UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Two International Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Maureen A. Gemma
Two International Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
(Name and Address of Agent for Services)

(617) 482-8260

October 31

April 30, 2012

 

 

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund (ETY) Semiannual Report April 30, 2012

 

 

 

Managed Distribution Plan. On March 10, 2009, the Fund received authorization from the Securities and Exchange Commission to distribute long-term capital gains to shareholders more frequently than once per year. In this connection, the Board of Trustees formally approved the implementation of a Managed Distribution Plan (MDP) to make quarterly cash distributions to common shareholders, stated in terms of a fixed amount per common share.

 

The Fund intends to pay quarterly cash distributions equal to $0.2530 per share. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amount of these distributions or from the terms of the MDP. The MDP will be subject to regular periodic review by the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

 

With each distribution, the Fund will issue a notice to shareholders and an accompanying press release which will provide detailed information required by the Fund’s exemptive order. The Fund’s Board of Trustees may amend or terminate the MDP at any time without prior notice to Fund shareholders. However, at this time there are no reasonably foreseeable circumstances that might cause the termination of the MDP.

 

Fund shares are not insured by the FDIC and are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, any depository institution. Shares are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of principal invested.

Semiannual Report April 30, 2012

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

Table of Contents
Performance			2
Fund Profile			3
Endnotes and Additional Disclosures			4
Financial Statements			5
Board of Trustees’ Contract Approval			18
Officers and Trustees			21
Important Notices			22

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

April 30, 2012

Portfolio Managers Walter A. Row III, CFA, CMT, and Michael A. Allison, CFA

Performance¹

																		Since
% Average Annual Total Returns		Inception Date				Six Months				One Year				Five Years				Inception
Fund at NAV			11/30/2006				9.85	%			-0.44	%			1.04	%			2.62	%
Fund at Market Price			—				10.70				-4.23				-2.15				-0.26
S&P 500 Index			11/30/2006				12.77	%			4.76	%			1.00	%			2.12	%
CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index			11/30/2006				11.41				7.63				2.17				2.45

% Premium/Discount to NAV
			-14.30	%

Distributions2
Total Distributions per share for the period		$	0.579
Distribution Rate at NAV			10.35	%
Distribution Rate at Market Price			12.08	%

See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures in this report.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Returns are historical and are calculated by determining the percentage change in net asset value (NAV) or market price (as applicable) with all distributions reinvested. Fund performance at market price will differ from its results at NAV due to factors such as changing perceptions about the Fund, market conditions, fluctuations in supply and demand for Fund shares, or changes in Fund distributions. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance less than one year is cumulative. Performance is for the stated time period only; due to market volatility, current Fund performance may be lower or higher than the quoted return. For performance as of the most recent month end, please refer to www.eatonvance.com.

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

April 30, 2012

Fund Profile

Sector Allocation (% of total investments)³

Country Allocation (% of total investments)

Top 10 Holdings (% of total investments)3
Apple, Inc.			3.3	%
Exxon Mobil Corp.			2.8
Coca-Cola Co. (The)			2.5
International Business Machines Corp.			2.3
Danaher Corp.			2.2
QUALCOMM, Inc.			2.0
Amazon.com, Inc.			1.9
JPMorgan Chase & Co.			1.9
Philip Morris International, Inc.			1.9
Pfizer, Inc.			1.8
Total			22.6	%

See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures in this report.

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

April 30, 2012

1		S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of large-cap stocks commonly used as a measure of U.S. stock market performance. CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index measures the performance of a hypothetical buy-write strategy on the S&P 500 Index. Unless otherwise stated, index returns do not reflect the effect of any applicable sales charges, commissions, expenses, taxes or leverage, as applicable. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
2		The Distribution Rate is based on the Fund’s last regular distribution per share in the period (annualized) divided by the Fund’s NAV or market price at the end of the period. The Fund’s distributions may be composed of ordinary income, tax-exempt income, net realized capital gains and return of capital. In recent years, a significant portion of the Fund’s distributions has been characterized as a return of capital. Subsequent distributions declared, but not reflected in Fund Performance, reflect a reduction of the quarterly distribution rate.
3		Depictions do not reflect the Fund’s option positions. Excludes cash and cash equivalents.
		Fund profile subject to change due to active management.

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited)

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

5

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited) — continued

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

6

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited) — continued

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

7

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited) — continued

 

 

The percentage shown for each investment category in the Portfolio of Investments is based on net assets.

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

8

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Unaudited)

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

9

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Statement of Operations (Unaudited)

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

10

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

11

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Financial Highlights

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

12

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

 

1 Significant Accounting Policies

 

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund (the Fund) is a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), as a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income and gains, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation.

 

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies of the Fund. The policies are in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

A Investment Valuation — Equity securities (including common shares of closed-end investment companies) listed on a U.S. securities exchange generally are valued at the last sale or closing price on the day of valuation or, if no sales took place on such date, at the mean between the closing bid and asked prices therefore on the exchange where such securities are principally traded. Equity securities listed on the NASDAQ Global or Global Select Market generally are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. Unlisted or listed securities for which closing sales prices or closing quotations are not available are valued at the mean between the latest available bid and asked prices or, in the case of preferred equity securities that are not listed or traded in the over-the-counter market, by a third party pricing service that will use various techniques that consider factors including, but not limited to, prices or yields of securities with similar characteristics, benchmark yields, broker/dealer quotes, quotes of underlying common stock, issuer spreads, as well as industry and economic events. Exchange-traded options are valued at the mean between the bid and asked prices at valuation time as reported by the Options Price Reporting Authority for U.S. listed options or by the relevant exchange or board of trade for non-U.S. listed options. Over-the-counter options are valued by a third party pricing service using techniques that consider factors including the value of the underlying instrument, the volatility of the underlying instrument and the period of time until option expiration. Short-term obligations purchased with a remaining maturity of sixty days or less are generally valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Foreign securities and currencies are valued in U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a third party pricing service. The pricing service uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Inputs to the model include reported trades and implied bid/ask spreads. The daily valuation of exchange-traded foreign securities generally is determined as of the close of trading on the principal exchange on which such securities trade. Events occurring after the close of trading on foreign exchanges may result in adjustments to the valuation of foreign securities to more accurately reflect their fair value as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. When valuing foreign equity securities that meet certain criteria, the Fund’s Trustees have approved the use of a fair value service that values such securities to reflect market trading that occurs after the close of the applicable foreign markets of comparable securities or other instruments that have a strong correlation to the fair-valued securities.

 

Investments for which valuations or market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value using methods determined in good faith by or at the direction of the Trustees of the Fund in a manner that fairly reflects the security’s value, or the amount that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale in the ordinary course. Each such determination is based on a consideration of relevant factors, which are likely to vary from one pricing context to another. These factors may include, but are not limited to, the type of security, the existence of any contractual restrictions on the security’s disposition, the price and extent of public trading in similar securities of the issuer or of comparable companies or entities, quotations or relevant information obtained from broker/dealers or other market participants, information obtained from the issuer, analysts, and/or the appropriate stock exchange (for exchange-traded securities), an analysis of the company’s or entity’s financial condition, and an evaluation of the forces that influence the issuer and the market(s) in which the security is purchased and sold.

 

The Fund may invest in Eaton Vance Cash Reserves Fund, LLC (Cash Reserves Fund), an affiliated investment company managed by Eaton Vance Management (EVM). Cash Reserves Fund generally values its investment securities utilizing the amortized cost valuation technique in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. This technique involves initially valuing a portfolio security at its cost and thereafter assuming a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium. If amortized cost is determined not to approximate fair value, Cash Reserves Fund may value its investment securities based on available market quotations provided by a third party pricing service.

 

B Investment Transactions — Investment transactions for financial statement purposes are accounted for on a trade date basis. Realized gains and losses on investments sold are determined on the basis of identified cost.

 

C Income — Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date for dividends received in cash and/or securities. However, if the ex-dividend date has passed, certain dividends from foreign securities are recorded as the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Withholding taxes on foreign dividends and capital gains have been provided for in accordance with the Fund’s understanding of the applicable countries’ tax rules and rates. Interest income is recorded on the basis of interest accrued, adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount.

 

D Federal Taxes — The Fund’s policy is to comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute to shareholders each year substantially all of its net investment income, and all or substantially all of its net realized capital gains. Accordingly, no provision for federal income or excise tax is necessary.

 

At October 31, 2011, the Fund, for federal income tax purposes, had a capital loss carryforward of $445,775,309 which will reduce its taxable income arising from future net realized gains on investment transactions, if any, to the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code, and thus will reduce the amount of distributions to shareholders, which would otherwise be necessary to relieve the Fund of any liability for federal income or excise tax. Such capital loss carryforward will expire on October 31, 2015 ($98,912,884), October 31, 2017 ($293,314,901) and October 31, 2018 ($53,547,524). In addition, such capital loss carryforward cannot be utilized prior to the utilization of new capital losses, if any, created after October 31, 2011.

 

13

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited) — continued

 

As of April 30, 2012, the Fund had no uncertain tax positions that would require financial statement recognition, de-recognition, or disclosure. The Fund files a U.S. federal income tax return annually after its fiscal year-end, which is subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a period of three years from the date of filing.

 

E Expense Reduction — State Street Bank and Trust Company (SSBT) serves as custodian of the Fund. Pursuant to the custodian agreement, SSBT receives a fee reduced by credits, which are determined based on the average daily cash balance the Fund maintains with SSBT. All credit balances, if any, used to reduce the Fund’s custodian fees are reported as a reduction of expenses in the Statement of Operations.

 

F Foreign Currency Translation — Investment valuations, other assets, and liabilities initially expressed in foreign currencies are translated each business day into U.S. dollars based upon current exchange rates. Purchases and sales of foreign investment securities and income and expenses denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars based upon currency exchange rates in effect on the respective dates of such transactions. Recognized gains or losses on investment transactions attributable to changes in foreign currency exchange rates are recorded for financial statement purposes as net realized gains and losses on investments. That portion of unrealized gains and losses on investments that results from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates is not separately disclosed.

 

G Use of Estimates — The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

H Indemnifications — Under the Fund’s organizational documents, its officers and Trustees may be indemnified against certain liabilities and expenses arising out of the performance of their duties to the Fund. Under Massachusetts law, if certain conditions prevail, shareholders of a Massachusetts business trust (such as the Fund) could be deemed to have personal liability for the obligations of the Fund. However, the Fund’s Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of liability on the part of Fund shareholders and the By-laws provide that the Fund shall assume the defense on behalf of any Fund shareholders. Moreover, the By-laws also provide for indemnification out of Fund property of any shareholder held personally liable solely by reason of being or having been a shareholder for all loss or expense arising from such liability. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Fund enters into agreements with service providers that may contain indemnification clauses. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet occurred.

 

I Written Options — Upon the writing of a call or a put option, the premium received by the Fund is included in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a liability. The amount of the liability is subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current market value of the option written, in accordance with the Fund’s policies on investment valuations discussed above. Premiums received from writing options which expire are treated as realized gains. Premiums received from writing options which are exercised or are closed are added to or offset against the proceeds or amount paid on the transaction to determine the realized gain or loss. When an index option is exercised, the Fund is required to deliver an amount of cash determined by the excess of the strike price of the option over the value of the index (in the case of a put) or the excess of the value of the index over the strike price of the option (in the case of a call) at contract termination. If a put option on a security is exercised, the premium reduces the cost basis of the securities purchased by the Fund. The Fund, as a writer of an option, may have no control over whether the underlying securities or other assets may be sold (call) or purchased (put) and, as a result, bears the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the securities or other assets underlying the written option. The Fund may also bear the risk of not being able to enter into a closing transaction if a liquid secondary market does not exist.

 

J Interim Financial Statements — The interim financial statements relating to April 30, 2012 and for the six months then ended have not been audited by an independent registered public accounting firm, but in the opinion of the Fund’s management, reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the financial statements.

 

2 Distributions to Shareholders

 

Subject to its Managed Distribution Plan, the Fund intends to make quarterly distributions from its cash available for distribution, which consists of the Fund’s dividends and interest income after payment of Fund expenses, net option premiums and net realized and unrealized gains on stock investments. The Fund intends to distribute all or substantially all of its net realized capital gains (reduced by available capital loss carryforwards from prior years, if any). Distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The Fund distinguishes between distributions on a tax basis and a financial reporting basis. Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require that only distributions in excess of tax basis earnings and profits be reported in the financial statements as a return of capital. Permanent differences between book and tax accounting relating to distributions are reclassified to paid-in capital. For tax purposes, distributions from short-term capital gains are considered to be from ordinary income. Distributions in any year may include a substantial return of capital component. For the six months ended April 30, 2012, the amount of distributions estimated to be a tax return of capital was approximately $80,218,000. The final determination of tax characteristics of the Fund’s distributions will occur at the end of the year, at which time it will be reported to the shareholders.

 

3 Investment Adviser Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

 

The investment adviser fee is earned by EVM as compensation for management and investment advisory services rendered to the Fund. Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement and subsequent fee reduction agreement, the fee is computed at an annual rate of 1.00% of the Fund’s average daily gross

 

14

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited) — continued

assets up to and including $1.5 billion, 0.98% over $1.5 billion up to and including $3 billion and at reduced rates on daily gross assets over $3 billion, and is payable monthly. Gross assets as referred to herein represent net assets plus obligations attributable to investment leverage, if any. The fee reduction cannot be terminated without the consent of the Trustees and shareholders. The Fund invests its cash in Cash Reserves Fund. EVM does not currently receive a fee for advisory services provided to Cash Reserves Fund. For the six months ended April 30, 2012, the Fund’s investment adviser fee amounted to $8,220,897 or 1.00% (annualized) of the Fund’s average daily gross assets. EVM also serves as administrator of the Fund, but receives no compensation.

 

Except for Trustees of the Fund who are not members of EVM’s organization, officers and Trustees receive remuneration for their services to the Fund out of the investment adviser fee. Trustees of the Fund who are not affiliated with EVM may elect to defer receipt of all or a percentage of their annual fees in accordance with the terms of the Trustees Deferred Compensation Plan. For the six months ended April 30, 2012, no significant amounts have been deferred. Certain officers and Trustees of the Fund are officers of EVM.

 

4 Purchases and Sales of Investments

 

Purchases and sales of investments, other than short-term obligations, aggregated $288,522,847 and $388,728,499, respectively, for the six months ended April 30, 2012.

 

5 Common Shares of Beneficial Interest

 

The Fund may issue common shares pursuant to its dividend reinvestment plan. There were no transactions in common shares for the six months ended April 30, 2012 and year ended October 31, 2011.

 

6 Federal Income Tax Basis of Investments

 

The cost and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments of the Fund at April 30, 2012, as determined on a federal income tax basis, were as follows:

 

 

7 Financial Instruments

 

The Fund may trade in financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of its investing activities. These financial instruments may include written options and may involve, to a varying degree, elements of risk in excess of the amounts recognized for financial statement purposes. The notional or contractual amounts of these instruments represent the investment the Fund has in particular classes of financial instruments and do not necessarily represent the amounts potentially subject to risk. The measurement of the risks associated with these instruments is meaningful only when all related and offsetting transactions are considered. A summary of written call options at April 30, 2012 is included in the Portfolio of Investments.

 

Written call options activity for the six months ended April 30, 2012 was as follows:

 

 

All of the assets of the Fund are subject to segregation to satisfy the requirements of the escrow agent. At April 30, 2012, the Fund had sufficient cash and/or securities to cover commitments under these contracts.

 

15

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited) — continued

 

The Fund is subject to equity price risk in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives. The Fund writes index call options above the current value of the index to generate premium income. In writing index call options, the Fund in effect, sells potential appreciation in the value of the applicable index above the exercise price in exchange for the option premium received. The Fund retains the risk of loss, minus the premium received, should the price of the underlying index decline. The Fund is not subject to counterparty credit risk with respect to its written options as the Fund, not the counterparty, is obligated to perform under such derivatives.

 

The fair value of open derivative instruments (not considered to be hedging instruments for accounting disclosure purposes) and whose primary underlying risk exposure is equity price risk at April 30, 2012 was as follows:

 

 

 

The effect of derivative instruments (not considered to be hedging instruments for accounting disclosure purposes) on the Statement of Operations and whose primary underlying risk exposure is equity price risk for the six months ended April 30, 2012 was as follows:

 

 

 

8 Risks Associated with Foreign Investments

 

Investing in securities issued by companies whose principal business activities are outside the United States may involve significant risks not present in domestic investments. For example, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies, particularly those not subject to the disclosure and reporting requirements of the U.S. securities laws. Certain foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to domestic issuers. Investments in foreign securities also involve the risk of possible adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitation on the removal of funds or other assets of the Fund, political or financial instability or diplomatic and other developments which could affect such investments. Foreign securities markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers (particularly those located in developing countries) may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of foreign securities markets, broker/dealers and issuers than in the United States.

 

9 Fair Value Measurements

 

Under generally accepted accounting principles for fair value measurements, a three-tier hierarchy to prioritize the assumptions, referred to as inputs, is used in valuation techniques to measure fair value. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

 

 

In cases where the inputs used to measure fair value fall in different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level disclosed is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

 

16

 

Eaton Vance

Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund

 

April 30, 2012

 

 

Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited) — continued

 

At April 30, 2012, the hierarchy of inputs used in valuing the Fund’s investments and open derivative instruments, which are carried at value, were as follows: