Cathie Wooden, head of Ark Funding Administration, is thought for betting on tech corporations she believes can “disrupt” the long run. However she doesn’t hesitate to shuffle her portfolio, generally trimming or including to positions inside days of creating a transfer.
That’s what she simply did, promoting shares of a scorching tech identify solely per week after shopping for them.
Wooden’s funds have skilled a unstable experience this yr, swinging from sharp losses to sturdy beneficial properties.
In January and February, the Ark funds rallied as buyers wager on the Trump administration’s potential deregulation that would profit Wooden’s tech bets. However the momentum pale in March and April, with the funds trailing the market as high holdings slid amid rising considerations over the macroeconomy and commerce insurance policies.
Now, the Ark’s funds are exhibiting strong efficiency once more. As of Sept. 26, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 44% year-to-date, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 13% acquire.
Wooden’s outstanding return of 153% in 2020 helped construct her fame and appeal to loyal followers. Her technique can result in sharp beneficial properties throughout bull markets but additionally painful losses in downturns, like in 2022, when ARKK dropped greater than 60%.
These swings have weighed on her long-term outcomes. As of Sept. 26, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of adverse 1.3%, whereas the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 16.8% over the identical interval.
Within the 5 days by Sept. 25, the Ark Innovation ETF noticed about $1.5 billion in internet outflows, in accordance with ETF analysis agency VettaFi.
Picture supply: Fallon/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Cathie Wooden’s funding technique defined
Wooden’s funding technique is easy: Her Ark ETFs sometimes purchase shares in rising high-tech corporations in fields reminiscent of synthetic intelligence, blockchain, biomedical expertise, and robotics.
She thinks these corporations have the potential to reshape industries and produce outsized long-term returns, however their volatility results in main 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 accordance 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 printed in late April, she dismissed predictions of a recession dragging into 2026 and struck an optimistic tone for tech shares.
“During the current turbulent transition in the U.S., 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 stated.
Not all buyers share this optimism. Within the 5 days by Sept. 25, the Ark Innovation ETF noticed about $1.5 billion in internet outflows, in accordance with ETF analysis agency VettaFi. That equals roughly 21% of the fund’s $7.17 billion in property as of the top of August.
Cathie Wooden sells $22.3 million of AMD inventory
On Sept. 24, Wooden trimmed her stake in Superior Micro Units (AMD) , with the Ark Innovation ETF promoting 138,432 shares of the AI chipmaker valued at roughly $22.3 million.
Only a week earlier, Wooden purchased 25,899 AMD shares value $4.2 million by one among her different ETFs, the ARK Fintech innovation ETF (ARKF) . This sale got here as AMD’s challenges in opposition to larger opponents Nvidia (NVDA) and Intel (INTC) mounted.
Associated: Cathie Wooden buys $28.6 million of surging tech shares
AMD shares peaked in Q1 2024 as sturdy demand for its CPUs and GPUs drove up buyers’ enthusiasm. From then to April 2025, the rally pale amid margin strain, more durable competitors from Nvidia, and considerations over tariffs and China chip gross sales ban.
From Could to early August, AMD inventory regained momentum amid a rebound within the synthetic intelligence growth and the lifting of the chip gross sales ban to China, which boosted investor confidence.
AMD’s largest CPU rival, Intel, has just lately acquired appreciable help, with $8.9 billion from the U.S. authorities and $5 billion from Nvidia, AMD’s largest rival in GPUs.
“This historic collaboration tightly couples NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing stack with Intel’s CPUs and the vast x86 ecosystem — a fusion of two world-class platforms,” stated Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
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It was additionally reported that Apple (AAPL) might put money into Intel as properly, including to AMD’s aggressive headwinds. The wave of backing for Intel raises considerations for AMD because it seeks to realize floor in each CPU and GPU markets.
AMD inventory closed at $159.46 on Sept. 25 and is up 32% year-to-date. Wall Avenue analysts have a mean inventory value goal of $187.73, in accordance with TipRanks.
The September sale marked Wooden’s largest AMD disposal in about 17 months. She had offered about 121,000 AMD shares within the first quarter of 2024 (then 38.9% of her complete stake) when the inventory was driving excessive. Since then, because the inventory has dropped, she has been rebuilding her place, in accordance with information from Stockcircle.
Regardless of the trim, AMD stays a major place for the Ark Innovation ETF, rating because the tenth largest holding. The stake is valued at about $216.9 million and accounts for two.95% of the portfolio, in accordance with Ark’s newest disclosure.
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