Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund Special Meeting of Shareholders

BOSTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At a Special Meeting of Shareholders held Friday, October 23, 2009, shareholders of Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund (NYSE: EVG) (the "Fund"), a closed-end investment company, authorized the Fund to invest in commodities-related investments to the extent permitted by law. To qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, 90% of the Fund's income must be from certain qualified sources. Direct investment in many commodities investments generates income that is not from a qualified source for purposes of meeting this 90% test. Absent a revenue ruling or other guidance from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), the Fund intends to seek a private letter ruling from the IRS that (i) income from commodity-linked notes or (ii) income earned by the Fund from the ownership of one or more offshore subsidiaries that hold commodities or commodities-related investments is income from a qualified source for purposes of the 90% test. The Fund will not invest in commodity-related investments until it obtains such a private letter ruling.

The Fund is managed by Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV), based in Boston, one of the oldest investment management firms in the United States, with a history dating back to 1924. Eaton Vance and its affiliates managed $157.0 billion in assets as of September 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.