An insurer constantly makes capital-allocation decisions: which risks to underwrite and at what price, how to invest premiums, and whether surplus should support growth, acquisitions or shareholder returns. For decades, however, Japanese insurers held substantial shares in corporate clients partly to reinforce commercial relationships, not solely for investment returns.
Learn More An insurer constantly makes capital-allocation decisions: which risks to underwrite and at what price, how to invest premiums, and whether surplus should support growth, acquisitions or shareholder returns. For decades, however, Japanese insurers held substantial shares in corporate clients partly to reinforce commercial relationships, not solely for investment returns.
Read More First Eagle Investments examines today’s rising-rate environment through the lens of the 2022 bond-market selloff. Douglas Gimple explains how higher starting yields and a slower pace of rate increases may provide a larger income cushion for fixed income investors, while emphasizing bottom-up security selection over interest-rate forecasting.
Read More Japan intervened in foreign exchange markets in late July, selling approximately $85 billion of reserves to support the yen, which had fallen to its weakest level against the dollar since the 1985 Plaza Accord. Unusually, the US intervened alongside Japanese authorities.
Read More Timely market insights from First Eagle for financial professionals, institutions, and individual investors. Expert-driven, concise, and strategic.
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First Eagle’s Henry Song examines the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike in three years and what it may signal for the path of monetary policy. He argues that persistent supply-driven inflation, fiscal pressures and reduced forward guidance could keep bond-market volatility elevated even if the latest hike proves temporary.
Read More First Eagle Investments reviews August developments across credit card, auto and personal loan ABS, along with issuance trends and conditions in CMBS and non-agency RMBS markets.
Read More August showed the resilience of fixed income markets, as Treasury, corporate and securitized bonds delivered positive returns despite higher rates, persistent inflation concerns and heavy issuance.
Read More With credit spreads near historical tights, risk appetites have been supported by elevated yields and resilient economic growth.1 Although capital is still available, it has become more conditional as investors are less willing to forgive mistakes. In such an environment, we like the differentiated opportunity set within asset-based lending (ABL).
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Drawing on more than 30 years of experience, John Miller, head and chief investment officer of the Municipal Credit team, shares his investment philosophy and vision for First Eagle’s high yield municipal platform.
Read More The bond market is bigger than its benchmarks. For active fixed income investors, that gap isn’t merely an interesting statistic—it can expand the opportunity set.
Read More Railcar leasing offers attractive yields supported by tangible collateral, durable assets and contractual cash flows. While aging fleets and constrained supply may support leasing rates, read why we believe careful management of counterparty and residual value risks is critical to achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns.
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Credit markets bounced back in the second quarter as investor appetite for risk returned. While the economy appears resilient as credit spreads have retraced a meaningful portion of their earlier weakness, read why we are wary of underlying risks to the long-term outlook.
Read More The July gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) resulted in no change to the central bank’s key policy rate, which was held steady at 3.5–3.75%. Three regional Fed presidents dissented in favor of a 25-basis point hike, suggesting that Chair Warsh could have pushed through a rate hike if so inclined. By choosing not to do so, Warsh positions himself as a predictable chair disinterested in surprising the market.
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First Eagle Investments examines how dispersion among individual stocks can create opportunities even when equity risk premiums appear low at the index level. The discussion also explores how real assets may provide diversification and potential protection against technological disruption, obsolescence and deteriorating fiscal conditions.
Read More Credit markets bounced back in the second quarter as risk appetites returned because of easing geopolitical tensions, resilient economic growth and easy financial conditions.
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The West optimized for efficiency. The next decade may reward resilience.
Read More While higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainty moderated housing activity during the second quarter, we believe the environment remains attractive for specialized providers of residential real estate credit.
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Gold prices have declined as interest-rate expectations moved higher, but First Eagle believes the metal’s long-term investment case remains intact. High government debt, geopolitical uncertainty and fiscal pressure may continue to support gold’s role as a strategic portfolio hedge.
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Railcar leasing may offer investors steady contractual income, durable asset values and returns that respond well to inflation and interest rates. First Eagle Investments explains how limited supply, strong utilization and long-term ownership can support portfolio diversification and downside protection.
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First Eagle Investments explores why some of the most compelling small and micro cap opportunities may be found in overlooked, less glamorous industries. The article highlights businesses built around scarce physical assets, regional scale, regulatory barriers and operational discipline.
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First Eagle Investments examines why small caps may be entering a stronger period after years of underperformance. The article highlights earnings growth, software-enabled efficiencies, AI-driven opportunities, policy tailwinds and a resurgent IPO market as potential supports.
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While a number of broad equity indexes established new all-time highs early in the new year, rumors of war and the war itself weighed on investor sentiment.
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While not immune to the shift in investor sentiment during the first quarter, small caps appear to be amid a resurgence following a multi-year period of large cap dominance.
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Investors were first drawn to direct lending due to its rare combination of high current income, limited volatility and strong lender protections.
Read More Deputy Head and Portfolio Manager of Global Value Christian Heck explains his views on how tensions between the US and its traditional Western allies highlight the importance of building resilience through bottom-up selection, diversification and a strategic allocations.
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During the fourth quarter, the municipal bond market continued to rebound from the challenges of the first half of 2025.
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Risk assets in general capped off a strong year with a solid fourth quarter. In contrast with recent trends, non-US equity markets led the way in 2025.
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There’s a fine line between confidence and hubris, and we believe the low risk perception evident in certain markets entering 2026 leaves them particularly vulnerable to the latter.
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As we start off the New Year, we are pleased to share Reflections, First Eagle Investments’ annual publication offering perspectives from our four investment teams. In a market environment defined by full valuations, shifting policy dynamics and persistent macro uncertainty, we believe this collection provides useful context for investors evaluating portfolio positioning and long-term objectives.
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Structured credit, once thought of as a short-term remedy for chronically low interest rates, has become a key strategic allocation for many insurers even as base rates have risen.
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As credit market conditions have continued to buoy asset prices, they also reflect a growing imbalance between investor perception and, in some cases, underlying liquidity and credit fundamentals.
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The technical headwinds that held back municipal bond performance in the second quarter finally began to ease in the third, setting the stage for a September rally.
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Shaking off the second quarter’s volatility, equity markets marched steadily higher throughout the third.
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Asset-based lending (ABL) facilities—corporate loans supported by the borrower’s assets as collateral—have long represented a differentiated, if somewhat niche, source of return for investors.
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Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst Christian Heck explains why the Global Value team believes that expectations for rate cuts suggest more potential downside than upside, and how the team’s bottom-up approach helps identify opportunities in an investment environment characterized by historically high valuations.
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The Russell 2000 Index is up less than 8% in total since my team joined First Eagle in late April of 2021, while the S&P 500 Index is up almost 65% over that same period. Thus, it’s easy to understand why many small cap managers can feel diminished, sharing Fredo’s sentiment in an industry dominated by Michaels.
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First Eagle Investments (“First Eagle”), an independent, privately owned investment management firm, today announced the closing of a majority investment in the company by private equity funds managed by Genstar Capital (“Genstar”), a leading private equity firm focused on targeted segments of the financial services, software, healthcare and industrials sectors. First announced in March, the deal bolsters First Eagle’s ongoing strategy of investing in its core business while also thoughtfully expanding the range of high-quality, differentiated investment solutions available to clients globally.
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While the resumption of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows after April’s dislocation helped municipal bonds recover, the asset class generally underperformed Treasuries and most other fixed income sectors for the quarter; longer-duration and lower-quality issues were particularly challenged. Both the S&P Municipal Bond High Yield Index and the S&P Municipal Yield Index, which includes bonds across the quality spectrum, declined 1.0% during the period, while the S&P Short Duration Municipal Yield Index moved 1.0% higher. For context, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index gained 1.2%.
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The “sell America” stock trade that emerged in mid-February reached a crescendo with Trump’s April 2 announcement of (not actually) “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners the world over.
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Though the early-April “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement struck a discordant note, a delay in the most punitive levies proved to be sweet music to investors even as trade noise continued to reverberate throughout the quarter.
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While many of the dynamics that battered the healthcare industry in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic have eased, new challenges with highly uncertain impacts have emerged. First Eagle Alternative Credit’s (FEAC’s) Garrett Stephen, senior managing director and co-head of origination on the Direct Lending team, and Jeff Kovanda, managing director and sector portfolio manager on the Tradable Credit team, leverage nearly 40 years of combined experience to offer their outlooks for the healthcare sector and where they see opportunities and risks for credit investors in the space.
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Following a long period of US leadership, there are signs that non-US equity markets—and the broad appeal of global diversification—may be mounting a comeback.
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After struggling with both supply and demand challenges amid Federal Reserve rate hikes in 2022–23, the municipal bond market came storming back in 2024.
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Though only introduced a few decades ago, structured credit has evolved into one of the largest segments of the US fixed income market.
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Many of the diversified equity portfolios managed by First Eagle’s Global Value team maintain a strategic allocation to gold and gold-related securities.
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Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was introduced to the world in 2008, just after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and at a time when public confidence in traditional financial institutions was particularly low.
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Uncertainty around tariffs has caused volatility across financial markets, but there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to how the tariffs will impact different market segments and sectors. FEAC’s Chief Investment Officer of Direct Lending Michelle Handy explains why the lower middle market tends to be more insulated from the direct impact of tariffs, why deal flow volumes in this space may likely remain intact, and how the team’s all-weather approach to lending to non-cyclical businesses with high free cash flow and lower capex may provide resilience in a recessionary environment.
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The first quarter ushered in a change of US political leadership and with it a change in global equity market dynamics.
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Shifting macroeconomic, geopolitical and regulatory forces have placed insurers at the intersection of risk and opportunity in 2025.
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John Miller, head and chief investment officer of the Municipal Credit team, provides his outlook on municipal credit, where the team is finding opportunities and impact of concerns such as tariffs and inflation.
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Although middle market direct lending volumes have firmed relative to a moribund 2022–23, easier financial conditions have yet to unleash the massive wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity needed to truly open the floodgates.
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With supply constrained and demand persistent amid high home prices and high mortgage rates, the secular themes supporting the US housing market remain intact.
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John Miller of First Eagle’s Municipal Credit Team discusses why higher rates, record municipal issuance and resilient credit fundamentals may be creating an attractive entry point for tax-exempt municipal bonds. He also outlines why the team remains constructive on the long-term municipal debt opportunity.
Read More In this quarter’s Views from the Global Value team, Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst Adrian Jones explains why international equities have continued to outperform US markets in 2026. He also examines how growing sovereign and corporate debt, currency dynamics and shifting capital flows may increase risks, and why the team remains focused on scarce, resilient businesses with attractive long-term fundamentals.
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Christian Heck, Deputy Head of Global Value and Portfolio Manager, explains what is driving 10-year Treasury yields higher and discusses how the Global Value team is employing a barbell approach to identify value in a rising-rate environment.
Read More Explore why we remain overweight to securitized assets and how understanding the structural complexities of this market can help investors navigate beyond traditional benchmarks.
Read More While hype around securitized assets has only recently picked up, they’ve long been a core part of the Diamond Hill fixed income lineup. Explore why we remain overweight to securitized assets and how understanding the structural complexities of this market can help investors navigate beyond traditional benchmarks.
Read More Christian Heck, Deputy Head of Global Value and Portfolio Manager, explains what is driving 10-year Treasury yields higher and discusses how the Global Value team is employing a barbell approach to identify value in a rising-rate environment.
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Matt McLennan joined Bloomberg Brief to discuss how the AI-driven rally has led to investor complacency and why it’s important to look beyond the concentrated areas of the market.
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Ross Sylvester of Napier Park Global Capital and Katie Cowan of First Eagle Investments discuss how railcar leasing may offer insurers resilient income, inflation sensitivity, hard-asset collateral and portfolio diversification.
Read More Head of the Small Cap team and Portfolio Manager Bill Hench explains how earnings growth momentum has fueled small cap performance since “Liberation Day” and how the Small Cap team is identifying opportunities.
Read More Christian Heck explains how the Global Value team combines economic analysis with company-level research as Federal Reserve guidance becomes less clear. He also discusses why AI may improve productivity gradually rather than transform the economy all at once.
Read More Michelle Handy explains how direct lenders evaluate the risk of AI and other disruptive technologies during underwriting. Because direct lending investments are illiquid, lenders must identify and address these risks before committing capital.
Read More First Eagle Investments’ Julien Albertini explains why scarcity is reasserting the strategic value of real assets. The discussion explores the shift in market leadership from capital-light businesses to companies that control scarce tangible assets.
Read More Portfolio Manager and Head of the Global Value team Matt McLennan explains why the conflict in Iran has abruptly reversed the “Goldilocks” scenario that markets had priced in and how gold has been efficiently pricing in the risk of war and renewing its role as a monetary reserve.
Read More Michelle Handy, chief investment officer of direct lending at Napier Park Global Capital, explains why she believes that recent tensions in private credit reflect cyclical stress—not a structural breakdown in the asset class—and why these concerns reinforce the importance of manager selection, underwriting, diversification and understanding how vehicle structures impact liquidity.
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In this quarter's Views from the Global Value team, Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst Adrian Jones explains why he believes investors are embracing opportunities beyond the US as secular forces provide durable support for fundamentals in Europe and Asia, and how the direction of US interest rates and the US dollar may influence returns in 2026.
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Deputy Head and Portfolio Manager of the Global Value team Julien Albertini explains why the team remains focused on risk amid widespread complacency and how a disciplined, bottom-up approach focused on quality businesses helps to manage risk and build resilience.
Read More John Miller, head and chief investment officer of the Municipal Credit team, shares his outlook on Fed policy and inflation heading for 2026, and explains how sound fundamentals and attractive valuation potentially set the stage for a strong muni rebound as technical headwinds begin to ease.
Read More Garrett Stephen, Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Origination at Napier Park Global Capital talks to CJ Doherty, Director of Market Analysis at LSEG LPC, about private credit in 2025 and what is in store for 2026. "I'd say on the AI side, it's really a big focus at the business level for us on making sure that we're implementing AI more broadly within our work streams to stay ahead of the curve,” Stephen said. "If you have a large workforce and maybe not every individual within that workforce is productive, and you can utilize technology to make your core employees more productive, that potentially could cause some of that workforce to decline in those mature or declining businesses."
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Noelle “Elle” Sisco of First Eagle Napier Park discusses how insurers can approach structured and alternative credit, with insights on collateral quality, active management, liquidity, and navigating late-cycle credit markets.
Read More Deputy Head of the Global Value team and Portfolio Manager Julien Albertini explains how the concurrent rally of gold and equities may signal underlying risks and how the Global Value team employs gold as a potential long duration hedge.
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Matt McLennan joined the NYSE ETF Central Podcast to discuss the Global Value team's philosophy of resilient wealth creation, explore today’s macro backdrop of inflation, debt and geopolitical risk and explain why gold remains a critical hedge.
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Jonathan Dorfman was featured on the podcast "Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee," where he discussed the Trump administration’s shock-and-awe approach to tariff negotiations and why stepping back from its more extreme positions was a prudent move.
Read MoreAll figures related to assets under management (AUM) are preliminary figures based on management’s estimates and as such are subject to change. Some offerings may not be available in all jurisdictions.
As of 30-June-2026.
*The total AUM listed above represents the combined AUM and assets under advisement of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, First Eagle Separate Account Management, LLC, Napier Park Global Capital (Napier Park), First Eagle Alternative Credit (FEAC), and Diamond Hill Capital Management, LLC as of 30-Jun-2026. It includes $3.1 billion in committed/non-fee-paying capital from Napier Park, inclusive of assets managed by RLM and CMV, and $0.8 billion in committed/non-fee-paying capital from FEAC. For CLO warehouses, AUM represents maximum commitment (loan par value). As of 5-Sep-2025, Napier Park and FEAC investment activities are unified under Napier Park’s brand and management. First Eagle Alternative Credit, LLC is a distinct registered investment advisor within the Napier Park platform, acting in sub-advisory capacity to a number of First Eagle’s registered funds.