Key Points
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Investor Cathie Wood focuses on “disruptive innovation.” Think electric vehicles, cryptocurrency and AI.
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ARK Innovation ETF is up 32.69% in the last year.
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Wood’s conviction portfolio lives and dies by a handful of disruptive leaders. If their innovations play out, the upside could be dramatic; if they stumble, the fund’s returns will follow suit.
Cathie Wood’s name has become synonymous with “disruptive innovation.” She spent 18 years at Jennison Associates and later ran global thematic strategies at AllianceBernstein before striking out on her own. Wood launched ARK Invest in 2014 so that everyday investors could ride transformational trends.
Wood looks across traditional sector lines to spot technologies changing how the world works: artificial intelligence, genomic medicine, next-gen cloud, and digital wallets. She believes these industries and the leading companies of each will redesign the global economy.
Her flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) distills that vision into a single, actively managed portfolio. The fund aims for long-term growth by holding 30-50 names tied to disruptive tech. ARKK favors companies with visionary leaders, strong intellectual property, and large, fast-growing addressable markets. Analysts build five-year models and only invest when they believe a name could compound at a 15% annual rate or better.
The fund had $6.97 billion in assets under management, as of Jan. 7. It has a one-year return of 32.69% and an expense ratio of 0.75%. Its top three holdings account for $3.14 billion, nearly half of its assets under management.
#3 Holding: Roku Inc.
The streaming pioneer serves about 90 million households and earns revenue from devices, advertising, and its growing Roku Channel. Roku is a beneficiary of the cord-cutting shift and connected TV ad boom. ARKK’s stake is 7.35 million shares (value: $736.14 million). That accounts for 4.39% of Wood’s portfolio.
#2 Holding: Coinbase Global Inc.
Coinbase is the largest U.S.-regulated crypto exchange, with Q3 2025 revenue of $1.9 billion. The company has benefitted from friendlier regulation under the Trump administration. Wood currently holds 2.40 million shares valued at $808.47 million — representing 4.82% of ARKK.
#1 Holding: Tesla Inc.
Tesla is the well-known electric vehicle manufacturer, but is pivoting aggressively towards AI and robotics, with Elon Musk promising an enormous robot army that can do people’s chores. The company is also competing in the robotaxi market. Though Tesla has lost some of its luster, it’s still viewed by Wood as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity over time.
She increased her position by 16.64% in the third quarter and now holds 3.59 million shares, with a value of $1.6 billion. That huge position makes up 9.53% of the overall portfolio.
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