Eaton Vance Launches Municipal Opportunities Fund

BOSTON, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV), announced today the launch of Eaton Vance Municipal Opportunities Fund (Class A: EMOAX and Class I: EMOIX) (the Fund), a new mutual fund that employs an opportunistic approach to investing in municipal obligations, seeking to maximize after-tax total return.

The Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in municipal obligations the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. The Fund may invest without limit in obligations the interest from which is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund may invest in obligations of any duration, and may invest up to 50% of its net assets in obligations rated below investment grade. Up to 20% of the Fund's net assets may be invested in taxable debt obligations, including, but not limited to, taxable municipal obligations and obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities.  

The Fund's portfolio management team consists of Cynthia J. Clemson, Thomas M. Metzold, William H. Ahern, Craig R. Brandon and Adam A. Weigold.    

"The Fund seeks to leverage our group's credit analysis and yield curve positioning insights, and to take advantage of supply/demand imbalances we identify," said Metzold, co-director of municipal investments for Eaton Vance. "Our extensive municipal research capabilities and experienced team position us to identify market inefficiencies and exploit special opportunities wherever they may exist across the municipal marketplace."  

Eaton Vance intends to limit the Fund's asset size to approximately $1.0 billion to maximize investment flexibility.

"This Fund seeks to provide municipal investors with the opportunity to maximize after-tax total return by investing across the entire municipal market with limited duration, sector or credit quality constraints," said Clemson, co-director of municipal investments for Eaton Vance.  "By enhancing investment flexibility and limiting the size of the Fund, we hope to deliver a performance advantage over competing municipal funds."

Eaton Vance is one of the oldest investment management firms in the United States, with a history dating to 1924. Eaton Vance and its affiliates managed $203.0 billion in assets as of April 30, 2011, offering individuals and institutions a broad array of investment strategies and wealth management solutions. The Company's long record of providing exemplary service and attractive returns through a variety of market conditions has made Eaton Vance the investment manager of choice for many of today's most discerning investors. For more information about Eaton Vance, visit www.eatonvance.com.

About Risk:  An imbalance in supply and demand in the municipal market may result in valuation uncertainties and greater volatility, less liquidity, widening credit spreads and a lack of price transparency in the market. There generally is limited public information about municipal issuers. As interest rates rise, the value of certain income investments is likely to decline. Investments in income securities may be affected by changes in the creditworthiness of the issuer and are subject to the risk of nonpayment of principal and interest.  The value of income securities also may decline because of real or perceived concerns about the issuer's ability to make principal and interest payments. Investments rated below investment grade (typically referred to as "junk") are generally subject to greater price volatility and illiquidity than higher-rated investments. Derivative instruments can be used to take both long and short positions, be highly volatile, result in economic leverage (which can magnify losses), and involve risks in addition to the risks of the underlying instrument on which the derivative is based, such as counterparty, correlation and liquidity risk. If a counterparty is unable to honor its commitments, the value of Fund shares may decline and/or the Fund could experience delays in the return of collateral or other assets held by the counterparty. While certain U.S. government-sponsored agencies may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. No Fund is a complete investment program and you may lose money investing in a Fund. The Fund may engage in other investment practices that may involve additional risks and you should review the Fund prospectus for a complete description.

Before investing, investors should consider carefully the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of a mutual fund. This and other important information is contained in the prospectus or summary prospectus, which can be obtained from a financial advisor. Prospective investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Mutual fund shares are not insured by the FDIC and are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, any depository institution. Shares are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of principal invested.

The Fund is distributed by Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc., Two International Place, Boston, MA 02110.

SOURCE Eaton Vance Management