<PAGE>
Exhibit (d)(1)
EATON VANCE VARIABLE TRUST
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
ON BEHALF OF EATON VANCE VT INCOME FUND OF BOSTON
AGREEMENT made this 14th day of August, 2000, between Eaton Vance Variable
Trust, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"), on behalf of Eaton Vance VT
Income Fund of Boston (the "Fund") and Eaton Vance Management, a Massachusetts
business trust (the "Adviser").
1. Duties of the Adviser. The Trust hereby employs the Adviser to act as
investment adviser for and to manage the investment and reinvestment of the
assets of the Fund and to administer its affairs, subject to the supervision of
the Trustees of the Trust, for the period and on the terms set forth in this
Agreement.
The Adviser hereby accepts such employment, and undertakes to afford to the
Trust the advice and assistance of the Adviser's organization in the choice of
investments and in the purchase and sale of securities for the Fund and to
furnish for the use of the Fund office space and all necessary office
facilities, equipment and personnel for servicing the investments of the Fund
and for administering its affairs and to pay the salaries and fees of all
officers and Trustees of the Trust who are members of the Adviser's organization
and all personnel of the Adviser performing services relating to research and
investment activities. The Adviser shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be
an independent contractor and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided or
authorized, have no authority to act for or represent the Trust in any way or
otherwise be deemed an agent of the Trust.
The Adviser shall provide the Trust with such investment management and
supervision as the Trust may from time to time consider necessary for the proper
supervision of the Fund. As investment adviser to the Trust, the Adviser shall
furnish continuously an investment program and shall determine from time to time
what securities and other investments shall be acquired, disposed of or
exchanged and what portion of the Fund's assets shall be held uninvested,
subject always to the applicable restrictions of the Declaration of Trust,
By-Laws and registration statement of the Trust under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, all as from time to time amended. The Adviser is authorized, in its
discretion and without prior consultation with the Trust, to buy, sell, and
otherwise trade in any and all types of securities, commodities and investment
instruments on behalf of the Fund. Should the Trustees of the Trust at any time,
however, make any specific determination as to investment policy for the Fund
and notify the Adviser thereof in writing, the Adviser shall be bound by such
determination for the period, if any, specified in such notice or until
similarly notified that such determination has been revoked. The Adviser shall
take, on behalf of the Trust, all actions which it deems necessary or desirable
to implement the investment policies of the Trust and of the Fund.
The Adviser shall place all orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio
securities for the account of the Fund either directly with the issuer or with
brokers or dealers selected by the Adviser, and to that end the Adviser is
authorized as the agent of the Fund to give instructions to the custodian of the
Fund as to deliveries of securities and payments of cash for the account of the
Fund. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the
placing of such orders, the Adviser shall use its best efforts to seek to
execute security transactions at prices which are advantageous to the Fund and
(when a disclosed commission is being charged) at reasonably competitive
commission rates. In selecting brokers or dealers qualified to execute a
particular transaction, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide
brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the Adviser and the Adviser is expressly
authorized to pay any broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research
services a commission for executing a security transaction which is in excess of
the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for
effecting that transaction if the Adviser determines in good faith that such
amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and
research services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either
that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Adviser
<PAGE>
and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise
investment discretion. Subject to the requirement set forth in the second
sentence of this paragraph, the Adviser is authorized to consider, as a factor
in the selection of any broker or dealer with whom purchase or sale orders may
be placed, the fact that such broker or dealer has sold or is selling shares of
the Fund, or any other series of the Trust, or of any one or more investment
companies sponsored by the Adviser, Eaton Vance Management or their affiliates.
Eaton Vance Management, in its capacity as Administrator of the Trust,
shall be responsible for providing certain administrative services to the Trust
under the Trust's separate Administration Agreement with the Administrator.
2. Compensation of the Adviser. For the services, payments and facilities
to be furnished hereunder by the Adviser, the Fund shall pay to the Adviser on
the last day of such month a monthly fee of 5/96 of 1% (equivalent to 5/8 of 1%
annually) of the average daily net assets of the Fund throughout the month,
computed in accordance with the Declaration of Trust of the Trust and any
applicable votes and determinations of the Trustees of the Trust. In case of
initiation or termination of the Agreement during any month with respect to the
Fund, the fee for that month shall be reduced proportionately on the basis of
the number of calendar days during which it is in effect and the fee shall be
computed on the basis of the average of valuations made throughout such period.
The Adviser may, from time to time, waive all or a part of the above
compensation.
3. Allocation of Charges and Expenses. It is understood that the Fund will
pay all expenses other than those expressly stated to be payable by the Adviser
hereunder, which expenses payable by the Fund shall include, without implied
limitation, (i) expenses of organizing and maintaining the Fund and continuing
its existence, (ii) registration of the Trust under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, (iii) commissions, spreads, fees and other expenses connected with the
acquisition, holding and disposition of securities and other investments, (iv)
auditing, accounting and legal expenses, (v) taxes and interest, (vi)
governmental fees, (vii) expenses of issue, sale and redemption of shares,
(viii) expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund and its shares under
federal and state securities laws and of preparing and printing registration
statements or other offering statements or memoranda for such purposes and for
distributing the same to shareholders and investors, and fees and expenses of
registering and maintaining registrations of the Fund and of the Fund's
principal underwriter, if any, as broker-dealer or agent under state securities
laws, (ix) expenses of reports and notices to shareholders and of meetings of
shareholders and proxy solicitations therefor, (x) expenses of reports to
governmental officers and commissions, (xi) insurance expenses, (xii)
association membership dues, (xiii) fees, expenses and disbursements of
custodians and subcustodians for all services to the Fund (including without
limitation safekeeping of funds, securities and other investments, keeping of
books, accounts and records, and determination of net asset values), (xiv) fees,
expenses and disbursements of transfer agents, dividend disbursing agents,
shareholder servicing agents and registrars for all services to the Fund, (xv)
2
<PAGE>
expenses for servicing shareholder accounts, (xvi) any direct charges to
shareholders approved by the Trustees of the Trust, (xvii) compensation and
expenses of Trustees of the Trust who are not members of the Adviser's
organization, (xviii) all payments to be made and expenses to be assumed by the
Fund pursuant to any one or more distribution plans adopted by the Trust on
behalf of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of
1940, or any shareholder service plan and (xix) such non-recurring items as may
arise, including expenses incurred in connection with litigation, proceedings
and claims and the obligation of the Trust to indemnify its Trustees, officers
and shareholders with respect thereto.
4. Other Interests. It is understood that Trustees and officers of the
Trust and shareholders of the Fund are or may be or become interested in the
Adviser as trustees, officers, employees, shareholders or otherwise and that
trustees, officers, employees and shareholders of the Adviser are or may be or
become similarly interested in the Fund, and that the Adviser may be or become
interested in the Fund as a shareholder or otherwise. It is also understood that
trustees, officers, employees and shareholders of the Adviser may be or become
interested (as directors, trustees, officers, employees, shareholders or
otherwise) in other companies or entities (including, without limitation, other
investment companies) which the Adviser may organize, sponsor or acquire, or
with which it may merge or consolidate, and which may include the words "Eaton
Vance" or any combination thereof as part of their name, and that the Adviser or
its subsidiaries or affiliates may enter into advisory or management agreements
or other contracts or relationships with such other companies or entities.
5. Limitation of Liability of the Adviser. The services of the Adviser to
the Trust are not to be deemed to be exclusive, the Adviser being free to render
services to others and engage in other business activities. In the absence of
willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of
obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Adviser, the Adviser shall
not be subject to liability to the Trust or to any shareholder of the Fund for
any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services
hereunder or for any losses which may be sustained in the acquisition, holding
or disposition of any security or other investment. The Fund expressly
acknowledges the provision in the Declaration of Trust of the Eaton Vance
Management limiting the personal liability of shareholders of Eaton Vance
Management, and the Fund hereby agrees that it shall have recourse to Eaton
Vance Management for payment of claims or obligations as between the Trust or
the Fund and Eaton Vance Management arising out of this Agreement and shall not
seek satisfaction from the shareholders or any shareholder of Eaton Vance
Management.
6. Sub-Investment Advisers. The Adviser may employ one or more
sub-investment advisers from time to time to perform such of the acts and
services of the Adviser, including the selection of brokers or dealers or other
persons to execute the Fund's portfolio security transactions, and upon such
terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the Adviser and such
sub-investment adviser and approved by the Trustees of the Trust, all as
permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
7. Duration and Termination of this Agreement. This Agreement shall become
effective upon the date of its execution, and, unless terminated as herein
provided, shall remain in full force and effect through and including March 31,
2002 and shall continue in full force and effect indefinitely thereafter, but
only so long as such continuance after March 31, 2002 is specifically approved
at least annually (i) by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and (ii) by the vote
of a majority of those Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons of
the Adviser or the Trust cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval.
3
<PAGE>
Either party hereto may, at any time on sixty (60) days' prior written
notice to the other, terminate this Agreement without the payment of any
penalty, by action of Trustees of the Trust or the trustees of the Adviser, as
the case may be, and the Trust may, at any time upon such written notice to the
Adviser, terminate this Agreement by vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities of the Fund. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in
the event of its assignment.
8. Amendments of the Agreement. This Agreement may be amended by a writing
signed by both parties hereto, provided that no amendment to this Agreement
shall be effective until approved (i) by the vote of a majority of those
Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons of the Adviser or the Trust
cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval,
and (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
9. Limitation of Liability. The Adviser expressly acknowledges the
provision in the Declaration of Trust of the Trust limiting the personal
liability of shareholders of the Fund, and the Adviser hereby agrees that it
shall have recourse to the Trust or the Fund for payment of claims or
obligations as between the Trust or the Fund and the Adviser arising out of this
Agreement and shall not seek satisfaction from the shareholders or any
shareholder of the Fund.
10. Use of the Name "Eaton Vance". The Adviser hereby consents to the use
by the Fund of the name "Eaton Vance" as part of the Fund's name; provided,
however, that such consent shall be conditioned upon the employment of the
Adviser or one of its affiliates as the investment adviser of the Fund. The name
"Eaton Vance" or any variation thereof may be used from time to time in other
connections and for other purposes by the Adviser and its affiliates and other
investment companies that have obtained consent to the use of the name "Eaton
Vance". The Adviser shall have the right to require the Fund to cease using the
name "Eaton Vance" as part of the Fund's name if the Fund ceases, for any
reason, to employ the Adviser or one of its affiliates as the Fund's investment
adviser. Future names adopted by the Fund for itself, insofar as such names
include identifying words requiring the consent of the Adviser, shall be the
property of the Adviser and shall be subject to the same terms and conditions.
11. Certain Definitions. The terms "assignment" and "interested persons"
when used herein shall have the respective meanings specified in the Investment
Company Act of 1940 as now in effect or as hereafter amended subject, however,
to such exemptions as may be granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission
by any rule, regulation or order. The term "vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities" shall mean the vote, at a meeting of
shareholders, of the lesser of (a) 67 per centum or more of the shares of the
Fund present or represented by proxy at the meeting if the holders of more than
50 per centum of the shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy at
the meeting, or (b) more than 50 per centum of the shares of the Fund.
4
<PAGE>
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed on the day and year first above written.
EATON VANCE VARIABLE TRUST
(on behalf of Eaton Vance VT Income Fund of Boston)
By: /s/ James B. Hawkes
---------------------------------------
James B. Hawkes
President
EATON VANCE MANAGEMENT
By: /s/ Alan R. Dynner
---------------------------------------
