Stock Groups

Cathie Wood says her contrarian views set her apart, not her gender

[ad_1]

Catherine Wood is chief executive officer at ARK Investment Management LLC. She spoke during Monday’s Milken Institute Global Conference, Beverly Hills (California), Oct. 18, 2021.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cathie Wood can’t be talked about investing without talking about Cathie Wood. Ark Investment Management founder, CEO and chief investing officer Cathie Wood was the first woman ever to be named manager of the largest active managed fund.

Wood said that her professional success is due to Wood’s contrarian viewpoints, not her gender. Wood stated that it is rare for her to be reminded of being a woman on any given occasion in a recent interview with CNBC.

The performance of her exchange-traded fund, which focuses on disruption innovation, has been poor year to date. Wood, who has more than $21 million invested in her funds, is one of the top active managers.

Wood is unwavering in her belief in investing for the future and has made it clear that she will not be beaten. This gives critics plenty of opportunity to attack her strategies.

“Other people claim that I get attacked by the media for being a woman.” “Other people say that I am attacked in the media because I’m a woman.” [the case] … Wood said that he believes it is because they are disrupting the financial system and unsettling people. It’s not the research and ideas. These are quite provocative.”

After a lengthy tenure as the Global Thematic Growth Fund Manager at AllianceBernstein, Wood founded Ark Invest in 2014. She also managed to navigate through the telecom and tech booms. Wood, 57, started Ark Invest in 2014 after she became frustrated with the lack of technology-focused investors.

Wood stated, “There wasn’t a place I could fit in. I don’t think I would fit in.” “I was determined to make a difference.”

Ark ETFs were born out of her belief in provocative growth strategies for the U.S. equity markets. Five disruptive technologies are her strategies: robotics, DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence. Wood’s fonds are often criticised for having high-multiple, expensive and sometimes inliquid stocks.

Ark Innovation, Ark Innovation’s flagship fund made high-growth name like Tesla, Zoom Video, Roku Teladoc Health.

Wood was once a mentor to Arthur Laffer who said, “I have seen people make her feel bad and I have seen her praised.”

“Can’t take these numbers away from you”

Ark Innovation — which trades under ticker ARKK — was largely put on the map after Ark Innovation’s banner year in 2020. It was full of stocks that flourished in the years. coronavirus pandemic — a group that became known as stay-at-home stocks — and it rallied nearly 150%. The fund suffered a 25% loss last year as it went through a value rotation.

Wood’s funds have had a disappointing year in 2022, as the markets are punishing growth areas with rising interest rates. Ark Innovation has fallen more than 30%, and is now less than half of its June 2021 52-week peak.

Ark’s outlook has not been affected by Wood’s stock market declines since mid-February 2021. Wood claimed that her most conviction stocks are being sold at lower prices. She stated this will result in an expected quadrupling her flagship fund’s value over the next five year.

Wood focused on five years of investing and said that it is important to be able to relate to numbers in order to stand out in the financial sector.

“Politics won’t be able to take your numbers, they are who they are.” She said. You can expect both good and bad numbers, but you’d like to see the average rise over time.

Wood is able to be certain that her loyal followers have not forgotten her or her vision. Ark Innovation has more than $1B in incoming cash and is therefore net positive for inflows.

Raised in the ‘first-born’ family

Wood is Gerald and Mary Duddy’s first-generation Irish immigrants. According to her, she was the “first-born child” of her parents. She was encouraged by her parents to explore all avenues, regardless of her gender.

Gerald Duddy was raised in Los Angeles and placed a strong emphasis on research and education. Wood continues to value this tradition today. She launched in 2018 the Duddy Innovation Center for Excellence, her high school, Notre Dame Academy.

Wood joined Laffer’s University of Southern California class in 1977. Wood recalls at first not knowing much about business, but soon became fascinated by research and economics.

Wood was an undergraduate student of Laffer when she was a member of the President Ronald Reagan Economic Policy Advisory Board. Wood received Laffer’s recommendation for her first position and she has continued to be a confidant and friend of Laffer.

Laffer stated that “there isn’t anybody who has done the same as she has.” Her returns are unbelieveable. You can also work the opposite direction, and her incredible returns throughout her career are a result of her hardwork.

Wood began her career in the sector as an assistant economist at The Capital Group on the West Coast. According to Wood, she is often the only woman present in a room.

“Most guests assumed I was the secretary. I would offer coffee to them, which they were happy to accept. … She said, “I was glad to be there.”

Wood began to progress in her career and was mentored and supported by many female friends, such as Lulu Wang. Together, they started Tupelo Capital Management.

However, her female colleagues also suffered from queen bee syndrome. It is an illness that occurs when women are unable to support each other, she explained.

Wood remembered that “there have been women who did not make it easy”

Cathie Wood, children

Ben Larrabee Photography

Innovation levels the playing fields

Wood-believing Christians

Wood attributed much of her success to her loyal band of followers — who are often Gen Z and millennials.

She said, “It was the younger people that stuck with me.”

Wood is attracting a lot of attention from millennials, who are part of the huge wave of retail investors who jumped into the market in the Covid-19 epidemic. Wood will be followed by day traders on online chatrooms, who will post slogans such as “In Cathie We Trust” and call her “Cathie BaE” (before everyone else).

Wood defended this group, despite being criticized by many investors for trading in speculative stock markets.

Ark employs a novel social strategy. It shares its research with analysts and then sells “ArkInvest” gear like sweatshirts or baseball caps.

Cap and hoodie by ARK Invest

Ark Investment Management

Ark, she said, is a close vehicle to venture capital firms in the public equity markets. An ETF is an ETF that invests on companies’ long-term prospects.

“The young people understand these new technologies better, both how unstable they are and also how promising,” she stated.

And she has a loyal following of amateur investors who have doubled down on her funds in spite of her poor performance.

They believed that it would return, and now we’re starting to rebound a little. Wood stated that truth wins.”

[ad_2]