Billionaire Investor Tucks Away 1% of Net worth in Bitcoin
Legendary investor Bill Miller seems to be back on top with his investment funds being up thanks to stocks that include J.P. Morgan, Restoration Hardware, and Apple Inc. Forbes recently published a report on the 67-year-old investor that reveals he has 1% of his net worth in bitcoin, invested 2014.
The report doesn’t reveal Miller’s total net worth, but it does add that the investor is looking for incredible returns on the cryptocurrency and that, since he invested in it, he is up nearly tenfold:
“Indeed, Miller still has a keen eye for change. In 2014, he put 1% of his net worth into Bitcoin, judging that the digital currency’s potential for large-scale economic disruption (see Forbes’ cover story on the coin revolution) outweighed the risk of a total loss. He’s up nearly tenfold, and Bitcoin is now a top holding of his hedge fund.”
Miller became a famous investor for beating the market’s benchmark for 15 years, partly because “he defined value in his own way”. In the past, he bought what he deemed valuable based on his analysis of big technological and economic trends. As an example, then Miller’s fund Value Trust, became Amazon’s second largest holder after it went public in 1997, second only to its founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos.
Moreover, during the dot-com crash, when most investors started fleeing from tech stocks, Miller decided to buy a chunk of Google in 2004. At the time, according to Forbes, his fund grew past $70 billion.
Making Bold Investments
During the financial crisis in 2008, Miller’s fund suffered because of his risky approach and, soon enough, lost nearly two-thirds of its value. The loss led to Miller’s ouster from the Value Trust fund but, as Forbes put it, Miller came back and completed a buyout of a past partnership, meaning he now manages Opportunity Trust and a small income fund, as well as the Miller Income Fund.
Since he is control, Miller doesn’t have to worry about pitches or bosses, he focuses on growing the fund, effectively allowing him to take risks while investing, including putting his money on bitcoin. According to Forbes, the billionaire does little to hedge against a sudden drop in equity prices, but he seems unapologetic about his bold choices.
He stated:
“What I’m trying to do with the Opportunity fund and especially the hedge fund is look for things that can go up many times. I am not trying to make 20%.”
The billionaire now believes that the financial crisis led most investors to create a “safety bubble”, meaning they are scared of risk and volatility. Because of these factors, Morningstar gave his fund a neutral rating. Miller seemingly embraced risk and volatility, but Forbes neglected to add that if (or when) another financial crisis hits , bitcoin’s value is expected to surge.
Featured image from WealthTrack /Youtube.
