Fund Evaluator:

Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I Overview

Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I (EIHIX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond High Yield Bond fund. Eaton Vance launched the fund in 2009.

The investment seeks to provide a high level of current income; growth of capital is a secondary investment objective. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in fixed-income securities, including preferred securities and other hybrid securities, senior floating rate loans and secured and unsecured subordinated floating rate loans and convertible securities. It invests primarily in high yield, high risk corporate bonds. The fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in bonds issued in connection with mergers, acquisitions and other highly-leveraged transactions.

About Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I (EIHIX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.47 years: Justin Bourgette (2025), Stephen Concannon (2014), Jeffrey Mueller (2019), Bo Hunt (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Universal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US High Yield TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I has 506 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 11.9% 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 High Income Opportunities I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I has 12.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 2.3%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 1.4% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 90.5% (78.2% domestic bond, 12.3% foreign bond and 1.3% convertible bond). Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I has 4.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $743 million in total assets, which is above the $550 million average for the High Yield Bond 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.

EIHIX 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 High Income Opportunities I expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the High Yield Bond category. Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I has an expense ratio of 0.64%, which is 30% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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 High Income Opportunities I has a portfolio turnover rate of 45%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 73% for the High Yield Bond category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Eaton Vance High Income Opportunities I returned 1.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the High Yield Bond category had an average return of 0.9%. 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 High Income Opportunities I has a trailing yield of 6.46%, which is above the 6.24% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

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 High Income Opportunities I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 2.6%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 4.9% over the past year (grade of B), 8.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 4.9% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 5.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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