After his economics education at the Washington & Lee University, Bill Miller worked at J.E. Banker Co. In 1981 he founded the investment firm Legg Mason and has since been responsible for the Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX).
Under Millers aegis, the fund became one of the longest-running success stories in the history of mutual funds. The fund performed better than the S&P 500 index for 15 consecutive years (1991 to 2005).
Miller describes himself as a value investor. However, unlike value investment fundamentalists, he is convinced that all stocks may be bought as long as they are being traded below their intrinsic value.
Thorough research ahead of trades is key to Millers investment technique. He regularly analyzes stocks which the investor community considers to be overpriced to determine whether, despite the consensus, they are in fact being sold below their true value.
Although Miller’s fund is diversified, he remains a classical stock picker. In his opinion, the market reflects all relevant information, but not correctly.
According to Miller, market rates often fall below actual value following a bout of negative information and become over-valued when positive information is released.
Stock trading fees compared