Fund Evaluator:
Eaton Vance Balanced C (ECIFX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Moderate Allocation Over the Last Year
| 20.5% | PGIM Real Assets Z (PUDZX) |
| 19.0% | State Farm Balanced (STFBX) |
| 18.5% | Archer Balanced (ARCHX) |
| 17.9% | Fidelity Advisor® Balanced Z (FBAVX) |
| 17.8% | Fidelity Balanced (FBALX) |
Fund Details
Eaton Vance Balanced C Overview
Eaton Vance Balanced C (ECIFX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderate Allocation fund. Eaton Vance launched the fund in 1993.
The investment seeks to provide current income and long-term growth of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective and strategies primarily by allocating assets between common stocks and fixed-income securities through investment of substantially all of its assets in two other registered investment companies managed by Eaton Vance Management or its affiliates (the "Portfolios"). Under normal market conditions, the fund invests between 50% and 75% of its net assets in equity securities by investing in Stock Portfolio and between 25% and 50% of its net assets in fixed-income securities by investing in Core Bond Portfolio.
About Eaton Vance Balanced C (ECIFX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.65 years: Charles Gaffney (2009), Vishal Khanduja (2017), Brian Ellis (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Eaton Vance Balanced C has 448 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 34.6% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Eaton Vance Balanced C is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Eaton Vance Balanced C has 4.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 60.7%. There is 1.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 33.9% (31.3% domestic bond, 2.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Eaton Vance Balanced C has 4.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $104 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Moderate Allocation category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ECIFX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Eaton Vance Balanced C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderate Allocation category. Eaton Vance Balanced C has an expense ratio of 1.71%, which is 72% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Eaton Vance Balanced C has a portfolio turnover rate of 4%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.3 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 52% for the Moderate Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Eaton Vance Balanced C returned 0.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Moderate Allocation category had an average return of -0.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Eaton Vance Balanced C has a trailing yield of 0.40%, which is below the 1.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Eaton Vance Balanced C Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.1%, 3.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 6.8% over the past year (grade of F), 12.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and 6.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 8.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about Eaton Vance Balanced C, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
ECIFX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ECIFX Return (NAV) | 0.0% | 1.5% | 6.8% | 12.1% | 6.1% | 8.1% |
| ECIFX Grade | B | F | F | C | D | C |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | -0.7% | -6.2% | 0.1% | -0.6% | -0.3% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | -0.3% | 2.1% | 13.1% | 12.0% | 6.6% | 8.5% |
| ECIFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.0% |
ECIFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ECIFX Return (NAV) | 3.1% | 10.2% | 18.6% | 15.2% | -16.2% | 13.2% | 13.2% | 22.7% | -4.0% | 12.6% | 3.9% |
| ECIFX Grade | F | F | A | B | D | D | C | A | B | D | F |
| +/- Category | -3.3% | -3.2% | 6.4% | 0.8% | -2.2% | -1.2% | 0.3% | 2.9% | 1.1% | -1.2% | -3.8% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | 6.4% | 13.4% | 12.2% | 14.3% | -14.0% | 14.4% | 12.9% | 19.8% | -5.1% | 13.8% | 7.7% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 9.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.78 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.04 - Above Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | D (76% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.89 |
| R-Squared: | 76% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 0.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1027 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 105 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | C |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 4% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 16.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Gaffney Charles (2009), Khanduja Vishal (2017), Ellis Brian (2017) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 448 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 34.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 4.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 60.7% |
| Foreign Stock: | 1.4% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 31.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 2.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.0% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Eaton Vance |
| Phone Number: | 800-262-1122 |
| Website: | www.eatonvance.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | November 2, 1993 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 1.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 1.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.71% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | Eaton Vance Balanced A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
