Miller May Miss, End 15-Year Run

Bill Miller’s outstanding winning streak might be over. Legg Mason’s high-profile money manger has beaten the Standard & Poor’s 500 index with his Value Trust mutual fund every year for the past 15 years. Now, through the third quarter of this year, he is trailing the benchmark by more than 10 percentage points, the widest margin he has ever been behind since the streak began, according to the Baltimore Sun. Miller admits that the record could be broken. Investors pulled an estimated $166 million from the Value Trust fund in the second quarter and $21 million in July, according to Financial Research Corp. Nonetheless, analysts believe investors would be willing to give Miller a pass if he fails. Legg Chairman and CEO Raymond “Chip” Mason has said the flow of investor money into the fund is “relatively strong.” The first quarter net inflows were $306 million. Mason noted in July that the record might end, but that Miller is still referred to as a “guru” by the media. The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.