A New York investment firm with roots in an 1864 Dresden bank, known for global value investing and its focus on gold.
Life story
First Eagle traces its roots to Arnhold Brothers, a bank founded by the Arnhold family in Dresden, Germany, in 1864. In 1928 the bank acquired Switzerland's Adler Bank — "Adler" is German for "eagle", the origin of the firm's name. In 1931 it merged with S. Bleichröder to become "Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder".
In the 1930s the firm's leadership emigrated to New York and resumed business on Wall Street in 1937.
How they got started
The firm launched its first offshore fund in 1967 and its first US mutual fund in 1987. In 1999 it acquired a majority stake in Société Générale Asset Management, bringing in the SoGen International Fund — later the First Eagle Global Fund. In 2009 the company was renamed First Eagle Investment Management.
The Global Fund's reputation was built by French investor Jean-Marie Eveillard: an analyst at the SoGen fund from 1970 and portfolio manager from 1978–79, he ran the Global, Overseas, Gold and U.S. Value funds until the end of 2004. Morningstar named him International Stock Manager of the Year in 2001 and gave him its Lifetime Achievement award in 2003.
Ownership changed significantly: Blackstone and Corsair bought a majority stake in 2015 for about $4 billion, and in 2025 Genstar Capital made a majority investment. The firm has also expanded into credit (acquiring NewStar, THL Credit and Napier Park).
Investment style
First Eagle's flagship equity approach is global value investing run by its Global Value team: the goal is to preserve capital in down markets and compound steadily over time. It buys companies below their intrinsic value and holds gold as a hedge against uncertainty.
Today the firm has separate teams for global value, small caps, municipal credit and alternative credit.
Best decisions
The Eveillard era (1979–2004)
Under Jean-Marie Eveillard, the SoGen/First Eagle Global Fund became one of the model value funds; Fortune called him one of Wall Street's best value investors.
Gold as a permanent holding
The firm has long held gold as protection against crises and runs a dedicated Gold fund.
Biggest mistakes
Limited information
No reliable public sources were found on specific major failed investments by First Eagle. In general, cautious value strategies tend to lag the index in strong growth markets.
Today
As of December 2025 First Eagle managed about $181 billion with more than 600 employees; Mehdi Mahmud is president and CEO. In August 2025 Genstar Capital's majority investment in the firm was announced. Eveillard has remained connected to the firm as a senior adviser since 2005.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- This is a combined 13F of several teams, not a single investor; changes are usually slow and deliberate. Positions increased over several quarters deserve attention.
- The firm holds significant gold and non-US equities — US-listed gold ETFs or gold miners may appear in the 13F, but shares on foreign exchanges do not.
- 13Fs are up to 45 days late and show only long positions.
- From a halal perspective: global value portfolios mix potentially halal industrials, consumer companies and gold miners with banks and insurers — check each position's halal status in the Portfolio tab.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.