To The Moon

🌟🌟🌟Chasing memory stocks at these all time highs feels like trying to board a moving rocket, but the AI Supercycle of 2026 is rewriting the rules of risk.  With $SPDR Gold Shares(GLD)$  and blue chip bank stocks at record highs, the fear of missing out is real, yet so is the vertigo of a vertical chart.

The Great Memory Debate: SanDisk vs Micron 

If you are choosing a champion for your portfolio, the decision depends on whether you value a sharp spear (SanDisk) or a broad shield (Micron):

$SanDisk Corp.(SNDK)$ : SanDisk is currently the hot favourite of 2026.  Since being spun off from Western Digital in February 2025, it has delivered an astronomical 1,080% return from its lows.  After soaring 27% in a single day this week on January 6, it is clear the market views SanDisk as the AI King of flash storage.  It is high octane but its 38% monthly volatility means you need a stomach of steel.

$Micron Technology(MU)$  The All Round Leader is the foundational play.  As Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform enters full production this month, Micron is aggressively ramping up HBM4 capacity, targeting a 30% market share.  While its 10% jump this week was more stable than SanDisk, Micron is s the cornerstone of the AI server stack.  

It is currently trading just a hair's breadth below its 52 week high but analysts like Dan Ives call it a "Mickey Mantle signed card" even at this price.  

A Mickey Mantle signed card is a powerful emotional and financial metaphor used by analysts to describe a rare, high value asset whose price seems expensive but is fundamentally worth every penny because of its scarcity, historical significance and enduring demand.

Strategy: The January Effect and Timing Your Entry 

Do you buy now or wait for the January Effect to cool?

The January Effect:  Historically stocks, especially the smaller beaten down ones, tend to rise in the first month of the year as tax loss selling ends.

In 2026, we are seeing a January Effect in full swing.  If January ends up green, history says the year follows suit 86% of the time.

The Wait and See Trap:  While waiting for earnings season might feel safer, memory prices are projected to rise 60 to 70% in Q1 26 alone.  Waiting might mean paying a much higher "admission fee" later.

A Powerful Alternative : SMH ETF and Dollar Cost Averaging 

If the "Fast and Furious" volatility of individual stocks like SanDisk is too much for you, you can consider $VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH)$  which gives you a diversified exposure to the entire "memory centric" revolution.  This ETF includes NVIDIA $NVIDIA(NVDA)$  , Micron as well as TSMC, Broadcom, ASML and AMD.

SMH offers exposure to the entire semiconductor ecosystem from chip designers, manufacturers (the foundries) , equipment makers and memory players.

SMH's diversification across the value chain reduces single stock risk with exposure to leaders of the industry.  This means you own the "Mickey Mantle" cards of the semiconductor industry in one powerful trade. SMH is also low cost with an expense ratio of 0.35 %, making it an efficient long term holding.

Performance wise SMH is up 51% in 2025 and 234% in the last 5 years.  SMH delivered more than double the gains of SPY in 2025, driven by the insatiable demand for chips in AI, high performance computing and the move to HBM4 memory.  While SPY still had a fantastic year in 2025, up 17%, SMH beats SPY hands down in 2025.

This difference perfectly illustrates the choice that investors face : the high risk high reward potential of a thematic ETF vs the stable compounding power of a broad market ETF.

To navigate these high levels, the Dollar Cost Averaging or DCA method is your best friend.  Instead of going all in at the peak, you may consider buying a set amount of SMH or MU every fortnight.  If the prices drop, your fixed dollar amount buys you more shares (your safety net).  If the prices keep soaring, you are already in the game.

Concluding Thoughts 

The stock market is a transfer of money from the impatient to the patient. Chasing a 27% daily gain is for the impatient.  Accumulate a legacy is for the patient.

Whether you favour the explosive growth of SanDisk or the steady dominance of Micron, remember Charlie Munger's wisdom: "The Big Money is in the Waiting , not in the buying and selling"".

Use DCA to enter the fray, wrap yourself in the discipline of long term view and let the 2026 supercycle build your wealth for the future through the magic of compounding.

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