First Eagle Global Fund (Class A)
Figures last verified October 31, 2026
Global value investing with a permanent gold allocation as crisis insurance; lineage traces to Jean-Marie Eveillard.
First Eagle Global descends from Jean-Marie Eveillard, the value investor who famously preferred losing clients to losing their money — he refused to buy the dot-com bubble, bled assets for three years, and was vindicated spectacularly. The fund still runs his recipe: global value equities, a permanent gold position as catastrophe insurance, and cash when prices demand it.
It remains one of the better wealth-preservation vehicles in fund form, with crisis drawdowns consistently shallower than world equity indexes. But the wrapper fights the strategy: 1.10% annually plus a potential 5% front load on A-shares is steep for prudence, and across long bull markets the conservative posture plus fee leave it far behind VTWAX at 0.10%. Investors who want the idea cheaply can approximate it with a world index fund, a bond fund, and a small gold position — total cost, a fifth of this.
Wealth-preservation investors who want global value plus a gold hedge.
SGENX alternatives & comparable funds
If you’re weighing SGENX against the field, these are the funds most investors line it up against — same job, different provider, slightly different terms.
| Fund | Family | Expense Ratio | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| SGENX — First Eagle Global Fund (Class A) | First Eagle | 1.10% | $2,500 |
| VTWAX — Vanguard Total World Stock… | Vanguard | 0.10% | $3,000 |
| CWGIX — American Funds Capital Wor… | American Funds | 0.73% | $250 |
| FPACX — FPA Crescent Fund | FPA | 1.05% | $1,500 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the expense ratio of SGENX?
SGENX (First Eagle Global Fund (Class A)) has an expense ratio of 1.10%, which works out to roughly $110 per year for every $10,000 invested. That is high relative to index alternatives, and it compounds against you every year, so the fund needs to outperform just to break even versus a cheaper option.
What is the minimum investment for SGENX?
SGENX requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500.
What does SGENX invest in?
Global value investing with a permanent gold allocation as crisis insurance; lineage traces to Jean-Marie Eveillard. It falls in the world stock category and is an actively managed fund.
What are good alternatives to SGENX?
The funds most often compared with SGENX are VTWAX, CWGIX, FPACX — broadly similar exposure from different providers, with small differences in fee, minimum, and portability that usually come down to which brokerage holds your account.
Expense ratio and minimum for SGENX drawn from First Eagle fund documentation; last verified October 31, 2026. Figures change — confirm against the official prospectus before investing. This review is editorial opinion, not investment advice.