The Ark Innovation Fund (ARKK) ETF has continued to underperform the market this year, raising concerns about its role in a portfolio. Its total return has crashed by more than 17% this year while the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) have soared by 14.5% and 17.25%.
ARK Innovation ETF has a concentrated portfolio in high-potential tech companies, benefiting from U.S. economic growth. The ARKK ETF has had recent performance improvement due to strong holdings like Robinhood Markets, Inc. Fund flow is negative, but ARKK is a promising long-term investment with top tech companies in the market.
ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) which invests in themes such as fintech, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and genomics has fallen on hard times after a few stellar years. The fund's high turnover rate and questionable decision-making raise concerns about its analysis and filtering process. Investors should consider higher quality funds such as VOO and QQQ which provide less risk and better returns.
The ARK Innovation ETF is on track for another year of losses. Investments in Tesla, Roku, and Roblox are dragging down the ETF's performance.
A focus on “disruptive innovation” describes this ETF's strategy. The goal is to benefit from broad, tech-enabled secular themes.
Why does Cathie Wood think investors' fear about stocks is at "Great Depression" levels? Because it is for her portfolio.
The QQQ has produced stellar returns by tracking Nasdaq's largest companies. Cathie Wood's Ark Innovation ETF burst into the spotlight but has fizzled recently.
The ARK Innovation ETF has gained much investor attention for its volatility and staggering returns in 2020-2021, but has been stagnant since rates rose in 2022. This stagnation has given investors time to mull over potential investments in the fund, but this fund carries profound risks. This article discusses those risks, ARK's investing strategy, the narratives and thesis ARK invests with, and the role of ARKK in a portfolio.
Ark Investment Management, led by star investor Cathie Wood, is facing a harsh reality in 2024. While the broader market is hitting record highs, Ark’s actively managed funds are lagging far behind, raising concerns about their future viability. One investment advisor has sounded a stark warning, suggesting Ark’s funds could even go under. What Happened: Ram Ahluwalia of Lumida Wealth pointed to Ark’s flagship ETF, Ark Innovation ETF ARKK, which is currently trading over 70% below its all-time high, a stark contrast to the S&P 500’s recent record highs. ARKK had its heydays amid the recent pandemic as a significant share of its holdings were COVID-19 plays, which capitalized on lockdown restrictions and the work-from-home environment that prevailed at that time. The ETF peaked at $159.70 in mid-February 2021. Source: Benzinga Here are the year-to-performances of Ark’s key ETFs vs the broader market: See Also: Best ETFs To Buy Right Now What Ails Ark Funds? Ahluwalia attributed Ark’s woes to a combination of missed bets and an over-reliance on “vision” over fundamentals. He criticized Ark for selling Nvidia Corp. NVDA stock early in the AI boom and pouring resources into companies like Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. DNA and SoFi Technologies, Inc. SOFI. “They sold Nvidia, bought Tesla (We did the opposite). They bought Ginko Biosciences (Never touched it),” he wrote. “They bought $SOFI (We shorted it).” He argued that Ark prioritizes chasing “future ideas” without proper evaluation of traction, valuation, and management credibility. This focus on disruptive innovation, a cornerstone of Ark’s strategy, seems to be backfiring in the current market. While Wood emphasizes long-term growth potential in areas like AI and robotics, many of Ark’s top holdings, including Tesla, Inc. TSLA, haven’t delivered the returns the firm anticipated. “The consistency & statistical significance of how consistently ARKK under-performs is truly incredible,” Ahluwalia said. “If someone asked me to design a product with that kind of performance profile, I don’t think I could do it.” “Literally throwing random darts at tickers would out-perform ARKK,” he added. “How do they do it!?” “Investing the assets of others is a special duty. The lives of others and their family goals are directly impacted,” Ahluwalia said. “Institutions that are chronic destroyers of wealth should absolutely be called out. Most people lack the skill to discern good from bad investing.” Different View: Morningstar strategist Robby Greengold offered another perspective on Ark’s struggles. He suggested the firm lacks the forecasting talent needed for its focus on unproven companies and criticizes the high portfolio correlation due to its thematic investment approach. He argued Ark’s portfolio essentially resembles a tech-heavy fund, despite its focus on disruptive innovation. Why It Matters: Wood’s Ark Invest reigned supreme in early 2021, managing a hefty $59 billion across its ETFs. Today, however, that figure has shrunk by 80% to a mere $11.1 billion, likely a consequence of rising interest rates dampening investor enthusiasm for Wood’s long-term tech bets. In Monday’s premarket session on Monday, ARKK rose 0.33% to $45.60, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation ETF is struggling even as the U.S. stock market has jumped this year, with the fund unlikely to catch a bid until the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates, according to DataTrek Research.