Trustees of Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund Approve Changes in Investment Policy; Announce Special Meeting of Shareholders

BOSTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Subject to shareholder approval and receipt of any required tax rulings, the Board of Trustees of Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund (NYSE: EVG) (the "Fund") authorized the Fund to invest in commodities-related investments to the extent permitted by law. Commodities-related investments may include (but are not limited to) futures contracts on commodities and options thereon, commodity exchange-traded funds and notes, total return swaps on commodity indices, commodity-linked notes and commodity-related warrants. The value of commodities-related investments will generally be affected by overall market movements and factors specific to a particular industry or commodity, which may include weather, health, political and regulatory developments.

Eaton Vance Management, the Fund's investment adviser, believes commodity-related investments can be useful to hedge other positions held in commodity-producing countries or to position the Fund to benefit from certain global economic trends. The Fund currently has a fundamental investment policy that prohibits purchases and sales of physical commodities or contracts for the purchase or sale of physical commodities. At a special meeting of shareholders scheduled to take place on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 4:00 P.M. eastern time, the Fund will propose that the foregoing policy be amended to provide that the Fund may invest in all types of commodity-related investments to the extent permitted by law. Proxy materials containing information about the special meeting and the proposed change will be mailed to the Fund's shareholders of record as of July 24, 2009.

In addition, in connection with short sales of securities, the Board authorized the Fund to enter into repurchase agreements that are not fully collateralized, subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. In connection with such agreements, the Fund will segregate liquid assets equal to the marked-to-market value of its obligations to counterparties.

The Fund is managed by Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp., (NYSE: EV), one of the oldest investment management firms in the United States, with a history dating back to 1924. Eaton Vance and its affiliates managed $127.2 billion in assets as of April 30, 2009, offering individuals and institutions a broad array of investment products and wealth management solutions. The Company's long record of providing exemplary service 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 about Eaton Vance, visit www.eatonvance.com.

SOURCE Eaton Vance Management