  The Audit Committee must approve any changes in terms, conditions and fees resulting from changes in audit scope, registered investment company (RIC) structure or other matters.

In addition to the annual Audit services engagement specifically approved by the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval for other Audit Services, which are those services that only the independent auditor reasonably can provide.  The Audit Committee has pre-approved certain Audit services, all other Audit services must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

AUDIT-RELATED SERVICES

Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the Company’s financial statements or that are traditionally performed by the independent auditor.  The Audit Committee believes that the provision of Audit-related services does not impair the independence of the auditor, and has pre-approved certain Audit-related services, all other Audit-related services must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

TAX SERVICES

The Audit Committee believes that the independent auditor can provide Tax services to the Company such as tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice without impairing the auditor’s independence.  However, the Audit Committee will not permit the retention of the independent auditor in connection with a transaction initially recommended by the independent auditor, the purpose of which may be tax avoidance and the tax treatment of which may not be supported in the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations.  The Audit Committee has pre-approved certain Tax services, all Tax services involving large and complex transactions must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

ALL OTHER SERVICES

With respect to the provision of services other than audit, review or attest services the pre-approval requirement is waived if:

(1)   The aggregate amount of all such services provided constitutes no more than five percent of the total amount of revenues paid by the registrant, the registrant’s adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant to its accountant during the fiscal year in which the services are provided;

(2)   Such services were not recognized by the registrant, the registrant’s adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant  at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services; and

(3)   Such services are promptly brought to the attention of the Audit Committee of the issuer and approved prior to the completion of the audit by the Audit Committee or by one or more members of the Audit Committee who are members of the board of directors to whom authority to grant such approvals has been delegated by the Audit Committee.

The Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to those permissible non-audit services classified as All Other services that it believes are routine and recurring services, and would not impair the independence of the auditor.

The SEC’s rules and relevant guidance should be consulted to determine the precise definitions of prohibited non-audit services and the applicability of exceptions to certain of the prohibitions.

PRE-APPROVAL FEE LEVELS

Pre-approval fee levels for all services to be provided by the independent auditor will be established annually by the Audit Committee.  Any proposed services exceeding these levels will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

PROCEDURES

Requests or applications to provide services that require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Audit Committee by both the independent auditor and the Principal Accounting Officer and/or Internal Auditor, and must include a joint statement as to whether, in their view, the request or application is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

(e)(2)                      Percentage of services identified in items 4(b) through 4(d) that were approved by the registrants audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X:

4(b)

Fiscal year ended 2010 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

Percentage of services provided to the registrants investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrants audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and NA respectively.

4(c)

Fiscal year ended 2010 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

Percentage of services provided to the registrants investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrants audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and NA respectively.

4(d)

Fiscal year ended 2010 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2009 – NA

Percentage of services provided to the registrants investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrants audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and NA respectively.

(f)   NA

(g)   Non-Audit Fees billed to the registrant, the registrant’s investment adviser, and certain entities controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser:

Fiscal year ended 2010 - $43,070

Fiscal year ended 2009 - NA

(h)                      The registrant’s Audit Committee has considered that the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

Item 5.                      Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

Not Applicable

Item 6.                      Schedule of Investments

Not Applicable

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not Applicable

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not Applicable

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

Not Applicable

Item 10.                      Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

Not Applicable

Item 11.                                Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s President and Treasurer have concluded that the

registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-3(c) under the Act) are effective in design and operation and are sufficient to form the basis of the certifications required by Rule 30a-(2) under the Act, based on their evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures within 90 days of the filing date of this report on Form N-CSR.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) during the last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12.                                Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Registrant	Federated Core Trust III
By	/S/ Richard A. Novak
	Richard A. Novak, Principal Financial Officer
Date	May 17, 2010
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By	/S/ J. Christopher Donahue
	J. Christopher Donahue, Principal Executive Officer
Date	May 17, 2010
By	/S/ Richard A. Novak
	Richard A. Novak, Principal Financial Officer
Date	May 17, 2010