EATON VANCE MULTISTRATEGY ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND CLASS I (EIDDX) Exchange: NMFQS

DELISTED - The Fund is a “fund of funds” and seeks to achieve its investment objective of total return by primarily allocating assets among other registered investment companies managed by Eaton Vance and its affiliates that invest in different asset classes (the “Portfolios”). The Fund also may hold investments directly. Total return is defined as income plus capital appreciation. The Fund’s portfolio managers, taking market and other factors into consideration, determine the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the Portfolios. Set forth below is a description of the Fund’s investment approach, the characteristics and risks associated with the principal investments and strategies of the Fund as a result of its investment in the Portfolios and its direct investments. References to the Fund below are to the Fund and/or one or more of the Portfolios in which it may invest. The Fund has a flexible investment strategy and invests in a variety of securities and investments and uses a variety of investment techniques in pursuing its investment objective. The Fund may invest in individual securities of any credit quality, including those rated below investment grade (so-called “junk”) without limit. The Fund may invest in U.S. and foreign (including emerging market) securities and other instruments, including sovereign debt, corporate debt, senior floating rate loans and secured and unsecured subordinated (“junior”) loans (“loans”), municipal obligations, commodity-related investments, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities and inflation-linked debt securities. The Fund may invest in zero coupon bonds, deferred interest bonds and bonds or preferred stocks on which the interest is payable in-kind (“PIK securities”), and debt obligations that are issued at a significant discount from face value (collectively, “deep discount bonds”). The Fund may invest in common and preferred stock and other hybrid securities issued by companies with a broad range of market capitalizations, including smaller companies, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”). The Fund may invest in certain exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) beyond the limits under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), subject to certain terms and conditions. The Fund may invest in ETFs, a type of pooled investment vehicle, in order to manage cash positions or seek exposure to certain markets or market sectors. The Fund may invest in Portfolios that apply responsible investing criteria when selecting investments. In addition, the Fund may invest in Portfolios that are authorized to borrow to acquire additional investments. There is no assurance that a borrowing strategy will be successful. Under normal market conditions, the Fund expects to maintain a target portfolio duration of -5 years to 5 years. Under normal market conditions, the investment adviser targets Fund performance volatility ranging between approximately 2.0% and 6.5% annually. The Fund’s actual, or realized, volatility for longer or shorter periods may, however, be materially higher or lower than the target range, depending on market conditions. Actual or realized volatility can and will differ from the target volatility described above. The Fund may gain exposure to commodities by investing in certain Portfolios that invest in commodities and commodity-related investments. Each such Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, which invests primarily in commodity-related investments, as well as securities and other instruments in which such Portfolio is permitted to invest (the “Subsidiary”). The Fund expects to achieve certain investment exposures primarily through derivative transactions, including (but not limited to) futures, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and credit default swaps, which may create economic leverage in the Fund. The Fund may engage in derivative transactions to seek total return, to hedge against fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates or currency exchange rates, to change the effective duration of its portfolio, to manage certain investment risks and/or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities, currencies or commodities. Such transactions may include: the purchase or sale of futures contracts on securities, indices or other financial instruments or currencies; options on futures contracts; deliverable and nondeliverable (“NDF”) forward foreign currency exchange contracts (“forwards”); exchange-traded and over-the-counter options on securities, indices or currencies; cross-currency, interest rate, total return, inflation and credit default swaps; forward rate agreements; and credit linked notes and other similarly structured products, including but not limited to instruments that have a greater or lesser credit risk than the security underlying that instrument. The Fund may seek to generate incremental return by writing a series of call and put option spread transactions on the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index (S&P 500 Index) and/or a proxy for the S&P 500 Index (such as SPDR Trust Series 1 (SPDRs)). There is no stated limit on the Fund’s use of derivatives. The Fund may engage in repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, forward commitments and short sales. The Fund may sell securities and other instruments short, provided that not more than 15% of net assets is held as collateral for such sales. The Fund employs an “absolute return” investment approach. This means that the Fund benchmarks itself to an index of cash instruments, rather than a stock or bond market index, and seeks to achieve returns that exceed its benchmark and are largely independent of broad movements in stocks and bonds. The Fund’s benchmark is the ICE BofAML 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index. In making investment decisions on behalf of the Fund, the investment adviser combines a fundamental asset valuation model with quantitative portfolio optimization and risk management techniques. The investment adviser seeks to invest in sectors of the market which it believes offers the best risk adjusted returns and intends to manage the targeted volatility of the Fund. Certain investment techniques such as buying/selling options and futures, swaps and other derivatives may also be employed to reduce the Fund’s volatility.