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Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, frequently adjusts her top positions, adding to a holding when the stock falls and selling when it rises.
Last week, she made some notable purchases. This week, she sold a top AI stock as the markets began to recover from tariff-driven losses.
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Wood’s funds saw a short-lived boost after Donald Trump won the presidency last November, but the gains didn’t last. Her flagship fund, the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) , is down roughly 11.75% year-to-date as of April 30, underperforming both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which are down 5.31% and 9.65%, respectively.
Wood’s remarkable 153% gain in 2020 helped build her reputation and attract loyal investors, but her long-term performance has made others skeptical of her aggressive style.
As of April 29, Ark Innovation ETF, with nearly $5 billion under management, has delivered an annualized three-year return of 3.02% and a five-year return of negative 1.39%.
The S&P 500 index, by contrast, has a three-year annualized return of 12.12% and a five-year return of 15.36%.
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 buys $3 million of Nvidia, AMD stock after tumble
The Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth over the 10 years ending in 2024, according to a recent analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking.
Wood recently raised concerns about Trump’s tariffs and warned that if the tariff plan isn’t handled carefully, it could cause a bear market or recession. However, she’s hopeful that negotiations could ease tensions.
“Trump wants to be one of the greatest presidents ever... he’s not going to get there by throwing the economy into a recession and the stock market into a bear market,” she said.
Not all investors share Wood's optimism. The Ark Innovation ETF has seen a net outflow of $2.31 billion over the past 12 months through April 29, with $55.44 million exiting in the last week alone, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood sells $8.8 million of Palantir stock
On April 28, Wood’s Ark funds sold 53,532 shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) , followed by another sale of 22,380 shares on April 30. The combined sales totaled roughly $8.8 million.