Cathie Wood
CEO, Ark Investment Management LLC
Ark’s exchange-traded funds almost tripled their assets thanks to Wood’s success investing in tech companies.
Ninety-eight percent of ETF managers buy an index of stocks or bonds, but Wood takes a more active approach, picking industry disrupters and raising or lowering her stakes every day. The strategy is working. Two of her six funds are among the 10 best-performing ETFs of the year, out of more than 1,800. Her largest technology fund has returned 16 percent, and another that focuses on DNA technology has gained 18 percent. That’s attracted investor cash, bringing ETF assets to $2.3 billion, up from $843 million at the end of 2017. (Overall, Ark-managed assets are up to more than $6.4 billion as of late November, from $3.2 billion last year.) Wood’s top picks this year include Invitae Corp., a genetic testing company that doubled its stock price, and the cancer research company Juno Therapeutics Inc., for which Celgene Corp. paid $9 billion. —Rachel Evans
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-bloomberg-50/#cathie-wood
