Bill Miller Again Lags the S&P -- and Himself

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF Quote), a maker of iron-ore pellets, is up 43%. NII Holdings (NIHD Quote), the former Nextel International running mobile networks in booming Latin America, is up 19%. And Amazon(AMZN Quote), a long-term Miller holding, is up 55%.

All these were in Opportunity's top 10 holdings as of March 31.

But only one, Amazon, was in the top 10 for Value Trust.

It seems odd that Miller, so successfully gung-ho for steel in one fund, is so cool on it in the other. Instead he's holding big stakes in laggards such as Sprint Nextel (S Quote).

The Opportunity fund may owe its success to more than just its greater flexibility. The really good investors don't just do it for the money: They do it because they love it. And no one likes playing tennis in handcuffs as much as they like playing their natural game.

This is impossible to prove, and I am sure a good professional such as Bill Miller would deny it anyway, maybe even to himself: But I'm willing to bet he has a lot more fun running the Opportunity Trust than he does the Value Trust.

That might also play a part in why it is doing so much better.