Executives at a publicly traded mutual fund firm are smiling on a different kind of fund structure.

"One of the areas that we as a firm have been exploring is interval funds," Eaton Vance's [profile] Kathleen Gaffney, vice president and director of diversified fixed income and lead PM for multi-sector bond and core plus bond, told reporters yesterday. Gaffney was speaking on a panel at the Boston-based fund firm's ninth annual investment perspectives media luncheon, titled "Advanced Investing in Uncertain Times: Is the party over?" and held again at the Modern restaurant in New York City.

Bob Cunha, managing director of marketing and distribution strategy for Eaton Vance, told MFWire after the event that Eaton Vance does not yet offer any interval funds. He described them as "a great solution", especially for Eaton Vance's core client base of ultra high net worth investors with longer time horizons.

At the event, Cunha moderated a panel discussion that including Gaffney, Eaton Vance growth PM Yana Barton, Richard Bernstein Advisors CEO Richard Bernstein, and Calvert analyst Jade Huang.

Interval funds, which mix the reporting and regulatory protections of open-end mutual funds with withdrawal restrictions from outside of the mutual fund space, have not yet caught on in a big way. Per Morningstar, interval funds only account for 0.06 percent of current U.S. mutual fund industry AUM. 

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