Stock brokerage platform eToro has partnered with exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset management group ARK Invest to provide investors with a new smart portfolio.
The new ARK-FutureFirst portfolio will allocate investor funds across seven of ARK’s ETFs, with the overall mandate resembling a single growth fund.
You can now follow what Cathie Wood invests in and buy the seven ARK ETFs, which invest in areas including AI, crypto, robotics, healthcare, and renewables on eToro.
In a statement, the two firms said the smart portfolio aims to take advantage of three growth areas – ‘disruptive innovation’, ‘healthcare innovation’, and ‘sustainability innovation’.
eToro’s Smart Portfolios are typically built in-house by their analysts and cater to different risk profiles, sectors, and investment goals.
US-headquartered ARK is led by its founder Cathie Wood, who invests in broad themes focused on disruptive innovation such as artificial intelligence, Bitcoin and 3D printing technology. ARK’s funds are largely structured as ETFs, meaning they are accessible through stock markets.
Who is Cathie Wood?
Wood founded the company in 2014. Its website states the name stands for “Active Research Knowledge”, though the devout Christian has stated elsewhere the firm was also named after the biblical Ark of the Covenant.
She previously worked for more than 30 years in US financial services as an economist and professional investor, including more than a decade as chief investment officer at AllianceBernstein.
In addition to attracting attention for her outsized bets on new technologies, she has hit the headlines for speaking openly about her faith as a Christian as well as her vocal support for former US president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Wood said: “As more investors around the world are gaining access to ETFs via the growth of digital platforms, we are excited that this partnership will enable us to introduce some of our best ideas and original strategies at ARK Invest Europe to eToro’s 38 million retail investors.”
What are ARK’s ETFs invested in?
Though it also offers two passive index funds as well as a venture capital strategy, the company’s main product line-up consists of six thematic actively managed ETFs:
- ARK Innovation (ARKK)
- ARK Fintech Innovation (ARKF)
- ARK Autonomous Tech. & Robotics (ARKQ)
- ARK Next Generation Internet (ARKW)
- ARK Genomic Revolution (ARKG)
- ARK Space Exploration & Innovation (ARCX)
The firm’s flagship product is the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which runs around $5.6 billion as of 2 October, accounting for the bulk of the firm’s holdings.
The fund invests in a combination of the themes the firm’s smaller ETFs invest in, such as intelligent devices, neural networks, precision therapies and digital assets.
Its top three holdings are electric vehicle maker Tesla, streaming technology company Roku and cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase.
Robin has more than six years of experience as a financial journalist, most of which were spent at Citywire, and covers the latest developments in the investing, trading and currency transfer space. Outside of work, he enjoys reading literature and philosophy and playing the piano.
You can contact Robin at robin@goodmoneyguide.com
