Cathie Wooden, head of Ark Funding Administration, doesn’t hesitate to promote and pocket income when her high-conviction names rally, even those she repeatedly calls her favorites.
That’s what she did over the previous week, trimming two of her greatest positions.
Wooden’s funding technique has labored properly this yr, together with her funds outpacing the key market indexes. As of Oct. 31, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 54.5% yr up to now, far outpacing the S&P 500’s acquire of 16.3%.
Wooden’s outstanding 153% return in 2020 helped construct her fame and entice loyal followers. Her technique can result in sharp positive aspects throughout bull markets but in addition painful losses, as seen in 2022, when ARKK dropped by greater than 60%.
These swings have weighed on her long-term outcomes. As of Oct. 31, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of 0.09%, whereas the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 17.64% over the identical interval, in keeping with information from Morningstar.
Within the 5 days by way of Oct. 30, the Ark Innovation ETF noticed about $1.5 billion in internet outflows.
Picture supply: Fallon/AFP through Getty Photographs
Cathie Wooden’s funding technique defined
Wooden’s funding technique is simple: Her Ark ETFs sometimes goal rising high-tech corporations in fields similar to synthetic intelligence, blockchain, biomedical expertise, and robotics.
She believes these corporations have the potential to reshape industries and convey outsized long-term returns, however their volatility results in massive fluctuations in Ark funds’ values.
Associated: Cathie Wooden’s internet value: The Ark Make investments CEO’s wealth & revenue
Over the ten years ending in 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF worn out $7 billion in investor wealth, in keeping with an evaluation by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer amongst mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s rating.
Nonetheless, Wooden has been bullish available on the market. In a letter to buyers revealed in late April, she dismissed predictions of a recession dragging into 2026 and struck an optimistic tone for tech shares.
“We think consumers and businesses are likely to accelerate the shift to technologically enabled innovation platforms, including artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, blockchain technology, and multiomics sequencing,” she mentioned.
Not all buyers share this optimism. Within the 5 days by way of Oct. 30, the Ark Innovation ETF drew about $1.5 billion in internet outflows, in keeping with ETF analysis agency VettaFi.
Cathie Wooden sells $21.4 million of AMD and Palantir inventory earlier than earnings
On Oct. 30, the Ark funds offered 13,651 shares of Superior Micro Gadgets (AMD), valued at about $3.5 million.
That transfer adopted her sale of 78,536 AMD shares between Oct. 22 and 24.
AMD inventory has soared 58.3% in October, largely boosted by a multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI.
Associated: Veteran analyst turns heads with new AMD inventory goal
On Oct. 6, The Wall Avenue Journal reported that AMD and OpenAI had entered right into a partnership underneath which AMD’s chips will energy OpenAI’s AI infrastructure and information facilities. AMD has issued warrants for as much as 160 million shares as a part of the settlement, with vesting milestones tied to deployment quantity and AMD’s share value.
The deal may carry “tens of billions of dollars” of incremental annual income for AMD, in keeping with Reuters.
Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson raised the agency’s inventory value goal for AMD to $270 from $190, reiterating a purchase score.
“We arrive at our target by applying a PE multiple of ~30X to our FY2027 EPS estimate…This multiple is close to the peak we have used for valuing AMD, a choice we view as appropriate in light of AMD’s likely revenue path over the next few years,” the analyst mentioned in a analysis be aware revealed Oct. 15.
Moreover AMD, Wooden additionally offered 89,395 shares of Palantir (PLTR), valued at roughly $17.9 million.
Prime 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF as of Oct. 31, 2025:
- Tesla Inc.:12.30%
- Coinbase International Inc Class A: 5.80%
- Roku Inc.:5.59%
- Crispr Therapeutics AG: 5.01%
- Tempus AI Inc.: 5.01%
- Shopify Inc. Class A: 4.91%
- Robinhood Markets Inc Class A: 4.69%
- Palantir Applied sciences Inc Class A: 4.48%
- Superior Micro Gadgets: 4.40%
- Roblox Corp Class A: 4.15%
Palantir has additionally been driving excessive this yr, with the fill up 165% yr up to now.
The Colorado-based firm supplies AI-driven information analytics software program to the U.S. authorities, navy, and industrial shoppers. Final yr, the inventory soared 340% as demand for AI infrastructure surged throughout sectors.
Wooden mentioned in February that she’s doubling down on software program, with Palantir being one in all her prime picks. Her current promoting may simply be a transfer to take income after the inventory’s robust run slightly than a shift in conviction.
“Palantir is a very expensive stock, but there’s nothing like it in the software space,” Wooden mentioned in a February CNBC interview. “It is, we believe, going to dominate the biggest part of the tech stack when it comes to AI. And that’s the platform as a service part of the stack.”
Palantir and AMD stay key positions for Wooden after current gross sales, rating eighth and ninth, respectively, within the ARK Innovation ETF. The 2 tech giants will launch their quarterly studies subsequent week, on Nov. 3 and 4, respectively.
