EOS - EOI: Narrow Discount But Strong Track Record

2024-06-13 09:51:31 ET

Summary

• Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund was one of the equity-focused EV closed-end funds that did not cut its distributions in 2022.
• The EOI ETF has a strong track record and has outperformed the S&P 500 Index since our last update despite its covered call strategy.
• Thanks to avoiding a distribution cut in 2022, the fund has enjoyed a steady or higher distribution for over a decade, though it will naturally require capital gains to fund.

Written by Nick Ackerman, co-produced by Stanford Chemist.

In 2022, Eaton Vance cut the distributions on their equity-focused closed-end funds across the board. The sole survivor to not experience a cut in their monthly distribution was Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund ( EOI ). One of the things that set this fund apart is its incredibly strong track record of this fund, being one of the best-performing funds of the whole call writing suite historically.

It was only topped by Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund II ( EOS ) in terms of total returns over the last decade. EOS received a chop to their distribution, as another factor was simply the NAV yield based on the payout at the time....

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