Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen International Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The strategy rose 15.23% (net of fees) in the fourth quarter compared to a 9.75% return for the MSCI ACWI (ex-USA) index. Investor sentiment hit its lowest point in October, paving the way for a strong rally in the final months of the year. Quarterly portfolio performance was driven by share price appreciation in the information technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary sectors. For the full year, the strategy appreciated 27.73% (net of fees) compared to a 15.62% return for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen International Growth Strategy featured stocks like ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) develops, produces, and markets advanced semiconductor equipment systems. On March 5, 2024, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) stock closed at $968.84 per share. One-month return of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) was 5.05%, and its shares gained 56.42% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) has a market capitalization of $390.595 billion.
Polen International Growth Strategy stated the following regarding ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Netherlands-based ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and Japan-based Lasertec play dominant roles within different segments of the global semiconductor industry. In both cases, shares rallied significantly in the fourth quarter of 2023, prompting our positions to grow as a percentage of the overall portfolio. We believe both companies will see demand for their products as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and soon high-numerical aperture lithography must be utilized to manufacture the world’s smallest chips. However, in our estimation, 2024 could deliver a year of less exciting growth for the semiconductor industry, which prompted us to trim these positions back.”
A technician in a clean room working on a semiconductor device, illuminated by the machines.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) was held by 62 hedge fund portfolios, up from 57 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in another article and shared Ken Fisher’s latest investment portfolio and the biggest positions. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
