ARK Investment Management just celebrated its three-year anniversary of its suite of actively managed ETFs, helping investors access disruptive innovations and new technologies in a quickly developing world.
ARK first launched the ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (NYSEArca: ARKQ) and the ARK Web x.0 ETF (NYSEArca: ARKW). The two ETFs debuted in September 2014 and were followed by the ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector Fund (NYSEArca: ARKG) and the ARK Innovation Fund (NYSEArca: ARKK) in October 2014.
ARKK and ARKW have also been standout performers this year, returning 81.8% and 80.4%, respectively, year-to-date as growth-oriented technology names leads the current equity market rally.
ARK’s actively managed ETFs, which have outperformed the broader markets since inception, try to generate long-term capital appreciation and outperformance with a relatively low correlation to traditional investment strategies by investing exclusively in disruptive innovation – companies that rely on or benefit from the development of new products or services, technological improvements and advancements in scientific research relating to the Genomic Revolution, so-called Web x.0 and Industrial Innovation.
“Our research ecosystem is designed specifically to capitalize on rapid change through an open approach and the convergence of insights,” Brett Winton, ARK’s Director of Research, said in a note. “A combination of top-down and bottom-up research allows us to identify disruptive innovation early. We then size the opportunity of the innovation, and detect and rank companies best positioned to benefit.”