First Eagle Fund Loses Four Execs

First Eagle Funds has lost four top executives in an apparent dispute over compensation.

Charles "Chuck" de Lardemelle, research director and co-manager of three First Eagle funds; Simon Fenwick, co-manager of the company's gold fund; Michael Malafronte, senior analyst; and Lawrence Borsanyi, head of product development, all left in late September, just days after TA Associates announced it had acquired a minority stake in Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder Holdings, First Eagle's ultimate parent company, for an undisclosed sum.

The departures also came just six months after the mysterious March disappearance of the firm's Chief Investment Officer Charles de Vaulx.

Although all parties remain tight-lipped on de Vaulx's departure, the deal may point to the cause of his disappearance.

A press release issued jointly by TA Associates and Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder trumpeted the introduction of "substantial equity incentives for (Arnold & S. Bleichroeder's) key investment and operational personnel." Or in simpler language, big pay packages for money management wizards.

But the four executives who left clearly disagreed with that characterization. "There was a deal on the table and personally I felt the deal was unacceptable for me," de Lardemelle told TheStreet.com in an interview. "The treatment to the team as a whole was unacceptable."