Key points
- Catherine (Cathie) Wood is the founder and CEO of the asset manager ARK Invest.
- The firm focuses on disruptive technologies and innovation, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, energy storage, autonomous driving and DNA sequencing.
- In January 2024 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot bitcoin-ETF filings, including those from ARK Invest and 21Shares. Wood then predicted the leading cryptocurrency could reach $1.5m by 2030.
Early years
Wood was born in 1955 in Los Angeles, California. She graduated with honours from the University of Southern California in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics.
Her views were shaped by her mentor, the economist Arthur Laffer. Among his central ideas was the counterintuitive theory that, under certain conditions, low tax rates maximise government revenues.
Wood’s finance career began in 1977 at Capital Group. Three years later she moved to Jennison Associates, where she worked for 18 years, serving as chief economist, equity research analyst, portfolio manager and director.
In 1998 Wood co-founded the hedge fund Tupelo Capital. In 2001 she joined AllianceBernstein as CIO, managing more than $5bn in assets. Her 12 years there laid the groundwork for creating ARK Invest.
Founding ARK Invest
In 2014 Wood founded the investment firm ARK Invest (Ark Investment Management LLC). The name alludes to Noah’s ark, underscoring the founder’s Christian faith.
“It’s not so much about me and the promise that my bets are long-term; it’s about allocating capital to God’s creation in the most innovative and creative way,” — noted Wood.
The name is also an acronym that can be rendered as “Active Research Knowledge.” The company had no external investors — over the first three years Wood invested more than $5m of her own capital.
Her approach to asset selection rests on the conviction that innovative companies have the greatest potential for growth, despite their volatility and higher risks.
What is in ARK Invest’s portfolio
The flagship is ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which focuses on companies such as Tesla, Moderna and Meta, and invests in health-care and financial technologies.
This fund saw striking gains in 2020, attracting retail and institutional investors. Despite the subsequent pullback from its highs, Wood remains confident in ARKK’s long-term potential.
In addition to ARK Innovation ETF, the company also manages:
- ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) — focuses on companies tied to next-generation internet technologies;
- ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) — invests in projects advancing gene technologies and medical innovation;
- ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) — targets financial technologies, including digital payments and blockchain;
- ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) — invests in autonomous technologies, robotics and automation;
- ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) — focuses on companies working in space technologies.
ARK also offers several newer and specialised ETFs, notably the ARK Venture Fund, which targets early-stage private companies. Another example is the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
Why Wood backs bitcoin
ARK Innovation ETF holds crypto-focused companies including Coinbase, Block and Robinhood. The asset manager bought Robinhood shares on the stock’s first trading day in July 2021 — a couple of months after jointly filing with 21Shares to launch a spot bitcoin ETF with the SEC.
At the time Wood said that, over time, the leading cryptocurrency would become greener than the traditional financial-services sector and the gold-mining industry.
Over a prolonged period ARK and 21Shares made several attempts to secure approval for their product. They succeeded only on 10 January 2024, when the SEC approved 11 spot exchange-traded funds based on the leading cryptocurrency.
On 12 January Wood predicted that, in a bull case, digital gold could reach $1.5m by 2030. The ARK Invest chief added that her conviction in bitcoin stems primarily from its role as protection against direct and indirect confiscation of wealth.
According to her, the asset demonstrated strength and resilience during the U.S. regional banking crisis in the spring of 2023. Over that period bitcoin rose from $19,000 to $30,000. Wood sees this as a sign of investors’ trust in the cryptocurrency as a haven asset.
Earlier, in an interview with Schwab Network, Wood said she holds roughly a quarter of her financial capital in the leading cryptocurrency. She noted that her portfolio is “almost entirely tied to innovation,” including digital assets.