It’s that time again — we have bought and sold some stocks!
Spaceship Universe Portfolio
Bought: ASML Holdings
ASML is a leader in the semiconductor industry, founded in the Netherlands back in 1984 and employing nearly 40,000 people worldwide.
What's interesting about ASML is that the company doesn't make chips itself but equipment, with machines that can cost up to US$200 million. (Fun fact: Before being shipped to customers, the machines are tested then disassembled, requiring 20 trucks and three fully loaded Boeing 747s.)
ASML specialises in lithography machines, which are used to print layers and layers of intricate patterns on the silicon wafers that form modern computer chips.
ASML's lithography machines use a process called optical lithography to print its patterns and circuits. The company's machines are highly advanced, using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, which produce smaller light wavelengths to print smaller and more complex patterns than previous generations of machines.
This is important, because small chips are one of the building blocks for trends such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and big data.
ASML claims that it has 100% market share in EUV, proving its dominance, and that is naturally one of the reasons we like ASML for the Spaceship Universe Portfolio.
We initially believed the high price of EUV machines would reduce the market opportunity, but governments are encouraging the development of homegrown microchip manufacturing plants (aka 'fabs') with tax credits to decrease reliance on Taiwan which manufactures over 90% of the fastest, most advanced chips. As the amount of fabs increase around the world, so too will the need for equipment (and service fees), which is where ASML steps in.
Sold: Ansell
Ansell is a leader in protection solutions, such as medical and industrial gloves.
The company has a 19% market share in surgical gloves, with the average medical professional wearing 1,200 pairs of Ansell gloves every year.
The reason we're selling Ansell is because we believe the general protection industry has become oversupplied. Ansell lifted capacity across its business in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, as did its rivals, leading to an oversupply issue.
Reducing capacity is difficult to undo and increased competition seems here to stay, so we decided to sell Ansell.
Spaceship Earth Portfolio
We didn't make any changes to the Spaceship Earth Portfolio this quarter.
Spaceship Origin Portfolio
For customers in the Spaceship Origin Portfolio, things are a little different.
The Spaceship Origin Portfolio is made up of around 100 of some of the largest ASX listed companies by market capitalisation, and around 100 of some of the largest global companies by market capitalisation.
If a company moves in or out of the Spaceship Origin Portfolio, it will be because its market capitalisation has changed, not because we have made the decision to buy or sell it.
One or more of the the Spaceship Voyager portfolios invest in ASML Holdings at the time of writing. Please refer to the Spaceship app or our website for more information on what each portfolio invests in.
Important! We’re sharing with you our thoughts on the companies in which Spaceship Voyager invests for your informational purposes only. We think it’s important (and interesting!) to let you know what’s happening with Spaceship Voyager’s investments. However, we are not making recommendations to buy or sell holdings in a specific company. Past performance isn’t a reliable indicator or guarantee of future performance.
