John Miller on Osaic’s Weekly Market Impact Podcast

John Miller, CIO of the High Yield Municipal Credit Team at First Eagle Investments, joins Osaic Chief Market Strategist Phil Blancato on his Weekly Market Impact podcast to discuss municipal bond market opportunities.

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DISCLOSURES

This interview was conducted on May 24, 2024. First Eagle views and opinions noted in the interview could have materially changed since the published date. First Eagle is not responsible for updating such views and opinions. There is no guarantee that First Eagle holds any of the names referenced in the interview.

Philip Blancato is not a representative or affiliated with First Eagle Investments (“FEI”). The opinions and views expressed by Philip Blancato are his own and not those of FEI. The First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund was known as the First Eagle High Income Fund prior to December 27, 2023.

First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund Average Annual Returns (as of 31-Mar-2024)

Inception date for the S&P Municipal Yield Index matches the High Yield Municipal Fund Class I shares, which have the oldest since inception date for the High Yield Municipal Fund.

1. John Miller started as lead portfolio manager of the Fund beginning 2-Jan-2024.

2. First Eagle Investment Management, LLC (the ‘‘Adviser’’) has contractually agreed to waive and/ or reimburse certain fees and expenses of Classes A, C, I, and R6 so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding interest charges on any borrowings, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividend and other expenses relating to short sales, and extraordinary expenses, if any) (‘‘annual operating expenses’’) of each class are limited to 0.85%, 1.60%, 0.60%, and 0.60% of average net assets, respectively. Each of these undertakings lasts until 28-Feb-2025 and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Fund has agreed that each of Classes A, C, I, and R6 will repay the Adviser for fees and expenses waived or reimbursed for the class provided that repayment does not cause annual operating expenses (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (1) 0.85%, 1.60%, 0.60%, and 0.60% of the class’ average net assets, respectively; or (2) if applicable, the then-current expense limitations. Any such repayment must be made within three years after the year in which the Adviser incurred the expense. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fee for the period from 1-Nov-2023 through 30-Apr-2024. This waiver has the effect of reducing the management fee shown in the table for the term of the waiver from 0.45% to 0.00%. Any waiver that is directly attributable to the management fee for the period from 1-Nov-2023 through 30-Apr-2024 will not be repaid to the Adviser.

3. The Adjusted Expense Ratio excludes certain fees and expenses, such as interest expense and fees paid on Fund borrowings and/or interest and related expenses from inverse floaters. The Fund is currently in a “ramp-up” period, during which it may not be fully invested, and certain of these expenses may change over time.

4. Effective 27-Dec-2023, the Fund changed its name and principal investment strategy. Performance for the periods prior to 27-Dec-2023 is based on the investment strategy utilized by the Fund at those times.

First Eagle Short Duration High Yield Municipal Fund Average Annual Returns (as of 31-Mar-2024)

1. First Eagle Investment Management, LLC (the “Adviser”) has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse certain fees and expenses of Classes A, I and R6 so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding interest charges on any borrowings, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividend and other expenses relating to short sales, and extraordinary expenses, if any) (‘‘annual operating expenses’’) of each class are limited to 0.85%, 0.60% and 0.60% of average net assets, respectively. Each of these undertakings lasts until 28-Feb-2025 and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Short Duration High Yield Municipal Fund has agreed that each of Classes A, I and R6 will repay the Adviser for fees and expenses waived or reimbursed for the class provided that repayment does not cause annual operating expenses (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (1) 0.85%, 0.60% and 0.60% of the class’ average net assets, respectively; or (2) if applicable, the then-current expense limitations. Any such repayment must be made within three years after the year in which the Adviser incurred the expense.

2. The Adjusted Expense Ratio excludes certain fees and expenses, such as interest expense and fees paid on Fund borrowings and/or interest and related expenses from inverse floaters. The Fund is currently in a “ramp-up” period, during which it may not be fully invested, and certain of these expenses may change over time.

The Fund intends to declare income dividends daily and distribute them monthly at rates intended to maintain a more stable level of distributions than would result from paying out amounts solely based on current net investment income by paying out less than all of its net investment income or paying out undistributed income from prior months (with any potential remaining deficiencies characterized as a return of capital at year end). 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 and indicates the annual yield received if the most recent monthly distribution paid (for each class) 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, investors would not necessarily receive this yield amount in a given year. The yield is calculated by annualizing the most recent monthly distribution paid for each class and dividing it by that class’s NAV on the last day of the month.

2024 Morningstar, Inc.© All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund Class I: The Morningstar percentile ranking for the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund was derived using the total return of the performance figure associated with its YTD Period, as of 05/31/24. Morningstar percentile rankings were: 1% for the YTD period (2/197) when compared the Morningstar High Yield Bond category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100).

The Morningstar High Yield Bond category as defined by Morningstar: High-yield bond portfolios concentrate on lower-quality bonds, which are riskier than those of higher-quality companies. These portfolios generally offer higher yields than other types of portfolios, but they are also more vulnerable to economic and credit risk. These portfolios primarily invest in U.S. high-income debt securities where at least 65% or more of bond assets are not rated or are rated by a major agency such as Standard & Poor's or Moody's at the level of BB (considered speculative for taxable bonds) and below Portfolio holdings are subject to change and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Based on total fair value of investment and cash/cash equivalents. Not a guarantee of future portfolio composition. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.

The holdings mentioned herein represent the following percentage of the total net assets of the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund as of April 30, 2024: Brightline Trains Florida LLC 2.93%.

The Top 10 holdings mentioned herein represent the following total assets of the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund as of 30-April-2024: Florida Dev Fin Corp Rev Var Variable 15-Jul-2032 (4.18%); Florida Dev Fin Corp Surface Transn Fac Rev 7.375% 1-Jan-2049 (2.93%); Public Fin Auth Wis Multifamily Affordable Hsg Ctfs 6.81% 28-Apr-2036 (2.76%); Public Fin Auth Wis Tax Increment Rev 8.0% 15-Jun-2042 (2.11%); Florida Dev Fin Corp Rev Var Variable 1-Jul-2057 (2.07%); New Hope Cultural Ed Facs Fin Corp Tex Sr Livingrev 5.5% 1-Jan-2057 (1.99%); Olney Tex Hamilton Hosp Dist 6.25% 15-Sep-2054 (1.74%); Suffolk Regl Off-track Betting Corp N Y Rev 6.0% 1-Dec-2053 (1.65%); Lucas Cnty Ohio Hosp Rev 5.25% 15-Nov-2048 (1.32%); Washington Cnty Ohio Hosp Rev 6.75% 01-Dec-2052 (1.31%).

A credit rating as represented here, is an assessment provided by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or credit worthiness of an issuer with respect to debt obligations, including specific securities, money market instruments, or other bonds. Ratings are measured on a scale that generally ranges from AAA (highest) to D (lowest); ratings are subject to change without notice. Not Rated (NR) indicates that the debtor was not rated and should not be interpreted as indicating low quality. For more information on the Standard & Poor’s rating methodology, please visit standardandpoors.com and select “Understanding Ratings” under Rating Resource.

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.

Risk Disclosures:

The transition of the First Eagle High Yield Municipal Fund (the “Fund”) from the First Eagle High Income Fund was effected on or about December 27, 2023. There continues to be increased operational risks associated with the transition, during which the Fund has acquired new and additional trading and counterparty relationships, new and additional borrowing and leverage arrangements, and new and additional capabilities for the management of derivatives and may require more. Beyond the inherent risks of transition and associated complexity, because some, but not all of the required or desirable operational capabilities and investment and counterparty arrangements were fully implemented prior to the effective date of the transition, until such time as that occurs, the Fund’s flexibility to fully implement its new objective and strategies may continue to be limited during the transition period. During the transition period, it is expected that the Fund will not be as invested in income-producing securities that are exempt from regular federal income taxes as will be the case once the transition is complete. As a result, a higher percentage of the Fund’s dividends are expected to be ordinary dividends rather than “exempt-interest dividends” during the transitional phase.

The First Eagle Short Duration High Yield Municipal Fund (“The Fund”) is new and may not be successful under all future market conditions. The Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment, trading or other efficiencies.

Funds that invest in bonds are subject to interest-rate risk and can lose principal value when interest rates rise, while they typically increase their principal values when interest rates decline. Bonds are also subject to credit risk, in which the bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perception of the issuer’s ability to make such payments may cause the price of that bond to decline.

The Funds may invest in high yield, fixed income securities that, at the time of purchase, are non-investment grade. High yield, lower rated securities involve greater price volatility and present greater risks than high rated fixed income securities. High yield securities are rated lower than investment-grade securities because there is a greater possibility that the issuer may be unable to make interest and principal payments on those securities. High yield securities involve greater risk than higher rated securities and portfolios that invest in them may be subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk than portfolios that do not.

Municipal bonds are subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and call risk. However, the obligations of some municipal issuers may not be enforceable through the exercise of traditional creditors’ rights. The reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws of a municipal bond issuer may result in the bonds being cancelled without payment or repaid only in part, or in delays in collecting principal and interest.

Indices are unmanaged and do not incur management fees or other operating expenses. One cannot invest directly in an index.

S&P Short Duration Municipal Yield Index measures the performance of high yield and investment grade municipal bonds with duration range of one to 12 years maturity.

S&P Municipal Yield Index measures the performance of high yield and investment grade municipal bonds. Index constituents are market value-weighted and adjusted for credit rating and concentration limits.

All investments involve the risk of loss of principal.

The information is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for accounting or tax advice. Any tax information presented is not intended to constitute an analysis of all tax considerations.

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.

FEF Distributors, LLC (“FEFD”) (SIPC), a limited purpose broker-dealer, distributes certain First Eagle products. FEFD does not provide services to any investor, but rather provides services to its First Eagle affiliates. As such, when FEFD presents a fund, strategy or other product to a prospective investor, FEFD and its representatives do not determine whether an investment in the fund, strategy or other product is in the best interests of, or is otherwise beneficial or suitable for, the investor. No statement by FEFD should be construed as a recommendation. Investors should exercise their own judgment and/or consult with a financial professional to determine whether it is advisable for the investor to invest in any First Eagle fund, strategy or product.

First Eagle Investments is the brand name for First Eagle Investment Management, LLC and its subsidiary investment advisers.

First Eagle Funds are offered by FEF Distributors, LLC, a subsidiary of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, which provides advisory services.

©2024 First Eagle Investment Management, LLC. All rights reserved.