Jean-Marie Eveillard Explains Why He Likes Tyco and Gold

Jean-Marie Eveillard First Eagle Funds

There aren't many fund managers who can be described as strict Graham-Buffett adherents, who like Tyco(TYC), and who think we are in the early stages of a bull market for gold. But then, there aren't many fund managers like Jean-Marie Eveillard.

It's a Promethean task for most skippers to place a fund atop its peers in terms of performance. Eveillard -- the affable, quotable Frenchman who frequents Louis Rukeyser's show -- has three separate funds topping three separate categories. The (FESGX)First Eagle Global fund, which he has helmed since 1979, has a 8.11% average annual return over five years and 10.61% over 10 years -- putting the fund in the top 1% of all globe-trotting offerings, according to Morningstar.

Eveillard's (SGGDX)First Eagle Gold, which he has run since its 1993 inception, has notched similarly impressive returns: 48.2% over one year, 34.1% average annualized over three years and 15.09% over five years -- all in the top 1%. The (FESOX)First Eagle Overseas fund [note: Global funds include U.S., overseas funds include only foreign holdings] has one-year and three-year returns (5.06% and 7.34%, respectively) atop the charts as well -- the five-year average annual return of 9.51% is good for top 2%. As if his dance card wasn't full enough, he has racked up top decile returns at the (FEVCX)First Eagle U.S. Value fund since its 2000 inception.

Eveillard has accomplished these dazzling returns by taking the road less traveled, digging up values at home and abroad in the most obscure places. In this week's 10 Questions, the manager offers his insights on a host of topics -- from why the U.S. market still looks dear but Tyco and McDonald's(MCD) look like values to him, to why Newmont Mining(NEM) still impresses him. Of course, Eveillard also explains how all of this is in keeping with his strict adherence to the tenets of value-investing pioneer Benjamin Graham and his most famous student, Warren Buffett.

1. What are your thoughts on where the markets and the economy are headed, and how are you investing accordingly?