−3.6%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe security spending is consolidating: companies are ditching dozens of point tools for a few big AI-powered platforms, even as AI makes attacks worse and pushes budgets toward whoever keeps pace. So this basket leans into the platform winners taking share, with cloud and network security, identity, AI-native defenders, and attack-surface specialists layered around them, plus two sector ETFs for ballast. I'm holding for one to two years and keeping 10% cash to add if the market overreacts to a rough quarter.
What it owns
- These platform vendors are absorbing security budgets as companies cut their tool lists down. · Palo Alto NetworksIt leads the push for customers to replace dozens of point tools with one platform, directly riding the consolidation shakeout., CrowdStrike HoldingsIt started at the endpoint and keeps adding modules, so budget consolidation decisions tend to send more spend its way., MicrosoftIt bundles security into licenses companies already pay for, making it the easiest consolidation choice for cost-conscious buyers., FortinetIt is turning a firewall base into a broader platform, pulling network and security spend under one roof.32%
- Security is moving into the cloud and the network itself, and these companies own that layer. · ZscalerIt runs the zero trust layer companies migrate to when they retire old network gear, one of the big shifts feeding consolidation., CloudflareIt sits at the edge where AI-scale attacks hit first, so nastier attacks push more traffic and spend its way., Akamai TechnologiesIts growth now comes from security, not content delivery, riding the same rising spend the take counts on., Check Point SoftwareIt is the steady incumbent with a large installed base and its own platform push, a lower-drama way to hold the consolidation theme.20%
- Companies architected around AI from inception are positioned to adapt as artificial intelligence reshapes both attack and defense capabilities. · RubrikIt protects and restores data after AI-powered attacks like ransomware get through, the last line that gets funded as attacks worsen., SentinelOneIt is the AI-native challenger to larger platforms, built on automation from day one rather than bolted on later., DatadogIt already watches customers' cloud systems and is folding security into the same screen, a natural consolidation move.14%
- AI lets attackers probe faster, so mapping what a company exposes gets more valuable. · Varonis SystemsIt watches who can touch sensitive data, the exact thing AI attacks and AI copilots both put at risk., QualysIt finds the holes attackers exploit, and AI widening the attack surface means more to scan and more value to capture., Tenable HoldingsIt maps everything a company exposes to the internet, and AI is making that surface bigger and scarier by the day.10%
- Broad sector ETFs keep the take alive if security spending rises but a different vendor wins. · First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETFIt holds the cybersecurity sector broadly so one bad quarter from a single company does not sink the take., Amplify Cybersecurity ETFIt is the second ballast fund, weighted differently from CIBR so the cushion does not depend on one index maker's picks.9%
- Most modern attacks start with a stolen login, so consolidating buyers still need a serious identity layer. · OktaIdentity is the control point every consolidated platform has to plug into, and it is the independent standard there.5%
- Cash10%