Hedge fund manager, early Amazon investor and Bitcoin enthusiast Bill Miller has reportedly gained 46% in the first half of 2019 on the hedge fund he launched three years ago.
Miller is using an investment strategy that secured his winning streak at Legg Mason Capital Management: investing heavily in “beaten-down securities that trade at a large discount to their intrinsic value.”
Miller managed the Legg Mason Value Trust which beat the S&P 500 Index from 1991 to 2005 before losing 55% in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
This year, Bullish bets on BTC, along with retail giant Amazon and the security system company ADT are paying off, reports Bloomberg. Amazon and Bitcoin both have the distinction of being disruptive technologies with analysts drawing comparisons between the two, noting their rates of adoption and dramatic price dips.
While Miller reportedly declined to comment on specific investments, he says he’s bullish on stocks.
“With the economy growing modestly, the Fed about to embark on an easing cycle and inflation quiescent, the extreme diversion in valuations between bond proxies such as utilities and consumer staples and cyclical value stocks, is likely to begin reversing.
This represents an excellent opportunity for investors to earn excess returns.”
The fund at Miller’s Baltimore firm, Miller Value Partners, has $126 million in assets and is part of the $2.3 billion under management.