Veteran fund manager Bill Miller leaves Legg Mason after 35 years

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Legg Mason fund manager Bill Miller will leave the firm after 35 years, the Baltimore-based investment company said on Thursday.

Miller won high regard for picking "value" stocks and making big bets on them with the Legg Mason Value Trust Fund, now the ClearBridge Value Trust Fund. In its heyday, that fund beat the S&P 500 for 15 straight years from 1991 to 2005.

Miller left the Value Trust Fund in 2011 after the fund's downturn during the recession.

"I am thankful to Legg Mason for our 35-year relationship and to the many great people I've worked with along the way," Miller said in a statement.

With Miller's departure, Legg Mason said, Miller acquired Legg Mason's stake in LMM LLC, which provides investment management services to Legg Mason Opportunities Trust, Miller Income Opportunities Trust and related strategies.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close on or around the end of the year, Legg Mason said.

(Corrects 5th paragraph to say Miller acquired Legg Mason's stake in LMM LLC, not Legg Mason acquired Miller's stake in LLM LLC)

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)