When markets dip, Cathie Wood, the head of Ark Investment Management, often sees trading opportunities.
Last week, she trimmed her position in a major tech giant, selling shares for four straight sessions.
Wood’s flagship fund, Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) , is down 5.95% year-to-date as of March 24, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 lost 5.81% and 1.94% during the same period, respectively.
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Opinions on Wood vary. To her supporters, she is a visionary with a remarkable 153% return in 2020. However, her longer-term performance has raised doubts about her aggressive, opportunistic approach.
As of March 24, Ark Innovation ETF, with $6 billion under management, has delivered an annualized three-year return of negative 6.55% and a five-year return of 5.67%.
In comparison, the S&P 500 index has a three-year annualized return of 10.15% and a five-year return of 20.55%.
The Ark Innovation ETF has seen a net outflow of $2.32 billion over the past 12 months through March 21, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
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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’s net worth: The Ark Invest CEO’s wealth & income
Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott calculated that Ark Innovation ETF destroyed $7 billion of shareholder wealth over the 10-year period ended in 2024. That put the ETF as No. 3 on her wealth destruction list for mutual funds and ETFs during that period.
Wood has expressed optimism about a shift to looser regulation under Donald Trump’s presidency.
She said on March 4 that the Trump administration could be even better for investors than Ronald Reagan’s pro-business era, according to Bloomberg.
“The Reagan revolution — and I was there and it was so enjoyable — it was the heyday, the golden age of active equity management,” Wood said. “That’s coming back. I think it’s coming back big time. I think this will dwarf that, and that was pretty good.”
Not all investors share Wood’s confidence. The Ark Innovation ETF has seen a net outflow of $2.32 billion over the past 12 months through March 21, according to ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood sold $16 million of Meta stock
From March 17 to March 20, Wood’s Ark funds sold 22,116 shares of Meta Platforms (META) .
That chunk of stock was valued at roughly $15.9 million. According to Bloomberg data, it’s the first time Wood has sold Meta shares in nearly a year.
The parent of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp has seen a remarkable gain of 65.42% in its share price, making it the second-biggest gainer among the Magnificent 7, behind Nvidia’s 171% climb.
Related: Cathie Wood sells $10 million of beaten-down tech stock
In January, Meta delivered stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The company reported earnings per share of $8.02, above the expected $6.77. Revenue, which relies heavily on advertising, came in at $48.39 billion, topping forecasts of $47.04 billion.
The company is promoting its AI model, Llama, a rival to OpenAI. The AI model’s monthly users have surpassed 700 million. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects the figure to hit 1 billion this year, calling that scale a “durable long-term advantage.”
Meta stock has tumbled 16% since its Feb. 14 peak. Tech shares broadly slid on growing concern that President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could slow economic growth and push up inflation.
Bank of America analyst Justin Post warned that “macro-driven ad cuts” could be the biggest risk for the online media sector in 2025, according to a March 24 research report.
However, he contends that the firm prefers Meta stock “due to its comparatively stronger growth drivers, potential upside from new AI/ML services, and a lower regulatory and AI disruption overhang.”
“Meta’s growing AI capabilities and high-quality scores should make the stock relatively more resilient in a downturn, and a leading beneficiary if sentiment improves,” the analyst said.
B of A has a price target of $765 and a buy rating on Meta
As of March 24, Meta accounted for 2.4% of Ark Innovation ETF and ranked as the 14th-largest position.
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
