Asia and Global Semiconductor and Tech Research

Andrew Lu

Equity Bottom-Up

Advanced Micro Devices / Equity Bottom-Up

<h2><strong>What's new?</strong></h2><p>According to Google Security Blog, Google's Project Zero team last year discovered serious security flaws caused by "speculative execution," a technique used by most modern CPUs to optimize performance. The Project Zero researcher, Jann Horn, demonstrated that malicious actors could take advantage of speculative execution to read system memory that should have been inaccessible. And, an unauthorized party may read sensitive information in the system’s memory such as passwords…</p>

What's new?According to Google Security Blog, Google's Project Zero team last year discovered serious security flaws caused by "speculative execution," a technique used by most modern CPUs to optimize performance. The Project Zero researcher, Jann Horn, demonstrated that malicious actors could take advantage of speculative execution to read system memory that should have been inaccessible. And, an unauthorized party may read sensitive information in the system’s memory such as passwords…

Can Anyone Benefit from Intel CPU Design Flaws?

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) / Equity Bottom-Up

<h2>What's new?</h2><p>After <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1122" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1122:1">Morgan Stanley (MS US)</a> analyst downgraded <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/11230" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1">Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (2330 TT)</a> for a seasonal slow reason together with a concern on less wafer demand due to die size shrinkage, Economic Daily today reports that <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/666" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1">Apple Inc (AAPL US)</a> lately cuts its 1Q18 10nm A11 bionic AP orders to TSMC by 30% from 150,000 10nm wafers per quarter in 4Q17 to 100,000 wafers per quarter in 1Q18. Economic Daily attributes the cut to lack of demand for iPhone 8 and 8 plus (" <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/semiconductor-couple-of-early-signs-confirm-a-seasonal-correction-to-kick-in" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:14682">Semiconductor -</a>…</p>

What's new?After Morgan Stanley (MS US) analyst downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (2330 TT) for a seasonal slow reason together with a concern on less wafer demand due to die size shrinkage, Economic Daily today reports that Apple Inc (AAPL US) lately cuts its 1Q18 10nm A11 bionic AP orders to TSMC by 30% from 150,000 10nm wafers per quarter in 4Q17 to 100,000 wafers per quarter in 1Q18. Economic Daily attributes the cut to lack of demand for iPhone 8 and 8 plus (" Semiconductor -…

TSMC - Seasonal Sales Cut Coming; News Said 30% A11 Cut

Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance, Ecstrat

John-Paul Smith

Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance

Ecstrat

Ecstrat is a consultancy advising on asset allocation between global equity markets, with a focus on the intersection of governments, geopolitics, governance and markets.
 
Over the past few years and more especially since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), investors have become more focused on short-term market movements and real-time returns and have consequently neglected the analysis of the underlying structural themes that underpin longer term performance.
​
More specifically we believe that the evolution of governance-based relationships between investors, controlling shareholders, labour and the state is one of the primary determinants of both relative and absolute performance between individual equity markets.
 
We will endeavour to provide investors with some of the context surrounding governance-related issues which encompass many different disciplines including history, economics and political science, as well as the financial metrics which are the most obvious manifestation of the structural characteristics of each market.
 
We will pay particular attention to the shifts and potential inflection points for governance in individual markets as these are often the best lead indicators for both economic and market performance.

Cross Asset Strategy

<p>Bull markets are born when the prevailing sentiment is one of disgust and die amidst hubris. The post-GFC run-up in equity prices has been rightly labelled as the most hated bull market in history, but sentiment and flows are finally catching up with the 425% appreciation in the S&amp;P 500 index, which has taken place since the markets' post-GFC nadir at the start of February 2009. Conventional wisdom is that long-term investors should not attempt to time markets but there are times such as 1999-2000 and 2007-08, when it is worth taking the risk of being early and shifting assets into cash and cash proxies given the prevailing levels of valuations and sentiment.</p><p>I believe this is one of those occasions, as current market levels do not discount the potential impact of three key secular drivers on the anticipated returns to capital over the medium term.</p>

Bull markets are born when the prevailing sentiment is one of disgust and die amidst hubris. The post-GFC run-up in equity prices has been rightly labelled as the most hated bull market in history, but sentiment and flows are finally catching up with the 425% appreciation in the S&amp;P 500 index, which has taken place since the markets' post-GFC nadir at the start of February 2009. Conventional wisdom is that long-term investors should not attempt to time markets but there are times such as 1999-2000 and 2007-08, when it is worth taking the risk of being early and shifting assets into cash and cash proxies given the prevailing levels of valuations and sentiment.I believe this is one of those occasions, as current market levels do not discount the potential impact of three key secular drivers on the anticipated returns to capital over the medium term.

Global Equities: China, Technology and Politics to Dominate 2018

<h2>What's new?</h2><p>Nikkei News reported <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/666" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1">Apple Inc (AAPL US)</a> is designing its own main power management chips for use in iPhones as early as in 2018, cutting dependence on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/21607" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21607:1">Dialog Semiconductor PLC (DLG GR)</a>, according to industry sources, as shares in the U.K. developer plunged after the news out. The main power management chip controls an iPhone's charging function, battery management, and energy consumption. "Based on Apple's current plan, they are set to replace partially, or around half of its power…</p>

What's new?Nikkei News reported Apple Inc (AAPL US) is designing its own main power management chips for use in iPhones as early as in 2018, cutting dependence on Dialog Semiconductor PLC (DLG GR), according to industry sources, as shares in the U.K. developer plunged after the news out. The main power management chip controls an iPhone's charging function, battery management, and energy consumption. "Based on Apple's current plan, they are set to replace partially, or around half of its power…

Nikkei Said Apple Cuts Dialog on Power ICs Supply; We Highlighted This in May and More to Come

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

<p>Global Emerging Market fund managers are, on average, underweight technology stocks.  In fact, though tech positioning among EM managers is at its highest in absolute terms, it is at its lowest in relative terms when measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.  In this report, we analyse the level to which this record tech underweight has affected average fund performance this year, whilst also highlighting the sectors that have contributed positively.  On a stock level, underweights in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/26" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1">Tencent Holdings Ltd (700 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/787" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1">Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA US)</a> have caused the most pain, yet this isn't the case for all managers.  Baillie Gifford and Hermes stand out as early allocators of tech, long before it became the dominant force it is today.</p>

Global Emerging Market fund managers are, on average, underweight technology stocks.  In fact, though tech positioning among EM managers is at its highest in absolute terms, it is at its lowest in relative terms when measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.  In this report, we analyse the level to which this record tech underweight has affected average fund performance this year, whilst also highlighting the sectors that have contributed positively.  On a stock level, underweights in Tencent Holdings Ltd (700 HK) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA US) have caused the most pain, yet this isn't the case for all managers.  Baillie Gifford and Hermes stand out as early allocators of tech, long before it became the dominant force it is today.

Taiwan

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. manufactures and markets integrated circuits. The Company provides the following services: wafer manufacturing, wafer probing, assembly and testing, mask production, and design services. TSMC's ICs are used in computer, communication, consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial equipment industries.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) (2330 TT)

Can Anyone Benefit from Intel CPU Design Flaws?

What's new?According to Google Security Blog, Google's Project Zero team last year discovered serious security flaws caused by "speculative...

Andrew Lu

TSMC - Seasonal Sales Cut Coming; News Said 30% A11 Cut

What's new?After Morgan Stanley (MS US) analyst downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (2330 TT) for a seasonal slow reason together with a...

Andrew Lu

Global Equities: China, Technology and Politics to Dominate 2018

Bull markets are born when the prevailing sentiment is one of disgust and die amidst hubris. The post-GFC run-up in equity prices has been rightly...

John-Paul Smith

Nikkei Said Apple Cuts Dialog on Power ICs Supply; We Highlighted This in May and More to Come

What's new?Nikkei News reported Apple Inc (AAPL US) is designing its own main power management chips for use in iPhones as early as in 2018,...

Andrew Lu

EM Tech: The Pain Trade Of 2017

Global Emerging Market fund managers are, on average, underweight technology stocks. In fact, though tech positioning among EM managers is at its...

Steven Holden

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)