NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–First Eagle Investments is pleased to announce the upcoming additions of three seasoned research professionals to its High Yield Municipal Credit team, whose strong investment performance has attracted significant inflows and driven total assets in the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund (A Shares: FEHAX; I Shares: FEHIX; C Shares: FEHCX; R6 Shares: FEHRX) above $3.5 billion. Douglas Johnston and Ryan Rosberg will join the team as Managing Directors and Senior Credit Analysts, effective November 18, 2024, while Bridget Young joins the firm today as a Director and Senior Credit Analyst. Johnston and Rosberg will be based in First Eagle’s Chicago office, with Young in New York. All three will report directly to John Miller, Head and Chief Investment Officer of the High Yield Municipal Credit team.
Johnston will bring more than 25 years of industry experience to First Eagle, most recently as a Managing Director and Senior Credit Analyst at Nuveen Asset Management where he covered such high yield bond sectors as basic materials, energy, airports and industrial development revenue bonds. He earned a BA in business and economics from Wheaton College and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Johnston is an active member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and the Chicago Municipal Analysts Society.
Rosberg will join the firm after a 17-year tenure at Nuveen Asset Management where he, like Johnston, was a Managing Director and Senior Credit Analyst. Rosberg has industry-recognized expertise in land-secured municipal bonds as well as public transportation bonds, including toll roads and the Brightline high-speed-rail projects. Earlier in his career, Rosberg served as a fixed income research analyst at McDonnell Investments. He earned a BA in finance from the University of Iowa and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Rosberg is a member of the CFA Institute, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and the Chicago Municipal Analysts Society.
With 17 years of experience, Young most recently was an Associate Portfolio Manager of Leveraged Credit at Lord Abbett, where she previously served as a municipal research analyst covering state and local governments, utilities, charter schools, senior living and tobacco bonds. Before joining Lord Abbett, she was an associate at Morgan Stanley on the municipal lending team. Young holds a master’s in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.
“We look forward to welcoming Doug, Ryan and Bridget, whose extensive experience and deep analytical expertise will be invaluable as we continue to enhance the High Yield Municipal Credit team’s ability to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” said Miller. “Their combined strengths in credit analysis will support our efforts to identify underrated and undervalued securities in the large and often inefficient muni bond market, further bolstering our active credit selection process and ability to generate attractive tax-exempt income for our growing client base.”
“I want to congratulate John and the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Credit team for their thoughtful approach to building such a senior, well-known, collaborative group,” said Carl Katerndahl, Chief Operating Officer of the High Yield Municipal Credit team. “The team’s expertise and esprit de corps both have been key factors in the High Yield Municipal Fund’s strong performance and growth to date, and the addition of Doug, Ryan and Bridget will reinforce our capabilities in support of the firm’s strategic objectives.”
The First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund (I Shares: FEHIX) had a distribution yield of 5.52% as of August 31, 2024, and has outperformed its benchmark by 5.62% on a total-return basis year to date, placing it in the top 1% of the Morningstar High Yield Muni category. The 30-day SEC yield of the Fund (I Shares) was 4.27% as of August 31, 2024.*
First Eagle’s High Yield Municipal Credit platform currently consists of the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund (A Shares: FEHAX; I Shares: FEHIX; C Shares: FEHCX; R6 Shares: FEHRX) and the First Eagle Short Duration High Yield Municipal Fund (A Shares: FDUAX; I Shares: FDUIX; R6 Shares: FDURX). Offering long-and short-duration approaches to high yield municipal bond investing, respectively, the two funds provide investors access to tax-exempt income at different parts of the municipal yield curve. They are currently available to mass-affluent and high-net-worth retail investors and institutions in the US through various product structures, including mutual funds and separately managed accounts. First Eagle intends to offer these and potentially other income-focused strategies in additional formats in the future.
About First Eagle Investments
First Eagle Investments is an independent, privately owned investment management firm headquartered in New York with approximately $138 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2024.* 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 strives to help clients avoid permanent impairment of capital and earn attractive returns through widely varied economic cycles. The firm’s investment capabilities include equity, fixed income, alternative credit and multi-asset strategies. For more information, please visit www.firsteagle.com.
