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When markets dip, Cathie Wood, the head of Ark Investment Management, often sees trading opportunities.
Last week, she trimmed her position in a major tech giant, selling shares for four straight sessions.
Wood’s flagship fund, Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) , is down 5.95% year-to-date as of March 24, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 lost 5.81% and 1.94% during the same period, respectively.
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Opinions on Wood vary. To her supporters, she is a visionary with a remarkable 153% return in 2020. However, her longer-term performance has raised doubts about her aggressive, opportunistic approach.
As of March 24, Ark Innovation ETF, with $6 billion under management, has delivered an annualized three-year return of negative 6.55% and a five-year return of 5.67%.
In comparison, the S&P 500 index has a three-year annualized return of 10.15% and a five-year return of 20.55%.
Cathie Wood’s investment strategy explained
Wood’s investment strategy is straightforward: Her Ark ETFs typically buy shares in emerging high-tech companies in fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics.
Wood says these companies have the potential to reshape industries, but their volatility leads to major fluctuations in Ark funds' values.
Related: Cathie Wood's net worth: The Ark Invest CEO's wealth & income
Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott calculated that Ark Innovation ETF destroyed $7 billion of shareholder wealth over the 10-year period ended in 2024. That put the ETF as No. 3 on her wealth destruction list for mutual funds and ETFs during that period.
Wood has expressed optimism about a shift to looser regulation under Donald Trump’s presidency.
She said on March 4 that the Trump administration could be even better for investors than Ronald Reagan’s pro-business era, according to Bloomberg.
“The Reagan revolution — and I was there and it was so enjoyable — it was the heyday, the golden age of active equity management,” Wood said. “That’s coming back. I think it’s coming back big time. I think this will dwarf that, and that was pretty good.”
Not all investors share Wood's confidence. The Ark Innovation ETF has seen a net outflow of $2.32 billion over the past 12 months through March 21, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood sold $16 million of Meta stock
From March 17 to March 20, Wood’s Ark funds sold 22,116 shares of Meta Platforms (META) .
That chunk of stock was valued at roughly $15.9 million. According to Bloomberg data, it’s the first time Wood has sold Meta shares in nearly a year.