How The Fund Manager Who Beat the S&P 500 Index 15 Years In a Row Ended Up Being a Bitcoin Fan
June 7, 2023
In our June 1 post, we created a hypothetical employee who just started their new job at the SEC and was tasked with reviewing a couple of recent alerts around crypto “investing.” After researching Buffett and Munger’s, Damodaran’s and Dimon’s positions on crypto, the hypothetical employee’s research now shifts to reading about crypto supporters.
“Today is the day when I change gears,” you say to yourself. “True research means I have to be neutral and listen to all sides. The positions of Buffett, Munger, Damodaran, and Dimon, when it comes to Bitcoin, are clear and a bit concerning, but let me listen to the other side as well.”
Since you started with a well-known investor in Buffett, you want to explore other well-known investors, but those that are pro-crypto. You remember seeing a rebuke from Bill Miller to Warren Buffett recently and decide to start there.
Who is Bill Miller? He may not be as famous as Buffett, but he is quite well-known in finance circles. Bill Miller famously beat the S&P 500 index for 15 years in a row, before infamously blowing up in 2008.
You start reading up on Bill Miller and realize that he and Warren Buffett did not differ all that much just 10 years ago. They were both considered ‘value investors,’ a term you want to think about some more later, because it seems to you all investing is value investing. Bill Miller founded Miller Value Partners, LLC in 1999. A succession plan (PDF) was announced just a few days ago, and Bill Miller’s son, Bill Miller IV, is taking over.