First Eagle Investments Launches US Smid Cap Opportunity Fund

First Eagle Investments (“First Eagle”) today announced the launch of the First Eagle US Smid Cap Opportunity Fund (A-Share Class: FEMAX; I-Share Class: FESMX; R6-Share Class: FEXRX). The Fund seeks the long-term growth of capital by opportunistically investing in small and midcap companies the portfolio management team believes to be attractively valued and to have the potential to benefit from a catalyst—such as new management, a more favorable business cycle, product innovation and/or margin improvement—that may drive a recovery in earnings growth.

The Fund is managed by First Eagle’s Small Cap team comprising team Head and Portfolio Manager Bill Hench, Associate Portfolio Managers Suzanne Franks and Rob Kosowsky, Senior Research Analyst Adam Mielnik, Trader/Analyst Mark Salamone and Analyst Connor Sheehy. The team also manages the First Eagle Small Cap Opportunity Fund, which was launched on July 1, 2021, and has $479.1 million in assets under management as of July 31, 2022.

“The Small Cap Opportunity Fund has been well-received by financial professionals and their clients in the short time since its launch,” said Robert Bruno, Head of Retail Distribution at First Eagle. “We’re excited to leverage our Small Cap team’s time-tested approach to value-oriented investment across a broader opportunity set for investors in pursuit of small and midcap equity exposure through our new US Smid Cap Opportunity Fund.”

The US Smid Cap Opportunity Fund takes an opportunistic but disciplined approach to bottom-up portfolio construction, employing in-house fundamental research in an effort to identify small cap and midcap companies that appear temporarily mispriced by the market due to unrecognized asset valuations, turnaround potential, accelerating but overlooked earnings growth, or unacknowledged market leadership. Given the enhanced liquidity of the smid cap space, the US Smid Cap Opportunity Fund typically will hold approximately 70–100 stocks. From time to time, the Fund may have limited net assets in foreign investments.

“While our fundamental investment approach remains the same, the smid cap mandate provides us access to a larger, more liquid investment universe than small caps alone,” said Hench. “As a result, we can construct a relatively more concentrated portfolio than one that holds only small caps, and we also are able to maintain exposure to investments that may potentially outgrow the small cap space.”

First Eagle’s Small Cap team was formed in April 2021 with the hiring of Hench, Franks, Kosowsky and Mielnik, all of whom were previously employed by Royce Investment Partners. Subsequently, the team added Salamone in October 2021 and Sheehy in July 2022.

About First Eagle Investments

First Eagle Investments is an independent, privately owned investment management firm headquartered in New York with approximately $101.6 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2022. (On a pro forma basis to include the recent acquisition of Napier Park Global Capital, First Eagle’s total assets under management are approximately $121.1 billion as of that same date.) Dedicated to providing prudent stewardship of client assets, the firm focuses on active, fundamental and benchmark-agnostic investing, with a strong emphasis on downside mitigation. With a heritage dating back to 1864, First Eagle has helped its clients avoid permanent impairment of capital and earn attractive returns through widely varied economic cycles—a tradition that is central to its mission today. The firm’s investment capabilities include equity, fixed income, alternative credit and multi-asset strategies. For more information on First Eagle, please visit www.firsteagle.com.

The total pro forma assets under management (AUM) represents the combined AUM of First Eagle Investments and Napier Park Global Capital as of June 30, 2022. It includes $1.5 billion of committed and other non-fee-paying capital from First Eagle Alternative Credit and $0.9 billion of committed and other non-fee-paying capital from Napier Park, inclusive of assets managed by Regatta Loan Management LLC. Pro forma results are for illustrative purposes only and are not actual performance results. The pro forma results reflect a business combination that had not yet taken place and may differ materially from actual performance results.

Risk Disclosures:

The First Eagle U.S. Smid Cap Opportunity Fund is new and may not be successful under all future market conditions. The Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment, trading or other efficiencies.

The value and liquidity of portfolio holdings may fluctuate in response to events specific to the companies or markets, as well as economic, political or social events in the United States or abroad. During periods of market volatility, the value of individual securities and other investments at times may decline significantly and rapidly. The securities of small and medium-sized companies can be more volatile in price than those of larger companies and may be more difficult or expensive to trade.

There are risks associated with investing in foreign investments (including depositary receipts). Foreign investments are susceptible to less politically, economically and socially stable environments, and adverse changes to government regulations.

A principal risk of investing in value stocks is that the price of the security may not approach its anticipated value or may decline in value. “Value” investments, as a category, or entire industries or sectors associated with such investments, may lose favor with investors as compared to those that are more “growth” oriented.

All investments involve the risk of loss of principal.

The above are not investment guidelines or restrictions and are subject to change without notice.

Not all companies held in the Fund will meet the criteria listed.

Investors should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Funds and may be obtained by visiting our website at www.firsteagle.com or calling us at 800.334.2143. Please read our prospectus carefully before investing. Investments are not FDIC insured or bank guaranteed and may lose value.

The First Eagle Funds are offered by FEF Distributors, LLC, a subsidiary of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC. First Eagle Investment Management, LLC provides advisory services.

FEF Distributors, LLC (Member SIPC) distributes First Eagle products; it does not provide services to investors. As such, when FEF Distributors, LLC presents a strategy or product to an investor, FEF Distributors, LLC and its representatives do not determine whether the investment is in the best interests of, or is suitable for, the investor. Investors should exercise their own judgment and/or consult with a financial professional prior to investing in any First Eagle strategy or product.

First Eagle Investments is the brand name for First Eagle Investment Management, LLC and its subsidiary investment advisers.

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