Let’s cut the bullshit right from the start. Eaton Vance Management, that polished facade of an investment giant now swallowed whole by Morgan Stanley, has spent decades peddling itself as a guardian of your hard-earned cash. But peel back the layers, and what you find is a stinking pile of self-serving schemes, regulatory slaps, and outright theft from the very people it’s supposed to protect. These aren’t isolated fuck-ups; they’re a pattern, a corporate DNA twisted around maximising profits at any cost, even if it means screwing employees, clients, and shareholders blind.

And here’s the kicker: Eaton Vance is a significant shareholder in Cummins Inc., the diesel engine behemoth that’s been knee-deep in its own ethical swamp. Holding around 2.74% of Cummins shares – that’s millions in stock – Eaton Vance is profiting from a company fined over $2 billion for emissions cheating, installing defeat devices in hundreds of thousands of trucks to dodge clean air laws. Is this just coincidence? Or yet another link in the chain of the Cummins ecosystem’s “alternative” take on ethics, where rules are for the little guys and profits justify any deceit? Cummins’ scandal reeks of the same disregard for integrity that Eaton Vance has shown time and again. Why hitch your wagon to polluters and cheats unless you share their worldview?

This isn’t some sanitised corporate history. This is the raw truth about a firm that’s dodged accountability while raking in billions. From fiddling their own employees’ retirement plans to harbouring fraudsters in their ranks, Eaton Vance’s track record is a masterclass in how to game the system and walk away with pockets full. And now, under Morgan Stanley’s umbrella, they’re bigger than ever. Time to shine a light on the shadows.

Screwing Their Own: The 401(k) Fiasco

Start with the basics: Eaton Vance couldn’t even manage its own house without turning it into a casino rigged against its employees. In 2018, a class-action lawsuit hit them like a freight train, accusing the firm of stuffing its employee 401(k) plan with overpriced, underperforming proprietary funds. We’re talking high-fee crap that lined Eaton Vance’s pockets while bleeding workers’ retirement savings dry. Breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA? You bet your arse it was self-dealing at its ugliest.They settled for $3.45 million in 2019, covering about 2,600 participants who’d been shafted since 2012. That’s roughly $1,350 per person before the lawyers took their cut – peanuts compared to the millions Eaton Vance siphoned off in fees. And get this: the settlement didn’t force them to change a damn thing about their fund menu. No reforms, no apologies, just a cheque to make it go away. If they treat their own people like this, imagine what they do to outsiders.

The Insider Thief: Portfolio Manager Gone Rogue

Jump back to 2017, and Eaton Vance’s oversight looks like a joke. One of their portfolio managers, Kevin J. Amell, gets nailed by the SEC for a brazen fraud scheme. This bastard diverted nearly $2 million from client accounts to his personal brokerage through pre-arranged, bogus trades in call options. Over 250 times, he executed matched trades that screwed the funds while padding his wallet – all under Eaton Vance’s nose.

Amell pled guilty to securities fraud, facing up to 20 years but getting off with 18 months in prison and forfeiting his ill-gotten gains. Eaton Vance? They claimed ignorance, launched an “investigation,” and promised reimbursements. But how the hell does a VP pull this off for two years without alarms blaring? Shoddy compliance, that’s how. Clients lost money, trust evaporated, and Eaton Vance shrugged it off as one bad apple. Bullshit – it’s a rotten orchard.

Hidden Payments and Marketing Shenanigans

Eaton Vance’s playbook includes paying off intermediaries under the table to push their funds. In 2017, they settled with the SEC for improper distribution and marketing payments totaling $1.25 million, violating the Investment Advisers Act. They disguised these as sub-transfer agent fees, but it was straight-up bribery to boost sales.

And don’t forget Calvert Investments, acquired by Eaton Vance that same year. Calvert coughed up $22.6 million for similar sins: undisclosed payments to intermediaries, misleading investors about how funds were distributed. Over $17.8 million in disgorgement alone. Eaton Vance knew about these pending cases during the buyout – hell, they disclosed them – but went ahead anyway. Why? Because ethics are optional when growth is on the line.

Kickbacks and Revenue-Sharing Scams

Go further back to the mid-2000s, and Eaton Vance was knee-deep in mutual fund kickbacks. A class-action suit accused them of siphoning money from funds to pay undisclosed bribes to brokers, violating securities laws. The case got dismissed on appeal in 2007, but it exposed the sleazy underbelly of revenue-sharing practices that prioritised sales over investor interests.

Around the same time, securities litigation hammered them for misleading statements in fund registration materials, inflating performance and hiding risks. Partial dismissal, sure, but the stink lingered. And let’s not gloss over the $4.74 million fine slapped on an affiliate for investor protection violations – vague on details, but crystal clear on the pattern: Eaton Vance plays fast and loose with rules meant to safeguard the public.

Shareholder Wars: The Saba Capital Clash

Fast-forward to 2023, and Eaton Vance is still entrenching itself against accountability. Hedge fund Saba Capital challenged their closed-end funds’ governance, alleging tactics that locked in management at investors’ expense. A Massachusetts court ruled partially for Eaton Vance, but the dispute screamed of a firm desperate to fend off activists pushing for better shareholder rights.

Saba accused them of bylaw tricks to strip voting power, violating the Investment Company Act. Eaton Vance fought tooth and nail, and while they “won,” it highlighted how far they’ll go to protect their turf. Investors want transparency and fair play; Eaton Vance delivers lawsuits and barriers.

Record-Keeping Fumbles and Digital Disruptions

Even in the digital age, Eaton Vance can’t keep its house in order. As part of Morgan Stanley in 2024 and 2025, they got tangled in SEC settlements for off-channel communications and record-keeping failures. Multiple actions: 16 firms fined $81 million in 2024, then 12 more for $63 million in 2025. Failures to preserve electronic chats violated rules meant to ensure transparency.

These aren’t minor slips; they’re systemic lapses that erode trust. In critical sectors like finance, where every message could be evidence, Eaton Vance’s involvement in these fines paints them as careless at best, obstructive at worst.

Exchange-Traded Shenanigans and Ongoing Scrutiny

Throw in fines for exchange-traded products violations around 2020 – inadequate disclosures in marketing and sales – and the picture sharpens. Eaton Vance was among firms penalised for compliance failures that misled investors on risks and practices.

Post-Morgan Stanley merger, whispers of cultural clashes and compensation gripes from employees suggest the rot hasn’t been cleaned out. No major new scandals in 2024-2025? Don’t bet on it; the SEC’s radar is still locked on.

The Cummins Connection

Back to that Cummins stake. Eaton Vance holds millions in a company that cheated emissions tests on 600,000+ Ram trucks, paying $2 billion in penalties for environmental fraud. Cummins installed defeat devices to bypass regulations, polluting the air while profiting. Sound familiar? It’s the same ethical flexibility Eaton Vance has shown in its own backyard.

Is Eaton Vance just another cog in a machine where “alternative ideas on ethical behaviour” mean bending rules for bucks? As a shareholder, they’re complicit in Cummins’ mess, profiting from deceit while preaching fiduciary duty. Hypocrisy doesn’t get thicker.

Wrapping Up the Wreckage

Eaton Vance isn’t a victim of bad luck; it’s a perpetrator of calculated greed. From internal fraud to external settlements, their history is a litany of betrayals that cost investors dearly. Now bloated under Morgan Stanley, they’re poised to do more damage unless regulators or shareholders force change. Don’t buy the glossy brochures – this firm’s soul is as black as the ink on their fine-print disclaimers. Fuck that noise; demand better.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Shareholder Spotlight : Eaton Vance – A Legacy of Green, Fraud and Investor Betrayal