Hardman Johnston Global Advisors, an investment management company, released its “Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy returned 0.43%, net of fees, in the quarter compared to -1.32% for the MSCI AC World Net Index. The Portfolio experienced a solid quarter relative to the market, despite a volatile environment. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary were the top sector contributors, while Information Technology and Energy detracted. Europe was the top contributor from a regional standpoint, while emerging markets detracted. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices. The one-month return of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) was 15.42%, and its shares gained 30.49% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 27, 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) stock closed at $228.57 per share, with a market capitalization of $1.168 trillion.
Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
The top sector detractors from relative performance during the quarter were Information Technology and Energy. Within Information Technology, Marvell Technology, Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) were the top underperformers. TSMC posted very strong results and a bullish outlook for 2025 to start the year, supporting the strength in the stock and the fundamental growth outlook for the business. However, shares of TSMC have been under pressure as new concerns have emerged in the AI semis landscape. These began with the release of the DeepSeek R1 model, but concerns have escalated since, primarily due to the risk of macro uncertainty causing reduced corporate spending. The share price correction has been entirely related to multiple contraction, as there has been no true adjustment to TSMC’s earnings expectations. Given TSMC already trades at a discount to broader semis, despite its monopolistic position in leading edge foundry, we believe much of the recent selloff creates an attractive dislocation in the valuation.
A close-up of a complex network of integrated circuits used in logic semiconductors.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is in 9th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 187 hedge fund portfolios held Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) at the end of the first quarter, which was 186 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
In another article, we covered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) and shared the list of best big name stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of TSM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
