MutualFundWire.com: Eaton Vance Taps Armored Wolf for its New Fund
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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Eaton Vance Taps Armored Wolf for its New Fund


Eaton Vance officials on Thursday unveiled the Eaton Vance Commodity Strategy Fund. Aliso Viejo, California-based Armored Wolf LLC is the sub-adviser.

This marks the first time that Eaton Vance has hired a sub-adviser on the fixed income side, according to Eaton Vance spokesperson Robyn Tice.

Armored Wolf is led by chief investment officer and managing director John Brynjolfsson, who spent 19 years of his career at Pimco.

Boston-based Eaton Vance is offering the fund in three share classes: Class A shares come with an expense ratio of 150 basis points, C shares with 225 bps and I shares with 125 bps.
Company Press Release

BOSTON, April 8, 2010 – Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV), announced today the launch of Eaton Vance Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeking total return primarily through exposure to commodities-related investments backed by long and short positions in fixed income securities. The Fund utilizes a strategy that seeks broad-based commodity exposure and incremental alpha sourced primarily from three active strategies. The Fund initially seeks to generate returns comparable to the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return (“Benchmark Index”) with moderate volatility around the Index. Initially, the Fund’s alpha versus the Benchmark Index is expected to come primarily from commodity-linked derivative instruments, global inflation-linked bonds, and emerging markets bonds.

Eaton Vance Management is the investment adviser for the Fund and Armored Wolf, LLC has been engaged as investment sub-adviser. John B. Brynjolfsson, chief investment officer and a managing director of Armored Wolf, LLC, co-manages the Fund. Mr. Brynjolfsson spent 19 years of his career at PIMCO, where he helped launch and grow the firm’s real return platform while serving as a portfolio manager for several of the firm’s mutual funds, including a commodity strategy fund which became the largest in its class.

“John and his team at Armored Wolf bring extensive expertise in managing commodities-related investments to the management of the Eaton Vance Commodity Strategy Fund,” said Payson Swaffield, chief income investment officer at Eaton Vance. “John is regarded as one of the leading authorities on commodity-based and real return investing. As the architect and portfolio manager of a commodity strategy mutual fund through December 31, 2007, John has significant experience managing within an asset class that may offer valuable diversification benefits for investors.”

Swaffield continued “Record U.S. borrowing has driven fears that higher inflation could return. We believe that by investing in a fund which is designed to provide broad-based exposure to commodities, investors may be able to protect their purchasing power during a period of higher inflation. Additionally, while commodities on their own can be volatile investments, adding commodities exposure to a diversified portfolio may help investors reduce the overall volatility of their portfolios while improving return potential.”

"Rising inflation can negatively impact investors who have not positioned their portfolios appropriately. Commodities are among the major asset classes that possess the ability to provide some inflation protection for investors,” said John Brynjolfsson, chief investment officer and a managing director of Armored Wolf, LLC.

The Fund will be co-managed by Mr. Brynjolfsson and Paul Dickson, a managing director and emerging markets fixed income portfolio manager for Armored Wolf, LLC.

The Fund offers three classes of shares for purchase, Class A (EACSX), Class C (ECCSX) and Class I (EICSX).

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 $161.6 billion in assets as of January 31, 2010, offering individuals and institutions a broad array of investment products 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.

Armored Wolf, LLC is an investment management firm pursuing a global macro strategy emphasizing real assets. The firm is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. Armored Wolf's global macro strategy seeks to deliver positive risk-adjusted returns. For more information about Armored Wolf, visit www.armoredwolf.com.



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