Investment Philosophy

  • The team’s US small cap strategy focuses on characteristics such as inefficiently valued assets, turnarounds, accelerating growth and overlooked leaders, that may benefit from catalysts such as new management, a more favorable business cycle, product innovation, and/or margin improvement.
  • The team believes fundamental research can uncover opportunities to invest in companies that are attractively valued and have the potential to benefit from catalysts for future earnings recovery.
 

Our Investment Approach

  • True Small Cap Specialists

    The seasoned management team has deep experience leveraging opportunities offered by small and micro-cap companies across market cycles.
  • Catalyst-Driven Value

    The US Small Cap Opportunity Fund employs in-house fundamental research in an effort to identify temporarily mispriced companies with potential catalysts for earnings-growth normalization.
  • Volatility Leads to Potential Opportunity

    Small cap market inefficiencies can create attractive opportunities for disciplined active investors, and broad portfolio diversification helps mitigate potential downside in a volatile investment universe.

Our Process

Our disciplined investment approach is executed by an experienced team, which is critical in an asset class where volatility and a lack of efficiency provide an opportunity for active investors.

Top Ten (Equity Only) Holdings (%)

As of Oct 31, 2024

TTM Technologies, Inc. Information Technology 0.83
Lincoln National Corp Financials 0.81
MGIC Investment Corporation Financials 0.78
GXO Logistics Inc Industrials 0.78
Ameris Bancorp Financials 0.77
Black Hills Corporation Utilities 0.77
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. Consumer Discretionary 0.75
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Financials 0.75
Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. Consumer Staples 0.75
Kemper Corp Financials 0.74
Top Ten (Equity Only) Holdings as a Percentage of Total Net Assets 7.73

Allocation By Sector (%)

Industrials: 18.70%
Cash & Cash Equivalents: 15.49%
Financials: 12.81%
Information Technology: 11.36%
Materials: 10.36%
Consumer Discretionary: 9.19%
Health Care: 7.24%
Energy: 5.87%
Consumer Staples: 3.19%
Real Estate: 3.10%
Other: 2.68%
Source: FactSet; data as of Oct 31, 2024.
Industrials 18.70%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 15.49%
Financials 12.81%
Information Technology 11.36%
Materials 10.36%
Consumer Discretionary 9.19%
Health Care 7.24%
Energy 5.87%
Consumer Staples 3.19%
Real Estate 3.10%
Utilities 1.45%
Communication Services 1.23%
Industrials 20.34%
Information Technology 13.61%
Financials 13.06%
Materials 11.52%
Consumer Discretionary 10.65%
Health Care 8.36%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Energy 6.18%
Consumer Staples 3.15%
Real Estate 3.14%
Communication Services 1.39%
Utilities 1.39%
Industrials 20.96%
Information Technology 14.54%
Financials 13.22%
Materials 11.26%
Consumer Discretionary 10.23%
Health Care 9.17%
Energy 6.48%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.48%
Consumer Staples 3.07%
Real Estate 2.83%
Communication Services 1.58%
Utilities 1.17%
Industrials 19.84%
Information Technology 14.05%
Financials 12.34%
Materials 11.11%
Consumer Discretionary 10.37%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 9.23%
Health Care 8.95%
Energy 6.58%
Consumer Staples 2.67%
Real Estate 2.43%
Communication Services 1.61%
Utilities 0.83%
Industrials 20.27%
Information Technology 15.37%
Financials 11.85%
Materials 11.36%
Consumer Discretionary 10.39%
Health Care 8.97%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Energy 6.87%
Consumer Staples 2.96%
Real Estate 2.40%
Communication Services 1.54%
Utilities 0.83%
Industrials 20.47%
Information Technology 14.32%
Materials 12.31%
Consumer Discretionary 11.30%
Financials 10.52%
Health Care 9.57%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.12%
Energy 6.46%
Consumer Staples 2.96%
Real Estate 2.59%
Communication Services 1.57%
Utilities 0.79%
Industrials 20.57%
Information Technology 14.03%
Consumer Discretionary 12.43%
Materials 11.34%
Financials 10.17%
Health Care 9.53%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 8.10%
Energy 6.37%
Consumer Staples 2.82%
Real Estate 2.34%
Communication Services 1.49%
Utilities 0.81%
Industrials 21.30%
Information Technology 14.41%
Consumer Discretionary 14.09%
Materials 10.39%
Health Care 9.92%
Financials 9.80%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 6.90%
Energy 5.89%
Consumer Staples 2.84%
Real Estate 2.38%
Communication Services 1.33%
Utilities 0.75%
Industrials 21.12%
Information Technology 15.20%
Consumer Discretionary 14.46%
Health Care 9.65%
Materials 9.47%
Financials 9.19%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.94%
Energy 5.51%
Consumer Staples 2.99%
Real Estate 2.47%
Communication Services 1.23%
Utilities 0.77%
Industrials 20.64%
Information Technology 15.04%
Consumer Discretionary 13.95%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 10.29%
Health Care 9.83%
Financials 9.26%
Materials 8.81%
Energy 5.02%
Real Estate 2.91%
Consumer Staples 2.60%
Communication Services 1.01%
Utilities 0.65%
Industrials 22.29%
Information Technology 15.77%
Consumer Discretionary 13.72%
Health Care 10.74%
Materials 9.58%
Financials 9.54%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.87%
Energy 5.87%
Real Estate 2.53%
Consumer Staples 2.47%
Communication Services 0.97%
Utilities 0.66%
Industrials 21.25%
Information Technology 14.79%
Consumer Discretionary 12.89%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 11.20%
Health Care 10.70%
Materials 8.92%
Financials 8.59%
Energy 5.83%
Consumer Staples 2.32%
Real Estate 2.08%
Communication Services 0.83%
Utilities 0.59%
Industrials 22.73%
Information Technology 15.71%
Consumer Discretionary 12.78%
Health Care 11.11%
Materials 8.92%
Financials 8.66%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.61%
Energy 6.58%
Real Estate 2.51%
Consumer Staples 2.22%
Utilities 0.61%
Communication Services 0.57%

Allocation By Asset Class (%)

Equities: 84.51%
Cash & Cash Equivalents: 15.49%
Source: FactSet; data as of Oct 31, 2024.
Equities 84.51%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 15.49%
Equities 92.80%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Equities 94.52%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.48%
Equities 90.77%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 9.23%
Equities 92.80%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Equities 92.88%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.12%
Equities 91.90%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 8.10%
Equities 93.10%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 6.90%
Equities 92.06%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.94%
Equities 89.71%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 10.29%
Equities 94.13%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.87%
Equities 88.80%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 11.20%
Equities 92.39%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.61%

Allocation By Region (%)

North America: 84.47%
Cash & Cash Equivalents: 15.49%
Developed Europe: 0.04%
Source: FactSet; data as of Oct 31, 2024.
North America 84.47%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 15.49%
Developed Europe 0.04%
North America 92.76%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Developed Europe 0.04%
North America 94.47%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.48%
Developed Europe 0.05%
North America 90.72%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 9.23%
Developed Europe 0.05%
North America 92.75%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.20%
Developed Europe 0.05%
North America 92.80%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.12%
Developed Europe 0.08%
North America 91.83%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 8.10%
Developed Europe 0.07%
North America 93.02%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 6.90%
Developed Europe 0.07%
North America 91.98%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.94%
Developed Europe 0.08%
North America 89.64%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 10.29%
Developed Europe 0.07%
North America 94.09%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 5.87%
Developed Europe 0.04%
North America 88.74%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 11.20%
Developed Europe 0.06%
North America 92.33%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 7.61%
Developed Europe 0.06%

Allocation By Market Capitalisation (%)

$1 to $2.5 Billion: 27.31%
$2.5 to $5 Billion: 23.97%
$5 to $10 Billion: 17.95%
< $750 Million: 17.23%
$750 Million to $1 Billion: 10.96%
> $10 Billion: 2.57%
Source: FactSet; data as of Oct 31, 2024.
$1 to $2.5 Billion 27.31%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 23.97%
$5 to $10 Billion 17.95%
< $750 Million 17.23%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 10.96%
> $10 Billion 2.57%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 30.17%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 22.68%
$5 to $10 Billion 20.25%
< $750 Million 16.05%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 8.40%
> $10 Billion 2.46%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 30.61%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 21.63%
$5 to $10 Billion 21.42%
< $750 Million 15.11%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 8.49%
> $10 Billion 2.74%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 30.05%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 24.18%
$5 to $10 Billion 19.76%
< $750 Million 17.43%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 6.11%
> $10 Billion 2.47%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 28.76%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 22.52%
$5 to $10 Billion 18.79%
< $750 Million 18.77%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 8.42%
> $10 Billion 2.73%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 26.27%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 22.97%
$5 to $10 Billion 19.82%
< $750 Million 19.79%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 9.12%
> $10 Billion 2.03%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 26.27%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 24.22%
< $750 Million 20.04%
$5 to $10 Billion 17.60%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 10.58%
> $10 Billion 1.29%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 27.47%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 22.18%
$5 to $10 Billion 20.55%
< $750 Million 19.18%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 9.34%
> $10 Billion 1.28%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 28.27%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 22.65%
< $750 Million 20.82%
$5 to $10 Billion 18.33%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 9.82%
> $10 Billion 0.11%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 28.20%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 26.16%
< $750 Million 24.14%
$5 to $10 Billion 14.25%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 7.03%
> $10 Billion 0.21%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 27.73%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 26.87%
< $750 Million 21.45%
$5 to $10 Billion 14.58%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 9.21%
> $10 Billion 0.16%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 27.70%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 26.45%
< $750 Million 25.94%
$5 to $10 Billion 11.94%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 7.96%
> $10 Billion 0.00%
$2.5 to $5 Billion 27.44%
< $750 Million 27.40%
$1 to $2.5 Billion 24.92%
$750 Million to $1 Billion 10.90%
$5 to $10 Billion 9.34%
> $10 Billion 0.00%

  • Suzanne Franks

    Associate Portfolio Manager

    Industry start:  
    2004
    Year joined:  
    2021
  • Bill Hench

    Head of Small Cap Team and Portfolio Manager

    Industry start:  
    1992
    Year joined:  
    2021
  • Adam Mielnik

    Senior Research Analyst

    Industry start:  
    2014
    Year joined:  
    2021

Our Process

The team uses a bottom-up process, building the portfolio stock-by-stock.

  • 01

    Narrow the Universe

    • Universe of approximately 3,000 US small cap stocks
    • Ideas sourced from management meetings, industry data, conferences, historical investment experience.
    • Seek companies with low price/book and prices/sales.
  • 02

    Fundamental Research

    Seek to identify companies facing transitory or fixable issues, such as: 

    • Inefficiently valued assets
    • Turnarounds
    • Accelerating growth
    • Overlooked leaders
  • 03

    Determine Catalyst

    Such as:

    • New management
    • More favorable business cycles
    • Product innovation
    • Margin improvement
  • 04

    Portfolio Construction

    • Diversified with approximately 180-300 holdings
    • Typical holdings under $3B market cap (at purchase)
    • Annual turnover expected to be 35-45%

Share Class R2-UC (FECURR) and R2-GBPC (FESSGRR)

Fees and Minimums

Minimum InvestmentNo minimum
Open to New InvestorsYes
Reference IndicatorNone
Entry ChargeNo Charge
Exit ChargeNo Charge
Ongoing Charges*0.50%
Performance FeeNone

*As of 24-August-2023.

  1. Fee Waivers

  2. *For Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC shares (the “Shares”) within First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund, the Investment Manager has agreed to waive a portion of the Total Fee payable to the Investment Manager in an amount of 0. 50% of NAV per annum (“Waiver”) on all subscriptions of such Shares until the First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund’s net assets first exceeds $100,000,000 (“Waiver Period”). The Waiver Period may be extended by the Board of Directors and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Directors.

    The Waiver has the effect of reducing the Total Fee of Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC Shares that are subscribed for during the Waiver Period from 1.00% to 0.50% of NAV per annum for so long as these shares are held by the relevant shareholder(s).

    Please refer to the Prospectus for additional information.

Share Class R2-UC (FECURR) and R2-GBPC (FESSGRR)

Fees and Minimums

Minimum InvestmentNo minimum
Open to New InvestorsYes
Reference IndicatorNone
Entry ChargeNo Charge
Exit ChargeNo Charge
Ongoing Charges*0.50%
Performance FeeNone

*As of 24-August-2023.

  1. Fee Waivers

  2. *For Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC shares (the “Shares”) within First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund, the Investment Manager has agreed to waive a portion of the Total Fee payable to the Investment Manager in an amount of 0. 50% of NAV per annum (“Waiver”) on all subscriptions of such Shares until the First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund’s net assets first exceeds $100,000,000 (“Waiver Period”). The Waiver Period may be extended by the Board of Directors and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Directors.

    The Waiver has the effect of reducing the Total Fee of Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC Shares that are subscribed for during the Waiver Period from 1.00% to 0.50% of NAV per annum for so long as these shares are held by the relevant shareholder(s).

    Please refer to the Prospectus for additional information.

Share Class I-UC (FESCUSI)

Fees and Minimums

Minimum Investment$1 million
Open to New InvestorsYes
Reference IndicatorNone
Entry ChargeNo Charge
Exit ChargeNo Charge
Ongoing Charges*0.50%
Performance FeeNone
  1. As of 24-August-2023.

  2. Fee Waivers

  3. *For Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC shares (the “Shares”) within First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund, the Investment Manager has agreed to waive a portion of the Total Fee payable to the Investment Manager in an amount of 0. 50% of NAV per annum (“Waiver”) on all subscriptions of such Shares until the First Eagle US Small Cap Opportunity Fund’s net assets first exceeds $100,000,000 (“Waiver Period”). The Waiver Period may be extended by the Board of Directors and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Directors.

    The Waiver has the effect of reducing the Total Fee of Class I-UC, Class R2-UC and Class R2-GBPC Shares that are subscribed for during the Waiver Period from 1.00% to 0.50% of NAV per annum for so long as these shares are held by the relevant shareholder(s).

    Please refer to the Prospectus for additional information.

Share Class I-EC (FESCEUI)

Fees and Minimums

Minimum Investment$1 million
Open to New InvestorsYes
Reference IndicatorNone
Entry ChargeNo Charge
Exit ChargeNo Charge
Ongoing Charges1.0%
Performance FeeNone