Eaton Vance Dividend Builder AEVTMX

Morningstar Rating

Fund Research and Analysis

by Christopher Davis

Eaton Vance Dividend Builder is moving closer to the mainstream, but it still requires acceptance of its quirks.

This offering recently ditched a provision in its prospectus requiring it to invest 25% of its portfolio in utilities stocks. The mandate Read more

Kudos

Current comanager has had success at this offering and at other large-cap funds.

Attractive expense ratio for a front-load large-cap fund.

Yield focus makes it an attractive choice for income-oriented stock investors. Read more

Risks

Heavy telecom and utilities stakes make it vulnerable to sell-offs in those sectors.

Focus on dividend yield means the fund is likely to look sluggish when lower-quality names rally.

With about 30% of its assets invested overseas, the fund is more exposed to currency fluctuations and could overlap with other holdings in an investors' portfolio. Read more

Strategy

This fund's managers have historically looked for utilities and telecom companies with strong balance sheets and high free-cash-flow yields, with the potential to grow their dividend payments over time. Read more

Management

Judy Saryan took over management of the fund in March 1999. Saryan is also a comanager on Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Dividend Income EADIX. Charlie Gaffney, a former analyst covering utilities and energy stocks, was promoted to comanager in June 2007. Read more

Inside Scoop

This fund is undergoing significant changes. Eaton Vance scrapped its utilities-focused mandate on Aug. 15, 2007, and it now looks across sectors for companies with growing Read more

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