Brown Advisory’s Global Leaders Strategy delivered a net return of 4.6% in the second quarter of 2026, underperforming its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Net Index, which returned 14.9%, driven mainly by underexposure to semiconductors and technology hardware. The strategy benefited from holdings tied to AI infrastructure, with semiconductor exposure and AI-related investments gaining from strong demand. Brown Advisory sees an attractive environment for active stock-picking, with its ready-to-buy list at its highest level since the COVID-19 period and an estimated 12%-13% average five-year base-case IRR. In its Q2 2026 investor letter, the fund highlighted ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML), which develops and manufactures advanced lithography systems for semiconductor manufacturers. ASML’s one-month return was 0.87%, with shares trading between $716.20 and $1999.96 over the last 52 weeks. On August 7, 2026, ASML stock closed at approximately $1704.37 per share, with a market capitalization of about $668.71 billion. The fund stated ASML continues to benefit from AI infrastructure build-out and remains a critical enabler of leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, holding a monopoly in Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment. As per the database, 133 hedge fund portfolios held ASML at the end of the first quarter, compared to 101 in the previous