NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Eagle Investments (“First Eagle”) today announced that total assets under management in the First Eagle Credit Opportunities Fund (A-Share Class: FECAX; I-Share Class: FECRX) had eclipsed the $350 million threshold approximately 18 months since its launch. The Fund seeks to provide current income with a focus on delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term through a multi-sector portfolio that invests primarily in private and public alternative credit assets. As of December 31, 2021, the Fund’s distribution yield was 7.09%.*
“We are excited to have seen such broad interest in the Credit Opportunities Fund by retail financial professionals and their clients,” said Jack Snyder, Jr., National Sales Manager, Wirehouse and RIA Channel and Head of Retail Alternative Investments at First Eagle. “With traditional fixed income investments continuing to offer low yields but high risks given the rising-rate environment, alternative credit assets may represent an attractive option for those seeking income. The structure of the Credit Opportunities Fund—complemented by education and training tailored specifically for financial professionals—enables us to offer an institutional-quality solution in the retail channel, and we’re happy with the demand we’ve seen.”
As a closed-end interval fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Credit Opportunities Fund provides investors with quarterly liquidity, giving the portfolio managers greater flexibility to invest in alternative income-generating assets like private credit and syndicated loans that historically have offered higher yields relative to traditional securities in exchange for reduced liquidity. At the same time, the Fund is offered for sale continuously at NAV, like an open-end mutual fund, and is available to a broad audience with no requirements that investors be accredited or qualified.
“We appreciate the support of our early investors in the Credit Opportunities Fund,” said Chris Flynn, President of First Eagle Alternative Credit. “As the investment environment in general grows more complicated, we expect deep credit research and prudent investment selection will be key to success in the alternative credit space. We’re pleased to leverage our team’s extensive market experience to provide this ‘core’ alternative credit strategy to retail investors and their financial professionals as they consider the role such assets can play in a traditional allocation.”
* The Fund intends to declare income dividends daily and to distribute them monthly at rates intended to maintain a more stable level of distributions than would result from paying out amounts solely based on its current net investment income. This is managed by paying out less than all of its net investment income or by paying out undistributed income from prior months, with any potential remaining deficiencies characterized as a return of capital at yearend. To date, the distribution yield has only been derived from the Fund’s net investment income and has not included borrowed funds or a return of capital. The distributions might not be made in equal amounts, and one month’s distribution may be larger than another. Distribution yield presented excludes any special dividends, is based on the fund-level composite of all share classes, and indicates the annual yield received if the most recent composite Fund monthly distribution paid was the same for an entire year. The yield represents a distribution and does not represent the total return of the Fund. Because the Distribution Yield is annualized from a single month’s distribution, no investor actually received the yield in a given year. The yield is calculated by annualizing the most recent composite monthly distribution paid by the Fund and dividing it by the Fund’s average month-to-date NAV from the as-of date.
About First Eagle Investments
First Eagle Investments is an independent, privately owned investment management firm headquartered in New York with approximately $110.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. 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. For information on the Alternative Credit team at First Eagle, please visit www.feac.com.
The Credit Opportunities Fund (the “Fund”) is a closed-end Interval Fund, a type of fund that, in order to provide liquidity to shareholders, has adopted a fundamental investment policy to make quarterly offers to repurchase between 5% and 25% of its outstanding Common Shares at net asset value (“NAV”). Subject to applicable law and approval of the Board of Trustees for each quarterly repurchase offer, the Fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at NAV on a quarterly basis.
An investment in the Fund is not suitable for investors who need certainty about their ability to access all of the money they invest in the short term.
Investors should consider Common Shares of the Fund to be an illiquid investment. There is no guarantee that investors will be able to sell the Common Shares at any given time or in the quantity the investor desires.
The Fund’s Common Shares are not listed for trading on any national securities exchange, have no trading market and no market is expected to develop.
Risk Disclosures:
An investment in the Fund involves a number of significant risks. Before you invest, you should be aware of various risks, including those described below. For a more complete discussion of the risks of investing in the Fund, see the Fund’s prospectus under the heading, “Principal Risks of the Fund.”
All investments involve the risk of loss of principal. The Fund may not be able to pay distributions or may have to reduce distribution levels if the income and/or dividends the Fund receives from its investments decline.
Investment in private and middle market companies is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk of credit loss, and therefore the Fund’s securities may not be suitable for someone with a low tolerance for risk. The Fund is required to rely on the ability of the First Eagle Alternative Credit’s investment professionals to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential returns from investing in these companies.
Below investment grade securities or comparable unrated instruments may be subject to greater risks than securities or instruments that have higher credit ratings, including a higher risk of default, and the Fund might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price.
Investments in loans potentially expose the Fund to the credit risk of the underlying borrower, and in certain cases, of the financial institution. The Fund’s ability to receive payments in connection with the loan depends primarily on the financial condition of the borrower. Even investments in secured loans present risk, as there is no assurance that the collateral securing the loan will be sufficient to satisfy the loan obligation. The market for certain loans is expected to be illiquid and the Fund may have difficulty selling them. In addition, loans often have contractual restrictions on resale, which can delay the sale and adversely impact the sale price.
Investments in debt securities and other obligations of companies that are experiencing significant financial or business distress involve a substantial degree of risk, including a material risk that the issuer will default on the obligations or enter bankruptcy. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful investment in distressed assets is unusually high. There is no assurance that First Eagle Alternative Credit will correctly evaluate the value of the assets collateralizing the Fund’s investments or the prospects for a successful reorganization or similar action in respect of any company.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the firm and are subject to change based on market and other conditions. These materials are provided for informational purposes only. These opinions are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, or investment advice. Any statistics contained herein have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed. The views expressed herein may change at any time subsequent to the date of issue hereof. The information provided is not to be construed as a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security. The information in this piece is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for accounting, legal, and tax advice.
FEF Distributors, LLC (“FEFD”) distributes First Eagle products; it does not provide services to investors. As such, when FEFD presents a strategy or product to an investor FEFD 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. First Eagle Alternative Credit is the brand name for those subsidiary investment advisers engaged in the alternative credit business.
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.
First Eagle Credit Opportunities Fund is offered by FEF Distributors, LLC, a subsidiary of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, which provides advisory services.
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