Bill Miller is one of today's most renowned professional money managers. He is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Legg Mason Capital Management, Inc.
Bill Miller currently manages the Legg Mason Value Trust and Legg Mason Opportunity Trust mutual funds. Legg Mason Value Trust is the only mutual fund to outperform the S&P 500 for 15 consecutive calendar years, period ending 01/01/061. Over the years, Bill Miller and his team have received numerous accolades for their management record and distinct style, which focuses on a detailed understanding of businesses and their intrinsic value.
His unique investment management philosophy and approach to undervalued stocks has also made him the subject of profiles in numerous books as well as publications, including The New York Times, Barron's, Business Week , Kiplinger's , Money , The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and SmartMoney.
He was ranked among the top 30 most influential people in investing when he was named a member of the "Power 30" by SmartMoney. He was also named by Money magazine as "The Greatest Money Manager of the 1990's" and named Morningstar's 1998 "Domestic Equity Manager of the Year." In 1999, he was selected as the "Fund Manager of the Decade" by Morningstar.com. Also in 1999, Barron's named him to its All-Century Investment Team and BusinessWeek called him one of the "Heroes of Value Investing."
Bill assumed overall responsibility for Legg Mason's equity funds management group in late 1990. Prior to this, he co-managed the Legg Mason Value Trust with Ernie Kiehne since its inception in 1982. He was the Director of Research of Legg Mason from October 1981 through June 1985. He earned his economics degree from Washington and Lee University where he graduated with honors in 1972. Subsequent to graduation, he served as a Military Intelligence Officer overseas and then pursued graduate studies in philosophy in the Ph.D. program at The Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining Legg Mason in 1981, he served as Treasurer of the J.E. Baker Company, a major manufacturer of products for the steel and cement industries. Bill received his CFA designation in 1986.
Bill currently serves as Chairman on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Fe Institute, one of the world's leading scientific research laboratories, which conducts multi-disciplinary research in complex systems theory.
1 Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Value Trust's inception date is April 16, 1982. The fund's 1-, 5-, 10- and 15-year average annual total returns for the period ended 12/31/07 were -6.66%, 10.83%, 7.92%, and 13.24%, respectively (net of fees). The S&P 500's 1-, 5-, 10- and 15-year average annual total returns for the period ending 12/31/07 were 5.49%, 12.83%, 5.91% and 10.50%, respectively. The investment return and principal value of the fund will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Calculations assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions. Performance would have been lower if fees had not been waived in various periods. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of common stock prices that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. The value approach to investing involves the risk that those stocks deemed undervalued by the portfolio manager may remain undervalued. This fund is distributed by Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC, Member NASD. An investor should consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charge and expenses carefully before investing. For a free prospectus, which contains this and other information on any Legg Mason Fund, visit www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/. An investor should read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Kyle Legg joined Legg Mason Capital Management in 1991. She became President of the firm in 1997, and Chief Executive Officer in March 2006. She is responsible for firm-wide business issues and also co-manages many of the firm's institutional portfolios. Prior to joining Legg Mason, she was a securities analyst with Alex. Brown & Sons. Kyle currently serves on the Boards of the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation and the Walters Art Gallery, where she also chairs the investment committee. She earned a mathematics degree from Goucher College and also has both a law degree and an M.B.A. She received her CFA designation in 1983.
Mary Chris Gay joined Legg Mason's Research Department in 1988 and became part of Legg Mason Capital Management in 1989. Mary Chris initially was an analyst on the research team and followed gaming, lodging and entertainment stocks. In 1998 she was named Portfolio Manager for the Institutional Pooled products which allow investors access to the investment portfolio and process implemented by the Legg Mason Value Trust. In 2006, she was named Assistant Portfolio Manager to the Legg Mason Value Trust whose lead manager is Bill Miller. Mary Chris was chosen as one of the top 40 business executives in the Baltimore region under 40 years of age by the Baltimore Business Journal in 2003 and in 2006 was named by Global Investor magazine as one of the 20 key players for the next generation of asset management. Mary Chris is a member of the Finance Advisory Board and also serves as an advisor to the Sellinger Applied Portfolio Fund at Loyola College in Maryland. She serves on the Academy of the Holy Cross Endowed Scholarship Board and is a member of the United Way's Women's Leadership Council. Mary Chris earned her B.A. in Finance from Towson University and her M.S. in Finance from Loyola College in Maryland.
Robert Hagstrom currently serves as Portfolio Manager of the Legg Mason Growth Trust mutual fund (formerly Legg Mason Focus Trust), and has been primarily responsible for overseeing all investments made by that fund since its inception on April 17, 1995. He also manages the Growth Equity separate account product. Previously, Robert served as President and Chief Investment Officer of Legg Mason Focus Capital and prior to that was General Partner of Focus Capital Advisory. Prior to working with Focus Capital, he was promoted from Vice President to Principal at Lloyd, Leith and Sawin. Robert acted as Portfolio Manager with First Fidelity Bank from 1989 to 1991. From 1984 to 1989, he was a Financial Advisor for Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. Robert earned a B.A. and M.A. from Villanova University. Robert received the CFA designation in 1992 and is a member of the Association of Investment Management & Research and the Financial Analysts of Philadelphia.
Robert is also known for his best-selling book, The Warren Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor. He has written several other popular books including; The NASCAR Way: The Business That Drives the Sport; The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Mastering the Power of the Focus Investment Strategy; The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles For a New Economy; Investing: The Last Liberal Art; and his latest book The Detective and The Investor: Uncovering Investment Techniques from the Legendary Sleuths.
Jay Leopold joined Legg Mason in 1986 and Legg Mason Capital Management in 1995. After covering stocks in a variety of industries including health care, he was named Assistant Portfolio Manager of Legg Mason's American Leading Companies mutual fund in 2000. Currently, he is responsible for managing the Legg Mason Partners All Cap mutual fund and related institutional portfolios. He is a former President and Director of the Baltimore Security Analysts Society. Jay graduated cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Finance and received his CFA designation in 1989.
David Nelson has more than 30 years of investment experience, including 15 with Legg Mason. Since 1998, David has served as Portfolio Manager of the Legg Mason American Leading Companies Trust mutual fund. In 2004, he was appointed Director of Market Analysis, and was named Chairman of Legg Mason Capital Management's Investment Policy Committee in 2006. This committee is comprised of all portfolio managers and the leaders of the research team, with Bill Miller sitting ex-officio. Prior to rejoining Legg Mason in 1998, David was Director of Equity Research and a portfolio manager at Investment Counselors of Maryland from 1989 to 1998. From 1982 to 1989, David was Senior Vice President and Director of Research at Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. Before that, he spent seven years as an equity analyst and Director of Quantitative Research at Burns Pauli & Company in St. Louis, Missouri. David earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Wesleyan University in 1969 and his M.B.A. from Washington University (St. Louis) in 1976. Prior to graduate school, David was a 6th grade teacher, a Computer Programmer and Systems Analyst, and served in the U.S. Army in Heidelberg, Germany. He received his CFA designation in 1980 and is a past President of the Baltimore Security Analysts Society.
Sam Peters joined Legg Mason Capital Management in 2005. He currently serves as Portfolio Manager of the Legg Mason Special Investment Trust mutual fund, and also manages the Mid-Cap separate account product. Prior to joining Legg Mason Capital Management, Sam worked for Fidelity Management & Research, serving as Portfolio Manager of the Fidelity Select Health Care Fund and the Fidelity Select Medical Equipment Fund, as well as Team Leader for the Health Care sector. From 2002 to 2004, Sam was Portfolio Manager for the Fidelity Select Electronics Fund, and from 2000 to 2001, he was Portfolio Manager for the Fidelity Select Banking Fund. Sam joined Fidelity in 1999 as a Bank Analyst. In 1996, Sam founded Samuel M. Peters Investment Advisors, an independent advisory firm. From 1992 to 1995, Sam was a Financial Consultant for Eppler, Guerin & Turner. Sam earned a B.A. in economics from the College of William & Mary and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He received his CFA designation in 1997.