The Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio, managed by Monika Shrestha, added Samsung stock in July as the chipmaker’s share price tumbled. Samsung is down 36% from its peak, but still up nearly 230% from a year earlier.
Shrestha, who co-manages a $9.6 billion fund, saw the drop as a chance. She’s betting the memory-chip boom, which gave Samsung huge profits, keeps going into 2028. Her fund outperformed 93% of rivals in the past month, 98% over five years.
Why Samsung Still Appeals
Samsung's projected return on equity has jumped to over 50%, beating 35% for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Shrestha calls it “very much a bottom-up call” and says valuations look good. She points to the company's strong financial performance and the broader market's continued demand for memory chips.
She trimmed SK Hynix, the fund’s second-largest holding, after it had a sharp run-up. She used the gains to buy energy, Chinese consumer, and financial stocks. These moves reflect a strategy to rebalance risk while staying engaged in the broader market.
Shrestha expects higher chip sales to continue as Big Tech keeps spending. She says price increases in memory will slow, but demand from big data centers won’t. Tech giants are still expanding their infrastructure, fueling steady demand for memory chips.
Still, she warns that Chinese firms like CXMT Corp. could push pricing down over time. But she remains bullish on the memory sector and on Samsung as a value pick. The competitive landscape is evolving, but Samsung’s strong position helps it maintain pricing power.
Portfolio Exposure and Strategy
The Lazard fund has 60% in emerging Asia, with big stakes in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. It underweights tech relative to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, helping it ride out the July drop in memory stocks. TSMC remains the fund’s top holding. Shrestha says she’s not backing away from the sector but is being selective in which parts to play. Her strategy is rooted in careful stock-picking and staying attuned to long-term industry dynamics.