If you’re not an engineer or otherwise technically inclined, you may have found it challenging to understand what really goes on in the semiconductor sector. The latter has emerged as hugely important to the future of artificial intelligence, and its weighting in key market indices has grown. As a result, even if we consider semiconductors outside our “circle of competence”, it may be worthwhile to dig into the sector and the key players.

In this multi-part series, we attempt to make semiconductors understandable to non-technical investors. The goal is to educate ourselves on the industry value chain in order to gain appreciation for the market positioning, business models, and sustainability of competitive advantage of the key players, ranging from well-known giants such as TSMC and Nvidia to lessor-known but deeply entrenched players such as Cadence and Synopsys. Other companies we seek to understand as part of this series include AMD, Applied Materials, ASML, Micron, and Texas Instruments, to name a few.

We have the privilege of learning from a former semiconductor industry insider: Adarsh Shyamsundar has two decades of experience in the industry. From 2002-2008, Adi was at Intel, including as product engineer and test team leader. From 2008-2022, he served at Micron in various roles, including as senior product engineer, engineering manager, and senior manager. Adi caught the investing bug in 2006 and founded Polaris Capital Management, based in El Dorado Hills, California, in 2022. He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of California at Davis.

In this fourth installment, recorded in April 2025, we cover:

• Processor types — CPUs, GPUs, TPUs, and NPUs — and the major chip designers and manufacturers, including Nvidia, TSMC, and Intel. We also touch on chips by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta.

• Networking and other chips, by Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Marvell.

• Usage of these chips in the AI space.

• John’s questions for Adi

In the third installment, recorded in February 2025, we covered:

• Semiconductor test equipment, and its role

• Test equipment providers: Advantest, Teradyne, Agilent, FormFactor

• Chip design and types of chips (CPUs, GPUs, etc.)

• John’s questions for Adi

In the second installment, recorded in January 2025, we covered:

• Electronic design automation (EDA) software, and its role

• EDA software leaders: Cadence Design, Synopsys, Mentor (Siemens)

• Semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and role in the value chain

• Players: ASML, AMAT, Lam Research, KLA Corp., Tokyo Electron

• John’s questions for Adi

In the first installment, recorded in December 2024, we covered:

• What is a semiconductor?

• Brief industry history

• The process of going from silicon to chip

• Industry value chain

• Some of the key players and how they fit in

• John’s questions for Adi

If you would like to learn more about the semiconductor sector, we highly recommend Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology.

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If you’re not an engineer or otherwise technically inclined, you may have found it challenging to understand what really goes on in the semiconductor sector. The latter has emerged as hugely important to the future of artificial intelligence, and its weighting in key market indices has grown. As a result, even if we consider semiconductors outside our “circle of competence”, it may be worthwhile to dig into the sector and the key players.

In this multi-part series, we attempt to make semiconductors understandable to non-technical investors. The goal is to educate ourselves on the industry value chain in order to gain appreciation for the market positioning, business models, and sustainability of competitive advantage of the key players, ranging from well-known giants such as TSMC and Nvidia to lessor-known but deeply entrenched players such as Cadence and Synopsys. Other companies we seek to understand as part of this series include AMD, Applied Materials, ASML, Micron, and Texas Instruments, to name a few.

We have the privilege of learning from a former semiconductor industry insider: Adarsh Shyamsundar has two decades of experience in the industry. From 2002-2008, Adi was at Intel, including as product engineer and test team leader. From 2008-2022, he served at Micron in various roles, including as senior product engineer, engineering manager, and senior manager. Adi caught the investing bug in 2006 and founded Polaris Capital Management, based in El Dorado Hills, California, in 2022. He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of California at Davis.

In this third installment, recorded in February 2025, we cover:

• Semiconductor test equipment, and its role

• Test equipment providers: Advantest, Teradyne, Agilent, FormFactor

• Chip design and types of chips (CPUs, GPUs, etc.)

In the second installment, recorded in January 2025, we covered:

• Electronic design automation (EDA) software, and its role

• EDA software leaders: Cadence Design, Synopsys, Mentor (Siemens)

• Semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and role in the value chain

• Players: ASML, AMAT, Lam Research, KLA Corp., Tokyo Electron

• John’s questions for Adi

In the first installment, recorded in December 2024, we covered:

• What is a semiconductor?

• Brief industry history

• The process of going from silicon to chip

• Industry value chain

• Some of the key players and how they fit in

• John’s questions for Adi

If you would like to learn more about the semiconductor sector, we highly recommend Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology.

Read more

John is the founder of SeaPoint Insights, an independent research and insights firm, and the author of Financials Unshackled, a free-to-read Substack newsletter covering UK, Irish, and select European and global banking sector and company developments. Previously, he was a top-ranked institutional equity and fixed income analyst at Goodbody, specializing in UK/Irish banks (and real estate).

Here’s what you’ll get from our conversation:

• UK banking overview and market dynamics

• Discussion of OSB Group (UK: OSB)

• Discussion of Barclays (UK: BARC)

• Discussion of Metro Bank (UK: MTRO)

• Prospects for UK banking consolidation

Editor’s note: For another in-depth perspective on OSB Group, see Daniel Gladiš’s presentation at Best Ideas 2025.

Let’s dive into the conversation with John.

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If you’re not an engineer or otherwise technically inclined, you may have found it challenging to understand what really goes on in the semiconductor sector. The latter has emerged as hugely important to the future of artificial intelligence, and its weighting in key market indices has grown. As a result, even if we consider semiconductors outside our “circle of competence”, it may be worthwhile to dig into the sector and the key players.

In this multi-part series, we attempt to make semiconductors understandable to non-technical investors. The goal is to educate ourselves on the industry value chain in order to gain appreciation for the market positioning, business models, and sustainability of competitive advantage of the key players, ranging from well-known giants such as TSMC and Nvidia to lessor-known but deeply entrenched players such as Cadence and Synopsys. Other companies we seek to understand as part of this series include AMD, Applied Materials, ASML, Micron, and Texas Instruments, to name a few.

We have the privilege of learning from a former semiconductor industry insider: Adarsh Shyamsundar has two decades of experience in the industry. From 2002-2008, Adi was at Intel, including as product engineer and test team leader. From 2008-2022, he served at Micron in various roles, including as senior product engineer, engineering manager, and senior manager. Adi caught the investing bug in 2006 and founded Polaris Capital Management, based in El Dorado Hills, California, in 2022. He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of California at Davis.

In this second installment, recorded on January 23rd, we cover:

• Electronic design automation (EDA) software, and its role

• EDA software leaders: Cadence Design, Synopsys, Mentor (Siemens)

• Semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and role in the value chain

• Players: ASML, AMAT, Lam Research, KLA Corp., Tokyo Electron

• John’s questions for Adi

In the first installment, recorded in December 2024, we covered:

• What is a semiconductor?

• Brief industry history

• The process of going from silicon to chip

• Industry value chain

• Some of the key players and how they fit in

• John’s questions for Adi

We look forward to bringing you installment three in March.

If you would like to learn more about the semiconductor sector, we highly recommend Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology.

Read more

Fortunes have been made and lost in real estate, a fascinating asset class with enduring relevance to humanity. It may be the only asset class that literally touches every human being, and nearly everyone has some idea of the utility of real estate. Due to its ubiquity and fundamental value, real estate is a vast sector with numerous sub-sectors, with residential and commercial among the highest-level groupings. Within each, multiple distinct sub-segments enable investors to own assets with a wide range of features and payoff profiles. When you overlay considerations such as geography and financing structure, it becomes clear just how tailored real estate investment strategies can be to the risk exposure preferences of investors.

In seeking to provide insights for investors in the stock market, my podcast co-host Elliot Turner and I invited real estate expert Bill Chen to join us on This Week in Intelligent Investing for a series on real estate. The episodes were recorded in recent months, and I am delighted to present them here as an in-depth primer on real estate investing in public markets. Having been recorded in recent months, this program is both timely and evergreen.

Bill Chen is the founder and managing partner of Rhizome Partners, Rhizome Real Asset Opportunity Fund, and Rhizome Hard Asset Opportunity Fund. Prior to forming Rhizome in 2013, Bill managed his own capital, focusing on deep value investments and event-driven strategies.

In this four-hour program, Bill provides a tour de force on the real estate sector. He makes the investment case for real estate investment trusts (REITs) from a long-term investor’s perspective and discusses large-cap multifamily REITs, among other market segments. He explains how investors should think about the capital structure of REITs, and highlights Vornado Realty Trust as an example. Finally, Bill addresses premortem failure analysis, management quality, and related topics.

The program is structured as follows:

• Introduction

• Bill's Background in Real Estate

• Publicly Listed Real Estate vs. Private Ownership

• Understanding REITs and Their Valuation

• Investment Strategies for Public Real Estate

• Challenges and Opportunities in the REIT Market

• The Role of Interest Rates in Real Estate Valuation

• Current Trends in Multi-Family and Commercial Real Estate

• Office and Retail Real Estate Market Outlook

• Final Thoughts and Takeaways

The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. The views, information, or opinions expressed by hosts or guests are their own. Neither this show, nor any of its content should be construed as investment advice or as a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security. Security specific information shared on this podcast should not be relied upon as a basis for your own investment decisions -- be sure to do your own research. The podcast hosts and participants may have a position in the securities mentioned, personally, through sub accounts and/or through separate funds and may change their holdings at any time.

Related Research and Presentations by Bill Chen

The following files are intended for your eyes only. Please keep them confidential.

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If you’re not an engineer or otherwise technically inclined, you may have found it challenging to understand what really goes on in the semiconductor sector. The latter has emerged as hugely important to the future of artificial intelligence, and its weighting in key market indices has grown. As a result, even if we consider semiconductors outside our “circle of competence”, it may be worthwhile to dig into the sector and the key players.

In this multi-part series, we attempt to make semiconductors understandable to non-technical investors. The goal is to educate ourselves on the industry value chain in order to gain appreciation for the market positioning, business models, and sustainability of competitive advantage of the key players, ranging from well-known giants such as TSMC and Nvidia to lessor-known but deeply entrenched players such as Cadence and Synopsys. Other companies we seek to understand as part of this series include AMD, Applied Materials, ASML, Micron, and Texas Instruments, to name a few.

We have the privilege of learning from a former semiconductor industry insider: Adarsh Shyamsundar has two decades of experience in the industry. From 2002-2008, Adi was at Intel, including as product engineer and test team leader. From 2008-2022, he served at Micron in various roles, including as senior product engineer, engineering manager, and senior manager. Adi caught the investing bug in 2006 and founded Polaris Capital Management, based in El Dorado Hills, California, in 2022. He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of California at Davis.

In this first installment, recorded in December 2024, we cover the following:

• What is a semiconductor?

• Brief industry history

• The process of going from silicon to chip

• Industry value chain

• Some of the key players and how they fit in

• John’s questions for Adi

Read more

John is author of the superbly researched Financials Unshackled substack. He runs SeaPoint Insights, a research and analysis firm specializing in financials. Previously, he was a top-ranked institutional equity and fixed income analyst at Goodbody, specializing in UK/Irish banks (and real estate).

Here’s what you’ll get from our conversation:

• Quick history lesson on Irish banking

• How the landscape has evolved and what it looks like now

• Why the business has changed for the three listed banks

• Valuations today, and how the sector/opportunity may evolve

• Discussion of AIB Group (Dublin: A5G, London: AIBG)

• Discussion of Permanent TSB (Dublin/London: PTSB)

• European bank consolidation, and Irish banks as takeover targets

• Risks: macro, disruption/investment spend, rates, euro fragments

• Preview of UK banking deep dive (coming in January)

The conversation on Irish banking was recorded on December 5, 2024.

Disclaimer: The content of this website is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. The content is distributed for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to sell or buy any security or other investment, or undertake any investment strategy. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or results obtained from any information set forth on this website. Officers, directors, employees, and/or contributing authors may have positions in and may, from time to time, make purchases or sales of the securities or other investments discussed or evaluated herein.