Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
 
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act File Number: 811-21400
Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend 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
(Registrant’s Telephone Number)
August 31
Date of Fiscal Year End
August 31, 2011
Date of Reporting Period
 
 

 


 

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders

 


 

     
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend
Income Fund (EVT)

Annual Report
August 31, 2011
 
(TROPHY GRAPHIC)

 
 
 
(EATON VANCE INVESTMENT MANAGERS LOGO)


 

 
 
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.


 

Annual Report August 31, 2011
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
Table of Contents
         
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance
    2  
Performance
    4  
Fund Profile
    5  
Endnotes and Additional Disclosures
    6  
Financial Statements
    7  
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
    23  
Federal Tax Information
    24  
Annual Meeting of Shareholders
    25  
Dividend Reinvestment Plan
    26  
Board of Trustees’ Contract Approval
    28  
Management and Organization
    31  
Important Notices
    33  

 


 

Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
August 31, 2011
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance

Portfolio Managers Martha G. Locke; Judith A. Saryan, CFA; John H. Croft, CFA; Aamer Khan, CFA
For the fiscal year ending August 31, 2011, Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund had total returns of 13.58% at net asset value (NAV) and 10.96% at market price. The Fund is a closed-end fund and trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “EVT.” The Fund’s investment objective is to provide a high level of after-tax total return consisting primarily of tax-advantaged dividend income and capital appreciation. The Fund pursues its objective by investing its assets primarily in dividend-paying common and preferred stocks.
Economic and Market Conditions
U.S. equities were especially volatile during the 12 months ending August 31, 2011. Encouraged early in the period by what appeared to be a quickening pace of economic recovery, investors drove global equity prices to solid gains. But that momentum began to sputter during the late spring and summer of 2011, backsliding on ongoing news of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, rising fiscal and political uncertainty in Washington, D.C. and growing fears of a slowing of global economic growth. The overall slowdown prompted the global markets to shift from a decidedly “risk-on” to a decidedly “risk-off” stance by the close of the 12-month period, with risk-associated assets such as stocks, corporate bonds and commodities selling off sharply in the second half and seeking safer havens.
On the whole, however, global equities fared well for the period, despite the substantial sell-off during the summer months. In the U.S., the S&P 500 Index gained 18.50% for the year ending August 31, 2011. Representing the developed markets, the MSCI World Index rose 14.46%. Despite persistent worries about sovereign debt in the euro zone, the FTSE Eurotop 100 Index advanced 9.51%, and the broader-based MSCI Europe, Australasia, Far East (MSCI EAFE) Index was up 10.01%. In Japan, the Nikkei-225 Stock Average gained 11.44%.1
Emerging markets proved to be somewhat weaker than their developed-market counterparts. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index posted a 9.07% return for the 12-month period, but two of the emerging markets’ most-dynamic economies—China and India—were underperformers. In China, the MSCI Golden Dragon Index was up only 6.94%, and in India, the Bombay Stock Exchange 100 Index actually lost ground for the year, returning -6.15%.1
Management Discussion
During its fiscal year, the Fund, at NAV, underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index (the Index)1, which had a total return of 14.37% for the 12-month period. The primary reason for the Fund’s underperformance was its holdings of preferred stocks, which lagged common stocks by a significant margin over the year.
The Fund’s common stock holdings outperformed the Index during the period. The three largest contributing sectors were financials, consumer staples and energy; health care and utilities were the primary detractors. In terms of industries, information technology services, diversified financial services and aerospace & defense added the most, while hotels, restaurants & leisure, pharmaceuticals and road & rail detracted.
In the financials sector, which had poor performance, the Fund benefited from being significantly underweighted relative to the Index—especially in the diversified financial services industry, which had negative performance in the double digits. In consumer staples, security selection played the biggest role, as the Fund’s holdings in this sector strongly outperformed those in the Index. Finally, relative to the Index, the Fund was overweighted in the energy sector, which performed well during the period. On the downside, both security selection and allocation hurt the Fund in the health care sector, while an overweight position in the utilities sector also limited the Fund’s performance.
As of August 31, 2011, the Fund had leverage in the amount of approximately 26.8% of the Fund’s aggregate net assets plus borrowings outstanding. The Fund employs leverage through debt financing. Use of financial leverage creates an opportunity for increased income but, at the same time, creates special risks (including the likelihood of greater volatility of net asset value and market price of common shares). The cost of the Fund’s leverage rises and
See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures on page 6.
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.

2


 

Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
August 31, 2011
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance (continued)
falls with changes in short-term interest rates. During the period, the Fund’s leverage generally helped its performance.
Also as of August 31, 2011, the Fund had approximately 23% of its total investments in preferred stocks. These preferred holdings gained 7.11%, ahead of the BofA Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index, which had a total return of 6.43% for the year. Management’s underweight of financials in the preferred component during the period accounted for most of the preferred stock outperformance.
Based on the Fund’s objective of providing a high level of after-tax total return, which consists primarily of tax-favored dividend income and capital appreciation, the Fund was invested primarily in securities that generated a high level of qualified dividend income (QDI) during the period.
The Fund’s monthly distribution rate remained at $0.1075 during the fiscal year. As portfolio and market conditions change, the rate of distributions on the Fund’s shares could change. All of the dividends paid by the Fund during the fiscal year ending August 31, 2011 were qualified dividends subject to federal income tax at a long-term capital gains rate (up to 15%) if certain holding period and other requirements have been met by receiving shareholders.
As always, we thank you for your continued confidence and participation in the Fund.
See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures on page 6.
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.

3


 

Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
August 31, 2011
Performance2
         
NYSE Symbol    
Inception Date (9/30/03)   EVT
 
% Average Annual Total Returns at NAV
       
 
One Year
    13.58  
Five Years
    -0.96  
Since Inception
    6.23  
 
       
% Average Annual Total Returns at market price, NYSE
       
 
One Year
    10.96  
Five Years
    -1.94  
Since Inception
    4.88  
 
       
% Premium/Discount to NAV (8/31/11)
    -9.65  
 
 
       
Distributions
       
 
Total Distributions per share (8/31/10 - 8/31/11)
  $ 1.290  
Distribution Rate at NAV3
    7.69 %
Distribution Rate at market price3
    8.51 %
 
       
% Total Leverage4
       
 
Borrowings
    26.78  
                         
% Comparative Performance1   One Year   Five Years   Since Inception
 
Russell 1000 Value Index
    14.37       -1.61       4.86  
BofA Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index
    6.43       -0.35       1.39  
See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures on page 6.
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.

4


 

Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
August 31, 2011
Fund Profile
Country Allocation (% of total investments)
(BAR GRAPH)
Common Stock Sector Allocation (% of total investments)
(BAR GRAPH)
Top 10 Common Stock Holdings (% of total investments)
         
Wells Fargo & Co.
    2.4  
International Business Machines Corp.
    2.3  
BHP Billiton, Ltd. ADR
    2.1  
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
    2.1  
ConocoPhillips
    2.1  
Chevron Corp.
    2.0  
ENI SpA
    2.0  
VF Corp.
    2.0  
Vale SA ADR
    1.9  
Vodafone Group PLC ADR
    1.9  
 
Total
    20.8  
 
     See Endnotes and Additional Disclosures on page 6.

5


 

Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
August 31, 2011
Endnotes and Additional Disclosures
 
1.   S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of large-cap stocks commonly used as a measure of U.S. stock market performance. MSCI World Index is an unmanaged index of equity securities in the developed markets. MSCI EAFE Index is an unmanaged index of equities in the developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. MSCI Emerging Markets Index is an unmanaged index of emerging markets common stocks. MSCI Golden Dragon Index is an unmanaged index of common stocks traded in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. These indices are net of foreign withholding taxes. Source: MSCI. MSCI data may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose. MSCI provides no warranties, has not prepared or approved this report, and has no liability hereunder. FTSE Eurotop 100 Index is a tradable index designed to represent the performance of the 100 most highly capitalized blue-chip companies in Europe. The return for the FTSE Eurotop 100 Index is calculated in U.S. dollars. Nikkei-225 Stock Average is an unmanaged, price-weighted average of 225 top-rated Japanese companies listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Bombay Stock Exchange 100 Index is an unmanaged index of 100 common stocks traded in the India market. Russell 1000 Value Index is an unmanaged index of 1,000 U.S. large-cap value stocks. BofA Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index is an unmanaged index of fixed-rate, preferred securities issued in the U.S. Unless otherwise stated, indices do not reflect any applicable sales charges, commissions, leverage, taxes or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
 
2.   Performance results reflect the effects of leverage.
 
3.   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, net realized capital gains and return of capital.
 
4.   Total leverage is shown as a percentage of the Fund’s aggregate net assets plus borrowings outstanding. The Fund employs leverage through borrowings. Use of leverage creates an opportunity for income, but creates risks including greater price volatility. The cost of borrowings rises and falls with changes in short-term interest rates. The Fund is required to maintain prescribed asset coverage for its borrowings, which could be reduced if Fund asset values decline.
 
    Fund profile subject to change due to active management.

6


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Portfolio of Investments

                     
Common Stocks — 87.8%
 
Security   Shares     Value      
 
 
 
Aerospace & Defense — 2.9%
 
General Dynamics Corp.(1)
    175,000     $ 11,214,000      
Honeywell International, Inc.(1)
    300,000       14,343,000      
United Technologies Corp.(1)
    130,000       9,652,500      
 
 
            $ 35,209,500      
 
 
 
 
 
Capital Markets — 1.2%
 
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The)(1)
    700,000     $ 14,469,000      
 
 
            $ 14,469,000      
 
 
 
 
 
Chemicals — 0.9%
 
BASF SE(1)
    160,039     $ 11,380,883      
 
 
            $ 11,380,883      
 
 
 
 
 
Commercial Banks — 10.0%
 
Banco Santander Brasil SA ADR(1)
    125,300     $ 1,205,386      
Fifth Third Bancorp(1)
    2,350,000       24,957,000      
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.(1)
    550,000       27,577,000      
U.S. Bancorp(1)
    1,289,000       29,917,690      
Wells Fargo & Co.(1)
    1,470,000       38,367,000      
 
 
            $ 122,024,076      
 
 
 
 
 
Diversified Financial Services — 4.7%
 
Citigroup, Inc.(1)
    755,000     $ 23,442,750      
JPMorgan Chase & Co.(1)
    910,000       34,179,600      
 
 
            $ 57,622,350      
 
 
 
 
 
Diversified Telecommunication Services — 2.7%
 
AT&T, Inc.(1)
    728,750     $ 20,754,800      
France Telecom SA
    500,000       9,552,731      
Telefonos de Mexico SA de CV ADR(1)
    175,000       2,994,250      
 
 
            $ 33,301,781      
 
 
 
 
 
Electric Utilities — 7.4%
 
Edison International(1)
    677,000     $ 25,177,630      
Exelon Corp.(1)
    75,000       3,234,000      
Fortum Oyj(1)
    940,000       25,262,172      
NextEra Energy, Inc.(1)
    400,000       22,688,000      
Scottish and Southern Energy PLC(1)
    670,000       14,110,610      
 
 
            $ 90,472,412      
 
 
 
 
 
Electrical Equipment — 1.1%
 
Emerson Electric Co.(1)
    300,000     $ 13,965,000      
 
 
            $ 13,965,000      
 
 
 
 
 
Food Products — 6.6%
 
Kraft Foods, Inc., Class A(1)
    622,821     $ 21,811,191      
Nestle SA(1)
    486,000       30,071,050      
Sara Lee Corp.(1)
    1,570,000       28,322,800      
 
 
            $ 80,205,041      
 
 
 
 
 
Household Durables — 0.3%
 
Whirlpool Corp.(1)
    67,000     $ 4,200,230      
 
 
            $ 4,200,230      
 
 
 
 
 
Insurance — 1.7%
 
Admiral Group PLC(1)
    73,983     $ 1,639,319      
AXA SA(1)
    410,166       6,583,227      
Prudential PLC(1)
    750,000       7,555,014      
SCOR SE(1)
    100,000       2,353,308      
Storebrand ASA(1)
    384,542       2,550,651      
 
 
            $ 20,681,519      
 
 
 
 
 
IT Services — 3.0%
 
International Business Machines Corp.(1)
    214,000     $ 36,788,740      
 
 
            $ 36,788,740      
 
 
 
 
 
Machinery — 2.9%
 
Illinois Tool Works, Inc.(1)
    220,000     $ 10,238,800      
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.(1)
    400,000       24,792,000      
 
 
            $ 35,030,800      
 
 
 
 
 
Metals & Mining — 5.4%
 
BHP Billiton, Ltd. ADR(1)
    406,000     $ 34,579,020      
Vale SA ADR(1)
    1,091,000       30,809,840      
 
 
            $ 65,388,860      
 
 
 
 
 
Multi-Utilities — 2.2%
 
Sempra Energy(1)
    500,000     $ 26,260,000      
 
 
            $ 26,260,000      
 
 
 
 
 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels — 15.3%
 
Chevron Corp.(1)
    336,000     $ 33,233,760      
ConocoPhillips(1)
    500,000       34,035,000      
ENI SpA(1)
    1,624,000       32,652,577      

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
7


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Portfolio of Investments — continued

                     
Security   Shares     Value      
 
 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (continued)
 
                     
Marathon Oil Corp.(1)
    621,000     $ 16,717,320      
Marathon Petroleum Corp.(1)
    310,500       11,507,130      
Peabody Energy Corp.(1)
    500,000       24,400,000      
Repsol YPF SA(1)
    390,000       11,224,247      
Statoil ASA(1)
    600,000       14,417,069      
Total SA(1)
    170,000       8,302,028      
 
 
            $ 186,489,131      
 
 
 
 
 
Pharmaceuticals — 5.8%
 
Abbott Laboratories(1)
    130,000     $ 6,826,300      
Johnson & Johnson(1)
    300,000       19,740,000      
Merck & Co., Inc.(1)
    596,307       19,749,688      
Sanofi-Aventis(1)
    340,000       24,795,519      
 
 
            $ 71,111,507      
 
 
 
 
 
Road & Rail — 1.8%
 
Union Pacific Corp.(1)
    245,000     $ 22,581,650      
 
 
            $ 22,581,650      
 
 
 
 
 
Software — 2.3%
 
Microsoft Corp.(1)
    370,000     $ 9,842,000      
Oracle Corp.(1)
    670,000       18,806,900      
 
 
            $ 28,648,900      
 
 
 
 
 
Specialty Retail — 0.6%
 
Limited Brands, Inc.(1)
    200,000     $ 7,548,000      
 
 
            $ 7,548,000      
 
 
 
 
 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods — 2.6%
 
VF Corp.(1)
    275,000     $ 32,191,500      
 
 
            $ 32,191,500      
 
 
 
 
 
Tobacco — 3.9%
 
British American Tobacco PLC(1)
    550,000     $ 24,470,402      
Philip Morris International, Inc.(1)
    330,000       22,875,600      
 
 
            $ 47,346,002      
 
 
 
 
 
Wireless Telecommunication Services — 2.5%
 
Vodafone Group PLC ADR(1)
    1,150,000     $ 30,291,000      
 
 
            $ 30,291,000      
 
 
     
Total Common Stocks
   
(identified cost $833,516,962)
  $ 1,073,207,882      
 
 
                     
                     
Preferred Stocks — 30.9%
 
Security   Shares     Value      
 
 
 
 
Commercial Banks — 13.6%
 
Abbey National Capital Trust I, 8.963%(2)
    9,675     $ 9,940,872      
Bank of America Corp., 8.125%(2)
    14,003       13,592,343      
Barclays Bank PLC, 6.86%(2)(3)
    3,500       2,798,188      
Barclays Bank PLC, 7.434%(2)(3)
    11,220       10,330,187      
BNP Paribas, 7.195%(2)(3)
    176       15,535,327      
CoBank, ACB, 7.00%(3)
    400,000       18,325,000      
Credit Agricole SA/London, 6.637%(2)(3)
    1,189       882,567      
DB Contingent Capital Trust II, 6.55%
    2       44      
Farm Credit Bank of Texas, Series I, 10.00%
    1,213       14,332,598      
JPMorgan Chase & Co., 7.90%(2)
    9,708       10,589,581      
KeyCorp Capital X, 8.00%
    34,936       899,951      
KeyCorp, Series A, 7.75%
    83,807       8,622,902      
Landsbanki Islands HF, 7.431%(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)
    20,750       0      
Lloyds Banking Group PLC, 6.657%(2)(3)(5)
    22,355       12,854,125      
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., 6.75%(2)
    11,650       11,403,386      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, 7.648%(2)
    6,601       5,195,509      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series F, 7.65%
    134,739       2,834,909      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series H, 7.25%
    10,975       221,695      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series L, 5.75%
    142,300       2,447,560      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series Q, 6.75%
    32,275       453,787      
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Series S, 6.60%
    146,775       2,038,705      
Standard Chartered PLC, 6.409%(2)(3)
    73       6,663,256      
Wells Fargo & Co., Series L, 7.50%
    15,390       16,020,528      
 
 
            $ 165,983,020      
 
 
 
 
Consumer Finance — 1.2%
 
Ally Financial, Inc., Series A, 8.50%(2)
    716,050     $ 14,823,309      
 
 
            $ 14,823,309      
 
 
 
 
Diversified Financial Services — 1.0%
 
Citigroup Capital XI, 6.00%
    270,345     $ 6,228,749      
Heller Financial, Inc., Series D, 6.95%
    57,500       5,820,081      
 
 
            $ 12,048,830      
 
 
 
 
Electric Utilities — 3.1%
 
Entergy Arkansas, Inc., 6.45%
    325,000     $ 8,125,000      
Entergy Louisiana, LLC, 6.95%
    24,400       2,402,639      
Southern California Edison Co., 6.00%
    70,400       6,923,403      
Southern California Edison Co., Series D, 6.50%
    114,500       11,553,771      
Virginia Electric and Power Co., 6.12%
    90       9,336,133      
 
 
            $ 38,340,946      
 
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
8


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Portfolio of Investments — continued

                     
Security   Shares     Value      
 
 
Food Products — 0.9%
 
Dairy Farmers of America, 7.875%(3)
    73,750     $ 6,803,438      
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., 6.25%(3)
    47,500       4,141,406      
 
 
            $ 10,944,844      
 
 
 
 
Insurance — 8.7%
 
Arch Capital Group, Ltd., Series A, 8.00%
    398,515     $ 10,066,489      
Aspen Insurance Holdings, Ltd., 7.401%(2)
    89,150       2,228,750      
AXA SA, 6.379%(2)(3)
    10,250       8,133,034      
AXA SA, 6.463%(2)(3)
    10,627       8,434,056      
Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd., Series B, 7.50%
    371,500       9,183,480      
ING Capital Funding Trust III, 3.846%(2)
    22,720       19,963,733      
Montpelier Re Holdings, Ltd., 8.875%
    740,925       19,041,772      
PartnerRe, Ltd., Series E, 7.25%
    372,100       9,406,688      
Prudential PLC, 6.50%
    11,400       10,314,467      
RAM Holdings, Ltd., Series A, 7.50%(2)
    13,000       7,150,813      
RenaissanceRe Holdings, Ltd., Series D, 6.60%
    97,143       2,385,832      
 
 
            $ 106,309,114      
 
 
 
 
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — 2.0%
 
CapLease, Inc., Series A, 8.125%
    400,000     $ 9,696,000      
Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., Series A, 8.875%
    220,131       5,078,422      
Developers Diversified Realty Corp., Series I, 7.50%
    63,000       1,513,890      
Regency Centers Corp., Series C, 7.45%
    89,395       2,234,875      
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., Series A, 8.00%
    59,000       1,401,250      
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., Series D, 8.00%
    167,300       3,764,250      
 
 
            $ 23,688,687      
 
 
 
 
Telecommunications — 0.4%
 
Centaur Funding Corp., 9.08%(3)
    4,700     $ 5,352,125      
 
 
            $ 5,352,125      
 
 
     
Total Preferred Stocks
   
(identified cost $421,774,317)
  $ 377,490,875      
 
 
                     
                     
Corporate Bonds & Notes — 14.1%
 
    Principal
           
    Amount
           
Security   (000’s omitted)     Value      
 
 
 
 
Commercial Banks — 4.8%
 
ABN Amro North American Holding Preferred Capital Repackage Trust I, 6.523% to 11/8/12, 12/29/49(3)(7)
  $ 3,850     $ 3,003,000      
Banco Industriale Comercial SA, 8.50%, 4/27/20(3)
    2,010       2,010,000      
Citigroup Capital XXI, 8.30% to 12/21/37, 12/21/57, 12/21/77(7)(8)
    9,744       9,768,360      
Groupe BPCE, 12.50% to 9/30/19, 8/29/49(3)(7)
    10,691       11,242,110      
Northgroup Preferred Capital Corp., 6.378% to 10/15/17, 1/29/49(3)(7)
    16,700       15,438,014      
PNC Preferred Funding Trust II, 6.113% to 3/15/12, 3/29/49(3)(7)
    14,975       11,755,375      
Societe Generale SA, 5.922% to 4/5/17, 4/5/49(3)(7)
    2,325       1,672,387      
SunTrust Preferred Capital I, 5.853% to 12/15/11, 6/29/49(7)
    5,100       3,869,625      
 
 
            $ 58,758,871      
 
 
 
 
Diversified Financial Services — 1.5%
 
Corporate Porfolio Trust, 9.618%, 6/15/2110(2)(3)
  $ 5,827     $ 5,603,651      
GE Capital Trust I, 6.375% to 11/15/17, 11/15/67(7)
    3,600       3,573,000      
HSBC Finance Capital Trust IX, 5.911% to 11/30/15, 11/30/35(7)
    10,400       9,269,000      
 
 
            $ 18,445,651      
 
 
 
 
Electric Utilities — 2.5%
 
Energisa SA, 9.50%, 1/29/49(3)
  $ 4,290     $ 4,440,150      
Integrys Energy Group, Inc., 6.11% to 12/1/16, 12/1/66(7)
    11,310       10,812,903      
PPL Capital Funding, Inc., Series A, 6.70% to 3/30/17, 3/30/67(7)
    15,500       14,974,535      
 
 
            $ 30,227,588      
 
 
 
 
Insurance — 2.7%
 
MetLife, Inc., 10.75% to 8/1/34, 8/1/39, 8/1/69(7)(8)
  $ 9,825     $ 13,494,883      
QBE Capital Funding II LP, 6.797% to 6/1/17, 6/29/49(3)(7)
    3,685       3,392,076      
XL Capital, Ltd., 6.50% to 4/15/17, 12/29/49(7)
    18,570       16,573,725      
 
 
            $ 33,460,684      
 
 
 
 
Pipelines — 1.6%
 
Enterprise Products Operating, LLC, 7.00% to 6/1/17, 6/1/67(7)
  $ 5,105     $ 4,923,803      
Southern Union Co., 7.20% to 11/1/11, 11/1/66(7)
    16,265       14,313,200      
 
 
            $ 19,237,003      
 
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
9


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Portfolio of Investments — continued

                     
    Principal
           
    Amount
           
Security   (000’s omitted)     Value      
 
 
Retail-Food and Drug — 1.0%
 
CVS Caremark Corp., 6.302% to 6/1/12, 6/1/37, 6/1/62(7)(8)
  $ 12,670     $ 12,355,404      
 
 
            $ 12,355,404      
 
 
     
Total Corporate Bonds & Notes
   
(identified cost $166,985,516)
  $ 172,485,201      
 
 
                     
                     
Short-Term Investments — 0.6%
 
    Interest
           
Description   (000’s Omitted)     Value      
 
 
Eaton Vance Cash Reserves Fund, LLC, 0.08%(9)
  $ 6,807     $ 6,807,417      
 
 
     
Total Short-Term Investments
   
(identified cost $6,807,417)
  $ 6,807,417      
 
 
     
Total Investments — 133.4%
   
(identified cost $1,429,084,212)
  $ 1,629,991,375      
 
 
             
Other Assets, Less Liabilities — (33.4)%
  $ (407,804,346 )    
 
 
             
Net Assets — 100.0%
  $ 1,222,187,029      
 
 
 
The percentage shown for each investment category in the Portfolio of Investments is based on net assets.
 
     
ADR
 
- American Depositary Receipt
 
(1) All or a portion of this security has been segregated as collateral with the custodian for borrowings under the Committed Facility Agreement.
 
(2) Variable rate security. The stated interest rate represents the rate in effect at August 31, 2011.
 
(3) Security exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be sold in certain transactions (normally to qualified institutional buyers) and remain exempt from registration. At August 31, 2011, the aggregate value of these securities is $158,809,472 or 13.0% of the Fund’s net assets.
 
(4) Defaulted security.
 
(5) Non-income producing security.
 
(6) Security valued at fair value using methods determined in good faith by or at the direction of the Trustees.
 
(7) Security converts to floating rate after the indicated fixed-rate coupon period.
 
(8) The maturity dates shown are the scheduled maturity date and final maturity date, respectively. The scheduled maturity date is earlier than the final maturity date due to the possibility of earlier repayment.
 
(9) Affiliated investment company available to Eaton Vance portfolios and funds which invests in high quality, U.S. dollar denominated money market instruments. The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of August 31, 2011.
 
 
                     
Country Concentration of Portfolio
 
    Percentage of
           
Country   Total Investments     Value      
 
 
United States
    71.4 %   $ 1,163,299,191      
United Kingdom
    6.1       98,917,126      
France
    4.9       79,396,013      
Bermuda
    3.6       59,463,824      
Brazil
    2.4       38,465,376      
Australia
    2.3       37,971,096      
Italy
    2.0       32,652,577      
Switzerland
    1.8       30,071,050      
Finland
    1.6       25,262,172      
Cayman Islands
    1.3       21,925,850      
Norway
    1.0       16,967,720      
Germany
    0.7       11,380,883      
Spain
    0.7       11,224,247      
Mexico
    0.2       2,994,250      
Iceland
    0.0       0      
 
 
Total Investments
    100.0 %   $ 1,629,991,375      
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
10


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Statement of Assets and Liabilities

 
             
Assets   August 31, 2011    
 
Unaffiliated investments, at value (identified cost, $1,422,276,795)
  $ 1,623,183,958      
Affiliated investment, at value (identified cost, $6,807,417)
    6,807,417      
Cash
    260,000      
Restricted cash*
    4,650,543      
Dividends and interest receivable
    9,296,477      
Interest receivable from affiliated investment
    74      
Receivable for investments sold
    39,436,729      
Tax reclaims receivable
    5,027,475      
 
 
Total Assets
  $ 1,688,662,673      
 
 
             
             
 
Liabilities
 
Notes payable
  $ 447,000,000      
Payable for investments purchased
    15,523,022      
Payable for open forward foreign currency exchange contracts
    2,592,707      
Payable to affiliate:
           
Investment adviser fee
    1,120,563      
Accrued expenses
    239,352      
 
 
Total liabilities
  $ 466,475,644      
 
 
Net Assets
  $ 1,222,187,029      
 
 
             
             
 
Sources of Net Assets
 
Common shares, $0.01 par value, unlimited number of shares authorized, 72,835,900 shares issued and outstanding
  $ 728,359      
Additional paid-in capital
    1,382,213,413      
Accumulated net realized loss
    (374,166,350 )    
Accumulated undistributed net investment income
    14,177,851      
Net unrealized appreciation
    199,233,756      
 
 
Net Assets
  $ 1,222,187,029      
 
 
Net Asset Value
           
($1,222,187,029 ¸ 72,835,900 common shares issued and outstanding)
  $ 16.78      
 
 
 
* Represents restricted cash on deposit at the custodian for open forward foreign currency exchange contracts.

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
11


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Statement of Operations

 
             
    Year Ended
   
Investment Income   August 31, 2011    
 
Dividends (net of foreign taxes, $5,615,558)
  $ 106,326,714      
Interest
    11,921,520      
Interest income allocated from affiliated investment
    56,708      
Expenses allocated from affiliated investment
    (3,103 )    
 
 
Total investment income
  $ 118,301,839      
 
 
             
             
 
Expenses
 
Investment adviser fee
  $ 14,851,699      
Trustees’ fees and expenses
    50,500      
Custodian fee
    470,978      
Transfer and dividend disbursing agent fees
    19,348      
Legal and accounting services
    107,813      
Printing and postage
    183,899      
Interest expense and fees
    4,793,196      
Miscellaneous
    110,028      
 
 
Total expenses
  $ 20,587,461      
 
 
Deduct —
           
Reduction of investment adviser fee
  $ 887,874      
Reduction of custodian fee
    595      
 
 
Total expense reductions
  $ 888,469      
 
 
             
Net expenses
  $ 19,698,992      
 
 
             
Net investment income
  $ 98,602,847      
 
 
             
             
 
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
 
Net realized gain (loss) —
           
Investment transactions
  $ 69,038,436      
Investment transactions allocated from affiliated investment
    2,017      
Foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contract transactions
    (20,176,782 )    
 
 
Net realized gain
  $ 48,863,671      
 
 
Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) —
           
Investments
  $ 17,100,539      
Foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contracts
    (10,138,940 )    
 
 
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
  $ 6,961,599      
 
 
             
Net realized and unrealized gain
  $ 55,825,270      
 
 
             
Net increase in net assets from operations
  $ 154,428,117      
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
12


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 
                     
    Year Ended
  Year Ended
   
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets   August 31, 2011   August 31, 2010    
 
From operations —
                   
Net investment income
  $ 98,602,847     $ 96,954,166      
Net realized gain from investment, foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contract transactions
    48,863,671       16,926,086      
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) from investments, foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contracts
    6,961,599       25,619,913      
 
 
Net increase in net assets from operations
  $ 154,428,117     $ 139,500,165      
 
 
Distributions to shareholders —
                   
From net investment income
  $ (93,958,310 )   $ (93,958,310 )    
 
 
Total distributions
  $ (93,958,310 )   $ (93,958,310 )    
 
 
                     
Net increase in net assets
  $ 60,469,807     $ 45,541,855      
 
 
                     
                     
 
Net Assets
 
At beginning of year
  $ 1,161,717,222     $ 1,116,175,367      
 
 
At end of year
  $ 1,222,187,029     $ 1,161,717,222      
 
 
                     
                     
 
Accumulated undistributed net investment income
included in net assets
 
At end of year
  $ 14,177,851     $ 9,923,159      
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
13


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Statement of Cash Flows

 
             
    Year Ended
   
Cash Flows From Operating Activities   August 31, 2011    
 
Net increase in net assets from operations
  $ 154,428,117      
Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets from operations to net cash used in operating activities:
           
Investments purchased
    (1,561,712,870 )    
Investments sold
    1,475,297,175      
Increase in short-term investments, net
    (5,861,561 )    
Net amortization/accretion of premium (discount)
    24,755      
Increase in restricted cash
    (4,650,543 )    
Decrease in dividends and interest receivable
    4,374,150      
Decrease in interest receivable from affiliated investment
    7,082      
Increase in receivable for investments sold
    (1,692,606 )    
Decrease in receivable for open forward foreign currency exchange contracts
    8,411,225      
Increase in tax reclaims receivable
    (1,347,029 )    
Increase in payable for investments purchased
    3,530,619      
Increase in payable for open forward foreign currency exchange contracts
    2,592,707      
Increase in payable to affiliate for investment adviser fee
    144,906      
Decrease in accrued expenses
    (599,300 )    
Net change in unrealized (appreciation) depreciation from investments
    (17,100,539 )    
Net realized gain from investments
    (69,038,436 )    
 
 
Net cash used in operating activities
  $ (13,192,148 )    
 
 
             
             
 
Cash Flows From Financing Activities
 
Distributions paid to common shareholders, net of reinvestments
  $ (93,958,310 )    
Proceeds from notes payable
    107,000,000      
 
 
Net cash provided by financing activities
  $ 13,041,690      
 
 
             
Net decrease in cash
  $ (150,458 )    
 
 
             
Cash at beginning of year
  $ 410,458      
 
 
             
Cash at end of year
  $ 260,000      
 
 
             
             
 
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
 
Cash paid for interest and fees on borrowings
  $ 5,206,666      
 
 

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
14


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a common share outstanding during the periods stated

 
                                             
    Year Ended August 31,    
   
    2011   2010   2009   2008   2007    
 
Net asset value — Beginning of year (Common shares)
  $ 15.950     $ 15.320     $ 24.320     $ 30.310     $ 26.910      
 
 
                                             
                                             
 
Income (Loss) From Operations
 
Net investment income(1)
  $ 1.354 (2)   $ 1.331     $ 1.227     $ 2.211     $ 2.158      
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
    0.766       0.589       (8.757 )     (6.058 )     3.369      
Distributions to preferred shareholders
                                           
From net investment income
                      (0.275 )     (0.437 )    
 
 
Total income (loss) from operations
  $ 2.120     $ 1.920     $ (7.530 )   $ (4.122 )   $ 5.090      
 
 
                                             
                                             
 
Less Distributions to Common Shareholders
 
From net investment income
  $ (1.290 )   $ (1.290 )   $ (1.470 )   $ (1.868 )   $ (1.690 )    
 
 
Total distributions to common shareholders
  $ (1.290 )   $ (1.290 )   $ (1.470 )   $ (1.868 )   $ (1.690 )    
 
 
                                             
Net asset value — End of year (Common shares)
  $ 16.780     $ 15.950     $ 15.320     $ 24.320     $ 30.310      
 
 
Market value — End of year (Common shares)
  $ 15.160     $ 14.750     $ 13.920     $ 21.050     $ 27.130      
 
 
                                             
Total Investment Return on Net Asset Value(3)
    13.58 %     13.25 %     (28.38 )%     (13.61 )%     19.72 %    
 
 
Total Investment Return on Market Value(3)
    10.96 %     15.26 %     (24.81 )%     (16.46 )%     12.87 %    
 
 
                                             
                                             

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
15


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Financial Highlights — continued
Selected data for a common share outstanding during the periods stated

 
                                             
    Year Ended August 31,    
   
Ratios/Supplemental Data   2011   2010   2009   2008   2007    
 
Net assets applicable to common shares, end of year (000’s omitted)
  $ 1,222,187     $ 1,161,717     $ 1,116,175     $ 1,771,252     $ 2,208,015      
Ratios (as a percentage of average daily net assets applicable to common shares):(4)
                                           
Expenses excluding interest and fees(5)
    1.13 %     1.04 %     1.07 %     0.98 %     0.99 %    
Interest and fee expense(6)
    0.36 %     0.39 %     0.99 %     0.41 %          
Total expenses
    1.49 %     1.43 %     2.06 %     1.39 %     0.99 %    
Net investment income
    7.47 %(2)     8.09 %     8.66 %     7.74 %     7.23 %    
Portfolio Turnover
    86 %     117 %     76 %     96 %     41 %    
 
 
The ratios reported above are based on net assets applicable solely to common shares. The ratios based on net assets, including amounts related to preferred shares and borrowings, are as follows:
Ratios (as a percentage of average daily net assets applicable to common shares plus preferred shares and borrowings):(4)
                                           
Expenses excluding interest and fees(5)
    0.85 %     0.81 %     0.77 %     0.73 %     0.75 %    
Interest and fee expense(6)
    0.27 %     0.31 %     0.70 %     0.31 %          
Total expenses
    1.12 %     1.12 %     1.47 %     1.04 %     0.75 %    
Net investment income
    5.62 %(2)     6.30 %     6.16 %     5.79 %     5.47 %    
 
 
Senior Securities:
                                           
Total notes payable outstanding (in 000’s)
  $ 447,000     $ 340,000     $ 340,000     $ 700,000     $      
Asset coverage per $1,000 of notes payable(7)
  $ 3,734     $ 4,417     $ 4,283     $ 3,530     $      
Total preferred shares outstanding
    (8)     (8)     (8)     (8)     28,000      
Asset coverage per preferred share(9)
  $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ 103,868      
Involuntary liquidation preference per preferred share(10)
  $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ 25,000      
Approximate market value per preferred share(10)
  $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ (8)   $ 25,000      
 
 
 
(1) Computed using average common shares outstanding.
(2) Net investment income per share reflects special dividends which amounted to $0.191 per share. Excluding special dividends, the ratio of net investment income to average daily net assets applicable to common shares would have been 6.41% and the ratio of net investment income to average daily net assets applicable to common shares plus average borrowings would have been 4.83%.
(3) Returns are historical and are calculated by determining the percentage change in net asset value or market value with all distributions reinvested.
(4) Ratios do not reflect the effect of dividend payments to preferred shareholders.
(5) Excludes the effect of custody fee credits, if any, of less than 0.005%.
(6) Interest and fee expense relates to the notes payable incurred to redeem the Fund’s preferred shares (see Note 8).
(7) Calculated by subtracting the Fund’s total liabilities (not including the notes payable) from the Fund’s total assets, and dividing the result by the notes payable balance in thousands.
(8) The Fund’s preferred shares were fully redeemed during the year ended August 31, 2008.
(9) Calculated by subtracting the Fund’s total liabilities (not including the preferred shares) from the Fund’s total assets, and dividing the result by the number of preferred shares outstanding.
(10) Plus accumulated and unpaid dividends.

 
See Notes to Financial Statements.
16


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements

 
 
1 Significant Accounting Policies
 
Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend 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 investment objective is to provide a high level of after-tax total return consisting primarily of tax-advantaged dividend income and capital appreciation. The Fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in dividend-paying common and preferred stocks.
 
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. The value of preferred equity securities that are valued by a pricing service on a bond basis will be adjusted by an income factor, to be determined by the investment adviser, to reflect the next anticipated regular dividend. Debt obligations (including short-term obligations with a remaining maturity of more than sixty days) are generally valued on the basis of valuations provided by third party pricing services, as derived from such services’ pricing models. Inputs to the models may include, but are not limited to, reported trades, executable bid and asked prices, broker/dealer quotations, prices or yields of securities with similar characteristics, benchmark curves or information pertaining to the issuer, as well as industry and economic events. The pricing services may use a matrix approach, which considers information regarding securities with similar characteristics to determine the valuation for a security. Short-term debt 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. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are generally valued at the mean of the average bid and average asked prices that are reported by currency dealers to a third party pricing service at the valuation time. Such third party pricing service valuations are supplied for specific settlement periods and the Fund’s forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service. 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 in the same manner as debt obligations described above.
 
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.

 
17


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements — continued

 
At August 31, 2011, the Fund, for federal income tax purposes, had a capital loss carryforward of $376,282,145 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 August 31, 2017 ($165,082,540) and August 31, 2018 ($211,199,605). In addition, such capital loss carryforward cannot be utilized prior to the utilization of new capital losses, if any, created after August 31, 2011.
 
During the year ended August 31, 2011, a capital loss carryforward of $38,545,243 was utilized to offset net realized gains by the Fund.
 
As of August 31, 2011, the Fund had no uncertain tax positions that would require financial statement recognition, de-recognition, or disclosure. Each of the Fund’s federal tax returns filed in the 3-year period ended August 31, 2011 remains subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.
 
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 Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts — The Fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts for the purchase or sale of a specific foreign currency at a fixed price on a future date. The forward foreign currency exchange contracts are adjusted by the daily exchange rate of the underlying currency and any gains or losses are recorded as unrealized until such time as the contracts have been closed or offset by another contract with the same broker for the same settlement date and currency. Risks may arise upon entering these contracts from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts and from movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
 
J Statement of Cash Flows — The cash amount shown in the Statement of Cash Flows of the Fund is the amount included in the Fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities and represents the cash on hand at its custodian and does not include any short-term investments.
 
2 Distributions to Shareholders
 
The Fund intends to make monthly distributions of net investment income to common shareholders. In addition, at least annually, 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.

 
18


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements — continued

 
The tax character of distributions declared for the years ended August 31, 2011 and August 31, 2010 was as follows:
 
                     
    Year Ended August 31,    
   
    2011   2010    
 
 
Distributions declared from:
                   
Ordinary income
  $ 93,958,310     $ 93,958,310      
                     
 
 
 
During the year ended August 31, 2011, accumulated net realized loss was decreased by $389,845, and accumulated undistributed net investment income was decreased by $389,845 due to differences between book and tax accounting, primarily for premium amortization, distributions from real estate investment trusts, and foreign currency gain (loss). These reclassifications had no effect on the net assets or net asset value per share of the Fund.
 
As of August 31, 2011, the components of distributable earnings (accumulated losses) and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on a tax basis were as follows:
 
             
 
 
Undistributed ordinary income
  $ 14,146,476      
Capital loss carryforward
  $ (376,282,145 )    
Net unrealized appreciation
  $ 201,380,926      
             
 
 
 
The differences between components of distributable earnings (accumulated losses) on a tax basis and the amounts reflected in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities are primarily due to wash sales, premium amortization, investments in partnerships and foreign currency transactions.
 
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 0.85% of its average daily gross assets up to and including $1.5 billion, 0.83% over $1.5 billion up to and including $3 billion, and at reduced rates as daily gross assets exceed $3 billion and is payable monthly. Gross assets as referred to herein represent net assets plus obligations attributable to investment leverage. 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 year ended August 31, 2011, the Fund’s investment adviser fee amounted to $14,851,699, or 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily gross assets. EVM also serves as administrator of the Fund, but receives no compensation.
 
In addition, EVM has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for fees and other expenses at an annual rate of 0.20% of the Fund’s average daily gross assets during the first five full years of the Fund’s operations, 0.15% of the Fund’s average daily gross assets in year six, 0.10% in year seven and 0.05% in year eight. Such reimbursement will be reduced by an amount, if any, by which the annual effective advisory fee rate is less than 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily gross assets. The Fund concluded its first seven full years of operations on September 30, 2010. Pursuant to this agreement, EVM waived $887,874 of its investment adviser fee for the year ended August 31, 2011.
 
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 year ended August 31, 2011, 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 $1,561,712,870 and $1,475,297,175, respectively, for the year ended August 31, 2011.
 
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 years ended August 31, 2011 and August 31, 2010.

 
19


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements — continued

 
6 Federal Income Tax Basis of Investments
 
The cost and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments of the Fund at August 31, 2011, as determined on a federal income tax basis, were as follows:
 
             
Aggregate cost
  $ 1,429,467,402      
             
 
 
Gross unrealized appreciation
  $ 309,233,568      
Gross unrealized depreciation
    (108,709,595 )    
             
 
 
Net unrealized appreciation
  $ 200,523,973      
             
 
 
 
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 forward foreign currency exchange contracts 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 obligations under these financial instruments at August 31, 2011 is as follows:
 
                         
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts
Sales
                Net Unrealized
   
Settlement Date   Deliver   In Exchange For   Counterparty   Depreciation    
 
 
9/15/11
  Euro
88,633,372
  United States Dollar
126,017,155
  Citigroup Global Markets   $ (1,283,945 )    
9/15/11
  Euro
88,633,372
  United States Dollar
125,992,338
  State Street Bank and Trust Company     (1,308,762 )    
                         
 
 
                $ (2,592,707 )    
                         
 
 
 
At August 31, 2011, the Fund had sufficient cash and/or securities to cover commitments under these contracts.
 
The Fund is subject to foreign exchange risk in the normal course of pursuing its investment objective. Because the Fund holds foreign currency denominated investments, the value of these investments and related receivables and payables may change due to future changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To hedge against this risk, the Fund enters into forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The Fund also enters into such contracts to hedge the currency risk of investments it anticipates purchasing.
 
The Fund enters into forward foreign currency exchange contracts that may contain provisions whereby the counterparty may terminate the contract under certain conditions, including but not limited to a decline in the Fund’s net assets below a certain level over a certain period of time, which would trigger a payment by the Fund for those derivatives in a liability position. At August 31, 2011 the fair value of derivatives with credit-related contingent features in a net liability position was $2,592,707. The aggregate fair value of assets pledged as collateral by the Fund for such liability was $4,650,543 at August 31, 2011.
 
The non-exchange traded derivatives in which the Fund may invest, including forward foreign currency exchange contracts, are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the contract fails to perform its obligations under the contract.

 
20


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements — continued

 
The fair value of derivative instruments (not considered to be hedging instruments for accounting disclosure purposes) and whose primary underlying risk exposure is foreign exchange risk at August 31, 2011 was as follows:
 
                     
    Fair Value
Derivative   Asset Derivatives   Liability Derivatives(1)    
 
 
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
  $      —     $ (2,592,707 )    
                     
 
 
 
(1) Statement of Assets and Liabilities location: Payable for open forward foreign currency exchange contracts; Net unrealized appreciation.
 
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 foreign exchange risk for the year ended August 31, 2011 was as follows:
 
                     
    Realized Gain (Loss)
  Change in Unrealized
   
    on Derivatives Recognized
  Appreciation (Depreciation) on
   
Derivative   in Income(1)   Derivatives Recognized in Income(2)    
 
 
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
  $ (20,285,088 )   $ (11,003,932 )    
                     
 
 
 
(1) Statement of Operations location: Net realized gain (loss) – Foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contract transactions.
(2) Statement of Operations location: Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) – Foreign currency and forward foreign currency exchange contracts.
 
The average notional amount of forward foreign currency exchange contracts outstanding during the year ended August 31, 2011, which is indicative of the volume of this derivative type, was approximately $244,261,000.
 
8 Committed Facility Agreement
 
The Fund has entered into a Committed Facility Agreement, as amended (the Agreement) with a major financial institution that allows it to borrow up to $514 million ($454 million prior to December 15, 2010) over a rolling 180 calendar day period. Interest is charged at a rate above 3-month LIBOR and is payable monthly. The Fund is charged a commitment fee of 0.55% per annum on the unused portion of the commitment. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Fund is required to satisfy certain collateral requirements and maintain a certain level of net assets. At August 31, 2011, the Fund had borrowings outstanding under the Agreement of $447 million at an interest rate of 1.03%. The carrying amount of the borrowings at August 31, 2011 approximated its fair value. For the year ended August 31, 2011, the average borrowings under the Agreement and the average interest rate were $434 million and 1.03%, respectively.
 
9 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.
 
10 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.
 
•  Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments
 
•  Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)
 
•  Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including a fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

 
21


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Notes to Financial Statements — continued

 
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.
 
At August 31, 2011, the hierarchy of inputs used in valuing the Fund’s investments, which are carried at value, were as follows:
 
                                     
Asset Description   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total    
 
 
Common Stocks
                                   
Consumer Discretionary
  $ 43,939,730     $     $     $ 43,939,730      
Consumer Staples
    73,009,591       54,541,452             127,551,043      
Energy
    119,893,210       66,595,921             186,489,131      
Financials
    195,754,745       19,042,200             214,796,945      
Health Care
    46,315,988       24,795,519             71,111,507      
Industrials
    106,786,950                   106,786,950      
Information Technology
    65,437,640                   65,437,640      
Materials
    65,388,860       11,380,883             76,769,743      
Telecommunication Services
    63,592,781                   63,592,781      
Utilities
    77,359,630       39,372,782             116,732,412      
                                     
 
 
Total Common Stocks
  $ 857,479,125     $ 215,728,757 *   $     $ 1,073,207,882      
                                     
 
 
Preferred Stocks
                                   
Consumer Staples
  $     $ 10,944,844     $     $ 10,944,844      
Financials
    112,006,278       210,846,682       0       322,852,960      
Telecommunication Services
          5,352,125             5,352,125      
Utilities
          38,340,946             38,340,946      
                                     
 
 
Total Preferred Stocks
  $ 112,006,278     $ 265,484,597     $ 0     $ 377,490,875      
                                     
 
 
Corporate Bonds & Notes
  $     $ 172,485,201     $     $ 172,485,201      
Short-Term Investments
          6,807,417             6,807,417      
                                     
 
 
Total Investments
  $ 969,485,403     $ 660,505,972     $ 0     $ 1,629,991,375      
                                     
 
 
                                     
Liability Description
                                   
                                     
 
 
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts
  $     $ (2,592,707 )   $     $ (2,592,707 )    
                                     
 
 
Total
  $     $ (2,592,707 )   $     $ (2,592,707 )    
                                     
 
 
 
*   Includes foreign equity securities whose values were adjusted to reflect market trading of comparable securities or other correlated instruments that occurred after the close of trading in their applicable foreign markets.
 
During the year ended August 31, 2011, the Fund transferred a security, valued at zero at the beginning and end of the period, to Level 3. At August 31, 2011, the value of investments transferred between Level 1 and Level 2, if any, during the year then ended was not significant.

 
22


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011

 
 
 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 
To the Trustees and Shareholders of Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund:
 
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (the “Fund”), including the portfolio of investments, as of August 31, 2011, and the related statements of operations and cash flows for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.
 
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of August 31, 2011, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; where replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund as of August 31, 2011, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
 
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
October 14, 2011

 
23


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Federal Tax Information (Unaudited)

 
The Form 1099-DIV you receive in January 2012 will show the tax status of all distributions paid to your account in calendar year 2011. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences of their investment in the Fund. As required by the Internal Revenue Code and/or regulations, shareholders must be notified within 60 days of the Fund’s fiscal year end regarding the status of qualified dividend income for individuals and the dividends received deduction for corporations.
 
Qualified Dividend Income — The Fund designates $98,765,318 or up to the maximum amount of such dividends allowable pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, as qualified dividend income eligible for the reduced tax rate of 15%.
 
Dividends Received Deduction — Corporate shareholders are generally entitled to take the dividends received deduction on the portion of the Fund’s dividend distribution that qualifies under tax law. For the Fund’s fiscal 2011 ordinary income dividends, 48.64% qualifies for the corporate dividends received deduction.

 
24


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Annual Meeting of Shareholders (Unaudited)

 
The Fund held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 24, 2011. The following action was taken by the shareholders:
 
Item 1: The election of Thomas E. Faust Jr. and William H. Park as Class II Trustees of the Fund for a three-year term expiring in 2014.
 
                     
Nominee for Trustee
  Number of Shares      
Elected by All Shareholders   For     Withheld      
 
 
Thomas E. Faust Jr. 
    68,198,345       1,765,321      
William H. Park
    68,206,038       1,757,628      

 
25


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Dividend Reinvestment Plan

 
The Fund offers a dividend reinvestment plan (Plan) pursuant to which shareholders may elect to have distributions automatically reinvested in common shares (Shares) of the Fund. You may elect to participate in the Plan by completing the Dividend Reinvestment Plan Application Form. If you do not participate, you will receive all distributions in cash paid by check mailed directly to you by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company (AST) as dividend paying agent. On the distribution payment date, if the NAV per Share is equal to or less than the market price per Share plus estimated brokerage commissions, then new Shares will be issued. The number of Shares shall be determined by the greater of the NAV per Share or 95% of the market price. Otherwise, Shares generally will be purchased on the open market by AST, the Plan agent (Agent). Distributions subject to income tax (if any) are taxable whether or not Shares are reinvested.
 
If your Shares are in the name of a brokerage firm, bank, or other nominee, you can ask the firm or nominee to participate in the Plan on your behalf. If the nominee does not offer the Plan, you will need to request that the Fund’s transfer agent re-register your Shares in your name or you will not be able to participate.
 
The Agent’s service fee for handling distributions will be paid by the Fund. Plan participants will be charged their pro rata share of brokerage commissions on all open-market purchases.
 
Plan participants may withdraw from the Plan at any time by writing to the Agent at the address noted on the following page. If you withdraw, you will receive Shares in your name for all Shares credited to your account under the Plan. If a participant elects by written notice to the Agent to sell part or all of his or her Shares and remit the proceeds, the Agent is authorized to deduct a $5.00 fee plus brokerage commissions from the proceeds.
 
If you wish to participate in the Plan and your Shares are held in your own name, you may complete the form on the following page and deliver it to the Agent. Any inquiries regarding the Plan can be directed to the Agent at 1-866-439-6787.

 
26


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Application For Participation in Dividend Reinvestment Plan

 
 
This form is for shareholders who hold their common shares in their own names. If your common shares are held in the name of a brokerage firm, bank, or other nominee, you should contact your nominee to see if it will participate in the Plan on your behalf. If you wish to participate in the Plan, but your brokerage firm, bank, or nominee is unable to participate on your behalf, you should request that your common shares be re-registered in your own name which will enable your participation in the Plan.
 
The following authorization and appointment is given with the understanding that I may terminate it at any time by terminating my participation in the Plan as provided in the terms and conditions of the Plan.
 
Please print exact name on account:
Shareholder signature                                   Date
Shareholder signature                                   Date
 
Please sign exactly as your common shares are registered. All persons whose names appear on the share certificate must sign.
 
YOU SHOULD NOT RETURN THIS FORM IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR DISTRIBUTIONS IN CASH. THIS IS NOT A PROXY.
 
This authorization form, when signed, should be mailed to the following address:
 
Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
c/o American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
P.O. Box 922
Wall Street Station
New York, NY 10269-0560
 
Number of Employees
The Fund is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a closed-end management investment company and has no employees.
 
Number of Shareholders
As of August 31, 2011, Fund records indicate that there are 298 registered shareholders and approximately 57,140 shareholders owning the Fund shares in street name, such as through brokers, banks, and financial intermediaries.
 
If you are a street name shareholder and wish to receive Fund reports directly, which contain important information about the Fund, please write or call:
 
Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc.
Two International Place
Boston, MA 02110
1-800-262-1122
 
New York Stock Exchange symbol
 
The New York Stock Exchange symbol is EVT.

 
27


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Board of Trustees’ Contract Approval

 
Overview of the Contract Review Process
 
The Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), provides, in substance, that each investment advisory agreement between a fund and its investment adviser will continue in effect from year to year only if its continuance is approved at least annually by the fund’s board of trustees, including by a vote of a majority of the trustees who are not “interested persons” of the fund (“Independent Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval.
 
At a meeting of the Boards of Trustees (each a “Board”) of the Eaton Vance group of mutual funds (the “Eaton Vance Funds”) held on April 25, 2011, the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, voted to approve continuation of existing advisory and sub-advisory agreements for the Eaton Vance Funds for an additional one-year period. In voting its approval, the Board relied upon the affirmative recommendation of the Contract Review Committee of the Board, which is a committee comprised exclusively of Independent Trustees. Prior to making its recommendation, the Contract Review Committee reviewed information furnished for a series of meetings of the Contract Review Committee held between February and April 2011. Such information included, among other things, the following:
 
Information about Fees, Performance and Expenses
 
  •  An independent report comparing the advisory and related fees paid by each fund with fees paid by comparable funds;
  •  An independent report comparing each fund’s total expense ratio and its components to comparable funds;
  •  An independent report comparing the investment performance of each fund (including yield data and Sharpe and information ratios where relevant) to the investment performance of comparable funds over various time periods;
  •  Data regarding investment performance in comparison to relevant peer groups of similarly managed funds and appropriate indices;
  •  For each fund, comparative information concerning the fees charged and the services provided by each adviser in managing other mutual funds and institutional accounts using investment strategies and techniques similar to those used in managing such fund;
  •  Profitability analyses for each adviser with respect to each fund;
 
Information about Portfolio Management
 
  •  Descriptions of the investment management services provided to each fund, including the investment strategies and processes employed, and any changes in portfolio management processes and personnel;
  •  Information about the allocation of brokerage and the benefits received by each adviser as a result of brokerage allocation, including information concerning the acquisition of research through client commission arrangements and/or the fund’s policies with respect to “soft dollar” arrangements;
  •  Data relating to portfolio turnover rates of each fund;
  •  The procedures and processes used to determine the fair value of fund assets and actions taken to monitor and test the effectiveness of such procedures and processes;
 
Information about each Adviser
 
  •  Reports detailing the financial results and condition of each adviser;
  •  Descriptions of the qualifications, education and experience of the individual investment professionals whose responsibilities include portfolio management and investment research for the funds, and information relating to their compensation and responsibilities with respect to managing other mutual funds and investment accounts;
  •  Copies of the Codes of Ethics of each adviser and its affiliates, together with information relating to compliance with and the administration of such codes;
  •  Copies of or descriptions of each adviser’s policies and procedures relating to proxy voting, the handling of corporate actions and class actions;
  •  Information concerning the resources devoted to compliance efforts undertaken by each adviser and its affiliates on behalf of the funds (including descriptions of various compliance programs) and their record of compliance with investment policies and restrictions, including policies with respect to market-timing, late trading and selective portfolio disclosure, and with policies on personal securities transactions;
  •  Descriptions of the business continuity and disaster recovery plans of each adviser and its affiliates;
  •  A description of Eaton Vance Management’s procedures for overseeing third party advisers and sub-advisers;
 
Other Relevant Information
 
  •  Information concerning the nature, cost and character of the administrative and other non-investment management services provided by Eaton Vance Management and its affiliates;
  •  Information concerning management of the relationship with the custodian, subcustodians and fund accountants by each adviser or the funds’ administrator; and
  •  The terms of each advisory agreement.

 
28


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Board of Trustees’ Contract Approval — continued

 
In addition to the information identified above, the Contract Review Committee considered information provided from time to time by each adviser throughout the year at meetings of the Board and its committees. Over the course of the twelve-month period ended April 30, 2011, with respect to one or more funds, the Board met nine times and the Contract Review Committee, the Audit Committee, the Governance Committee, the Portfolio Management Committee and the Compliance Reports and Regulatory Matters Committee, each of which is a Committee comprised solely of Independent Trustees, met nine, fifteen, seven, eight and twelve times, respectively. At such meetings, the Trustees received, among other things, presentations by the portfolio managers and other investment professionals of each adviser relating to the investment performance of each fund and the investment strategies used in pursuing the fund’s investment objective including, where relevant, the use of derivative instruments, as well as trading policies and procedures and risk management techniques.
 
For funds that invest through one or more underlying portfolios, the Board considered similar information about the portfolio(s) when considering the approval of advisory agreements. In addition, in cases where the fund’s investment adviser has engaged a sub-adviser, the Board considered similar information about the sub-adviser when considering the approval of any sub-advisory agreement.
 
The Contract Review Committee was assisted throughout the contract review process by Goodwin Procter LLP, legal counsel for the Independent Trustees. The members of the Contract Review Committee relied upon the advice of such counsel and their own business judgment in determining the material factors to be considered in evaluating each advisory and sub-advisory agreement and the weight to be given to each such factor. The conclusions reached with respect to each advisory and sub-advisory agreement were based on a comprehensive evaluation of all the information provided and not any single factor. Moreover, each member of the Contract Review Committee may have placed varying emphasis on particular factors in reaching conclusions with respect to each advisory and sub-advisory agreement.
 
Results of the Process
 
Based on its consideration of the foregoing, and such other information as it deemed relevant, including the factors and conclusions described below, the Contract Review Committee concluded that the continuance of the investment advisory agreement of Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (the “Fund”) with Eaton Vance Management (the “Adviser”), including its fee structure, is in the interests of shareholders and, therefore, the Contract Review Committee recommended to the Board approval of the agreement. The Board accepted the recommendation of the Contract Review Committee as well as the factors considered and conclusions reached by the Contract Review Committee with respect to the agreement. Accordingly, the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, voted to approve continuation of the investment advisory agreement for the Fund.
 
Nature, Extent and Quality of Services
 
In considering whether to approve the investment advisory agreement of the Fund, the Board evaluated the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by the Adviser.
 
The Board considered the Adviser’s management capabilities and investment process with respect to the types of investments held by the Fund, including the education, experience and number of its investment professionals and other personnel who provide portfolio management, investment research, and similar services to the Fund. In particular, the Board evaluated the abilities and experience of such investment personnel in analyzing special considerations relevant to investing in dividend-paying common and preferred stocks. The Board noted the Adviser’s in-house equity research capabilities and experience in managing funds that seek to maximize after-tax returns. The Board also took into account the resources dedicated to portfolio management and other services, including the compensation methods of the Adviser to recruit and retain investment personnel, and the time and attention devoted to the Fund by senior management.
 
The Board also reviewed the compliance programs of the Adviser and relevant affiliates thereof. Among other matters, the Board considered compliance and reporting matters relating to personal trading by investment personnel, selective disclosure of portfolio holdings, late trading, frequent trading, portfolio valuation, business continuity and the allocation of investment opportunities. The Board also evaluated the responses of the Adviser and its affiliates to requests in recent years from regulatory authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
 
The Board considered shareholder and other administrative services provided or managed by Eaton Vance Management and its affiliates, including transfer agency and accounting services. The Board evaluated the benefits to shareholders of investing in a fund that is a part of a large family of funds.
 
After consideration of the foregoing factors, among others, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of services provided by the Adviser, taken as a whole, are appropriate and consistent with the terms of the investment advisory agreement.
 
Fund Performance
 
The Board compared the Fund’s investment performance to a relevant universe of similarly managed funds identified by an independent data provider as well as a peer group of similarly managed funds and appropriate benchmark indices. The Board reviewed comparative performance data for the one-, three- and five-year periods ended September 30, 2010 for the Fund. On the basis of the foregoing and other relevant information provided by the Adviser in response to inquiries from the Contract Review Committee, the Board concluded that the performance of the Fund was satisfactory.

 
29


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Board of Trustees’ Contract Approval — continued

 
Management Fees and Expenses
 
The Board reviewed contractual investment advisory fee rates payable by the Fund (referred to as “management fees”). As part of its review, the Board considered the management fees and the Fund’s total expense ratio for the year ended September 30, 2010, as compared to a group of similarly managed funds selected by an independent data provider. The Board also considered factors that had an impact on Fund expense ratios, as identified by management in response to inquiries from the Contract Review Committee, as well as actions being taken to reduce expenses at the Eaton Vance fund complex level, including the negotiation of reduced fees for transfer agency and custody services. The Board noted that the Adviser had waived fees and/or paid expenses for the Fund.
 
After reviewing the foregoing information, and in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Adviser, the Board concluded that the management fees charged for advisory and related services are reasonable.
 
Profitability
 
The Board reviewed the level of profits realized by the Adviser and relevant affiliates thereof in providing investment advisory and administrative services to the Fund and to all Eaton Vance Funds as a group. The Board considered the level of profits realized with and without regard to revenue sharing or other payments by the Adviser and its affiliates to third parties in respect of distribution services. The Board also considered other direct or indirect benefits received by the Adviser and its affiliates in connection with its relationship with the Fund, including the benefits of research services that may be available to the Adviser as a result of securities transactions effected for the Fund and other investment advisory clients.
 
The Board concluded that, in light of the foregoing factors and the nature, extent and quality of the services rendered, the profits realized by the Adviser and its affiliates are reasonable.
 
Economies of Scale
 
In reviewing management fees and profitability, the Board also considered the extent to which the Adviser and its affiliates, on the one hand, and the Fund, on the other hand, can expect to realize benefits from economies of scale as the assets of the Fund increase. The Board acknowledged the difficulty in accurately measuring the benefits resulting from the economies of scale with respect to the management of any specific fund or group of funds. The Board reviewed data summarizing the increases and decreases in the assets of the Fund and of all Eaton Vance Funds as a group over various time periods, and evaluated the extent to which the total expense ratio of the Fund and the profitability of the Adviser and its affiliates may have been affected by such increases and decreases. Based upon the foregoing, the Board concluded that the Fund currently shares in the benefits from economies of scale. The Board also concluded that, assuming reasonably foreseeable increases in the assets of the Fund, the structure of the advisory fee, which includes breakpoints at several asset levels, will allow the Fund to continue to benefit from economies of scale in the future.

 
30


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Management and Organization

 
Fund Management. The Trustees of Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (the Fund) are responsible for the overall management and supervision of the Fund’s affairs. The Trustees and officers of the Fund are listed below. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the last five years. The “Noninterested Trustees” consist of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as that term is defined under the 1940 Act. The business address of each Trustee and officer is Two International Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. As used below, “EVC” refers to Eaton Vance Corp., “EV” refers to Eaton Vance, Inc., “EVM” refers to Eaton Vance Management, “BMR” refers to Boston Management and Research and “EVD” refers to Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc. EVC and EV are the corporate parent and trustee, respectively, of EVM and BMR. EVD is the Fund’s principal underwriter and a wholly-owned subsidiary of EVC. Each officer affiliated with Eaton Vance may hold a position with other Eaton Vance affiliates that is comparable to his or her position with EVM listed below. Each Trustee oversees 178 portfolios in the Eaton Vance Complex (including all master and feeder funds in a master feeder structure). Each officer serves as an officer of certain other Eaton Vance funds. Each Trustee serves for a three year term. Each officer serves until his or her successor is elected.
 
             
    Position(s)
       
    with the
  Term of Office;
  Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships
Name and Year of Birth   Fund   Length of Service   During Past Five Years and Other Relevant Experience
 
 
 
Interested Trustee
             
Thomas E. Faust Jr.
1958
  Class II Trustee   Until 2014. 3 years. Trustee since 2007.   Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of EVC, Director and President of EV, Chief Executive Officer and President of EVM and BMR, and Director of EVD. Trustee and/or officer of 178 registered investment companies and 1 private investment company managed by EVM or BMR. Mr. Faust is an interested person because of his positions with EVM, BMR, EVD, EVC and EV, which are affiliates of the Fund.
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) Director of EVC.
 
Noninterested Trustees
             
Scott E. Eston
1956
  Class I Trustee   Until 2013. 2 years. Trustee since 2011.   Private investor; formerly held various positions at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo and Co., L.L.C. (investment management firm) (1997-2009), including Chief Operating Officer (2002-2009), Chief Financial Officer (1997-2009) and Chairman of the Executive Committee (2002-2008); President and Principal Executive officer, GMO Trust (2006-2009) (open-end registered investment company); Partner, Coopers and Lybrand L.L.P. (public accounting firm) (1987-1997).
Directorships in the Last Five Years. None.
             
Benjamin C. Esty
1963
  Class I Trustee   Until 2013. 3 years. Trustee since 2005.   Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration and Finance Unit Head, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) None.
             
Allen R. Freedman
1940
  Class I Trustee   Until 2013. 3 years. Trustee since 2007.   Private Investor. Former Chairman (2002-2004) and a Director (1983-2004) of Systems & Computer Technology Corp. (provider of software to higher education). Formerly, a Director of Loring Ward International (fund distributor) (2005-2007). Former Chairman and a Director of Indus International, Inc. (provider of enterprise management software to the power generating industry) (2005-2007). Former Chief Executive Officer of Assurant, Inc. (insurance provider) (1979-2000).
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) Director of Stonemor Partners, L.P. (owner and operator of cemeteries). Formerly, Director of Assurant, Inc. (insurance provider) (1979-2011).
             
William H. Park
1947
  Class II Trustee   Until 2014. 3 years. Trustee since 2003.   Consultant and private investor. Formerly, Chief Financial Officer, Aveon Group L.P. (investment management firm) (2010-2011). Formerly, Vice Chairman, Commercial Industrial Finance Corp. (specialty finance company) (2006-2010). Formerly, President and Chief Executive Officer, Prizm Capital Management, LLC (investment management firm) (2002-2005). Formerly, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, United Asset Management Corporation (investment management firm) (1982-2001). Formerly, Senior Manager, Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) (an independent registered public accounting firm) (1972-1981).
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) None.
             
Ronald A. Pearlman
1940
  Class III Trustee   Until 2012. 3 years. Trustee since 2003.   Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center. Formerly, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) and Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy), U.S. Department of the Treasury (1983-1985). Formerly, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Congress (1988-1990).
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) None.

 
31


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
Management and Organization — continued

             
    Position(s)
       
    with the
  Term of Office;
  Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships
Name and Year of Birth   Fund   Length of Service   During Past Five Years and Other Relevant Experience
 
 
Noninterested Trustees (continued)
             
Helen Frame Peters
1948
  Class III Trustee   Until 2012. 3 years. Trustee since 2008.   Professor of Finance, Carroll School of Management, Boston College. Formerly, Dean, Carroll School of Management, Boston College (2000-2002). Formerly, Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, Scudder Kemper Investments (investment management firm) (1998-1999). Formerly, Chief Investment Officer, Equity and Fixed Income, Colonial Management Associates (investment management firm) (1991-1998).
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) Director of BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. (wholesale club retailer). Formerly, Trustee of SPDR Index Shares Funds and SPDR Series Trust (exchange traded funds) (2000-2009). Formerly, Director of Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (a bank for banks) (2007-2009).
             
Lynn A. Stout
1957
  Class I Trustee   Until 2013. 3 years. Trustee since 2003.   Paul Hastings Professor of Corporate and Securities Law (since 2006) and Professor of Law (2001-2006), University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) None.
             
Harriett Tee Taggart
1948
  Class II Trustee   Until 2014. 3 years. Trustee since 2011.   Managing Director, Taggart Associates (a professional practice firm); formerly, Partner and Senior Vice President, Wellington Management Company, LLP (investment management firm) (1983-2006).
Directorships in the Last Five Years. Director of Albemarle Corporation (chemicals manufacturer) (since 2007) and The Hanover Group (specialty property and casualty insurance company) (since 2009). Formerly, Director of Lubrizol Corporation (specialty chemicals) (2007-2011).
             
Ralph F. Verni
1943
  Chairman of the Board and Class III Trustee   Until 2012. 3 years. Chairman of the Board since 2007 and Trustee since 2005.   Consultant and private investor. Formerly, Chief Investment Officer (1982-1992), Chief Financial Officer (1988-1990) and Director (1982-1992), New England Life. Formerly, Chairperson, New England Mutual Funds (1982-1992). Formerly, President and Chief Executive Officer, State Street Management & Research (1992-2000). Formerly, Chairperson, State Street Research Mutual Funds (1992-2000). Formerly, Director, W.P. Carey, LLC (1998-2004) and First Pioneer Farm Credit Corp. (2002-2006).
Directorships in the Last Five Years.(1) None.
 
Principal Officers who are not Trustees
    Position(s)
       
    with the
  Length of
  Principal Occupation(s)
Name and Year of Birth   Fund   Service   During Past Five Years
 
 
             
Judith A. Saryan
1954
  President   Since 2011(2)   Vice President of EVM and BMR.
             
Duncan W. Richardson
1957
  Vice President   Since 2011(2)   Director of EVC and Executive Vice President and Chief Equity Investment Officer of EVC, EVM and BMR.
             
Barbara E. Campbell
1957
  Treasurer   Since 2005   Vice President of EVM and BMR.
             
Maureen A. Gemma
1960
  Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer   Vice President since 2011, Secretary since 2007 and Chief Legal Officer since 2008   Vice President of EVM and BMR.
             
Paul M. O’Neil
1953
  Chief Compliance Officer   Since 2004   Vice President of EVM and BMR.
 
(1) During their respective tenures, the Trustees also served as trustees of one or more of the following Eaton Vance funds (which operated in the years noted): Eaton Vance Credit Opportunities Fund (launched in 2005 and terminated in 2010); Eaton Vance Insured Florida Plus Municipal Bond Fund (launched in 2002 and terminated in 2009); and Eaton Vance National Municipal Income Trust (launched in 1998 and terminated in 2009).
(2) Prior to 2011, Ms. Saryan was Vice President of the Fund since 2003 and Mr. Richardson was President of the Fund since 2008.

 
32


 

 
Eaton Vance
Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
August 31, 2011
 
 
IMPORTANT NOTICES

 
Privacy. The Eaton Vance organization is committed to ensuring your financial privacy. Each of the financial institutions identified below has in effect the following policy (“Privacy Policy”) with respect to nonpublic personal information about its customers:
 
•  Only such information received from you, through application forms or otherwise, and information about your Eaton Vance fund transactions will be collected. This may include information such as name, address, social security number, tax status, account balances and transactions.
 
•  None of such information about you (or former customers) will be disclosed to anyone, except as permitted by law (which includes disclosure to employees necessary to service your account). In the normal course of servicing a customer’s account, Eaton Vance may share information with unaffiliated third parties that perform various required services such as transfer agents, custodians and broker/dealers.
 
•  Policies and procedures (including physical, electronic and procedural safeguards) are in place that are designed to protect the confidentiality of such information.
 
•  We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time upon proper notification to you. Customers may want to review our Privacy Policy periodically for changes by accessing the link on our homepage: www.eatonvance.com.
 
Our pledge of privacy applies to the following entities within the Eaton Vance organization: the Eaton Vance Family of Funds, Eaton Vance Management, Eaton Vance Investment Counsel, Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc., Eaton Vance Trust Company, Eaton Vance Management’s Real Estate Investment Group and Boston Management and Research. In addition, our Privacy Policy applies only to those Eaton Vance customers who are individuals and who have a direct relationship with us. If a customer’s account (i.e., fund shares) is held in the name of a third-party financial advisor/broker-dealer, it is likely that only such advisor’s privacy policies apply to the customer. This notice supersedes all previously issued privacy disclosures. For more information about Eaton Vance’s Privacy Policy, please call 1-800-262-1122.
 
Delivery of Shareholder Documents. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits funds to deliver only one copy of shareholder documents, including prospectuses, proxy statements and shareholder reports, to fund investors with multiple accounts at the same residential or post office box address. This practice is often called “householding” and it helps eliminate duplicate mailings to shareholders. Eaton Vance, or your financial advisor, may household the mailing of your documents indefinitely unless you instruct Eaton Vance, or your financial advisor, otherwise. If you would prefer that your Eaton Vance documents not be householded, please contact Eaton Vance at 1-800-262-1122, or contact your financial advisor. Your instructions that householding not apply to delivery of your Eaton Vance documents will be effective within 30 days of receipt by Eaton Vance or your financial advisor.
 
Portfolio Holdings. Each Eaton Vance Fund and its underlying Portfolio(s) (if applicable) will file a schedule of portfolio holdings on Form N-Q with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year. The Form N-Q will be available on the Eaton Vance website at www.eatonvance.com, by calling Eaton Vance at 1-800-262-1122 or in the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Form N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, D.C. (call 1-800-732-0330 for information on the operation of the public reference room).
 
Proxy Voting. From time to time, funds are required to vote proxies related to the securities held by the funds. The Eaton Vance Funds or their underlying Portfolios (if applicable) vote proxies according to a set of policies and procedures approved by the Funds’ and Portfolios’ Boards. You may obtain a description of these policies and procedures and information on how the Funds or Portfolios voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-262-1122 and by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
 
Additional Notice to Shareholders. The Fund may purchase shares of its common stock in the open market when they trade at a discount to net asset value or at other times if the Fund determines such purchases are advisable. There can be no assurance that the Fund will take such action or that such purchases would reduce the discount.
 
Closed-End Fund Information. The Eaton Vance closed-end funds make certain quarterly fund performance data and information about portfolio characteristics (such as top holdings and asset allocation) available on the Eaton Vance website after the end of each calendar quarter-end. Certain month end fund performance data for the funds, including total returns, are posted to the website shortly after the end of each calendar month. Portfolio holdings for the most recent calendar quarter-end are also posted to the website approximately 30 days following the end of the quarter. This information is available at www.eatonvance.com on the fund information pages under “Individual Investors – Closed-End Funds”.

 
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Investment Adviser and Administrator
Eaton Vance Management
Two International Place
Boston, MA 02110
 
Custodian
State Street Bank and Trust Company
200 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116
 
Transfer Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
59 Maiden Lane
Plaza Level
New York, NY 10038
 
 
 
 
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-5022
 
Fund Offices
Two International Place
Boston, MA 02110
 
 


 

 
 
(EATON VANCE INVESTMENT MANAGERS LOGO)
 
2004-10/11 CE-TADISRC


 

Item 2. Code of Ethics
The registrant has adopted a code of ethics applicable to its Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer. The registrant undertakes to provide a copy of such code of ethics to any person upon request, without charge, by calling 1-800-262-1122.
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert
The registrant’s Board has designated William H. Park, an independent trustee, as its audit committee financial expert. Mr. Park is a certified public accountant who is a consultant and private investor. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Aveon Group, L.P. (an investment management firm), as the Vice Chairman of Commercial Industrial Finance Corp. (specialty finance company), as President and Chief Executive Officer of Prizm Capital Management, LLC (investment management firm), as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Asset Management Corporation (an institutional investment management firm) and as a Senior Manager at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) (an independent registered public accounting firm).
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
(a)-(d)
The following table presents the aggregate fees billed to the registrant for the registrant’s fiscal years ended August 31, 2010 and August 31, 2011 by the registrant’s principal accountant, Deloitte & Touche LLP (“D&T”), for professional services rendered for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements and fees billed for other services rendered by D&T during such periods.
                 
Fiscal Years Ended   8/31/10   8/31/11
 
Audit Fees
  $ 77,430     $ 78,200  
 
               
Audit-Related Fees(1)
  $ 0     $ 0  
 
               
Tax Fees(2)
  $ 11,410     $ 11,520  
 
               
All Other Fees(3)
  $ 1,400     $ 1,200  
     
 
               
Total
  $ 90,240     $ 90,920  
     
 
(1)   Audit-related fees consist of the aggregate fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under the category of audit fees.
 
(2)   Tax fees consist of the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the principal accountant relating to tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning and specifically include fees for tax return preparation and other related tax compliance/planning matters.
 
(3)   All other fees consist of the aggregate fees billed for products and services provided by the registrant’s principal accountant other than audit, audit-related, and tax services.
(e)(1) The registrant’s audit committee has adopted policies and procedures relating to the pre-approval of services provided by the registrant’s principal accountant (the “Pre-Approval Policies”). The Pre-Approval Policies establish a framework intended to assist the audit committee in the proper discharge of its pre-approval responsibilities. As a general matter, the Pre-Approval Policies (i) specify certain types of audit, audit-related, tax, and other services determined to be pre-approved by the audit committee; and (ii) delineate specific procedures governing the mechanics of the pre-approval process, including the approval and monitoring of audit and non-audit service fees. Unless a service is specifically pre-approved under the Pre-Approval Policies, it must be separately pre-approved by the audit committee.
The Pre-Approval Policies and the types of audit and non-audit services pre-approved therein must be reviewed and ratified by the registrant’s audit committee at least annually. The registrant’s audit committee maintains full responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the registrant’s principal accountant.
(e)(2) No services described in paragraphs (b)-(d) above were approved by the registrant’s audit committee pursuant to the “de minimis exception” set forth in Rule 2-01 (c)(7)(i)(C) of Regulation S-X.
(f) Not applicable.

 


 

(g) The following table presents (i) the aggregate non-audit fees (i.e., fees for audit-related, tax, and other services) billed for services rendered to the registrant by D&T for the registrant’s fiscal year ended August 31, 2010 and the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011; and (ii) the aggregate non-audit fees (i.e., fees for audit-related, tax, and other services) billed for services rendered to the Eaton Vance organization by D&T for the same time periods.
                 
Fiscal Years Ended   8/31/10   8/31/11
 
Registrant
  $ 12,810     $ 12,720  
 
               
Eaton Vance(1)
  $ 240,551     $ 224,191  
 
(1)   Eaton Vance Management, a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp., acts as the registrant’s investment adviser and administrator.
(h) The registrant’s audit committee has considered whether the provision by the registrant’s principal accountant of non-audit services to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to Rule 2-01(c)(7)(ii) of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants
The registrant has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. William H. Park (Chair), Scott E. Eston, Helen Frame Peters, Lynn A. Stout and Ralph F. Verni are the members of the registrant’s audit committee.
Item 6. Schedule of Investments
Please see schedule of investments contained in the Report to Stockholders included under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies
The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy and procedure (the “Fund Policy”), pursuant to which the Trustees have delegated proxy voting responsibility to the Fund’s investment adviser and adopted the investment adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures (the “Policies”) which are described below. The Trustees will review the Fund’s proxy voting records from time to time and will annually consider approving the Policies for the upcoming year. In the event that a conflict of interest arises between the Fund’s shareholders and the investment adviser, the administrator, or any of their affiliates or any affiliate of the Fund, the investment adviser will generally refrain from voting the proxies related to the companies giving rise to such conflict until it consults with the Board’s Special Committee except as contemplated under the Fund Policy. The Board’s Special Committee will instruct the investment adviser on the appropriate course of action.
The Policies are designed to promote accountability of a company’s management to its shareholders and to align the interests of management with those shareholders. An independent proxy voting service (“Agent”), currently Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc., has been retained to assist in the voting of proxies through the provision of vote analysis, implementation and recordkeeping and disclosure

 


 

services. The investment adviser will generally vote proxies through the Agent. The Agent is required to vote all proxies and/or refer them back to the investment adviser pursuant to the Policies. It is generally the policy of the investment adviser to vote in accordance with the recommendation of the Agent. The Agent shall refer to the investment adviser proxies relating to mergers and restructurings, and the disposition of assets, termination, liquidation and mergers contained in mutual fund proxies. The investment adviser will normally vote against anti-takeover measures and other proposals designed to limit the ability of shareholders to act on possible transactions, except in the case of closed-end management investment companies. The investment adviser generally supports management on social and environmental proposals. The investment adviser may abstain from voting from time to time where it determines that the costs associated with voting a proxy outweighs the benefits derived from exercising the right to vote or the economic effect on shareholders interests or the value of the portfolio holding is indeterminable or insignificant.
In addition, the investment adviser will monitor situations that may result in a conflict of interest between the Fund’s shareholders and the investment adviser, the administrator, or any of their affiliates or any affiliate of the Fund by maintaining a list of significant existing and prospective corporate clients. The investment adviser’s personnel responsible for reviewing and voting proxies on behalf of the Fund will report any proxy received or expected to be received from a company included on that list to the personnel of the investment adviser identified in the Policies. If such personnel expects to instruct the Agent to vote such proxies in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines of the Policies or the recommendation of the Agent, the personnel will consult with members of senior management of the investment adviser to determine if a material conflict of interests exists. If it is determined that a material conflict does exist, the investment adviser will seek instruction on how to vote from the Special Committee.
Information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12 month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-262-1122, and (2) on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies
John H. Croft, Aamer Khan, Martha G. Locke and Judith A. Saryan and other Eaton Vance investment professionals comprise the investment team responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s investments as well as allocations of the Fund’s assets between common and preferred stocks. Messrs. Croft and Khan and Mmes. Locke and Saryan are the portfolio managers responsible for the day-to-day management of specific segments of the Fund’s investment portfolio.
Messrs. Croft and Khan and Ms. Locke have been Eaton Vance analysts for more than five years and are Vice Presidents of EVM and BMR. Ms. Saryan has been an Eaton Vance portfolio manager since 1999 and is a Vice President of EVM and BMR. This information is provided as of the date of filing of this report.
The following tables show, as of the Fund’s most recent fiscal year end, the number of accounts each portfolio manager managed in each of the listed categories and the total assets (in millions of dollars) in the accounts managed within each category. The table also shows the number of accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based on the performance of the account, if any, and the total assets (in millions of dollars) in those accounts.

 


 

                                 
                    Number of    
                    Accounts    
                    Paying a   Total Assets of
    Number of   Total Assets of   Performance   Accounts Paying a
    All Accounts   All Accounts   Fee   Performance Fee
John H. Croft
                               
Registered Investment Companies
    4     $ 1,162.7       0     $ 0  
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
Other Accounts
    5     $ 51.2       0     $ 0  
 
                               
Aamer Khan
                               
Registered Investment Companies
    5     $ 5,125.9       0     $ 0  
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
Other Accounts
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
 
                               
Martha G. Locke
                               
Registered Investment Companies
    3     $ 3,625.2       0     $ 0  
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
Other Accounts
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
 
                               
Judith A. Saryan
                               
Registered Investment Companies
    6     $ 6,252.5       0     $ 0  
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
Other Accounts
    0     $ 0       0     $ 0  
The following table shows the dollar range of Fund shares beneficially owned by each portfolio manager as of the Fund’s most recent fiscal year end.
     
    Dollar Range of Equity
Portfolio   Securities
Manager   Owned in the Fund
John H. Croft
  None
Aamer Khan
  None
Martha G. Locke
  None
Judith A. Saryan
  $10,001-$50,000
Potential for Conflicts of Interest. It is possible that conflicts of interest may arise in connection with a portfolio manager’s management of the Fund’s investments on the one hand and investments of other accounts for which a portfolio manager is responsible on the other. For example, a portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time, resources and investment opportunities among the Fund and other accounts he or she advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions between the Fund and the other accounts, a portfolio manager may take action with respect to another account that differs from the action taken with respect to the Fund. In some

 


 

cases, another account managed by a portfolio manager may compensate the investment adviser based on the performance of the securities held by that account. The existence of such a performance based fee may create additional conflicts of interest for a portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities. Whenever conflicts of interest arise, a portfolio manager will endeavor to exercise his or her discretion in a manner that he or she believes is equitable to all interested persons. EVM has adopted several policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts including a code of ethics and policies which govern the investment adviser’s trading practices, including among other things the aggregation and allocation of trades among clients, brokerage allocation, cross trades and best execution.
Compensation Structure for EVM
Compensation of EVM’s portfolio managers and other investment professionals has three primary components: (1) a base salary, (2) an annual cash bonus, and (3) annual stock-based compensation consisting of options to purchase shares of EVC’s nonvoting common stock and restricted shares of EVC’s nonvoting common stock. EVM’s investment professionals also receive certain retirement, insurance and other benefits that are broadly available to EVM’s employees. Compensation of EVM’s investment professionals is reviewed primarily on an annual basis. Cash bonuses, stock-based compensation awards, and adjustments in base salary are typically paid or put into effect at or shortly after the October 31st fiscal year end of EVC.
Method to Determine Compensation. EVM compensates its portfolio managers based primarily on the scale and complexity of their portfolio responsibilities and the total return performance of managed funds and accounts versus the benchmark(s) stated in the prospectus, as well as an appropriate peer group (as described below). In addition to rankings within peer groups of funds on the basis of absolute performance, consideration may also be given to relative risk-adjusted performance. Risk-adjusted performance measures include, but are not limited to, the Sharpe Ratio. Performance is normally based on periods ending on the September 30th preceding fiscal year end. Fund performance is normally evaluated primarily versus peer groups of funds as determined by Lipper Inc. and/or Morningstar, Inc. When a fund’s peer group as determined by Lipper or Morningstar is deemed by EVM’s management not to provide a fair comparison, performance may instead be evaluated primarily against a custom peer group. In evaluating the performance of a fund and its manager, primary emphasis is normally placed on three-year performance, with secondary consideration of performance over longer and shorter periods. For funds that are tax-managed or otherwise have an objective of after-tax returns, performance is measured net of taxes. For other funds, performance is evaluated on a pre-tax basis. For funds with an investment objective other than total return (such as current income), consideration will also be given to the fund’s success in achieving its objective. For managers responsible for multiple funds and accounts, investment performance is evaluated on an aggregate basis, based on averages or weighted averages among managed funds and accounts. Funds and accounts that have performance-based advisory fees are not accorded disproportionate weightings in measuring aggregate portfolio manager performance.
The compensation of portfolio managers with other job responsibilities (such as heading an investment group or providing analytical support to other portfolios) will include consideration of the scope of such responsibilities and the managers’ performance in meeting them.
EVM seeks to compensate portfolio managers commensurate with their responsibilities and performance, and competitive with other firms within the investment management industry. EVM participates in investment-industry compensation surveys and utilizes survey data as a factor in determining salary, bonus and stock-based compensation levels for portfolio managers and other investment professionals. Salaries, bonuses and stock-based compensation are also influenced by the operating performance of EVM and its parent company. The overall annual cash bonus pool is based

 


 

on a substantially fixed percentage of pre-bonus operating income. While the salaries of EVM’s portfolio managers are comparatively fixed, cash bonuses and stock-based compensation may fluctuate significantly from year to year, based on changes in manager performance and other factors as described herein. For a high performing portfolio manager, cash bonuses and stock-based compensation may represent a substantial portion of total compensation.
Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers
No such purchases this period.
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
No Material Changes.
Item 11. Controls and Procedures
(a) It is the conclusion of the registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer that the effectiveness of the registrant’s current disclosure controls and procedures (such disclosure controls and procedures having been evaluated within 90 days of the date of this filing) provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by the registrant has been recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the Commission’s rules and forms and that the information required to be disclosed by the registrant has been accumulated and communicated to the registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer in order to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b) There have been no changes in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 12. Exhibits
     
(a)(1)
  Registrant’s Code of Ethics — Not applicable (please see Item 2).
(a)(2)(i)
  Treasurer’s Section 302 certification.
(a)(2)(ii)
  President’s Section 302 certification.
(b)
  Combined Section 906 certification.

 


 

Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
             
Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund
 
           
By:
  /s/ Judith A. Saryan        
 
           
 
  Judith A. Saryan        
 
  President        
 
           
Date:
  October 14, 2011        
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
             
By:
  /s/ Barbara E. Campbell
 
Barbara E. Campbell
       
 
  Treasurer        
 
           
Date:
  October 14, 2011        
 
           
By:
  /s/ Judith A. Saryan
 
Judith A. Saryan
       
 
  President        
 
           
Date:
  October 14, 2011