497K 1 refsp.htm EATON VANCE SPECIAL INVESTMENT TRUST 497K refsp.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2010

Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund

Class /Ticker      I/EIREX

This Summary Prospectus is designed to provide investors with key fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, which contain more information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2010, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, and other information about the Fund, go to http://funddocuments.eatonvance.com, email a request to contact@eatonvance.com, call 1-800-262-1122, or ask any financial advisor, bank, or broker-dealer who offers shares of the Fund. Unless otherwise noted, page number references refer to the current Prospectus for this Fund.

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek total return.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  Class I 
Management Fees  0.80% 
Other Expenses  20.31% 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  21.11% 
Expense Reimbursement(1)  (19.96)% 
Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses  1.15% 

(1)      The administrator has agreed to reimburse the Fund’s expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.15%. This expense reimbursement will continue through April 30, 2011. The expense reimbursement relates to ordinary operating expenses only and amounts reimbursed may be subject to recoupment during the current fiscal year to the extent expenses are less than the current expense cap.

Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

  1 Year  3 Years  5 Years  10 Years 
Class I shares  $117  $3,824  $6,432  $10,055 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies primarily engaged in the real estate industry (the "80% Policy"). Although it invests primarily in domestic securities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.

Companies primarily engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments may include real estate investment trusts (REITs) or real estate operating companies that either own properties or make construction or mortgage loans, real estate developers, companies with substantial real estate holdings and other companies whose products and services are related to the real estate industry, such as lodging operators, brokers, property management companies, building supply manufacturers, mortgage lenders, or mortgage servicing companies. REITs tend to be small to medium-sized companies. The value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that have expenses of their own so the Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of those expenses. The Fund will not own real estate directly.


The portfolio manager generally seeks to purchase securities believed to have the potential for above-average earnings growth and profit margins, as well as good appreciation prospects and income-producing potential. Factors the portfolio manager considers in selecting real estate companies include one or more of the following: potential for growth of earnings; relative valuation; free cash flow; undervalued assets; quality and experience of management; type of real estate owned; and the nature of a company’s real estate activities. The portfolio manager may sell a security when the investment adviser’s price objective for the stock is reached, the fundamentals of the company change or to pursue more attractive investment options.

The Fund may engage in derivative transactions to seek return, to seek to hedge against fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates or currency exchange rates, or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities or currencies. Permitted derivatives include: the purchase or sale of forwards or futures contracts; options on futures contracts; exchange traded and over-the-counter options; and equity collars and equity swap agreements. The Fund may also engage in covered short sales (on individual securities held or on an index or basket of securities whose constituents are held in whole or in part).

Principal Risks

Equity Investing Risk. The Fund’s shares are sensitive to stock market volatility and the stocks in which the Fund invests may be more volatile than the stock market as a whole. The prices of stocks may decline in response to conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations, as well as issuer or sector specific events. Market conditions may affect certain types of stocks to a greater extent than other types of stocks. If the stock market declines, the value of Fund shares will also likely decline and although stock values can rebound, there is no assurance that values will return to previous levels.

Real Estate Investing Risk. REITs are subject to special risks associated with real estate. Securities of companies in the real estate industry are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use, and rents, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws, among others. Changes in underlying real estate values may have an exaggerated effect to the extent that REITs concentrate investments in particular geographic regions or property types.

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund may concentrate its investments in the real estate industry, the value of Fund shares may be affected by events that adversely affect that industry and may fluctuate more than that of a less concentrated fund.

Issuer Diversification Risk. The Fund is “non-diversified” which means it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than funds that are “diversified.” Non-diversified funds face the risks of focusing investments in a small number of issuers, including being more susceptible to risks affecting such issuers than a more diversified fund might be.

Smaller Companies Risk. Securities of smaller, less seasoned companies are generally subject to greater price fluctuations, limited liquidity, higher transaction costs and higher investment risk. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group, or lack substantial capital reserves or an established performance record. There is generally less publicly available information about such companies than for larger, more established companies.

Foreign Investment Risk. Because the Fund can invest a portion of its assets in foreign instruments, the value of Fund shares can be adversely affected by changes in currency exchange rates and political and economic developments abroad. Foreign markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the major markets in the United States, and as a result, Fund share values may be more volatile. Trading in foreign markets typically involves higher expense than trading in the United States. The Fund may have difficulties enforcing its legal or contractual rights in a foreign country.

Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the asset, index, rate or instrument underlying a derivative, due to failure of a counterparty or due to tax or regulatory constraints. Derivatives may create investment leverage in the Fund, which magnifies the Fund’s exposure to the underlying investment. Derivative risks may be more significant when they are used to seek return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge the risk of a position or security held by the Fund. Derivatives for hedging purposes may not reduce risk if they are not sufficiently correlated to the position being hedged. A decision as to whether, when and how to use derivatives involves the exercise of specialized skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived transaction may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected events. Derivative instruments may be difficult to value, may be illiquid, and may be subject to wide swings in valuation caused by changes in the value of the underlying instrument. The loss on derivative transactions may substantially exceed the initial investment.

Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund

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Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2010

 

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves possible delay in recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. As a result, the value of Fund shares may fall and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The value of Fund shares could also fall if a loan is called and the Fund is required to liquidate reinvested collateral at a loss or if the investment adviser is unable to reinvest cash collateral at rates which exceed the costs involved.

Risks Associated with Active Management. The Fund is an actively managed portfolio and its success depends upon the investment skills and analytical abilities of the investment adviser to develop and effectively implement strategies that achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Subjective decisions made by the investment adviser may cause the Fund to incur losses or to miss profit opportunities on which it may otherwise have capitalized.

General Fund Investing Risks. The Fund is not a complete investment program and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. All investments carry a certain amount of risk and there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to achieve its investment objective. In general, the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses as a percentage of Fund average daily net assets will change as Fund assets increase and decrease, and the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses may differ in the future. Purchase and redemption activities by Fund shareholders may impact the management of the Fund and its ability to achieve its objective. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person. You may lose money by investing in the Fund.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns over time compare with those of two broad-based securities market indicies. The Fund's performance reflects the effects of expense reductions.  Absent these reductions, performance would have been lower.  Past performance (both before and after taxes) is no guarantee of future results. Updated Fund performance information can be obtained by visiting www.eatonvance.com.

During the period from December 31, 2006 through December 31, 2009, the highest quarterly total return for the Fund was 30.70% for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, and the lowest quarterly return was –35.70% for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.

Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2009  One Year  Life of Fund 
Fund Return Before Taxes  28.17%  --3.80% 
Fund Return After Taxes on Distributions  27.04%  --5.17% 
Fund Return After Taxes on Distributions and the Sale of Fund Shares  18.32%  --3.86% 
Dow Jones U.S. Select Real Estate Securities Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  29.01%  --6.54% 
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  26.47%  --2.20% 

The Fund commenced operations on April 28, 2006. Life of Fund returns are calculated from April 30, 2006. The Dow Jones U.S. Select Real Estate Securities Index is a broad-based, unmanaged market index. The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based unmamaged market index used as a measure of U.S. stock market performance. Investors cannot invest directly in an Index. (Source for Indices: Lipper, Inc.)

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder’s tax situation and the actual characterization of distributions, and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to shareholders who hold shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. Return After Taxes on Distributions for a period may be the same as Return Before Taxes for that period because no taxable distributions were made during that period. Also, Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be greater than or equal to Return After Taxes on Distributions for the same period because of losses realized on the sale of Fund shares.

Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund

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Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2010

 

Management

Investment Adviser. Eaton Vance Management ("EVM").

Portfolio Manager. The Fund is managed by J. Scott Craig, Vice President of EVM, who has managed the Fund since it commenced operations in 2006.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares either through your financial intermediary or directly from the Fund either by writing to Eaton Vance Funds, P.O. Box 9653, Providence, RI 02940-9653, or by calling 1-800-262-1122. The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $250,000 (waived in certain circumstances). There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are exempt from taxation.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (collectively, "financial intermediaries"), the Fund, its principal underwriter and its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s web site for more information.

  4474-5/10 RESP                                                                                                                                                                                               © 2010 Eaton Vance Management

Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund

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Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2010