Jan 2, 2009

Legg Mason CEO Mark Fettig on fund goat Bill Miller

Chairman and Chief Investment Officer [of Legg Mason Capital Management] Bill Miller has built a tenacious team of long-term investors. Thus far in their 26-year history, any period of underperformance has been more than offset by subsequent outperformance. We fully support their thoughtful action plans for improvement.

~ Mark Fetting, president and chief executive officer, Legg Mason, "In a bad year, these funds were the worst; Down more than 60%, three U.S. stock portfolios hope for a turnaround," MarketWatch, January 2, 2009

(Among non-leveraged U.S. stock funds with at least $100 million in assets, none did worse than Bill Miller's Legg Mason Opportunity Trust (LMPOX), which as of Dec. 30 was down 66% this year. The third-biggest loser was another fund from Legg Mason Inc. (LM, 21.91) , Growth Trust (LMGTX), which is down 61%.)

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