Eaton Vance to Ring Nasdaq Opening Bell to Mark Launch of First NextShares™ Fund

BOSTON, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eaton Vance Corp. (Eaton Vance) today announced that Thomas E. Faust Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eaton Vance, will ring the Opening Bell this morning on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq). The bell ringing commemorates the listing and availability of trading on Nasdaq of the first NextShares^™ exchange-traded managed fund (NextShares), Eaton Vance Stock NextShares EVSTC (the Fund). Shares of the Fund may be purchased and sold by individual investors, financial advisors and institutions beginning today through Folio Investing^® and Folio Institutional^®, affiliates of FOLIOfn Investments, Inc., a leading broker-dealer that combines clearing and custody with a broad array of innovative technology services for advisors and individual investors alike.  

NextShares are a new way to invest in actively managed strategies. Because they are actively managed, NextShares offer the potential for benchmark-beating returns by applying their manager's proprietary investment research.  Because they trade on an exchange, NextShares may offer cost and tax efficiencies that can enhance shareholder returns. NextShares may invest across all fund asset classes and are expected to be offered by a range of well-known asset managers.

The Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities, following a research-driven core investment style.  The Fund utilizes a master-feeder structure, holding its investments on an indirect basis through a separate registered investment company, Stock Portfolio (the Portfolio).  Eaton Vance Stock Fund (Class A: EAERX; Class C: ECERX; Class I: EIERX), an open-end mutual fund, also invests through the Portfolio.  The Portfolio is managed by Charles Gaffney, Vice President of Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp.    

Eaton Vance has registered 18 initial NextShares funds, representing a broad range of actively managed investment strategies, including equity, fixed income, floating-rate income, absolute return and multi-asset funds.  Eaton Vance plans to introduce two additional NextShares funds by the end of March 2016, one investing in municipal income securities and the other employing a global equity income strategy.  

"We are honored to ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell today," said Mr. Faust. "Our participation in this historic event commemorates the hard work and dedication of the many individuals without whom the launch of the first NextShares fund could not have happened.  We also celebrate on behalf of the many American investors that we expect to benefit from this innovative new structure in the years ahead."

"We were relentless in our focus to develop – from the ground up – the necessary technology to support the listing and trading of NextShares," said Jeff McCarthy, Head of Listings at Nasdaq. "Final testing to support the Fund passed with flying colors and we're excited to be the listing venue for the Fund and other NextShares funds to come."

"Financial advisors, institutions and their clients are welcome to trade on the Folio Institutional^® and Folio Investing^® platforms," said Steven M.H. Wallman, CEO of FOLIOfn, Inc. Wallman, a former SEC Commissioner, founded the Folio companies in 1999. "We are proud to have helped pioneer the offering of NextShares."

A live webcast of the Nasdaq Opening Bell Ceremony (starting at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 29) will be available at: http://new.livestream.com/nasdaq/live.

Photos from the event will be available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_events.stm.

More information on how to trade NextShares on the Folio platform is available at www.folionextshares.com

About NextShares Solutions and Eaton Vance

NextShares Solutions LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eaton Vance formed to develop and commercialize NextShares. Aspects of the operation of NextShares are protected intellectual property owned by NextShares Solutions.  For more information, visit nextshares.com.

Eaton Vance EV is a leading global asset manager whose history dates to 1924. With offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Eaton Vance and its affiliates managed $302.6 billion in assets as of January 31, 2016, offering individuals and institutions a broad array of investment strategies and wealth management solutions. The Company's long record of providing exemplary service, timely innovation and attractive returns through a variety of market conditions has made Eaton Vance the investment manager of choice for many of today's most discerning investors. For more information, visit eatonvance.com. 

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq NDAQ is a leading provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services across six continents. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to more than 3,500 listed companies with a market value of approximately $9.5 trillion and more than 10,000 corporate clients. To learn more, visit nasdaq.com.

About Folio Investing and Folio Institutional

Folio Investing is the online brokerage where investors can create an unlimited number of diversified investment portfolios, called folios, to combine the benefits of direct stock ownership with the convenience of ETFs, NextShares and mutual funds. Investors can customize each folio with up to 100 stocks, ETFs, NextShares, and mutual funds or choose from over 160 free, pre-made Ready-to-Go folios.  Folio Institutional is a leading investment solutions and financial technology company that offers an integrated brokerage and custodial platform featuring state-of-the-art trading, portfolio management tools, and private placement capabilities. For more information about purchasing NextShares, see folionexthshares.com. For more information about Folio, see folioinvesting.com and folioinstitutional.com.

The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only, is not intended as investment or tax advice, and does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell specific securities.

Shares of NextShares funds are traded in the secondary market through a broker, and may not be individually purchased or redeemed from the fund. Buyers and sellers of shares normally transact with each other, rather than with the fund.  These transactions do not affect the fund or its investments.  When the fund does issue or redeem shares, the transactions are made through designated authorized participants and are normally in kind when practicable, meaning that the fund receives or delivers securities rather than cash.  By transacting in kind, a NextShares fund can lower its trading costs and enhance fund tax efficiency by avoiding forced sales of securities to meet redemptions.  As exchange-traded securities, NextShares can operate with low transfer agency expenses by utilizing the same highly efficient share processing system as used for exchange-listed stocks. 

Market trading prices of NextShares are linked to the fund's next-computed net asset value (NAV) and will vary from NAV by a market-determined premium or discount, which may be zero.  Buyers and seller of NextShares will not know the value of their purchases and sales until after the fund's NAV is determined at the end of the trading day.  Market trading prices may vary significantly from anticipated levels.  NextShares do not offer investors the opportunity to buy and sell intraday based on current (versus end-of-day) determinations of fund value. NextShares trade execution prices will fluctuate based on changes in NAV. Although limit orders may be used to control trading costs, they cannot be used to control or limit trade execution prices. As a new type of fund, NextShares do not have an operating history and may initially be available through a limited number of brokers.  There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for NextShares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling NextShares may require payment of brokerage commissions and expose transacting shareholders to other trading costs. Frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. The return on a shareholder's NextShares investment will be reduced if the shareholder sells shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than he or she acquired the shares.  NextShares funds issue and redeem shares only in specified creation unit quantities in transactions by or through authorized participants.  In such transactions, a fund issues and redeems shares in exchange for the basket of securities, other instruments and/or cash that the fund specifies each business day.  The basket is not intended to be representative of the fund's current portfolio positions and may vary significantly from current positions.

About Risk: Fund performance is sensitive to stock market volatility. Investments in foreign instruments or currencies can involve greater risk and volatility than U.S. investments because of adverse market, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical or other conditions. No Fund is a complete investment program and you may lose money investing therein. The Funds may engage in other investment practices that may involve additional risks, and you should review the Fund prospectus for a complete description.

Before investing, investors should consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a NextShares fund or mutual fund. This and other important information is contained in the prospectus and summary prospectus available from a financial advisor.  Prospective investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing.   

Eaton Vance Stock NextShares is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Eaton Vance Stock Fund is distributed by Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc.  For more information see www.eatonvance.com. 

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SOURCE Eaton Vance Corp.