Cathie Wood is considered one of Wall Street’s boldest investors, known for her bets on Tesla and Bitcoin. Here’s why many follow her investment advice.
Who is Cathie Wood and why do many follow her investment advice? Cathie Wood is one of the most influential and controversial figures in the contemporary financial world. With her investment company ARK Invest, managing a portfolio of over 60 billion dollars, she has quickly earned fame as one of the greatest investors in the financial landscape, capable of achieving a average annual return of 45% over the last 5 years.
Who is Cathie Wood
Catherine Duddy Wood was born on November 26, 1955, in Los Angeles, California. A devout Catholic and the daughter of Irish immigrants, with a father who was a radar systems engineer, she has always had a deep connection with technology and its potential social transformation.
Graduated with honors in Economics and Finance from the University of Southern California, she had the opportunity to study under the guidance of Art Laffer, the economist famous for the Laffer Curve, a theory related to tax rates and tax revenue.
His connection with technology has consolidated over time, culminating in the founding of ARK Invest in 2014. His innovative approach and ability to predict the extraordinary performance of Tesla well before its mainstream success made her a prominent figure on Wall Street.
Wall Street career
Wood’s career on Wall Street began at Capital Group and later at Jenniston Associates, where she began to build her reputation as a thoughtful and bold investor.
In 2001, she joined the Alliance Bernstein, where her career went through a critical phase during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008 when the assets she managed underperformed the market average.
The reason for this is its preference for investing in growth companies over value companies, generating high volatility and risk. This strategy, although successful in periods of economic growth, can generate negative returns during recessions.
What is ARK Invest
Founding ARK Invest in 2014 marked a turning point in Cathie Wood’s career. The company stands out for its unique strategy based on disruptive innovation and investing in companies with the potential to change the world. The name “Ark” is inspired by Judeo-Christian mythology and the acronym of “Active Research Knowledge”. Its unique approach, based on investing in disruptive companies, has led to the launch of several thematic ETFs, gaining a position among the leading ETF issuers on the exchange in 2021.
ARK Invest manages ETFs that actively invest in sectors such as technological innovation, genomics revolution, next-generation internet, autonomous technology, and robotics
Wood’s investment style
Today, Cathie Wood has full autonomy in defining her vision to invest in disruptive, growth companies that will shape the future. His preference for cryptocurrencies, and in particular Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, the human genome, robotics, 3D printing and even space exploration reflects his futuristic perspective.
While her style may seem risky, Wood points out that it is broadly similar to that of Warren Buffett, except that she focuses on valuable companies of tomorrow, while Buffett looks for companies of current value.
The investment choices of Mama Cathie - as she is called by her fans - cover a five-year time horizon.
Cathie Wood’s wallet
Cathie Wood’s portfolio is broad and reflects the diversity of ARK Invest’s strategies. Among the investment solutions offered, there are thematic ETFs covering disruptive innovation, next-generation internet, genomics revolution, autonomous technology and robotics, mobility as a service, space exploration, fintech innovation, 3D printing, innovation from Israel, and cryptocurrencies.
The latest bets from ARK Invest
Recently, ARK Invest has expanded its ETF lineup with the launch of a fintech fund in 2019 and a space exploration ETF in 2021. During the global pandemic crisis, the ARK Disruptive Innovation ETF posted gains of 152%, with a portfolio under management of more than $17 billion.
Conclusion
Cathie Wood has redefined the approach to investing, embracing risk to identify the companies that will shape the future. Her stock-picking skill and innovative vision have made her a central figure in contemporary financial debates. As the financial community continues to follow her investment advice, Wood demonstrates that sometimes to achieve extraordinary gains, you need to look beyond the present and focus on the opportunities of the future.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-12-03 08:41:00. Original title: Chi è Cathie Wood e perché molti seguono i suoi consigli di investimento
