I challenge you to critique my current holdings. Any critique is welcome. Go!

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (-0,67%)

$META (+0,81%)

$MA (-0,15%)

$BRK.B (-0,43%)

$AMZN (+0,97%)

$ASML (-2,37%)

$MSCI (-0,3%)

$MC (-0,98%)

$BKNG (-1,02%)

$SPGI (-1,37%)

$ADBE (-0,02%)

$NOVO B (+0,21%)

$AIR (+0,09%)

$CDNS (-0,32%)

$OR (+0,05%)

$IDXX (+0,69%)

$EL (-0,19%)

$FTNT (+1,06%)

$LULU (-3,2%)

When I‘m screening markets for my investable universe I look for high-quality compounders with:

• Strong and consistent capital returns (ROCE)
• High and stable profitability (gross, operating, and FCF margins)
• Steady revenue growth over time
• Large market capitalization (mature, established companies)

In detail I’m screening for:

• Market Cap: at least $ 10B
• ROCE 3-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• ROCE 10-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• Gross Margin 3-Year Avg: ≥ 50%
• FCF Margin 3-Year Avg: ≥ 20%
• Operating Margin 10-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• Revenue per share CAGR 3-Year: ≥ 5%
• Revenue per share CAGR 10-Year: ≥ 5%
• FCF per share CAGR 3-Year: ≥ 10%
• FCF per share CAGR 10-Year: ≥ 10%
• Consistency/stability of earnings (from max. 1.0): ≥ 0.8
• No more than 75% revenue exposure to one single country/market (eg. USA)

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (-0,67%)

$META (+0,81%)

$MA (-0,15%)

$BRK.B (-0,43%)

$AMZN (+0,97%)

$ASML (-2,37%)

$MSCI (-0,3%)

$MC (-0,98%)

$BKNG (-1,02%)

$SPGI (-1,37%)

$ADBE (-0,02%)

$NOVO B (+0,21%)

$AIR (+0,09%)

$CDNS (-0,32%)

$OR (+0,05%)

$IDXX (+0,69%)

$EL (-0,19%)

$FTNT (+1,06%)

$LULU (-3,2%)

Today I‘m sharing with you my main portfolio. This doesn’t include any ETF investments and crypto currencies / gold etc. since I want to focus my presence on getquin on stock-picking.

Read my 3-part portfolio strategy posts to get the full picture - here are just the main pillars of what I‘m doing:

• Long-term buy and hold (average holding time 5+ years at least)
• Focus on high-ROIC compounders riding secular trends (top-tier capital efficiency)
• High margins, strong FCF growth, large moats (7 powers strategy)
• Holding not more than 20 stocks at a time while mainly focusing on US and EU based companies

I like to divide my holdings into „core holdings“ (forever stocks) and „trend picks“ (2030 stocks) as follows:

Core Holdings (“Forever Stocks”):

• $MSFT (-0,67%)
  $ADBE (-0,02%)
  $META (+0,81%)
  $MA (-0,15%)
  $AMZN (+0,97%)
• 
  $OR (+0,05%)
  $MC (-0,98%)
  $RMS (-2,03%)
  $EL (-0,19%)
• 
  $BRK.B (-0,43%)
  $MSCI (-0,3%)
  $SPGI (-1,37%)

Growth Picks (“2030 Stocks”):

• $ASML (-2,37%)
  $CDNS (-0,32%)
  $FTNT (+1,06%)
• 
  $BKNG (-1,02%)
  $AIR (+0,09%)
• 
  $LULU (-3,2%)
  $IDXX (+0,69%)
  $NOVO B (+0,21%)

I use the 7 Powers framework from the book “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy” by Hamilton Helmer. It’s a killer framework for understanding why some businesses create lasting value and compound returns over time.

Each “Power” is a sustainable strategic advantage that lets a company generate outsized returns for a long time. I ask the 7 questions for each stock I am considering to buy.

1. Counter-Positioning

• What it is: A new entrant adopts a superior business model that incumbents can’t copy without damaging their own biz.
• Example: Netflix vs. Blockbuster. Blockbuster couldn’t move to streaming without killing its DVD revenue.
• Why it matters: Creates asymmetric pressure; the old guard is paralyzed.

2. Scale Economies

• What it is: Unit costs drop as volume increases.
• Example: Amazon, Costco. Bigger = cheaper = stronger moat.
• Why it matters: Hard to compete if you can’t match their cost base.

3. Switching Costs

• What it is: Customers stick around because switching is painful.
• Example: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, Salesforce.
• Why it matters: High retention = stable cash flows = compounding machine.

4. Network Effects

• What it is: The product gets better as more people use it.
• Example: Meta, Visa, LinkedIn.
• Why it matters: Leads to dominance, creates a feedback loop of growth.

5. Branding

• What it is: Emotional or symbolic value, not just functional.
• Example: L’Oréal, Hermès, Apple.
• Why it matters: Lets companies charge premium prices and keeps customers loyal even if alternatives exist.

6. Cornered Resource

• What it is: Exclusive access to a critical asset — talent, IP, data, supply.
• Example: ASML (EUV tech), Novo Nordisk (Ozempic IP), Ferrari (brand + heritage + team).
• Why it matters: If no one else can get it, you win.

7. Process Power

• What it is: Unique internal processes that drive efficiency, innovation, or quality — and are hard to copy.
• Example: Toyota (lean manufacturing), Amazon (logistics, culture of innovation).
• Why it matters: Long-lasting edge baked into the org’s DNA.

If I had to chose one, Network effects would be the most important one for me.

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (-0,67%)

$META (+0,81%)

$MA (-0,15%)

$BRK.B (-0,43%)

$AMZN (+0,97%)

$ASML (-2,37%)

$MSCI (-0,3%)

$MC (-0,98%)

$BKNG (-1,02%)

$SPGI (-1,37%)

$ADBE (-0,02%)

$NOVO B (+0,21%)

$AIR (+0,09%)

$CDNS (-0,32%)

$OR (+0,05%)

$IDXX (+0,69%)

$EL (-0,19%)

$FTNT (+1,06%)

$LULU (-3,2%)

I would probably pick the following 3, if I really had to buy now and hold for 5+ decades.

1. L’Oréal $OR (+0,05%)

Why it’s high conviction:

• Decades of consistent, organic growth
• Massive tailwinds from skincare, anti-aging, and premiumization — especially in emerging markets
• Exceptionally high ROIC and brand power
• Very resilient and non-cyclical — even in downturns, people keep spending on self-care
• A textbook example of a long-term compounder in the consumer space

2. S&P Global $SPGI (-1,37%)

Why it’s high conviction:

• Near-monopoly in credit ratings, indexes, and financial analytics
• Asset-light, very high margins and ROIC
• Direct beneficiary of long-term financial trends like ETFs and increasing regulation
• Highly predictable revenue streams, capital-efficient growth
• A “picks-and-shovels” play on global capital markets

3. Microsoft $MSFT (-0,67%)

Why it’s high conviction:

• Dominates key structural trends like Cloud, AI, and enterprise software
• Huge share of recurring revenue, hard to disrupt
• Consistently high margins and free cash flow
• Strong moat across multiple segments — productivity, infrastructure, dev tools
• Grows like a tech stock, defends like a consumer staple

• Concentrate on the following sectors: Tech, consumer, healthcare, financial (excluding banks), industrials
• Smallest position size 2% / largest position size 15%
• Only sell a position when it can be replaced with a position that increases the overall quality of the portfolio
• Avoid companies with little to no track record or companies going through a restructuring phase

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (-0,67%)

$META (+0,81%)

$MA (-0,15%)

$BRK.B (-0,43%)

$AMZN (+0,97%)

$ASML (-2,37%)

$MSCI (-0,3%)

$MC (-0,98%)

$BKNG (-1,02%)

$SPGI (-1,37%)

$ADBE (-0,02%)

$NOVO B (+0,21%)

$AIR (+0,09%)

$CDNS (-0,32%)

$OR (+0,05%)

$IDXX (+0,69%)

$EL (-0,19%)

$RMS (-2,03%)

$FTNT (+1,06%)

$LULU (-3,2%)

My Portfolio is a selection of 15-25 companies which I am buying and planning on never selling. The overall criteria for my #investableuniverse are the following. I will go in-depth in another post:

• Little capital needed to run the business (high ROCE)
• High returns on invested capital (high ROIC)
• Profitability track-record with high gross margins / operating margins / high free cash flow margins
• High free cashflow growth / substantial revenue growth
• Global revenue diversification
• Low cyclicality
• #tollbooth Company - Large moat / brand name in the industry / no alternatives to the product
• Predictable sources of future growth / global trends

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (-0,67%)

$META (+0,81%)

$MA (-0,15%)

$BRK.B (-0,43%)

$AMZN (+0,97%)

$ASML (-2,37%)

$MSCI (-0,3%)

$MC (-0,98%)

$BKNG (-1,02%)

$SPGI (-1,37%)

$ADBE (-0,02%)

$NOVO B (+0,21%)

$AIR (+0,09%)

$CDNS (-0,32%)

$OR (+0,05%)

$IDXX (+0,69%)

$EL (-0,19%)

$RMS (-2,03%)

$FTNT (+1,06%)

The semi-annual rebalancing of the SPDR S&P Developed Quality Aristocrats ETF ($QDEV (-0,44%) ) has just been completed, bringing notable changes to the composition of this quality-focused investment vehicle.

Outgoing Companies:

• RELX PLC$REL (-0,83%)
• Keyence Corporation $6861 (-0,61%)
• London Stock Exchange Group plc $LSEG (-0,8%)
• Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG (-1,02%)
• Industria de Diseno Textil S.A. (Inditex) $ITX (-0,18%)
• Texas Instruments Incorporated $TXN (-2,73%)
• Cencora Inc.$COR (-0,67%)
• Coloplast A/S Class B$COLO B (-1,13%)
• Moncler SpA $MONC (-1,4%)
• Cardinal Health Inc. $CAH (-1,4%)
• CAR Group Limited $CAR (-2,37%)
• Waters Corporat $WAT (-2,37%)
• Nova Ltd. $NVMI (+2,13%)
• Monolithic Power Systems Inc. $MPWR (-0,72%)

Incoming Companies:

• Alphabet Inc. Class C$GOOG (+2,27%)
• Nintendo Co. Ltd.$7974 (+1,27%)
• S&P Global Inc. $SPGI (-1,37%)
• InterContinental Hotels Group PLC $IHG (+0%)
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company $BMY (-2,01%)
• Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE (-1,14%)
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. $REGN (+0,16%)
• Motorola Solutions Inc. $MSI (+0%)
• Marriott International Inc. Class A $MAR (-0,9%)
• Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. $HLT (-1,04%)
• Industrivarden AB Class C$INDU C (+0,23%)
• EMS-CHEMIE HOLDING AG$EMSN (+0,29%)
• D'Ieteren Group SA/NV $DIE (+0,35%)
• Electronic Arts Inc. $EA (+2,53%)
• CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited $1038 (-0,39%)

This rebalancing aligns QDEV with evolving market conditions while maintaining its focus on quality companies with strong financial foundations. For investors seeking exposure to financially robust global corporations, these changes appear strategically sound, particularly with the inclusion of resilient tech giants and hospitality leaders positioned for growth.

Will this prove to be a winning choice? The fundamentals certainly suggest so.

#Investing
#ETF
#QDEV
#PortfolioManagement
#QualityStocks