In common with other US managers, Eaton Vance is seeking to raise its global profile. But it does not want to be all things to all clients, in all regions.

For one thing, it costs too much. For another, chief executive Thomas Faust likes to approach things sideways, using strategies whose intellectual appeal can cross borders, as well as serving US clients. "I'm interested in structures. Maybe that's because I'm a mechanical engineer by training," Faust says. Eaton Vance has always liked to innovate. Back in 1924, an Eaton Vance company launched the first US mutual fund, Massachusetts Investors Trust.