Schadenfreude for Carl Icahn?
No champ has endured more pain than Bill Miller of Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX). Until 2006, Miller held the distinction of beating the S&P 500 for 15 consecutive calendar years, but lately the fund has struggled.
Last year, LMVT fell nearly 7%, while the S&P finished up more than 5%. Even after losing 20% in the first quarter, Miller wrote to shareholders that he thought the worst was over.
If only that were true: as of Wednesday’s close, Miller’s fund is down 41% year-over-year, according to Morningstar. The S&P 500 is down 18% over the same period.
Bill Miller, of course, being the Yahoo! stakeholder who sunk Icahn’s attempt at boardroom clearout.
Miller’s big mistake – notwithstanding Yahoo – was taking a punt on the financials too early. Legg Mason has been severely burned by that bet. The fund had big holdings in Citi, Countrywide and JPMorgan. The fund’s top ten holdings, in fact, have performed disastrously:
___