European Technology

Technology is often associated with the US. The impression exists that if it is cutting edge it must be coming from Silicon Valley. This is amusing as immediately two firms come to mind that have shaped the way we interact and the way we play music. I am referring to Skype and Spotify of course.

Or else, if you are into games you will immediately recognize Rovio (Angry Birds), King (Candy Crush Saga), Wooga (Diamond Dash), Supercell (Clash of Clans) and Outit7 (Talking Tom). And there are the online betting and social casino games that keep on growing like crazy; Betfair, Bet365, 888casino. The list goes on.

Technology firms are relatively riskier than the market in general due to the fast pace at which products in this sector evolve. Investors can limit the risk by either investing in the European technology index or by taking positions in large European Technology leaders.

SAP SE

SAP is a German multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. The company has regional offices in 130 countries.

Since 2012, SAP has acquired several companies that sell cloud-based products. This shift in focus is seen as an attempt to directly challenge Oracle.

SAP shares has gained 29% since January 2015. The company is expected to continue to profit from the shift towards cloud based services.

ASML Holdings PLC

Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML makes the machines that are used to manufacture chips. ASML designs, develops, integrates, markets and services lithography systems for the semiconductor industry.

ASML boasts Samsung, TSMC, Intel Corp, ST Electronics, Toshiba, SanDisk Corp and many others as customers. With the ever increasing demands for faster processors these firm rely on ASML to develop the required manufacturing tools.

Moore’s Law continues to be achievable partly due to ASML’s contribution. While performance has been flat this year, the outlook for 2016 is optimistic.

ARM Holdings PLC

Headquartered in Cambridge, ARM Holdings plc is a British multinational semiconductor and software design company. Its primary business is the design of ARM processors and is considered to be market dominant is the field of processors for mobile phones and tablet computers.

IPhones include several chips, from different providers, that include ARM cores. ARM also supply chips for all common network related technologies such as Bluetooth, Wifi and broadband.

ARM Holdings is up 9 percent this year.