TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
stock NYSE ADR

Not all of these ripping chip stocks can be winners, but TSM definitely is, the fact that is hasn’t risen as much to me is a signal that it is ready for another leg up when inevitably smart money rotates back to the safer semi plays

TSM and ASML are a nice combo.

DRAM, I've got several questions.
Quick background on my situation in case it plays in to what you would do. If not, jump down after the italics.

*49M who retired at 42. My wife kept working because of very generous 401k matching plus her insurance is insanely good for a family of four. She'll retire soon. We live off her take home and quarterly withdraws from our brokerage account ($2.7M). I took over our investments in 2023 and set up the brokerage account pretty conservatively (still matched S&P and crushed our previous advisors) and then I'm allowed to go nuts with my IRA which has gone up to $600k. The IRA was 60% VOO and the rest spread in AVGO, ASML, TSM, AMD and NVDA. Over the course of 2025 I harvested some of the gains and spread it around with SNDK, MU, INTL, KLAC, AMAT, WDC, STX and LRCX.*
Being as deep in to semiconductor and memory stocks as I am, when I saw people mentioning DRAM a lot this past week I decided to finally go look in to it.
Question 1: If I've already for 4 of the 11 stocks that total \~42% of the fund, what would be the advantages/disadvantages of buying DRAM? The .65 expense ratio seems a bit steep, but the share price is appealing.
Q2: For whatever reason seven of the other holdings do not show any data in my schwab account. The stock symbols and YTD returns are just "--". Why?
Q3: 6% is in MU and another 20% is in two derivatives for MU. I don't play with derivatives but that could be super risky, yea?
Q4: No dividends planned yet, but if they were to in the future would be be treated like TSM where taxes are taken out automatically?

Bought the bottom and im up 67% already, im just holding now, there are real risks to their mobile chips and they do return too much to shareholders to have explosive growth. But at the end of the day they were cheap and make AI data center chips and have time booked on TSM fabs.

|Company Name|Ticker|Total Equity Value|AVG Price Bought|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Alphabet Inc.|GOOG|$2,404.80|$165.00|
|Amazon, Inc.|AMZN|$5,998.96|$215.00|
|Broadcom Inc.|AVGO|$5,590.00|$332.00|
|Caterpillar Inc.|CAT|$2,692.35|$721.00|
|GE Aerospace|GE|$2,377.20|$305.00|
|Meta Platforms, Inc.|META|$3,048.15|$603.00|
|Microsoft Corporation|MSFT|$1,660.48|$370.00|
|NVIDIA Corporation|NVDA|$3,012.80|$181.00|
|Northrop Grumman Corporation|NOC|$1,648.56|$660.00|
|S&P Global Inc.|SPGI|$3,360.96|$462.00|
|Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.|STRL|$2,956.80|$417.00|
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited|TSM|$4,116.90|$255.00|
|The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.|GS|$1,872.96|$828.00|
Portfolio Summary: ($4K cash)
I have to say, adding Sterling Infrastructure after seeing so many suggestions from this subreddit turned out to be a huge win. That stock absolutely exploded.
Some buys I still think are underrated: NVIDIA around $180, CAT around $721, and Microsoft around $370. My biggest miss this year has been Northrop Grumman, where my average is around $660. I’m still holding it long term.
Right now, I have 11 stocks in my main account, excluding STRL and MSFT. I want to add one final high-quality long-term holding. I’m expecting a correction around mid-May and would like to buy dips in late May.
I’m currently leaning toward GE Vernova as a $2K–$3K addition if it pulls back below $1,000 during a correction. I’m bullish on gas turbines and think there is still a lot of long-term room to run. I also like Eaton because its business model feels wide-moat, with high switching costs and a strong service-fee component, somewhat similar to GE Aerospace. That said, the recent earnings report rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.
For the main portfolio, I’m also looking to buy dips in Google around $360, Broadcom around $360, Goldman Sachs under $900 for one share, Meta around $600 for one share, and S&P Global around $1,000, which I think looks way too cheap.
My junior account is more for intuition, conviction plays, and shorter-term trades. It made no sense to put MSFT in there, but I bought it at such a good price that I might as well hold. Sterling Infrastructure was an amazing buy, and I plan to take profits on roughly half of the position next week. At this point, the stock has more than doubled, so the remaining position will basically be profit.
For the junior account, I’m also watching Arista Networks around $130 and Arm Holdings around $180.
ANET is my cleaner AI infrastructure trade. AI is not just GPUs; data centers also need faster networking, switching, ethernet, and cloud infrastructure. Arista fits that theme well. Around $130, I think the risk/reward gets more interesting.

ARM is the clear winner in data center CPUs. The fact that it has 99% market share in smartphones stemming from energy efficiency prove how wide the moat is. I want to highlight that x86 CPUs (Intel, AMD) simply cannot compete on engineering as it a COMPLETELY different product, almost you have to start from the ground up against IP and patents owned by ARM. Offering 30-40% energy efficiency (Amazon Graviton) over x86 to me it senseless why any giants would prefer x86 in a world where CPU supply is not constraint (projected 50% data center CPUs will be based on ARM architecture). In a perfect world with no constraints, compute will simply be ran by NVIDIA (GPUs) > AMD, TSMC (foundry) > Intel, ARM CPUs > x86. Some problems could be valuation is ridiculous. The licensing business model is growing fast, but the valuation can only be justified with the fabless model making their own chips rather than royalty on design with ARM AGI CPUs. Another risk could be supply constraint by TSMC 3nm (booked out). Nonetheless, we clearly see demand for ARM AGI CPUs, if that business takeoff with this thesis above, the company could double. I will buy dips at $180.

I would love if some of you guys could suggest momentum play for my junior account but have respective qualities not meme stocks. Hopefully, some diversification from semiconductors like financials, industrials, tech, etc. Let me know thank you.

Himx
Auto business is inflecting
Confirmed TSM gen 1 and 2 cpo ecosystem
Wise eye for apple glasses
Big run up but cheap compared to peers

Here are a few comments I’ve made in the past about this, but stitched together into one comment I think will help you
.
When I decided to invest heavily in MU and SNDK, I was researching every link in the full stack AI infrastructure buildout and semiconductor supply chain to identify potential bottlenecks. Tech is going to continue advancing forever. You can do the same for robotics, drones, quantum, etc. Identify bottlenecks, focus on a picks and shovels mindset, and invest there.
For example, there are 5 million robots on earth currently with projections estimating 100 million by 2050. Each of these will require hardware, circuitry, compute, memory, and processing power as a standalone unit independent from a processing stack. The best strategy, similar to now and the past decade, is to invest in the manufacturing picks and shovels that build the tech. Who provides the circuitry, the hardware, the cables, the power, and so on.
This is my current tech DCA and space DCA. I bought DRAM the day it came out on April 2nd after following the memory bottleneck since about September. I recently sold MU and SNDK at over 300% gain each and put all the money into DRAM the day it dropped. Robots will need memory and semi tech too so there is overlap here. Anyone telling you memory is going to suddenly collapse all of a sudden is dreaming. It could totally pull back, but the need for memory is no longer cyclical. They aren’t providing RAM on monthly contracts for smartphones and laptops. They are signing 5 year deals for HBM, so they are having one of the most dramatic re-ratings in history for their valuation.
Target Portfolio Allocation
* DRAM: 10.0%
* NVDA: 7.0%
* TSM: 7.0%
* GOOGL: 6.0%
* AMZN: 6.0%
* NBIS: 6.0%
* AVGO: 6.0%
* ASML: 6.0%
* VRT: 6.0%
* CEG: 5.0%
* ETN: 5.0%
* MRVL: 4.0%
* AMAT: 4.0%
* MPWR: 4.0%
* COHR: 4.0%
* TER: 4.0%
* SYM: 4.0%
* APH: 4.0%
* IONQ: 2.0%
Organized by Sector
* The Memory Bottleneck (10%)
* DRAM (ETF): 10%
* Core Compute, Silicon Design & Networking (21%)
* NVDA: 7.0%
* AVGO: 6.0%
* MRVL: 4.0%
* COHR: 4.0%
* Fabrication, Equipment & Testing (21%)
* TSM: 7.0%
* ASML: 6.0%
* AMAT: 4.0%
* TER: 4.0%
* Providers & Dedicated AI Cloud (18%)
* GOOGL: 6.0%
* AMZN: 6.0%
* NBIS: 6.0%
* Power Grid Management, Cooling & Physical Infrastructure (20%)
* VRT: 6.0%
* CEG: 5.0%
* ETN: 5.0%
* MPWR: 4.0%
* Emerging Hardware: Robotics & Quantum (10%)
* SYM: 4.0%
* APH: 4.0%
* IONQ: 2.0%
—
Space
* RKLB 50%
* ASTS 20%
* PL 20%
* FLY 5%
* BKSY 5%
I’ll consider selling individual holdings if I lose faith in their role in my framework or if any of their main competitors become more attractive. I’ll also consider selling if I think technology R&D and integration into business and society show signs of slowing down. I think people see very vertical growth and get scared, but I don’t see how we are anywhere close to done. When I imagine the future I see:
- Mass adoption of drones for service jobs, deliveries, etc
- Small scale drone warfare becoming the primary means of remote conflict (just look at Ukraine)
- Drones monitoring speeding on highways and signaling to cops down the road who to pull over
- Continued integration of robotics into supply chain manufacturing
- Robotics for construction and farming
- Robotics in space
- AI integration into all layers of popular tech and business
- AI integration into robotics
- All of this tying into the growing private sector space race
- More advanced satellite imagery (also infused with AI)
- Any infrastructure buildout in space will need robotics and AI tech (orbital infrastructure, moon infrastructure, mars infrastructure, space bases)
- Mass adoption of seamless agentic AI
- Truly powerful and thoughtful AI being integrated into home systems and cars (think Jarvis from Marvel)
- Autonomous self driving
- Drone taxis
I could keep going. This was just me spitballing off the top of my head. Tech is literally just getting started. This port is designed to capture the picks and shovels for the entire spread of possibilities. Every path forward requires more infrastructure. More circuits. More power. More cooling. More cable. More data centers. Etc.

Retired last month at 55 and still 80% in high tech and Ai stocks like Micron, Nvidia, TSM, Broadcom and ETFs like VGT and VUG. I'm slowly diversifying into lower risks stock, dividend, high income ETFs like VTI, VXUS, VYM, VYMI, QQQI, SCHD, SPYI.
I wouldn't be 100% in VOO but would put some into more high tech/ai and then some more diverse lower risk stuff.

National security concerns i see
Does TSM only operate in Taiwan or do they manufacture in the US?

Been thinking about it. My favorite stocks to sell puts on (BLOOM, CRDO, TSM) have all moonshot so figuring out where to shift to

TSM joint venture with Sony in Japan regarding sensors for physical robotics automation. This could also be very beneficial to TSM. 👍

In a small way, yes, DRAM adds some very specific diversity and is okay in a small high risk dose. FLKR would be a cheaper and better compliment to VOO than DRAM for zero overlap. But this doesn't mean DRAM is bad, it is just super new and solves a very specific technology demand problem moreso than a regional/international diversity question.
DRAM doesn't carry TSM or ASML which are two of the largest international stocks and arguably very important to consider. DRAM also carries Sandisk, Western Digital, Seagate which are US stocks that would already be held in the S&P500 for example. This creates overlap with VOO which is careless if done unintentionally. FLKR or Korea specific etfs with a low expense ratio would be a better long term compliment to VOO unless someone super wanted to do something silly like dramatically increase their sandisk concentration.
Please keep in mind, DRAM and FLKR will absolutely crash with VOO in an AI, NAND, RAM, semi conductor bubble pop. So this is that illusion of diversity element I mentioned earlier because yes DRAM and FLKR carry some stocks not held by VOO which is diversity on paper but functionally, it's actually increasing concentration in a tech vulnerable portfolio.
That's not bad, just people need to know that's being done intentionally for anyone going that route. I don't want anyone crying because they just ran with the sparknotes and were caught pants down with an overly heavy DRAM or FLKR buy.

I’m heavily invested in MU and INTC and that’s about it. Held TSM and ASML until recently but sold most of it. I think Intel is gonna make a huge comeback.

VXUS holds about 8,500-8,800 stocks so it adds a lot of bulk. Thousands of those stocks have been on the decline.
The main things pulling VXUS up especially for its best year in 2025 are tech related stocks like TSM, ASML, Samsung, SK hynix, and similar. Basically, unless there is a major stock market correction which will absolutely suck, VXUS is going to move in a similar direction with VOO and the S&P500.
It can be really good discussing some of the individual holdings of VXUS because it might reveal some of the diversity being added by VXUS is great while other parts are just an illusion.

Here are results from the second week in May (1 day) of running low delta Short Put Verticals aka Bull Put Credit Spreads!
I closed 100 Trades on 26 tickers for a profit of **$ 12,456.**
Here are the highlights:
* **5 losing trade this week out of the 100 for a win rate of 95%**
* **Top profit Ticker - SNDK at $ 2909 and MU at $ 2180**
* **Average profit per trade - $ 125**
* **Average time held for closed trades - 2 days**
* **Percent of premium captured - 27.12%**
I have been day trading these spreads closing at 20% profit due to the market instability hence the lower average per spread for this week.
 Here are my rules for trading credit spreads:
* **All SVP's will be opened 35 to 49 DTE**
* **Short put strike chosen at .20 delta or lower (I have been choosing 13/6 deltas for new verticals).**
* **Long put chosen to achieve a net delta of .07**
* ***All the following criteria must be met prior to opening trade***
* **Analysis of spreads Max Profit must show 80% or more probability for Maximum Profit**
* **Analysis of spread's Break Even must show 80%or more probability for Any Profit**
* **Analysis of Max Loss must show 10% or less Probability for Maximum Loss**
* **ROI for premium collected (premium divided by collateral required for spread) must be 10% or more**
**A copy of current portfolio can be seen here:** [**https://imgur.com/a/Zhn7yFE**](https://imgur.com/a/Zhn7yFE)
**Below are profits for all 26 tickers:**
|Ticker|\# of Trades|Profit +/-|Profit +/-|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|SNDK|10|$2,909|$291|
|MU|18|$2,180|$121|
|INTC|12|$1,763|$147|
|AMD|13|$1,265|$97|
|RKLB|3|$845|$282|
|UTHR|2|$768|$384|
|WDC|3|$410|$137|
|ASTS|1|$307|$307|
|CAT|2|$225|$112|
|ARM|3|$224|$75|
|AMAT|3|$210|$70|
|TSLA|3|$208|$69|
|STX|2|$189|$94|
|NVDA|5|$152|$30|
|TSM|2|$116|$58|
|CIEN|1|$112|$112|
|AMZN|2|$100|$50|
|GOOGL|3|$99|$33|
|SMH|2|$66|$33|
|AVGO|1|$64|$64|
|MSTR|3|$60|$20|
|MSFT|1|$53|$53|
|CRCL|1|$52|$52|
|AAPL|2|$37|$18|
|HUT|1|$21|$21|
|PLTR|1|$20|$20|
|Totals|100|$12,457|$125|

Great future prospects!!! Cannot underestimate what a great company like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) is planning!!! 👍

the AVGO case basically proves your thesis on the high end -- Broadcom raised its dividend dramatically over the past decade and FCF coverage is genuinely solid. but it's not universal across the sector. Intel CUT its dividend significantly in 2023 when the cycle turned and capex demands piled up. that's the thing people miss -- semis are probably the most capex-intensive sector in manufacturing, new fabs can run $20B+ to build, so a lot of that "excess cash" is pre-committed well before shareholders see it.

the names where your thesis actually holds up are AVGO, TSM, maybe ASML -- high ROIC, real moats, FCF growth that genuinely supports payout increases. the broader sector though is more cyclical than the current AI supercycle narrative suggests. worth distinguishing between the infrastructure layer (those 3) vs the fabless names that are more tied to product cycles.

GPU chip manufacturers like TSM pivot frequently, so Nvidia etc can take advantage of the new technology, lower NM chips, however for memory it's a different technology that requires a lot of buildout and it's less useful outside of memory, so only a handful do it, so when there's a crunch, they become the only ones capable, but it could be like 8 years of decreasing profits... They're closer to hard drive manufacturers... Big companies aren't trying to get into the hard drive or memory game, as frequently it's a race to the bottom.

I’d let it cool, RSI is 90. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto, Tesla, TSM and Nvidia all have a lower RSI and look like they can move much more

SMH is an incredibly unique ETF that's basically the only sector ETF that is a good idea to hold long term.
* Best performing non-leveraged ETF of the last 20 years
* Nearly every company in it has strong leadership and financials
* The sector itself is somewhat unique in the fact that it's a bunch of tech companies that also functionally behave like commodities sometimes simply due to how essential their hardware is
* Adding to the above, their hardware is and will continue to be critical to the majority of computing devices for decades at least, barring some massive fundamental change to the very architecture of tech devices
* the moat these companies have is borderline insurmountable. It takes like 5-10 years just to get a single chip factory up and running
* It's just a great diversified way to hold a huge stake in MU, NVDA, AMD, TSM, etc. All that good stuff without the massive volatility and downsides of things like trying to time an entry on AMD for example (look at the past few years)