Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. engages in the manufacturing and selling of electronics and computer peripherals. The company operates through following business divisions: Device Experience (DX), Device Solutions (DS), Samsung Display (SDC), and Harman. The DX division offers televisions, monitors, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, smartphones, network systems, and computers. The DS division deals with semiconductor components including DRAM, NAND Flash, and mobile APs. The SDC division provides OLED panels for smartphones. The Harman division consists of digital cockpits, car audio, and portable speakers. The company was founded on January 13, 1969 and is headquartered in Suwon-si, South Korea.
COMMENTARY
Market Review
Global equity markets rallied sharply in April as the prospect of US-Iran peace talks and an extended Israel-Lebanon ceasefire prompted a broad recovery in risk appetite. Sentiment improved despite continued disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with the rebound the strongest since November 2020.
A renewed wave of AI enthusiasm drove much of the move. Technology and Communication Services led, with strong earnings from large platform names and accelerating data centre demand reinforcing the rally. Energy gave back ground as the sector corrected from its March surge, while Health Care lagged the broader rebound as investors rotated towards growth and cyclical names.
Among regions, Emerging Markets was the standout, gaining almost 15% as the AI rally extended through the semiconductor and hardware supply chains of South Korea and Taiwan. US equities also advanced strongly, driven higher by growth and technology names, though inflation pressures intensified as higher energy costs filtered into industry surveys and nationwide gasoline prices reached their highest levels since 2022. Europe’s recovery was more uneven, given the region’s heavier reliance on commodity imports, with business surveys and consumer confidence deteriorating further.
Portfolio Commentary
The Fund rose 3.6% in April, trailing the benchmark’s 5.0% gain. Stock selection in Communication Services and Financials weighed on relative returns, partly offset by the Fund’s below-benchmark weight in Energy, which corrected after its strong March performance, and the absence of any Materials holdings.
Infineon Technologies, the German manufacturer of power-management semiconductors, was the leading contributor. The company raised prices in response to higher raw material and infrastructure costs, against a backdrop of continued strong AI-driven demand. For the team, the pricing decision underscored Infineon’s structural advantage in power semiconductors at a moment when AI infrastructure build-out is putting a premium on suppliers that can pass through input cost pressures rather than absorb them.
Tradeweb, the US-based electronic trading platform for fixed income and derivatives, was among the largest detractors. Shares fell after the April 8 ceasefire as the market priced in a lower volatility regime, with the expectation that lighter trading activity would translate into softer revenue for the platform. The team continues to see the longer-run case as intact, supported by Tradeweb’s dominant share in electronic fixed income trading and the ongoing shift away from voice execution.
In Communication Services, Netflix slipped after second-quarter growth guidance came in slightly below expectations. Pricing power, content depth, and the early traction of the ad-supported tier remain the central pillars of the long-term thesis.
The Fund’s most notable activity was the repurchase of Apple, a position exited in February 2025 when growth had appeared to stall. Renewed conviction rests on the resilience of Apple’s business across cycles and the economics of its ecosystem, which monetises iOS activity at unusually high returns. The company is also viewed as a structural beneficiary of generative AI without the capital intensity that has burdened the hyperscalers: new applications increasingly route through the App Store, and a refresh cycle in AI-enabled devices offers a further potential avenue of growth.
The team’s broader stance remains weighted towards businesses that can compound earnings across a range of market conditions, an emphasis that often matters more across a full cycle than within any single month.