July22,2019 BARRON’S 33
MutualFunds
TalkingWithEricSteinandMichaelCirami
Co-DirectorsofGlobalIncome,EatonVance
Mastersof
Emerging
MarketDebt
ByLeslieP.Norton
FOR FUND MANAGERS MICHAEL CIRAMI AND ERIC STEIN, A LOT
can be learned from the answer to a simple question.
After widespread protests toppled the Egyptian govern-
ment in 2011 during the height of the Arab Spring, the coun-
try saw a decline in foreign investments, falling growth, and a
currency devaluation, amid a revolving door of finance minis-
ters. During an International Monetary Fund meeting, Cirami
asked one of those short-tenured finance ministers some stan-
dard policy questions, but also casually asked whether he
liked his job. “No, I don’t,” the minister replied abruptly.
Shortly after that, the minister resigned.
Cirami and Stein, co-directors of global income at Eaton
Vance , keep lists of revealing questions like that handy, because
they know staying out of troubled areas is critical to boosting
returns and reducing volatility. That kept them out of Egypt
earlier this decade, and it has burnished the appeal of their
well-regarded bond funds. Their five-star Eaton Vance Emerg-
ing Markets Debt Opportunities fund (ticker: EADOX), man-
aged along with colleague John Baur, has notched an average
annual return of 6.3% over the past three years, beating 97% of
its peers in the emerging markets local-currency bond category.
Their bronze-rated Eaton Vance Global Macro Absolute Return
fund (EAGMX), with $3.7 billion in assets, has beaten its bench-
mark the past 10 years with a 2.6% average annual return.
Picking countries in the right stage of the cycle can pro-
duce strong returns, particularly in developing markets that
are reinventing themselves. On country visits, Cirami and
Stein typically have an array of meetings with central bank-
ers, political analysts, government ministers and underlings,
members of opposition parties—anybody who might share a
provocative insight. They boil these conversations down to a
view about the country’s development cycle and then to their
PhotographbyAdamGlanzman EricStein,left,andMikeCirami