General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> March 17, 2003
JEAN-MARIE EVEILLARD is co-President and Portfolio Manager of the First
Eagle SoGen Funds, the same position he held with Socit Gnrale Asset
Management until its acquisition by the investment banking firm of
Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder (ASB) at the end of 1999. Mr. Eveillard
managed the former SoGen International Fund for over two decades and the
SoGen Overseas and Gold Funds since their inception in 1993. All three
funds have incorporated First Eagle in their names to reflect the new
affiliation with Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc. In addition, the
International Fund has been retitled the First Eagle SoGen Global Fund,
a name that better describes the fund's worldwide investment strategy.
Born in Poitiers, France, in 1940, Mr. Eveillard is a graduate of Ecoles
des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, a major French graduate school for
economic studies. He started his career with Socit Gnrale, one of
France's largest banks, in 1962 and came to the United States in 1968.
Mr. Eveillard began working as an analyst with the SoGen International
Fund in 1970 and became portfolio manager in 1979. A true value
investor, Mr. Eveillard steers away from trends and sectors most popular
to the investing public. Instead, he searches the globe for original,
obscure and unique situations, which are more likely to be undervalued.
His preference demands patience. 'Our time horizon for a security,' he
says, 'is five years, not five months.' As Louis Rukeyser has said,
'Jean-Marie Eveillard is one of the best companions a cautious American
investor can have on financial voyages abroad.' He is married with two
daughters. Mr. Eveillard lives in New York City and enjoys reading, the
opera, the NBA and weekends at his country home. Profile
and your responsibilities there?
Mr. Eveillard: I've run the First Eagle Global Fund for almost a
quarter of a century, since
