Case Brief: United States' History

CASE BRIEF
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Bill Miller is among the most remarkable investors in the United States’ history. This is due to the tremendous returns generated from the portfolio he managed during the late 1990s and early 2000s. As the portfolio manager of Value Trust, he steered the portfolio to unprecedented success that also defied the predictions or expectations of experts. This portfolio defied the market trends and challenges since 1991 to 2005. This streak is not practically possible considering the high level of uncertainty in modern markets. This is a problem from the point of view of investment and financial ethics. It is highly unlikely that any portfolio can perform so strongly for fifteen consecutive years while other similar investments were experiencing losses from time to time.
There is the high likelihood that the fundamental principles of due diligence were not followed by Bill Miller as he steered the Value Trust to such unprecedented success. Another pertinent aspect in relation to this problem is the role of Securities Exchange Commission. The Securities Exchange Commission must play an integral role in the regulation of the investment activities or operations of different entities. As a regulatory agency, there is the probability that the Securities Exchange Commission did not play its role in investigating the operational standards of Value Trust.
In view of the aforementioned problem, it is pertinent to assess the most effective kind of analysis done. Firstly, it is essential to assess whether the portfolio’s manager was involved in any kind of underhand deals with senior officials at the Securities Exchange Commission. Such collaboration could have acted as an essential platform for Value Trust to defy the market trends and perform brilliantly for 15 consecutive years. It is against the financial regulations of investment markets for portfolio managers to seek favorable treatment from senior executives of the Securities Exchange Commission. This emphasizes the significance of this kind of investigation. The second kind of analysis pertains to due diligence reporting.
In the current investment sector, due diligence reporting helps in unraveling the platforms used by portfolio managers in the daily management of their respective entities. The next type of analysis is the review of the members or shareholders of the Value Trust Portfolio. Investigating their role can help in checking whether the portfolio manager followed the stipulated guidelines of due diligence reporting. The entire analysis would thus be beneficial in terms of determining whether the winning streak of Value Trust portfolio was genuine or not.
There potential solutions for the problem identified in the case characterized by various advantages and disadvantages. From the perspective of positive implications, the solutions can help in strengthening the policy framework for investment management across the United States. An effective policy acts as an essen...