A magnetic thin film deposition having PMA (perpendicular magnetic anisotropy) is a multilayered fabrication of materials having differing crystal symmetries that smoothly transition by use of a seed layer that promotes symmetry matching. An interface between layers in the deposition, such as an interface between a layer of MgO and an Fe-containing ferromagnetic layer, is a source of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy which then propagates throughout the remainder of the deposition by means of the symmetry matching seed layer.