EATON VANCE MUTUAL FUNDS TRUST - Form 485BPOS SEC filing


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Parametric Volatility Risk Premium - Defensive Fund

Class I Shares - EIVPX

Prospectus Dated
June 1, 2023

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is truthful or complete.  Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Information in this Prospectus

 

Page

 

Page

Fund Summary

2

Investment Objective & Principal Policies and Risks

7

Investment Objective

2

Management and Organization

14

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

2

Valuing Shares

14

Portfolio Turnover

2

Purchasing Shares

15

Principal Investment Strategies

2

Redeeming Shares

18

Principal Risks

3

Shareholder Account Features

19

Performance

5

Potential Conflicts of Interest

21

Management

6

Additional Tax Information

23

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

6

Financial Highlights

25

Tax Information

6

 

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

6

 

 

This Prospectus contains important information about the Fund and the services
available to shareholders. Please save it for reference.




Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The Fund's investment objective is total return.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund.  Investors may also pay commissions or other fees to their financial intermediary, which are not reflected below.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Class I

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lower of net asset value at time of purchase or redemption)

None

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Class I

Management Fees

0.40%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

None

Other Expenses

0.09%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.49%

Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods.  The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the operating expenses remain the same and that any expense reimbursement arrangement remains in place for the contractual period.  Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class I shares

$50

$157

$274

$616

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” the portfolio).  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.  These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was  28%  of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund pursues its objective by investing in a base portfolio that is generally comprised of an approximately equal mix of equity securities and money market instruments. The Fund writes (sells) call options on the S&P 500® Index, a broad-based U.S. stock market index, and/or a substitute for the S&P 500® Index (the “S&P 500® Index” or the “Index”) on substantially the full value of the Fund’s equity securities. The Fund also writes (sells) put options on the S&P 500® Index or a substitute for such Index on substantially the full value of the Fund’s money market instrument holdings.  

The Fund employs a top-down, disciplined and systematic investment process that seeks to take advantage of the volatility risk premium, i.e., the tendency for volatility priced into an option to be higher, on average, than the volatility actually experienced on the securities underlying the option. Actual, or realized, options volatility may be higher or lower than anticipated. The Fund will generally write short tenor call and put options, typically with initial maturity of six weeks or less, and that are “out of the money” at the time of the initiation. That is, the exercise price of the call options sold generally will be above the current price level of the Index when written and the exercise price of put options sold generally will be below the current price level of the Index when written. Put and call options will normally: be held until expiration when they will expire worthless; be settled by a cash payment from the Fund; or be closed through an offsetting position. The Fund’s expected performance is defensive when compared to a long-only equity portfolio. The investment process is periodically reevaluated and may be adjusted to ensure that the process is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and strategies.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund2Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



 

The Fund generally seeks to implement its options strategy so that its options contracts qualify as “section 1256 contracts” as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).  Under the Code, capital gains and losses on section 1256 contracts are generally recognized annually based on the marked-to-market value of open options positions at tax year end, with gains or losses treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term, regardless of the holding period.  The Fund intends to limit the overlap between its stock holdings and the S&P 500® Index to less than 70% on an ongoing basis in an effort to avoid being subject to the “straddle rules” under federal income tax law.  As discussed below, straddles generally are subject to disadvantageous treatment under the Code.

The Fund’s equity investments consist of a diversified portfolio of common stocks that seeks to approximate the pretax total return performance of the S&P 500® Index. The Fund’s money market instrument investments consist primarily of U.S. Treasury securities with a maximum remaining maturity of one year or less and may also include high grade investments with effective maturities of one year or less, including commercial paper issued by banks and corporations.  The Fund may also invest in an affiliated investment company that invests in money market instruments.  High-grade instruments are rated A or higher by a rating agency or deemed to be of comparable quality by the investment adviser.  The Fund’s asset allocation mix between equities and money market instruments is rebalanced periodically.  The Fund may also lend its securities.

In selecting the Fund’s equity investments, the portfolio managers employ a disciplined and systematic investment process to invest in a diversified portfolio of common stocks with risk and return characteristics in aggregate similar to those of the S&P 500® Index.  The Fund may engage in a systematic program of tax-loss harvesting (i.e., periodically selling positions that have depreciated in value to realize capital losses that can be used to offset capital gains realized by the Fund) in its equity portfolio.

Principal Risks

Market Risk.  The value of investments held by the Fund may increase or decrease in response to social, economic, political, financial, public health crises or other disruptive events (whether real, expected or perceived) in the U.S. and global markets and include events such as war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and may exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund. The frequency and magnitude of resulting changes in the value of the Fund’s investments cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Fund may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in reaction to changing market conditions.  Monetary and/or fiscal actions taken by U.S. or foreign governments to stimulate or stabilize the global economy may not be effective and could lead to high market volatility.  No active trading market may exist for certain investments held by the Fund, which may impair the ability of the Fund to sell or to realize the current valuation of such investments in the event of the need to liquidate such assets.

Equity Securities Risk. The value of equity securities and related instruments may decline in response to adverse changes in the economy or the economic outlook; deterioration in investor sentiment; interest rate, currency, and commodity price fluctuations; adverse geopolitical, social or environmental developments; issuer and sector-specific considerations; unexpected trading activity among retail investors; or other factors. Market conditions may affect certain types of stocks to a greater extent than other types of stocks.  If the stock market declines in value, the value of the Fund’s equity securities will also likely decline.  Although prices can rebound, there is no assurance that values will return to previous levels.

Option Strategy Risk. The Fund’s option strategy seeks to take advantage of, and its effectiveness is dependent on, a general excess of option price-implied volatilities for the S&P 500® Index over realized index volatilities. This market observation is often attributed to an excess of natural buyers over natural sellers of S&P 500® Index options. There can be no assurance that this imbalance will apply in the future over specific periods or generally. It is possible that the imbalance could decrease or be eliminated by actions of investors, including the Fund, that employ strategies seeking to take advantage of the imbalance, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

S&P 500® Index Risk.  Calls and puts written by the Fund will be based on the S&P 500® Index or a substitute for the S&P 500® Index.  In the case of the S&P 500® Index, returns realized on the Fund’s call and put positions over each roll cycle will be determined primarily by the performance of the S&P 500® Index.  If the S&P 500® Index appreciates or depreciates sufficiently over the period to offset the net premium received, the Fund will incur a net loss.  A substitute for the S&P 500® Index represents share interests in an exchange-traded fund that seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P 500® Index.  The value of the index substitute is subject to change as the values of the component securities fluctuate.  The performance of the index substitute may not exactly match the performance of the S&P 500® Index.  Certain index substitute options do not qualify as “section 1256 contracts” and disposition of such index substitute options utilized will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses, depending on the holding period.  An index substitute


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund3Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



reflects the underlying risks of the S&P 500® Index and index substitute options are subject to the same risks as S&P 500® Index options.

Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other investments. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the security, instrument, index, currency, commodity, economic indicator or event underlying a derivative (“reference instrument”), due to failure of a counterparty or due to tax or regulatory constraints. Derivatives may create leverage in the Fund, which represents a non-cash exposure to the underlying reference instrument.  Leverage can increase both the risk and return potential of the Fund.  Derivatives risk may be more significant when derivatives are used to enhance return or as a substitute for a cash investment position, rather than solely to hedge the risk of a position held by the Fund. Use of derivatives involves the exercise of specialized skill and judgment, and a transaction may be unsuccessful in whole or in part because of market behavior or unexpected events. Changes in the value of a derivative (including one used for hedging) may not correlate perfectly with the underlying reference instrument. Derivative instruments traded in over-the-counter markets may be difficult to value, may be illiquid, and may be subject to wide swings in valuation caused by changes in the value of the underlying reference instrument. If a derivative’s counterparty is unable to honor its commitments, the value of Fund shares may decline and the Fund could experience delays in (or be unable to achieve) the return of collateral or other assets held by the counterparty. The loss on derivative transactions may substantially exceed the initial investment.  A derivative investment also involves the risks relating to the reference instrument underlying the investment.

Leverage Risk.  Certain Fund transactions may give rise to leverage.  Leverage can result from a non-cash exposure to an underlying reference instrument.  Leverage can increase both the risk and return potential of the Fund.  The use of leverage may cause the Fund to maintain liquid assets or liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements. Leverage may cause the Fund’s share price to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged, as certain types of leverage may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. The loss on leveraged investments may substantially exceed the initial investment.

U.S. Treasury Securities.  U.S. Treasury securities (“Treasury Securities”) are obligations of the U.S. Treasury that differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance. Treasury Securities include any security or agreement collateralized or otherwise secured by Treasury Securities. As a result of their high credit quality and market liquidity, U.S. Treasury securities generally provide a lower current return than obligations of other issuers.

Money Market Instrument Risk. Money market instruments may be adversely affected by market and economic events, such as a sharp rise in prevailing short-term interest rates; adverse developments in the banking industry, which issues or guarantees many money market instruments; adverse economic, political or other developments affecting issuers of money market instruments; changes in the credit quality of issuers; and default by a counterparty.

Interest Rate Risk. In general, the value of income securities will fluctuate based on changes in interest rates. The value of these securities is likely to increase when interest rates fall and decline when interest rates rise.  Duration measures the time-weighted expected cash flows of a fixed-income security, while maturity refers to the amount of time until a fixed-income security matures.  Generally, securities with longer durations or maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates than securities with shorter durations or maturities, causing them to be more volatile.  Conversely, fixed-income securities with shorter durations or maturities will be less volatile but may provide lower returns than fixed-income securities with longer durations or maturities. In a rising interest rate environment, the duration of income securities that have the ability to be prepaid or called by the issuer may be extended. In a declining interest rate environment, the proceeds from prepaid or maturing instruments may have to be reinvested at a lower interest rate.  Certain instruments held by the Fund may pay an interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), which is the average offered rate for various maturities of short-term loans between certain major international banks. LIBOR historically has been used throughout global banking and financial industries to determine interest rates for a variety of financial instruments (such as debt instruments and derivatives) and borrowing arrangements. The ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, the administrator of LIBOR, ceased publishing certain LIBOR settings on December 31, 2021, and is expected to cease publishing the remaining LIBOR settings on June 30, 2023. Although the transition process away from LIBOR has become increasingly well defined, the impact on certain debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments that utilize LIBOR remains uncertain. The phase-out of LIBOR may result in, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments based on LIBOR and changes in the value of such instruments.

Credit Risk. Investments in fixed income and other debt obligations (referred to below as “debt instruments”) are subject to the risk of non-payment of scheduled principal and interest. Changes in economic conditions or other circumstances may reduce the capacity of the party obligated to make principal and interest payments on such instruments and may lead to defaults. Such non-payments and defaults may reduce the value of Fund shares and income distributions. The value of


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund4Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



debt instruments also may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability to make principal and interest payments. In addition, the credit ratings of debt instruments may be lowered if the financial condition of the party obligated to make payments with respect to such instruments deteriorates.  In the event of bankruptcy of the issuer of a debt instrument, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of any collateral securing the instrument. In order to enforce its rights in the event of a default, bankruptcy or similar situation, the Fund may be required to retain legal or similar counsel, which may increase the Fund’s operating expenses and adversely affect net asset value.

Liquidity Risk.  The Fund is exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker or trading partner, large position size, market conditions, or legal restrictions impair its ability to sell particular investments or to sell them at advantageous market prices.  Consequently, the Fund may have to accept a lower price to sell an investment or continue to hold it or keep the position open, sell other investments to raise cash or abandon an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. These effects may be exacerbated during times of financial or political stress.

Tax Risk.  Only options on certain designated qualified trading markets qualify for treatment as “section 1256 contracts,” on which capital gains and losses are generally treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term, regardless of holding period.  To implement its options program most effectively, the Fund may sell index options that do not qualify for treatment as “section 1256 contracts.”  Gains or losses on index options not qualifying as “section 1256 contracts” under the Code would be realized upon disposition, lapse or settlement of the positions, and, generally, would be treated as short-term gains or losses.  If positions held by the Fund were treated as “straddles” for federal income tax purposes, dividends on such positions would not constitute qualified dividend income subject to favorable income tax treatment.  Gains or losses on positions in a straddle are subject to special (and generally disadvantageous) tax rules.  

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a possible delay in recovery of the loaned securities or a possible loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails financially.  The Fund could also lose money if the value of the collateral decreases.

Rules-Based Management Risks. The sub-adviser uses proprietary investment techniques and analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, seeking to achieve its investment objective while minimizing exposure to security-specific risk. The strategy seeks to take advantage of certain quantitative and behavioral market characteristics identified by the sub-adviser, utilizing a rules-based process and systematic rebalancing. A systematic investment process is dependent on the sub-adviser’s skill in developing and maintaining that process. The Fund’s strategy has not been independently tested or validated, and there can be no assurance that it will achieve the desired results.

General Fund Investing Risks. The Fund is not a complete investment program and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. It is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.  The Fund is designed to be a long-term investment vehicle and is not suited for short-term trading.  Investors in the Fund should have a long-term investment perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.  Purchase and redemption activities by Fund shareholders may impact the management of the Fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective(s).  In addition, the redemption by one or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders of their holdings in the Fund could have an adverse impact on the remaining shareholders in the Fund.  The Fund relies on various service providers, including the investment adviser and sub-adviser, if applicable, in its operations and is susceptible to operational, information security and related events (such as public health crises, cyber or hacking attacks) that may affect the service providers or the services that they provide to the Fund.  An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund5Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



 

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual total return compares with that of broad-based securities market indices and a blended index.  Effective April 29, 2022, the Fund’s Institutional Class shares were redesignated as Class I shares. Past performance (both before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.  The Fund’s performance reflects the effects of expense reductions. Absent these reductions, performance would have been lower. Updated Fund performance information can be obtained by visiting www.eatonvance.com.

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Calendar year-by-year total return (Class I)

Year

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Year Total Return

-3.08%

15.79%

4.73%

17.97%

-8.65%

During the period from December 31, 2017 through December 31, 2022, the highest quarterly total return was 10.58% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -16.08% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.  The year-to-date total return through the end of the most recent calendar quarter (December 31, 2022 to March 31, 2023) was 5.48%.

Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2022

One Year

Five Years

Life of Fund

Return Before Taxes

-8.65%

4.84%

5.72%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

-10.01%

4.30%

5.24%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

-3.73%

3.88%

4.64%

Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Indexsm (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

-11.37%

2.73%

3.93%

S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

-18.11%

9.42%

11.01%

ICE BofAML 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

1.46%

1.26%

1.21%

Blended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)*

-8.25%

5.73%

6.40%

*The Blended Index consists of 50% S&P 500® Index and 50% ICE BofAML 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index, rebalanced monthly.

The Fund commenced operations on February 9, 2017.  Effective April 29, 2022, the Fund’s Institutional Class shares were redesignated as Class I shares.  ICE® BofAML® indices are not for redistribution or other uses; provided “as is,” without warranties, and with no liability. Eaton Vance has prepared this report and ICE Data Indices, LLC does not endorse it, or guarantee, review, or endorse Eaton Vance’s products. BofAML® is a licensed registered trademark of Bank of America Corporation in the United States and other countries. S&P Dow Jones Indices are a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P DJI”) and have been licensed for use.  S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of S&P DJI; Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); S&P DJI, Dow Jones and their respective affiliates do not sponsor, endorse, sell or promote the Fund, will not have any liability with respect thereto and do not have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P Dow Jones Indices. Investors cannot invest directly in an Index.  

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder’s tax situation and the actual characterization of distributions, and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to shareholders who hold shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. Return After Taxes on Distributions for a period may be the same as Return Before Taxes for that period because no taxable distributions were made during that period. Also, Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be greater than or equal to Return Before Taxes and/or Return After Taxes on Distributions for the same period because of losses realized on the sale of Fund shares.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund6Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



 

Management

Investment Adviser.  Eaton Vance Management (“Eaton Vance”).

Investment Sub-Adviser.  Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”).

Portfolio Managers

Thomas Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Parametric, has managed the Fund since its inception in February 2017.

Thomas C. Seto, Head of Investment Management at Parametric, has managed the Fund since its inception in February 2017.

Alex Zweber, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at Parametric, has managed the Fund since April 2021.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business.  You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares either through your financial intermediary or directly from the Fund either by writing to the Fund, P.O. Box 534439, Pittsburgh, PA  15253-4439, or by calling 1-800-260-0761.  The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000,000 (waived in certain circumstances).  There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

Tax Information

If your shares are held in a taxable account, the Fund’s distributions will be taxed to you as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are exempt from taxation.  If your shares are held in a tax-advantaged account, you will generally be taxed only upon withdrawals from the account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund’s shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (collectively, “financial intermediaries”), the Fund, its principal underwriter and its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund7Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Investment Objective & Principal Policies and Risks

The investment objective and principal investment policies and risks of the Fund are described in its Fund Summary.  Set forth below is additional information about such policies and risks, as well as information about other types of investments and practices in which the Fund may engage from time to time.  See also “Strategies and Risks” in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Definitions.  As used herein, the following terms have the indicated meaning: “1940 Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; “1933 Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; “ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended; and “investment adviser” means the Fund’s investment adviser but if the Fund is sub-advised, it refers to the sub-adviser(s) providing day-to-day management with respect to the investments or strategies discussed.

Option Strategy.  The call and put options employed by the Fund reference the performance of the S&P 500® Index, a broad-based U.S. stock market index.  Premiums earned and the structure of the Fund’s options positions will be determined by market volatility levels and other options valuation factors reflected in the market pricing of S&P 500® Index options at the time the positions are entered into. Returns realized by call and put positions over each roll cycle will be determined by the performance of the S&P 500® Index over such period. If the S&P 500® Index appreciates or depreciates sufficiently over the period to offset the net premium received, a net loss will result.

Amounts by which written call options and put options are out-of-the-money may differ over time, as may the notional value of the call option and put option positions. The Fund seeks to maintain over time a substantially consistent “delta,” or equity market exposure, in the call options and put options it writes. Call and put options will generally be written more out-of-the-money during periods in which option valuations reflect higher market volatility levels, and less out-of-the-money when implied volatilities are lower.  

Options on broad-based equity indices that trade on a national securities exchange registered with the SEC or a domestic board of trade designated as a contract market by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission generally qualify for treatment as “section 1256 contracts” as defined in the Code. Under the Code, capital gains and losses on “section 1256 contracts” are generally recognized annually based on a marking-to-market of open positions at tax year-end, with gains or losses treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term, regardless of holding period.

In addition to S&P 500® Index options, the Fund may utilize options based on a substitute for the S&P 500® Index.  The index substitute represents share interests in an exchange-traded fund that seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P 500® Index or have similar risk and return characteristics.  The value of the index substitute is subject to change as the values of the component securities fluctuate. The index substitute may not exactly match the performance of the S&P 500® Index due to cash balances, differences in securities weightings, expenses and other factors.  The index substitute options may not qualify as “section 1256 contracts” and disposition of such non-qualifying index substitute options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.  An index substitute reflects the underlying risks of the S&P 500® Index and the index substitute options are subject to the risks of S&P 500® Index options.

An index call option is a contract that entitles the purchaser to receive from the seller a cash payment equal to the amount of any appreciation in the value of the reference index over a fixed price (the strike price of the call option) as of the valuation date of the option.  Upon entering into the position, a premium is paid by the purchaser to the seller. When an index call option is exercised, the seller is required to deliver an amount of cash determined by the excess, if any, of the value of the index at contract termination over the strike price of the option. A call option on an individual security, such as a share of an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that serves as an index substitute, is a contract that entitles the purchaser to buy the security at a fixed price (the strike price of the call option) on or before the valuation date of the option in exchange for the payment of an upfront premium by the purchaser to the seller. When an individual call option is exercised, the seller is required to deliver the underlying security.  If the option seller does not own the underlying security it may be required to purchase the security to meet the delivery requirements of the contract.

An index put option is a contract that entitles the purchaser to receive from the seller a cash payment equal to the amount of any depreciation in the value of the reference index below a fixed price (the strike price of the call option) as of the valuation date of the option. Upon entering into the position, a premium is paid by the purchaser to the seller. When an index put option is exercised, the seller is required to deliver an amount of cash determined by the shortfall, if any, of the value of the index at contract termination below the strike price of the option. A put option on an individual security, such as a share of an ETF that serves as an index substitute, is a contract that entitles the purchaser to sell the security at a fixed price (the strike price of the put option) on or before the valuation date of the option in exchange for the payment of an upfront premium by the purchaser to the seller. When an individual put option is exercised, the seller is required to purchase the underlying security.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund8Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Amounts payable at settlement by a seller of index call and put options will equal the total payments made with respect to written calls and puts less the total payments received with respect to purchased calls and puts. If written calls and puts expire worthless, the Fund will neither pay nor receive settlement proceeds. If written calls or puts expire in-the-money, the Fund will be required to pay net proceeds at settlement equal to the difference between the amounts payable on written calls and amounts receivable, if any, on the associated purchased calls and puts. If purchased calls or puts expire in-the-money, the net amount payable by the Fund will be capped at an amount defined by the difference in exercise price of the written and purchased options positions.

The Fund may engage in transactions in exchange-traded and over-the-counter (“OTC”) options.  OTC options involve risk that the issuer or counterparty will fail to perform its contractual obligations. Participants in these markets are typically not subject to the same credit evaluation and regulatory oversight as are members of “exchange-based” markets. By engaging in option transactions in these markets, the Fund may take a credit risk with regard to parties with which it trades and also may bear the risk of settlement default.

The Fund will sell only “covered” call and put options. A written call option is considered covered if the Fund maintains with its custodian assets determined to be liquid in an amount at least equal to the exercise price of the option (or, in the case of options on an index substitute, owns an equivalent number of shares of the index substitute as those subject to the call). A written put option similarly is considered covered if the Fund maintains with its custodian assets determined to be liquid in an amount at least equal to the exercise price of the option. The Fund may also cover its options positions to the extent otherwise permitted by federal securities laws.  

Options positions are marked to market daily. The value of options is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the securities represented in the S&P 500® Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market.

The Fund intends to limit the overlap between its stock holdings and the S&P 500® to less than 70% on an ongoing basis in an effort to avoid being subject to the “straddle rules” under federal income tax law. In general, investment positions will be offsetting if there is a substantial diminution in the risk of loss from holding one position by reason of holding one or more other positions. The Fund expects that the index call options it writes will not be considered straddles because its stock holdings will be sufficiently dissimilar from the components of the S&P 500® under applicable guidance established by the IRS. Under certain circumstances, however, the Fund may enter into options transactions or certain other investments that may constitute positions in a straddle.  

In certain market circumstances, for temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may forego implementing its option strategy.

Equity Securities.  Equity securities include: common stocks; preferred stocks, including convertible and contingent convertible preferred stocks; equity interests in trusts, partnerships, joint ventures and other unincorporated entities or enterprises; depositary receipts, rights and warrants in underlying equity interests; and other securities that are treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  The Fund cannot predict the income it might receive from equity securities because issuers generally have discretion as to the payment of any dividends or distributions.  

The value of equity securities and related instruments may decline in response to adverse changes in the economy or the economic outlook; deterioration in investor sentiment; interest rate, currency, and commodity price fluctuations; adverse geopolitical, social or environmental developments; issuer- and sector-specific considerations; unexpected trading activity among retail investors; and other factors. Market conditions may affect certain types of stocks to a greater extent than other types of stocks.  If the stock market declines, the value of Fund shares will also likely decline.  Although stock prices can rebound, there is no assurance that values will return to previous levels.

U.S. Treasury Securities.  U.S. Treasury securities (“Treasury Securities”) are obligations of the U.S. Treasury that differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance. Treasury Securities include any security or agreement collateralized or otherwise secured by Treasury Securities. As a result of their high credit quality and market liquidity, U.S. Treasury securities generally provide a lower current return than obligations of other issuers.

Maturity.  Average effective maturity is a weighted average of all the maturities of the Fund’s investments in income securities, computed by weighing each effective maturity date (which takes into account all mortgage prepayments, puts, calls and adjustable coupons) by the market value of the income security.

Interest Rate Risk.  In general, the value of income securities will fluctuate based on changes in interest rates. The value of these securities is likely to increase when interest rates fall and decline when interest rates rise.  Generally, securities with longer durations or maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates than securities with shorter durations or maturities, causing them to be more volatile.  Conversely, fixed-income securities with shorter durations or maturities will be less volatile but may provide lower returns than fixed-income securities with longer durations or maturities.  In a rising interest rate environment, the duration of income securities that have the ability to be prepaid or called by the issuer may


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund9Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



be extended.  In a declining interest rate environment, the proceeds from prepaid or maturing instruments may have to be reinvested at a lower interest rate. Certain countries and regulatory bodies may use negative interest rates as a monetary policy tool to encourage economic growth during periods of deflation. In a negative interest rate environment, debt instruments may trade at negative yields, which means the purchaser of the instrument may receive at maturity less than the total amount invested.  Changes in governmental policy, including changes in central bank monetary policy, could cause interest rates to rise rapidly, or cause investors to expect a rapid rise in interest rates. This could lead to heightened levels of interest rate, volatility and liquidity risks for the fixed income markets generally and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of the Fund's investments.

LIBOR.  The London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR is the average offered rate for various maturities of short-term loans between major international banks who are members of the British Bankers Association.  It historically has been used throughout global banking and financial industries to determine interest rates for a variety of financial instruments (such as debt instruments and derivatives) and borrowing arrangements.  In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), the United Kingdom financial regulatory body, announced a desire to phase out the use of LIBOR. The ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, the administrator of LIBOR, ceased publishing certain LIBOR settings on December 31, 2021, and is expected to cease publishing the remaining LIBOR settings on June 30, 2023. In addition, global regulators have announced that, with limited exceptions, no new LIBOR-based contracts should be entered into after 2021. Many market participants are in the process of transitioning to the use of alternative reference or benchmark rates.

Although the transition process away from LIBOR has become increasingly well-defined, the impact on certain debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments that utilize LIBOR remains uncertain.  The transition process may involve, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that continue to rely on LIBOR. The transition may also result in a change in (i) the value of certain instruments held by the Fund, (ii) the cost of temporary borrowing for the Fund, or (iii) the effectiveness of related Fund transactions such as hedges, as applicable.

Various financial industry groups have been planning for the transition away from LIBOR, but there are obstacles to converting certain longer term securities and transactions to a new benchmark. In June 2017, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of large U.S. banks working with the Federal Reserve, announced its selection of a new Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), which is intended to be a broad measure of secured overnight U.S. Treasury repo rates, as an appropriate replacement for LIBOR. Bank working groups and regulators in other countries have suggested other alternatives for their markets, including the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate (“SONIA”) in England. Both SOFR and SONIA, as well as certain other proposed replacement rates, are materially different from LIBOR, and changes in the applicable spread for financial instruments transitioning away from LIBOR need to be made to accommodate the differences. Liquid markets for newly-issued instruments that use an alternative reference rate are still developing. Consequently, there may be challenges for the Fund to enter into hedging transactions against instruments tied to alternative reference rates until a market for such hedging transactions develops.

Additionally, while many existing LIBOR-based instruments have contemplated a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative or “fallback” rate-setting methodology, there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies to replicate LIBOR. Not all existing LIBOR-based instruments have such fallback provisions. While it is expected that market participants will amend legacy financial instruments referencing LIBOR to include fallback provisions to alternative reference rates, there remains uncertainty regarding the willingness and ability of parties to add or amend such fallback provisions in legacy instruments maturing after the end of 2021, particularly with respect to legacy cash products.  Federal legislation has been enacted in the U.S. to assist with the transition away from LIBOR to new reference rates for instruments known as “tough legacy” contracts.  Although there are ongoing efforts among global government entities and other organizations to address transition-related uncertainties, the ultimate effectiveness of such efforts is not yet known.

Any effects of the transition away from LIBOR and the adoption of alternative reference rates, as well as other unforeseen effects, could result in losses to the Fund, and such effects may occur prior to the discontinuation of the remaining LIBOR settings in 2023. Furthermore, the risks associated with the discontinuation of LIBOR and transition to replacement rates may be exacerbated if an orderly transition to an alternative reference rate is not completed in a timely manner.

Credit Risk.  Investments in debt instruments are subject to the risk of non-payment of scheduled principal and interest. Changes in economic conditions or other circumstances may reduce the capacity of the party obligated to make principal and interest payments on such instruments and may lead to defaults. Such non-payments and defaults may reduce the value of Fund shares and income distributions. The value of debt instruments also may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability to make principal and interest payments. In addition, the credit ratings of debt instruments may be lowered if the financial condition of the party obligated to make payments with respect to such instruments deteriorates. In the event of bankruptcy of the issuer of a debt instrument, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of any collateral securing the instrument. In order to enforce its rights in the


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund10Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



event of a default, bankruptcy or similar situation, the Fund may be required to retain legal or similar counsel, which may increase the Fund’s operating expenses and adversely affect net asset value.  The Fund is also exposed to credit risk when it engages in certain types of derivatives transactions, such as writing credit default swaps or purchasing credit linked notes or options and when it engages in transactions that expose the Fund to counterparty risk.  See “Derivatives.”

In evaluating the quality of a particular instrument, the investment adviser (or sub-adviser, if applicable) may take into consideration, among other things, a credit rating assigned by a credit rating agency, the issuer’s financial resources and operating history, its sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, the ability of its management, its debt maturity schedules and borrowing requirements, and relative values based on anticipated cash flow, interest and asset coverage, and earnings prospects. Credit rating agencies are private services that provide ratings of the credit quality of certain investments. Credit ratings issued by rating agencies are based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the issuer’s financial condition and the rating agency’s credit analysis, if applicable, at the time of rating. As such, the rating assigned to any particular security is not necessarily a reflection of the issuer’s current financial condition. The ratings assigned are not absolute standards of credit quality and do not evaluate market risks or necessarily reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or the volatility or liquidity of the security.

For purposes of determining compliance with the Fund’s credit quality restrictions, if any, the Fund’s investment adviser (or sub-adviser, if applicable) relies primarily on the ratings assigned by credit rating agencies but may, in the case of unrated instruments, perform its own credit and investment analysis to determine an instrument’s credit quality.  A credit rating may have a modifier (such as plus, minus or a numerical modifier) to denote its relative status within the rating. The presence of a modifier does not change the security credit rating (for example, BBB- and Baa3 are within the investment grade rating) for purposes of the Fund’s investment limitations.  If an instrument is rated differently by rating agencies, the higher rating will be used for any Fund rating restrictions.

Derivatives. Generally, derivatives can be characterized as financial instruments whose performance is derived at least in part from the performance of an underlying reference instrument.  Derivative instruments may be acquired in the United States or abroad consistent with the Fund’s investment strategy and may include the various types of exchange-traded and over-the-counter (“OTC”) instruments described herein and other instruments with substantially similar characteristics and risks.  Fund obligations created pursuant to derivative instruments may give rise to leverage, which may subject the Fund to heightened risk of loss.  The Fund may invest in a derivative transaction if it is permitted to own, invest in, or otherwise have economic exposure to the reference instrument.  Depending on the type of derivative instrument and the Fund’s investment strategy, a reference instrument could be a security, instrument, index, currency, commodity, economic indicator or event (“reference instruments”).  The Fund uses derivatives to implement its options strategy.

Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks, including adverse or unexpected movements in the price of the reference instrument, and counterparty, liquidity, market, tax and leverage risks.  Certain derivatives may also be subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.  In addition, derivatives also involve the risk that changes in their value may not correlate perfectly with the assets, rates, indices or instruments they are designed to hedge or closely track.  Use of derivative instruments may cause the realization of higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed at ordinary income tax rates) than if such instruments had not been used. Success in using derivative instruments to hedge portfolio assets depends on the degree of price correlation between the derivative instruments and the hedged asset.  Imperfect correlation may be caused by several factors, including temporary price disparities among the trading markets for the derivative instrument, the reference instrument and the Fund’s assets.  To the extent that a derivative instrument is intended to hedge against an event that does not occur, the Fund may realize losses.

OTC derivative instruments involve an additional risk in that the issuer or counterparty may fail to perform its contractual obligations. Some derivative instruments are not readily marketable or may become illiquid under adverse market conditions. In addition, during periods of market volatility, an option or commodity exchange or swap execution facility or clearinghouse may suspend or limit trading in an exchange-traded derivative instrument, which may make the contract temporarily illiquid and difficult to price. Commodity exchanges may also establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract or futures option can vary from the previous day’s settlement price. Once the daily limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. This may prevent the closing out of positions to limit losses.  The ability to terminate OTC derivative instruments may depend on the cooperation of the counterparties to such contracts. For thinly traded derivative instruments, the only source of price quotations may be the selling dealer or counterparty. In addition, certain provisions of the Code limit the use of derivative instruments.   Derivatives permit the Fund to increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, to which its portfolio is exposed in much the same way as the Fund can increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, of its portfolio by making investments in specific securities.  There can be no assurance that the use of derivative instruments will benefit the Fund.

The U.S. and non-U.S. derivatives markets have undergone substantial changes in recent years as a result of changes under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) in the United States and


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund11Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



regulatory changes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions.  In particular, the Dodd-Frank Act and related regulations require many derivatives to be margined and/or cleared and traded on an exchange, expand entity registration requirements, impose business conduct requirements on counterparties, and impose other regulatory requirements that will continue to change derivatives markets as regulations are implemented. The SEC adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, which applies to the Fund’s use of derivative investments and certain financing transactions. Among other things, Rule 18f-4 requires certain funds that invest in derivative instruments beyond a specified limited amount (generally greater than 10% of a Fund's net assets) to apply a value-at-risk based limit to their use of certain derivative instruments and financing transactions and to adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program. To the extent a Fund uses derivative instruments (excluding certain currency and interest rate hedging transactions) in a limited amount (up to 10% of a Fund's net assets), it will not be subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4. In addition, to the extent that the Fund enters into reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions, the Fund may elect to either treat all of its reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions as derivatives transactions for purposes of Rule 18f-4 or comply (with respect to reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions) with the asset segregation requirements under Section 18 of the 1940 Act.  The implementation of these requirements or additional future regulation of the derivatives markets may make the use of derivatives more costly, may limit the availability or reduce the liquidity of derivatives, and may impose limits or restrictions on the counterparties with which the Fund engages in derivative transactions.  Fund management cannot predict the effects of any new governmental regulation that may be implemented, and there can be no assurance that any new government regulation will not adversely affect the Fund’s performance or ability to achieve its investment objective(s).

Counterparty Risk. A financial institution or other counterparty with whom the Fund does business (such as trading, securities lending or as a derivatives counterparty), or that underwrites, distributes or guarantees any instruments that the Fund owns or is otherwise exposed to, may decline in financial condition and become unable to honor its commitments. This could cause the value of Fund shares to decline or could delay the return or delivery of collateral or other assets to the Fund. Counterparty risk is increased for contracts with longer maturities.

Liquidity Risk.  The Fund is exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker, or legal restrictions impair the Fund’s ability to sell particular investments or close derivative positions at an advantageous market price. Trading opportunities are also more limited for securities and other instruments that are not widely held or are traded in less developed markets.  These factors may make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time. Consequently, the Fund may have to accept a lower price to sell an investment or continue to hold it or keep the position open, sell other investments to raise cash or abandon an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. It also may be more difficult to value less liquid investments.  These effects may be exacerbated during times of financial or political stress. Increased Fund redemption activity also may increase liquidity risk due to the need of the Fund to sell portfolio investments and may negatively impact Fund performance.

The Fund will not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund will have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments.  Illiquid investments mean any investments that the Fund’s investment adviser and/or sub-adviser, as applicable, reasonably expect cannot be sold or disposed of in seven calendar days or less under then-current market conditions without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.

Borrowing.   The Fund is permitted to borrow for temporary purposes (such as to satisfy redemption requests, to remain fully invested in anticipation of expected cash inflows and to settle transactions).  Any borrowings by the Fund are subject to the requirements of the 1940 Act.  Borrowings are also subject to the terms of any credit agreement between the Fund and lender(s).  Fund borrowings may be equal to as much as 331/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including such borrowings) less the Fund’s liabilities (other than borrowings).  The Fund will not purchase additional investments while outstanding borrowings exceed 5% of the value of its total assets.

In addition, the Fund will be required to maintain a specified level of asset coverage with respect to all borrowings and may be required to sell some of its holdings to reduce debt and restore coverage at times when it may not be advantageous to do so.  The rights of the lender to receive payments of interest and repayments of principal of any borrowings made by the Fund under a credit facility are senior to the rights of holders of shares with respect to the payment of dividends or upon liquidation. In the event of a default under a credit arrangement, the lenders may have the right to cause a liquidation of the collateral (i.e., sell Fund assets) and, if any such default is not cured, the lenders may be able to control the liquidation as well.

Leverage. Certain types of Fund transactions may give rise to economic leverage, which represents a non-cash exposure to the underlying reference instrument. Leverage can increase both the risk and return potential of the Fund.  

The use of leverage may cause the Fund to maintain liquid assets or liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements.  Leverage may cause the Fund’s


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund12Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



share price to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged, as certain types of leverage may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.  The loss on leveraged investments may substantially exceed the initial investment.

Cash and Money Market Instruments; Temporary Defensive Positions.  The Fund may invest in cash or money market instruments, including high quality short-term instruments or an affiliated investment company that invests in such instruments.  During unusual market conditions, including for temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or money market instruments, which may be inconsistent with its investment objective(s) and other policies, and as such, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective(s) during this period.

Money market instruments may be adversely affected by market and economic events, such as a sharp rise in prevailing short-term interest rates; adverse developments in the banking industry, which issues or guarantees many money market instruments; adverse economic, political or other developments affecting issuers of money market instruments; changes in the credit quality of issuers; and default by a counterparty.

Converting to Hub and Spoke Structure. The Fund may invest all of its assets in an open-end management investment company (“portfolio”) with substantially the same investment objective, policies and restrictions as the Fund. Any such portfolio would be advised by the Fund’s investment adviser (or an affiliate) and the Fund would not pay directly any advisory fee with respect to the assets so invested. The Fund may initiate investments in a portfolio at any time without shareholder approval.

Securities Lending.  The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other institutional borrowers.  During the existence of a loan, the Fund will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest paid by the issuer on the securities loaned, or all or a portion of the interest on investment of the collateral, if any. The Fund may pay lending fees to such borrowers. Loans will only be made to firms that have been approved by the investment adviser, and the investment adviser or the securities lending agent will periodically monitor the financial condition of such firms while such loans are outstanding. Securities loans will only be made when the investment adviser believes that the expected returns, net of expenses, justify the attendant risks.  Securities loans currently are required to be secured continuously by collateral in cash, cash equivalents (such as money market instruments) or other liquid securities held by the custodian and maintained in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned.  The Fund may engage in securities lending to generate income.  Upon return of the loaned securities, the Fund would be required to return the related collateral to the borrower and may be required to liquidate portfolio securities in order to do so.  The Fund may lend up to one-third of the value of its total assets or such other amount as may be permitted by law.

As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the securities loaned if the borrower of the securities fails financially.  To the extent that the portfolio securities acquired with such collateral have decreased in value, it may result in the Fund realizing a loss at a time when it would not otherwise do so. As such, securities lending may introduce leverage into the Fund. The Fund also may incur losses if the returns on securities that it acquires with cash collateral are less than the applicable rebate rates paid to borrowers and related administrative costs.

Cybersecurity Risk.  With the increased use of technologies by Fund service providers to conduct business, such as the Internet, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks. The Fund relies on communications technology, systems, and networks to engage with clients, employees, accounts, shareholders, and service providers, and a cyber incident may inhibit the Fund’s ability to use these technologies. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites. A denial-of-service attack is an effort to make network services unavailable to intended users, which could cause shareholders to lose access to their electronic accounts, potentially indefinitely. Employees and service providers also may not be able to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for the Fund, such as trading and NAV calculation, during a denial-of-service attack. There is also the possibility for systems failures due to malfunctions, user error and misconduct by employees and agents, natural disasters, or other foreseeable and unforeseeable events.

Because technology is consistently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Similar types of cybersecurity risks also are present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could have material adverse consequences for those issuers and result in a decline in the market price of their securities. Furthermore, as a result of cyber attacks, technological disruptions, malfunctions or failures, an exchange or market may close or suspend trading in specific securities or the entire market, which could prevent the Fund from, among other things, buying or selling the Fund or accurately pricing its securities. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund and its service providers have


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund13Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



experienced, and will continue to experience, cyber incidents consistently. In addition to deliberate cyber attacks, unintentional cyber incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information by the Fund or its service providers.

The Fund uses third party service providers who are also heavily dependent on computers and technology for their operations. Cybersecurity failures by or breaches of the Fund’s investment adviser or administrator and other service providers (including, but not limited to, the custodian or transfer agent), and the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, may disrupt and otherwise adversely affect their business operations. This may result in financial losses to the Fund, impede Fund trading, interfere with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, limit a shareholder’s ability to purchase or redeem shares of the Fund or cause violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, litigation costs, or additional compliance costs. While many of the Fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans and risk management systems intended to identify and mitigate cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. The Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund and issuers in which the Fund invests.  The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Geopolitical Risk.  The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country, region, sector, industry or market or, with respect to one company, may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region, sector, industry or market. For example, adverse developments in the banking or financial services sector could impact companies operating in various sectors or industries and adversely impact the Fund’s investments. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, health emergencies (such as epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, health emergencies, social and political discord, war, banking or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. Other financial, economic and other global market and social developments or disruptions may result in similar adverse circumstances, and it is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods).

Such global events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations, cause a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price, and/or exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted and any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund’s portfolio. There is a risk that you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

Recent Market Conditions.  The outbreak of COVID-19 and efforts to contain its spread have resulted in closing borders, enhanced health screenings, changes to healthcare service preparation and delivery, quarantines, cancellations, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and the effects of other infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, may be short term or may continue for an extended period of time. Health crises caused by outbreaks of disease, such as the coronavirus outbreak, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks and disrupt normal market conditions and operations. For example, a global pandemic or other widespread health crisis could cause substantial market volatility and exchange trading suspensions and closures.  In addition, the increasing interconnectedness of markets around the world may result in many markets being affected by events or conditions in a single country or region or events affecting a single or small number of issuers. The coronavirus outbreak and public and private sector responses thereto have led to large portions of the populations of many countries working from home for indefinite periods of time, temporary or permanent layoffs, disruptions in supply chains, and lack of availability of certain goods. The impact of such responses could adversely affect the information technology and operational systems upon which the Fund and the Fund’s service providers rely, and could otherwise disrupt the ability of the employees of the Fund’s service providers to perform critical tasks relating to the Fund. Any such impact could adversely affect the Fund’s performance, or the performance of the securities in which the Fund invests and may lead to losses on your investment in the Fund.

General.  Unless otherwise stated, the Fund's investment objective and certain other policies may be changed without shareholder approval. Shareholders will receive 60 days' advance written notice of any material change in the investment objective. The Fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or the SAI. While at times the Fund may use alternative investment strategies in an effort to limit its losses, it may choose not to do so.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund14Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



The Fund’s annual operating expenses are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets and may change as Fund assets increase and decrease over time.  Purchase and redemption activities by Fund shareholders may impact the management of the Fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective.   In addition, the redemption by one or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders of their holdings in the Fund could have an adverse impact on the remaining shareholders in the Fund.  Mutual funds, investment advisers, other market participants and many securities markets are subject to rules and regulations and the jurisdiction of one or more regulators.  Changes to applicable rules and regulations or to widely accepted market conventions or standards could have an adverse effect on securities markets and market participants, as well as on the Fund’s ability to execute its investment strategy.  With the increased use of technologies by Fund service providers, such as the Internet, to conduct business, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks.  See “Additional Information about Investment Strategies and Risks” in the Fund’s SAI.

Management and Organization

Management.  The Fund’s investment adviser is Eaton Vance Management (“Eaton Vance”).  Eaton Vance is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.  Eaton Vance, a registered investment adviser, has offices at Two International Place, Boston, MA 02110.   Eaton Vance and its predecessor organizations have been managing assets since 1924 and managing mutual funds since 1931.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), whose principal offices are at 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, is a preeminent global financial services firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, as well as providing investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services.  As of March 31, 2023, Morgan Stanley’s asset management operations had aggregate assets under management of approximately $1.4 trillion.

Eaton Vance has delegated the investment management of the Fund to Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement.  Parametric, a registered investment adviser, has offices at 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, WA 98104.  Eaton Vance pays Parametric a portion of the advisory fee for sub-advisory services provided to the Fund.  Parametric is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.

The Fund’s semi-annual shareholder report covering the fiscal period ending July 31 provides information regarding the basis for the Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s investment advisory and administrative and sub-advisory agreements.

Under its investment advisory and administrative agreement with the Fund, Eaton Vance receives a monthly fee as follows:

Average Daily Net Assets for the Month

Annual Fee Rate

up to $1 billion

0.400%

$1 billion but less than $2.5 billion

0.375%

$2.5 billion but less than $5 billion

0.360%

$5 billion and over

0.350%

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023, the effective annual rate of investment advisory and administrative fee paid to EVM, based on average daily net assets of the Fund, was 0.40%.

The Fund is managed by a team of portfolio managers from Parametric, who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The members of the team are Thomas Seto, Thomas Lee and Alex Zweber. Mr. Seto and Mr. Lee have been portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in February 2017 and Mr. Zweber has managed the Fund since April 2021. Mr. Seto is currently Head of Investment Management and was previously Director of Portfolio Management at Parametric for more than five years and also manages other Eaton Vance funds. Mr. Lee is currently Chief Investment Officer and has been an employee of Parametric for more than five years. Mr. Zweber is currently Managing Director of Investment Strategy and has been an employee of Parametric for more than five years.

The Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, and each portfolio manager’s ownership of Fund shares.

Eaton Vance provides sub-transfer agency and related services to Eaton Vance mutual funds pursuant to a Sub-Transfer Agency Support Services Agreement.  For its services under the agreement, Eaton Vance receives an aggregate fee from such funds equal to its actual expenses incurred in performing such services.

Organization. The Fund is a series of Eaton Vance Mutual Funds Trust, a Massachusetts business trust.  The Fund does not hold annual shareholder meetings but may hold special meetings for matters that require shareholder approval


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund15Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



(such as electing or removing Trustees, approving management or advisory contracts or changing investment policies that may only be changed with shareholder approval).

Valuing Shares

You may buy or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund at the NAV next determined for the class after receipt of your order in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The Fund’s NAV is determined as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open for business (typically Monday through Friday) (the “Pricing Time”). The Fund is closed for business and will not issue a NAV on the following business holidays and any other business day that the NYSE is closed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.  On holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is generally not calculated and the Fund generally does not transact purchase or redemption requests.  However, on those days, the value of the Fund’s assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open.  In addition, trading of securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges may take place on weekends and other days when the Fund does not price its interests or transact purchase or redemption requests.

If the NYSE is closed due to inclement weather, technology problems or any other reason on a day it would normally be open for business, or the NYSE has an unscheduled early closing on a day it has opened for business, the Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and accept purchase and redemption orders until, and calculate its NAV as of, the normally scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE for that day, so long as its investment adviser believes there generally remains an adequate market to obtain reliable and accurate market quotations. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the investment adviser’s opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by the investment adviser in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies and in accordance with applicable law. The Fund may elect to remain open and price its shares on days when the NYSE is closed but the primary securities markets on which the Fund’s securities trade remain open. Therefore, to the extent, if any, that the Fund invests in securities primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or sell your shares. When purchasing or redeeming Fund shares through a financial intermediary, your financial intermediary must receive your order by the close of regular trading on the NYSE in order for the purchase price or the redemption price to be based on that day’s net asset value per share. It is the financial intermediary’s responsibility to transmit orders promptly. The Fund may accept purchase and redemption orders as of the time of their receipt by certain financial intermediaries (or their designated intermediaries).

The Board has adopted procedures for valuing investments (the “Procedures”) and has delegated to the investment adviser(s), as valuation designee, the daily valuation of such investments. Pursuant to the Procedures, securities and other investments held by the Fund for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued at market value. Exchange-listed investments (including certain derivatives) are normally valued at last sale or closing prices.  Exchange-traded options are valued at the mean of the bid and asked prices at valuation time as reported by the Options Price Reporting Authority for U.S. listed options, or by the relevant exchange or board of trade for non-U.S. listed options.  Non-exchange traded derivatives are normally valued on the basis of quotes obtained from brokers and dealers or independent pricing services.  Most loans and other debt obligations are valued using prices supplied by one or more pricing services.

Pursuant to the Procedures, if market quotations are not readily available (or otherwise not reliable) for a particular investment, the fair value of the investment will be determined by the investment adviser(s), as valuation designee. A market quotation is readily available only when that quotation is a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the Fund can access at the measurement date, provided that a quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable. As such, the Fund will use fair value pricing if, for example, market prices or a pricing service's prices (as applicable) are unavailable or deemed unreliable, or if events occur after the close of a securities market (usually a foreign market) and before portfolio assets are valued that cause or are likely to cause a market quotation to be unavailable or unreliable, such as corporate actions, regulatory news, or natural disasters or governmental actions that may affect investments in a particular sector, country or region. In addition, for foreign equity securities and total return swaps and futures contracts on foreign indices that meet certain criteria, the Board has approved the use of a fair value service that values such investments to reflect market trading that occurs after the close of the applicable foreign markets of comparable securities or other investments that have a strong correlation to the fair valued investments.  An investment that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than (i) actual market quotations, (ii) the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures, or (iii) the price at which the investment could have been sold during the period in which fair valuation was used with respect to such investment to calculate the Fund’s NAV. Because foreign investments held by the Fund, if any, may trade on days when Fund shares are not priced, the value of such investments,


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund16Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



and thus the net asset value of the Fund’s shares, can change on days when Fund shares cannot be redeemed or purchased. Eaton Vance has established a Valuation Committee that oversees the valuation of investments.

Purchasing Shares

You may purchase shares through your financial intermediary or by mailing an account application form to the transfer agent (see back cover for address).  Purchase orders will be executed at the net asset value next determined after their receipt in proper form (meaning that the order is complete and contains all necessary information) by the Fund’s transfer agent.  The Fund’s transfer agent or your financial intermediary must receive your purchase in proper form no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) for your purchase to be effected at that day’s net asset value.  If you purchase shares through a financial intermediary, that intermediary may charge you a fee for executing the purchase for you.

The Fund may suspend the sale of its shares at any time and any purchase order may be refused for any reason.  The U.S. registered funds sponsored by the Eaton Vance organization (the “Eaton Vance funds”) generally do not accept investments from residents of the European Union, the United Kingdom or Switzerland.  The Eaton Vance funds also do not accept investments from other non-U.S. residents, provided that a fund may accept investments from certain non-U.S. investors at the discretion of the principal underwriter.  The Fund does not issue share certificates.

As used throughout this Prospectus, the term “employer sponsored retirement plan” includes the following: an employer sponsored pension or profit sharing plan that qualifies under section 401(a) of the Code (such as a 401(k) plan, money purchase pension, profit sharing and defined benefit plan); ERISA covered 403(b) plan; Taft-Hartley multi-employer plan; and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements that operate in a similar manner to a qualified retirement plan (including 457 plans and executive deferred compensation arrangements). Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) are not employer sponsored retirement plans for purposes of this definition.

Your initial investment must be at least $1,000,000, except as noted below.  Class I shares are offered to clients of financial intermediaries who (i) charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services, or (ii) have entered into an agreement with the principal underwriter to offer Class I shares through a no-load network or platform.  Such clients may include individuals, corporations, endowments, foundations and employer sponsored retirement plans.  Class I shares may also be available through brokerage platforms of broker-dealer firms that have agreements with the Fund’s principal underwriter to offer Class I shares solely when acting as an agent for the investor.  An investor acquiring Class I shares through such platforms may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker. Class I shares also are offered to investment and institutional clients of Eaton Vance and its affiliates and certain persons affiliated with Eaton Vance.  

The Class I minimum initial investment is waived for persons affiliated with Eaton Vance, its affiliates and certain Fund service providers (as described in the SAI). The minimum initial investment also is waived for: (i) permitted exchanges; (ii) employer sponsored retirement plans; (iii) corporations, endowments and foundations with assets of at least $100 million; (iv) Class I shares purchased through the brokerage platforms described above; and (v) accounts of clients of financial intermediaries who (a) charge an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services, or (b) have entered into an agreement with the principal underwriter to offer Class I shares through a no-load network or platform (in each case, as described above).

Class I shares may be purchased through a financial intermediary or by requesting your bank to transmit immediately available funds (Federal Funds) by wire.  To make an initial investment by wire, you must complete an account application and telephone Eaton Vance Shareholder Services at 1-800-260-0761  to be assigned an account number.  You may request an account application by calling 1-800-260-0761  Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).  Shareholder Services must be advised by telephone of each additional investment by wire.

Subsequent Investments. Subsequent investments of any amount may be made at any time, including through automatic investment each month or quarter from your bank account. You may make automatic investments of $50 or more each month or each quarter from your bank account provided such investments equal a minimum of $200 per year. You can establish bank automated investing on the account application or by providing written instructions to the Fund’s transfer agent. Please call 1-800-260-0761 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) for further information.

You also may make additional investments by accessing your account via the Eaton Vance website at www.eatonvance.com. The trade date of purchases made through the Internet from a pre-designated bank account will be the day the purchase is requested through the Eaton Vance website (provided the request is on a business day and submitted no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE). For more information about purchasing shares through the Internet, please call 1-800-260-0761 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund17Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Inactive Accounts.  In accordance with state “unclaimed property” (also known as “escheatment”) laws, your Fund shares may legally be considered abandoned and required to be transferred to the relevant state if no account activity or contact with the Fund or your financial intermediary occurs within a specified period of time.  Please initiate contact a least once per calendar year and maintain a current and valid mailing address on record for your account.  For more information, please see https://funds.eatonvance.com/mutual-funds-and-abandoned-property.php or please contact us at 1-800-260-0761.

Restrictions on Excessive Trading and Market Timing.  The Fund is not intended for excessive trading or market timing.  Market timers seek to profit by rapidly switching money into a fund when they expect the share price of the fund to rise and taking money out of the fund when they expect those prices to fall.  By realizing profits through short-term trading, shareholders that engage in rapid purchases and sales (including exchanges, if permitted) of a fund’s shares may dilute the value of shares held by long-term shareholders. Volatility resulting from excessive purchases and sales of fund shares, especially involving large dollar amounts, may disrupt efficient portfolio management.  In particular, excessive purchases and sales of a fund’s shares may cause a fund to have difficulty implementing its investment strategies, may force the fund to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times to raise cash or may cause increased expenses (such as increased brokerage costs, realization of taxable capital gains without attaining any investment advantage or increased administrative costs).

A fund that invests all or a portion of its assets in foreign securities may be susceptible to a time zone arbitrage strategy in which shareholders attempt to take advantage of fund share prices that may not reflect developments in a foreign securities market that occur after the close of such market but prior to the pricing of fund shares.  In addition, a fund that invests in securities that are, among other things, thinly traded, traded infrequently or illiquid, is susceptible to the risk that the current market price for such securities may not accurately reflect current market values.  A shareholder may seek to engage in short-term trading to take advantage of these pricing differences (commonly referred to as “price arbitrage”).  The investment adviser(s) and sub-adviser(s) are authorized to use the fair value of a security if prices are unavailable or are deemed unreliable (see “Valuing Shares”).  The use of fair value pricing and the restrictions on excessive trading and market timing described below are intended to reduce a shareholder’s ability to engage in price or time zone arbitrage to the detriment of the Fund.

The Boards of the Eaton Vance funds have adopted policies to discourage short-term trading and market timing and to seek to minimize their potentially detrimental effects (the “Policy”).  Under the Policy, the Board has delegated to Eaton Vance the responsibility to reject or cancel a purchase order, suspend or terminate an exchange privilege or terminate the ability of a shareholder to invest in the Eaton Vance funds if Eaton Vance determines that a proposed transaction involves market timing or excessive trading that it believes is likely to be detrimental to the Fund.

Pursuant to the Policy, two “round-trips” completed by a Fund shareholder within 90 days through one or more accounts (the “Limitation”) generally will be deemed to be indicative of market timing or trading excessively in fund shares.  A “round trip” is defined as a purchase or exchange into a fund followed or preceded by a redemption or exchange out of the fund.  Purchases and redemptions subject to the Limitation include those made by exchanging to or from another fund. Eaton Vance will evaluate transactions in Fund shares that violate the Limitation to determine whether they are likely to be detrimental to the Fund. In making such a determination, Eaton Vance may consider various factors, such as the amount, frequency and nature of trading activity. If such a determination is made, the Fund shareholder may be subject to restrictions on trading Fund shares, as described above.  Eaton Vance uses reasonable efforts to detect market timing and excessive trading activity that is likely to be detrimental to the Fund, but it cannot ensure that it will be able to identify all such cases.  Eaton Vance may also reject or cancel any purchase order (including an exchange) from a shareholder or group of shareholders for any other reason.  In applying the Policy, and in particular when determining whether a transaction is likely to be detrimental to the Fund, Eaton Vance will be required to make judgments that are inherently subjective and will depend on the specific facts and circumstances. Such determinations will be made in a manner believed to be in the best interest of the Fund’s shareholders.  No Eaton Vance fund has any arrangement to permit market timing.

The following fund share transactions generally are exempt from the Policy because they generally do not raise market timing or excessive trading concerns:  

·transactions (i) made pursuant to the Fund’s systematic purchase, exchange or redemption plan, (ii) made as the result of automatic reinvestment of dividends or distributions, or (iii) initiated by the Fund (e.g., for transactions due to a failure to meet applicable account minimums); 

·transactions made by participants in employer sponsored retirement plans involving (i) participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments, (ii) redemptions as part of plan terminations or at the direction of the plan, mandatory retirement distributions, or (iii) rollovers;  


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund18Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



·transactions in shares of Eaton Vance Short Duration Government Income Fund; or 

·investments in a fund by ReFlow in connection with the ReFlow liquidity program (if applicable to the Fund, the ReFlow liquidity program is described under “Investment Objectives & Principal Policies and Risks” above). 

The following Fund share transactions generally are exempt from the Limitation; however, these transactions are subject to monitoring by Eaton Vance and may be subject to restrictions if deemed likely to be detrimental to the Fund:

·transactions made by model-based discretionary advisory accounts; or 

·transactions made by funds that invest in the Fund as part of an asset reallocation in accordance with their investment policies or in response to Fund inflows and outflows.  

It may be difficult for Eaton Vance to identify market timing or excessive trading in omnibus accounts traded through financial intermediaries.  Eaton Vance has provided guidance to financial intermediaries (such as banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies and retirement administrators) concerning the application of the Policy to Fund shares held in omnibus accounts maintained and administered by such intermediaries, including guidance concerning situations where market timing or excessive trading is considered to be detrimental to the Fund.  Eaton Vance may rely on a financial intermediary’s policy to restrict market timing and excessive trading if it believes that policy is likely to prevent market timing that is likely to be detrimental to the Fund.  Such policy may be more or less restrictive than the Policy.  Although Eaton Vance reviews trading activity at the omnibus account level for activity that indicates potential market timing or excessive trading activity, Eaton Vance typically will not request or receive individual account data unless suspicious trading activity is identified.  Eaton Vance generally relies on financial intermediaries to monitor trading activity in omnibus accounts in good faith in accordance with their own policies or the Policy.  Eaton Vance cannot ensure that these financial intermediaries will in all cases apply the Policy or their own policies, as the case may be, to accounts under their control.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries. The principal underwriter, out of its own resources, may make cash payments to certain financial intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the principal underwriter and investment adviser) who provide marketing support, transaction processing and/or administrative services and, in some cases, include some or all Eaton Vance funds in preferred or specialized selling programs.  Payments made by the principal underwriter to a financial intermediary may be significant and are typically in the form of fees based on Fund sales, assets, transactions processed and/or accounts attributable to that financial intermediary.  Financial intermediaries also may receive amounts from the principal underwriter in connection with educational or due diligence meetings that include information concerning Eaton Vance funds.  The principal underwriter may pay or allow other promotional incentives or payments to financial intermediaries to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations.  

Certain financial intermediaries that maintain fund accounts for the benefit of their customers provide sub-accounting, recordkeeping and/or administrative services to the Eaton Vance funds and are compensated for such services by the funds.  As used in this Prospectus, the term “financial intermediary” includes any broker, dealer, bank (including bank trust departments), registered investment adviser, financial planner, a retirement plan and/or its administrator, their designated intermediaries and any other firm having a selling, administration or similar agreement with the principal underwriter or its affiliates.

More information is available free of charge on the Eaton Vance website at www.eatonvance.com and in the SAI.  Please consult the Eaton Vance website before making a purchase of Fund shares.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund19Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Redeeming Shares

You can redeem shares in any of the following ways:

By Mail

Send your request to the transfer agent (see back cover for address). The request must be signed exactly as your account is registered (for instance, a joint account must be signed by all registered owners to be accepted) and a Medallion signature guarantee may be required.  Circumstances that may require a Medallion signature guarantee include, but are not limited to, requests to distribute redemption proceeds to a party other than the registered account owner(s); requests to mail redemption proceeds to an address other than the address of record; requests to distribute proceeds to a bank account not on file; requests to re-issue uncashed checks representing redemption proceeds; or transaction requests from an account beneficiary when an account owner is deceased.  You can obtain a Medallion signature guarantee at banks, savings and loan institutions, credit unions, securities dealers, securities exchanges, clearing agencies and registered securities associations that participate in The Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, Inc. (STAMP, Inc.).  Only Medallion signature guarantees issued in accordance with STAMP, Inc. will be accepted.  You may be asked to provide additional documents if your shares are registered in the name of a corporation, partnership or fiduciary.

By Telephone

Certain shareholders can redeem by calling 1-800-260-0761 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). Proceeds of a telephone redemption are generally limited to $100,000 per account (which may include shares of one or more Eaton Vance funds) and can be sent only to the account address or to a bank pursuant to prior instructions.

By Internet

Certain shareholders can redeem by logging on to the Eaton Vance website at www.eatonvance.com. Proceeds of internet redemptions are generally limited to $100,000 per account (which may include shares of one or more Eaton Vance funds) and can be sent only to the account address or to a bank pursuant to prior instructions.  

For Additional Information

Please call 1-800-260-0761 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Through a Financial Intermediary

Your financial intermediary is responsible for transmitting the order promptly.  A financial intermediary may charge a fee for this service.

A redemption may be requested by sending a Medallion signature guaranteed letter of instruction to the transfer agent (see back cover for address) or, for telephone redemptions as described above, by calling 1-800-260-0761. Certain redemption requests, including those involving shares held by certain corporations, trusts or certain other entities and shares that are subject to certain fiduciary arrangements, may require additional documentation and may be redeemed only by mail.  The Fund's transfer agent or your financial intermediary must receive your redemption in proper form (meaning that it is complete and contains all necessary information) no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) for your redemption to be effected at that day’s net asset value.  Redemption proceeds are reduced by the amount of any federal income and state tax required to be withheld.  

Redemption proceeds typically are paid to the redeeming shareholder in cash up to two business days after the redemption, but payment could take up to seven days, as permitted by the 1940 Act for the reasons discussed below.  The actual number of days following receipt of a redemption request in which the Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds generally will depend on how you hold your shares with the Fund.  

If your shares are held in a “street name” account with a financial intermediary (see “Shareholder Account Features – ‘Street Name’ Accounts”), your intermediary will elect through National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) to settle redemptions either one business day or two business days after the redemption date and redemption proceeds normally will be wired to your financial intermediary on the settlement date pursuant to that election.  


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund20Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



If your shares are held directly with the Fund's transfer agent, redemptions normally will be settled in one business day after the redemption date and redemption proceeds will be sent by regular mail on such date.  However, if you have given proper written authorization in advance, you may request that redemption proceeds be wired on the settlement date directly to your bank account in any bank in the United States.  While not currently charged by the Fund, you may be required to pay a wire transfer fee by your bank. If you request expedited mail delivery of your redemption proceeds and the Fund is able to accommodate your request, charges may apply. You may redeem all or a portion of the shares from your account on any day the Fund is open for business.  When you purchase by check or with ACH funds transfer, the purchase will be on hold for up to 10 days from the date of receipt.  During the hold period, redemption proceeds will not be sent until the transfer agent is reasonably satisfied that the purchase payment has been collected.  

The Fund typically expects to meet redemption requests by (i) distributing any cash holdings, (ii) selling portfolio investments and/or (iii) borrowing from a bank under a line of credit.  In addition to the foregoing, the Fund also may distribute securities as payment (a so-called “redemption in-kind”), in which case the redeeming shareholder may pay fees and commissions to convert the securities to cash.  Unless requested by a shareholder, the Fund generally expects to limit use of redemption in-kind to stressed market conditions, but is permitted to do so in other circumstances.  A shareholder who wishes to receive redemption proceeds in-kind must notify the Fund on or before submitting the redemption request by calling 1-800-260-0761. Securities distributed in a redemption in-kind would be valued pursuant to the Fund’s valuation procedures and selected by the investment adviser. If a shareholder receives securities in a redemption in-kind, the shareholder could incur brokerage or other charges in converting the securities to cash and the value of such securities would be subject to price fluctuations until sold.  There can be no assurance that the Fund will manage liquidity successfully in all market environments. As a result, the Fund may not be able to pay redemption proceeds in a timely fashion because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other factors.  Additional information about redemptions in-kind, including the procedures for submitting such redemption requests, is contained in the Fund’s SAI.

If your account value falls below $750, you may be asked either to add to your account or redeem it within 60 days.  If you take no action, your account will be redeemed at net asset value and the proceeds sent to you.

Shareholder Account Features

Distributions.  You may have your Fund distributions paid in one of the following ways:

• Full Reinvest Option

Distributions are reinvested in additional shares.  This option will be assigned if you do not specify an option.

• Partial Reinvest Option

Dividends are paid in cash* and capital gains are reinvested in additional shares.

• Cash Option

Distributions are paid in cash.*

• Exchange Option

Distributions are reinvested in additional shares of any class of another Eaton Vance fund chosen by you, subject to the terms of that fund’s prospectus.  Before selecting this option, you must obtain a prospectus of the other fund and consider its objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully.

*If any distribution check remains uncashed for six months, Eaton Vance reserves the right to invest the amount represented by the check in Fund shares at the then-current net asset value of the Fund and all future distributions will be reinvested.  For accounts held directly with a Fund’s transfer agent for which the shareholder has elected to receive distributions via check, any distribution (dividend or capital gain) under $10.00 is automatically reinvested in additional shares regardless of your elected distribution option. 

Information about the Fund.  From time to time, you may receive the following:

·Semiannual and annual reports containing a list of portfolio holdings as of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters, respectively, performance information and financial statements. 

·Periodic account statements, showing recent activity and total share balance. 

·Tax information needed to prepare your income tax returns. 

·Proxy materials, in the event a shareholder vote is required. 

·Special notices about significant events affecting your Fund. 

Most fund information (including semiannual and annual reports, prospectuses and proxy statements) as well as your periodic account statements can be delivered electronically.  For more information please go to www.eatonvance.com/edelivery.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund21Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



You may be contacted via mail, telephone or by electronic means by officers of the Fund, by personnel of the investment adviser or administrator, by the Fund’s transfer agent, by broker-dealer firms, or by a professional solicitation organization in connection with a solicitation of proxies for a meeting of Fund shareholders.

The Eaton Vance funds have established policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of portfolio holdings and other information concerning Fund characteristics.  A description of these policies and procedures is provided below and additionally in the SAI.  Such policies and procedures regarding disclosure of portfolio holdings are designed to prevent the misuse of material, non-public information about the funds.

The Fund will file information regarding its portfolio holdings with the SEC on its Form N-PORT.  The Fund’s annual and semiannual reports (as filed on Form N-CSR) and certain information filed on Form N-PORT may be viewed on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov).  The most recent fiscal quarter-end holdings may also be viewed on the Eaton Vance website (www.eatonvance.com).  Portfolio holdings information that is filed with the SEC is posted on the Eaton Vance website approximately 60 days after the end of the quarter to which it relates. Portfolio holdings information as of each month end is posted to the website approximately one month after such month end. The Fund also posts information about certain portfolio characteristics (such as top ten holdings and asset allocation) at least quarterly on the Eaton Vance website approximately ten business days after the period and the Fund may also post performance attribution as of a month end or more frequently if deemed appropriate.

Withdrawal Plan.  You may redeem shares on a regular periodic basis by establishing a systematic withdrawal plan.

Exchange Privilege.  You may exchange your Fund shares for shares of the same Class of another Eaton Vance fund.  Exchanges are made at net asset value.  If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”), the CDSC will continue to apply to your new shares at the same CDSC rate. For purposes of the CDSC, your shares will continue to age from the date of your original purchase of Fund shares. Any class of shares of a fund may be exchanged for any other class of shares of that fund, provided that the shares being exchanged are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conditions for investing in the other class of shares described in the applicable prospectus are satisfied.

Before exchanging, you should read the prospectus of the new fund carefully.  Exchanges are subject to the terms applicable to purchases of the new fund’s shares as set forth in its prospectus.  If you wish to exchange shares, write to the transfer agent (see back cover for address), log on to your account at www.eatonvance.com or call 1-800-260-0761.  Periodic automatic exchanges are also available.  The exchange privilege may be changed or discontinued at any time.  You will receive at least 60 days’ notice of any material change to the privilege.  This privilege may not be used for “market timing” and may be terminated for market timing accounts or for any other reason.  For additional information, see “Restrictions on Excessive Trading and Market Timing” under “Purchasing Shares.”  Ordinarily exchanges between different funds are taxable transactions for federal tax purposes, while permitted exchanges of one class for shares of another class of the same fund are not. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the applicability of federal, state, local and other taxes to transactions in Fund shares.

Telephone and Electronic Transactions.  You can redeem or exchange shares by telephone as described in this Prospectus.  In addition, certain transactions may be conducted through the Eaton Vance website.  The transfer agent and the principal underwriter have procedures in place to authenticate telephone and electronic instructions (such as using security codes or verifying personal account information).  As long as the transfer agent and principal underwriter follow reasonable procedures, they will not be responsible for unauthorized telephone or electronic transactions and you bear the risk of possible loss resulting from these transactions.  You may decline the telephone redemption option on the account application. Telephone instructions are recorded.  You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately upon receipt and notify Eaton Vance Shareholder Services of any inaccuracies.

“Street Name” Accounts.  If your shares are held in a “street name” account at a financial intermediary, that intermediary (and not the Fund or its transfer agent) will perform all recordkeeping, transaction processing and distribution payments. Because the Fund does not maintain an account for you, you should contact your financial intermediary to make transactions in shares, make changes in your account, or obtain account information.  You will not be able to utilize a number of shareholder features, such as telephone or internet transactions, directly with the Fund and certain features may be subject to different requirements.  If you transfer shares in a “street name” account to an account with another financial intermediary or to an account directly with the Fund, you should obtain historical information about your shares prior to the transfer.  If you fail to provide your full account history to your new financial intermediary following a transfer, you may be ineligible for certain features of the Fund.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund22Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Procedures for Opening New Accounts.  To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each new customer who opens an account with the Fund and to determine whether such person’s name appears on government lists of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations.  When you open an account, the transfer agent or your financial intermediary will ask you for your name, address, date of birth (for individuals), residential or business street address (although post office boxes are still permitted for mailing) and social security number, taxpayer identification number, or other government-issued identifying number.  You also may be asked to produce a copy of your driver’s license, passport or other identifying documents in order to verify your identity.  In addition, it may be necessary to verify your identity by cross-referencing your identification information with a consumer report or other electronic databases.  Other information or documents may be required to open accounts for corporations and other entities.  Federal law prohibits the Fund and other financial institutions from opening a new account unless they receive the minimum identifying information described above.  If a person fails to provide the information requested, any application by that person to open a new account will be rejected.  Moreover, if the transfer agent or the financial intermediary is unable to verify the identity of a person based on information provided by that person, it may take additional steps including, but not limited to, requesting additional information or documents from the person, closing the person’s account or reporting the matter to the appropriate federal authorities.  If your account is closed for this reason, your shares may be automatically redeemed at the net asset value next determined.  If the Fund’s net asset value has decreased since your purchase, you will lose money as a result of this redemption.  The Fund has also designated an anti-money laundering compliance officer.

Account Questions.  If you have any questions about your account or the services available, please call Eaton Vance Shareholder Services at 1-800-260-0761 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), or write to the transfer agent (see back cover for address).

Potential Conflicts of Interest

As a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, the parent company of the investment adviser and sub-adviser, engages in a broad spectrum of activities, including financial advisory services, investment management activities, lending, commercial banking, sponsoring and managing private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal securities, commodities and foreign exchange transactions, research publication and other activities. In the ordinary course of its business, Morgan Stanley is a full-service investment banking and financial services firm and therefore engages in activities where Morgan Stanley’s interests or the interests of its clients may conflict with the interests of a Fund or Portfolio, as applicable (collectively, for purposes of this section, “Fund” or “Funds”). Morgan Stanley advises clients and sponsors, manages or advises other investment funds and investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively, together with any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses, the ‘‘Affiliated Investment Accounts’’) with a wide variety of investment objectives that in some instances may overlap or conflict with a Fund’s investment objectives and present conflicts of interest. In addition, Morgan Stanley may also from time to time create new or successor Affiliated Investment Accounts that may compete with a Fund and present similar conflicts of interest. The discussion below enumerates certain actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest. There is no assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in favor of Fund shareholders and, in fact, they may not be. Conflicts of interest not described below may also exist.

For more information about conflicts of interest, see the section entitled “Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the SAI.

Material Non-public Information. It is expected that confidential or material non-public information regarding an investment or potential investment opportunity may become available to the investment adviser. If such information becomes available, the investment adviser may be precluded (including by applicable law or internal policies or procedures) from pursuing an investment or disposition opportunity with respect to such investment or investment opportunity. Morgan Stanley has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Morgan Stanley. In limited circumstances, however, including for purposes of managing business and reputational risk, and subject to policies and procedures and any applicable regulations, Morgan Stanley personnel, including personnel of the investment adviser, on one side of an information barrier may have access to information and personnel on the other side of the information barrier through “wall crossings.” The investment adviser faces conflicts of interest in determining whether to engage in such wall crossings. Information obtained in connection with such wall crossings may limit or restrict the ability of the investment adviser to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Fund(s) (including purchasing or selling securities that the investment adviser may otherwise have purchased or sold for a Fund in the absence of a wall crossing).


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund23Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Investments by Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts. In serving in multiple capacities to Affiliated Investment Accounts, Morgan Stanley, including the investment adviser, sub-adviser  and its investment teams, may have obligations to other clients or investors in Affiliated Investment Accounts, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of a Fund or its shareholders. A Fund’s investment objectives may overlap with the investment objectives of certain Affiliated Investment Accounts. As a result, the members of an investment team may face conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities among a Fund and other investment funds, programs, accounts and businesses advised by or affiliated with the investment adviser or sub-adviser. Certain Affiliated Investment Accounts may provide for higher management or incentive fees or greater expense reimbursements or overhead allocations, all of which may contribute to this conflict of interest and create an incentive for the investment adviser to favor such other accounts. To seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest and to attempt to allocate such investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, the investment adviser has implemented allocation policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are intended to give all clients of the investment adviser, including the Fund(s), fair access to investment opportunities consistent with the requirements of organizational documents, investment strategies, applicable laws and regulations, and the fiduciary duties of the investment adviser.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. The investment adviser and/or Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc. (“EVD”) may pay compensation, out of their own funds and not as an expense of a Fund, to certain financial intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the investment adviser and EVD), including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans, in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Fund and/or shareholder servicing. The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by financial intermediaries may provide such financial intermediaries and their financial advisors and other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of a Fund over other investment options with respect to which these financial intermediaries do not receive additional compensation (or receive lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of a Fund or the amount that the Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosures provided by financial intermediaries as to their compensation. In addition, in certain circumstances, the investment adviser may restrict, limit or reduce the amount of a Fund’s investment, or restrict the type of governance or voting rights it acquires or exercises, where the Fund (potentially together with Morgan Stanley) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses certain degrees of voting or control or has other interests.

Morgan Stanley Trading and Principal Investing Activities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Morgan Stanley will generally conduct its sales and trading businesses, publish research and analysis, and render investment advice without regard for a Fund’s holdings, although these activities could have an adverse impact on the value of one or more of the Fund’s investments, or could cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest in one or more portfolio investments that is different from, and potentially adverse to, that of a Fund.

Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking and Other Commercial Activities. Morgan Stanley advises clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy and financing transactions. Morgan Stanley may act as an advisor to clients, including other investment funds that may compete with a Fund and with respect to investments that a Fund may hold. Morgan Stanley may give advice and take action with respect to any of its clients or proprietary accounts that may differ from the advice given, or may involve an action of a different timing or nature than the action taken, by a Fund. Morgan Stanley may give advice and provide recommendations to persons competing with a Fund and/or any of a Fund’s investments that are contrary to the Fund’s best interests and/or the best interests of any of its investments. Morgan Stanley’s activities on behalf of its clients (such as engagements as an underwriter or placement agent) may restrict or otherwise limit investment opportunities that may otherwise be available to a Fund.

Morgan Stanley may be engaged to act as a financial advisor to a company in connection with the sale of such company, or subsidiaries or divisions thereof, may represent potential buyers of businesses through its mergers and acquisition activities and may provide lending and other related financing services in connection with such transactions. Morgan Stanley’s compensation for such activities is usually based upon realized consideration and is usually contingent, in substantial part, upon the closing of the transaction. Under these circumstances, a Fund may be precluded from participating in a transaction with or relating to the company being sold or participating in any financing activity related to the merger or acquisition.

General Process for Potential Conflicts. All of the transactions described above involve the potential for conflicts of interest between the investment adviser, related persons of the investment adviser and/or their clients. The Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), the 1940 Act and ERISA impose certain requirements designed to decrease the possibility of conflicts of interest between an investment adviser and its clients. In some cases, transactions may be permitted subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. Certain other transactions may be prohibited. In addition, the investment adviser has instituted policies and procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund24Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



arising and, when they do arise, to ensure that it effects transactions for clients in a manner that is consistent with its fiduciary duty to its clients and in accordance with applicable law. The investment adviser seeks to ensure that potential or actual conflicts of interest are appropriately resolved taking into consideration the overriding best interests of the client.

Additional Tax Information

The Fund expects to pay any required distributions annually, and intends to distribute any net realized capital gains (if any) annually. It may also be necessary, in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment and to avoid any Fund-level tax, for the Fund to make a special income and/or capital gains distribution at the end of the calendar year. Different classes may distribute different amounts. Distributions of investment income (other than qualified dividend income, which is described below) and net short-term capital gains generally will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions of net gains from investments held for more than one year are generally taxable at long-term capital gain rates. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned (or is treated as having owned) the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her shares in the Fund.  Distributions of investment income properly reported by the Fund as derived from “qualified dividend income” (as further described in the SAI) will be taxed in the hands of individuals at rates applicable to long-term capital gains provided holding period and other requirements are met by both the shareholder and the Fund.  A portion of the Fund’s income distributions may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.  The Fund’s distributions will be taxable as described above regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares.

Investors who purchase shares at a time when the Fund’s net asset value reflects gains that are either unrealized or realized but undistributed will pay the full price for the shares and then may receive some portion of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution.  A redemption of Fund shares, including an exchange for shares of another fund, is generally a taxable transaction.

The tax treatment of certain positions entered into by the Fund (including regulated futures contracts and certain listed non-equity options) will be governed by Section 1256 of the Code (“section 1256 contracts”).  Code Section 1256 generally requires any gain or loss arising from a section 1256 contract to be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. In addition, the Fund generally will be required to “mark to market” (i.e., treat as sold for fair market value) each section 1256 contract at the close of each taxable year (and, for excise tax purposes, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code). If a “section 1256 contract” held by the Fund at the end of a taxable year is sold, the amount of any gain or loss realized on such sale will be adjusted to reflect the gain or loss previously taken into account under the “mark to market” rules.

Positions in index options that do not qualify as “section 1256 contracts” under the Code, such as options on certain proxies for the S&P 500® Index, generally will be treated as equity options governed by Code Section 1234. Pursuant to Code Section 1234, if an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the premium received will be short-term capital gain to the Fund. If the Fund enters into a “closing transaction” with respect to an option written by the Fund, the difference between the premium received and the amount paid to close out its position will be short-term capital gain or loss. If an option written by the Fund that is not a “section 1256 contract” is cash settled, any resulting gain or loss will be short-term. For an option purchased by the Fund that is not a “section 1256 contract,” any gain or loss resulting from sale of the option will be a capital gain or loss, and will be short-term or long-term, depending upon the holding period for the option. If the option expires, the resulting loss is a capital loss and is short-term or long-term, depending upon the holding period for the option. If a put option written by the Fund is exercised and physically settled, the premium received is treated as a reduction in the amount paid to acquire the underlying securities, increasing the gain or decreasing the loss to be realized by the Fund upon the sale of the securities. If a call option written by the Fund is exercised and physically settled, the premium received is included in the sale proceeds, increasing the gain or decreasing the loss realized by the Fund at the time of option exercise.

The net investment income of certain U.S. individuals, estates and trusts is subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax.  For individuals, the tax is on the lesser of the “net investment income” and the excess of modified adjusted gross income over $200,000 (or $250,000 if married filing jointly).  Net investment income includes, among other things, interest, dividends, and gross income and capital gains derived from passive activities and trading in securities or commodities.  Net investment income is reduced by deductions “properly allocable” to this income.

The Fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or make required certifications, or who have been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund25Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Certain foreign entities may be subject to a 30% withholding tax on ordinary dividend income paid under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). To avoid withholding, foreign financial institutions subject to FATCA must agree to disclose to the relevant revenue authorities certain information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. owners and other foreign entities must certify certain information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. owners to the Fund. In addition, the IRS and the Department of the Treasury have issued proposed regulations providing that these withholding rules will not be applicable to the gross proceeds of share redemptions or capital gain dividends the Fund pays.  For more detailed information regarding FATCA withholding and compliance, please refer to the SAI.

Shareholders should consult with their tax advisors concerning the applicability of federal, state, local, foreign and other taxes to an investment.

 


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund26Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



Financial Highlights

The financial highlights are intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the period(s) indicated.  Certain information in the table reflects the financial results for a single Fund share.  The total returns in the table represent the rate an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value).  This information has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm.  The report of Deloitte & Touche LLP and the Fund’s financial statements are incorporated herein by reference and included in the Fund’s annual report, which is available upon request.

 

Year Ended January 31,

 

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

 

Class I

Class I

Class I

Class I

Class I

Net asset value - Beginning of year

$14.000

$12.410

$11.940

$10.830

$11.020

Income (Loss) From Operations

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income(1)

$0.138

$0.040

$0.103

$0.188

$0.165

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

(0.496)

1.727

0.460

1.069

(0.226)

Total income (loss) from operations

$(0.358)

$1.767

$0.563

$1.257

$(0.061)

Less Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

From net investment income

$(0.115)

$(0.044)

$(0.093)

$(0.147)

$(0.129)

From net realized gain

(0.857)

(0.133)

Total distributions

$(0.972)

$(0.177)

$(0.093)

$(0.147)

$(0.129)

Net asset value - End of year

$12.670

$14.000

$12.410

$11.940

$10.830

Total Return(2)

(2.26)%

14.22%

4.73%

11.62%

(0.55)%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

$713,500

$971,483

$1,047,351

$767,121

$439,658

Ratios (as a percentage of average daily net assets):

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses

0.49%(3)

0.47%

0.47%

0.48%

0.52%

Net investment income

1.04%

0.29%

0.90%

1.64%

1.50%

Portfolio Turnover

28%

12%

69%

21%

55%

(1)Computed using average shares outstanding. 

(2)Returns are historical and are calculated by determining the percentage change in net asset value with all distributions reinvested. 

(3)Includes a reduction by the investment adviser of a portion of its adviser and administration fee due to the Fund’s investment in the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds – Government Portfolio (equal to less than 0.005% of average daily net assets for the year ended January 31, 2023). 


Parametric Volatility Risk Premium – Defensive Fund27Prospectus dated June 1, 2023 



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More Information

About the Fund:  More information is available in the Statement of Additional Information.  The Statement of Additional Information is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus.  Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the annual and semiannual reports (collectively, the “reports”).  In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the past fiscal year.  You may obtain free copies of the Statement of Additional Information and the reports on Eaton Vance’s website at www.eatonvance.com or by contacting the principal underwriter:

Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc.
Two International Place
Boston, MA  02110
1-800-260-0761
website: www.eatonvance.com

Information about the Fund (including the Statement of Additional Information and reports) is available on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].

As permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports are no longer being sent by mail unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports are being made available on the Funds’ website (http://www.eatonvance.com/ppafunddocuments), and you will be notified each time a report is posted and provided with a website address to access the report. You may elect to receive all future Fund shareholder reports in paper free of charge at any time. If you are a direct investor, you can inform the Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by calling 1-800-260-0761. If you own these shares through a financial intermediary, you must contact your financial intermediary to elect to continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. If you are a direct investor, you may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically by signing up for e-Delivery at eatonvance.com/edelivery. If you own your shares through a financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank), you must contact your financial intermediary to sign up.

Shareholder Inquiries: You can obtain more information from Eaton Vance Shareholder Services or the Fund transfer agent, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.  If you own shares and would like to add to, redeem from or change your account, please write or call below:

Regular Mailing Address:
Eaton Vance Funds
P.O. Box 534439
Pittsburgh, PA  15253-4439

 

Overnight Mailing Address:
Eaton Vance Funds
Attention:  534439
500 Ross Street, 154-0520
Pittsburgh, PA  15262

 

Phone Number:
1-800-260-0761
Monday – Friday
8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET

 

The Fund's Investment Company Act No. is 811-04015

 

24586 6.1.23

© 2023 Eaton Vance Management

 

Printed on recycled paper.