Cathie Wood buys coinbase, gets inflows

SAN FRANCISCO: After one of the most dramatic weeks yet for ARK Investment Management, Wall Street can no longer have any doubts: Cathie Wood is sticking with her strategy – and investors are sticking with her.

The chances of both have been questioned this year as a selloff in speculative tech stocks laid waste to her future-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFS).

Last Wednesday was a particular low point, with the flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ticker ARKK) slumping 10% in its third-worst drop on record.

One of the biggest drags that day was Coinbase Global Inc, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, which tumbled 26% after disappointing results and amid a rout of digital assets. But while the rest of Wall Street was ditching the stock, Wood and her team stuck to their playbook and used the drop to increase holdings, adding about 860,000 shares in the week through last Thursday.

In many eyes, it’s a system that risks loading up on losers. Hitched to a concentrated portfolio of often highly speculative bets, it leaves Wood and her firm with plenty of critics. But the clarity of the goal – chasing companies that can win big from major technological shifts – and ARK’S commitment to it has won some remarkably loyal fans.

“Cathie Wood has not wavered at all in her conviction in her strategy, and in fact has doubled down on her strategy,” said Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, an advisory firm. “That’s attractive to a certain segment of investors.”

As it plunged last Wednesday, ARKK actually posted inflows. It was a relatively small amount for the Us$7.8bil (Rm34.3bil) ETF – about Us$45mil (Rm197.9mil) – but net inflows in 2022 are more than Us$1.5bil (Rm6.6bil). That’s for a vehicle that has plunged as much as 61% this year.