ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood is positioning for a White House administration that embraces transformative technology. The firm’s CEO and chief investment officer sees a boom sparked by fewer regulations — no matter who wins the presidential election. “Both candidates have sounded more and more alike,” Wood said Tuesday on CNBC’s ” Fast Money .” “It seems to be a bipartisan issue.” Wood runs the firm’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) — which is up almost 22% over the past three months. But it’s been a disappointing year so far for the fund. After soaring nearly 68% last year, the ARK Innovation ETF is down about 8% in 2024. It has also fallen significantly since President Joe Biden took office. ARKK suffered a roughly 67% decline in 2022, the same year that the Federal Reserve embarked on its rate-hiking campaign. Tech companies, like those held in ARKK, are especially sensitive to rising rates. “Many people have associated our portfolio with low interest rates. Certainly, algorithmic trading seemed to do that,” said Wood. “I think that’s going to change.” The ETF’s top holding right now is Tesla . The stock is virtually flat this year after surging about 102% in 2023. Wood bets that the underperformance is temporary . “This is not an auto stock. Certainly, not a traditional one. It’s a robotic stock. So, autonomous vehicles are robots. They’ll be electric, and they’re powered by AI,” she said. “This is story has just begun.” Wood is also behind the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) , which is down about 25% so far this year. But she’s sticking with the main strategy that AI in health care will usher in a new age. ” CRISPR Therapeutics [and] Beam Therapeutics and other companies have developed cures for disease,” Wood said. ‘We are going to see real results as we move people out of hospitals and into cures.” CRISPR is up 11% over the past month, while Beam is up 2% in the period. The ARK Genomic Revolution ETF owns both stocks. Disclaimer
