Cathie Wood, the chief of Ark Investment Management, is renowned for her support of disruptive tech companies. However, she recently decided to reduce her investment in Tesla, one of her highest-conviction stocks. This move came after Tesla’s stock price declined by approximately 6.23% over the past month and is down over 9% year-to-date.
In 2025, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF delivered an impressive return of 35.49%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% during the same period. But in the current year, the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) has experienced a decline of 2.85%, while the S&P 500 has surged by 8.56%, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
Wood gained widespread recognition after the Ark Innovation ETF achieved a remarkable 153% return in 2020. However, her investment style has also led to significant losses during bearish markets, such as in 2022 when the Ark Innovation ETF plummeted by more than 60%.
These fluctuations have impacted Wood’s long-term gains, with the Ark Innovation ETF delivering a five-year annualized return of -8.06%, compared to the S&P 500’s annualized return of 11.84% over the same period, as reported by Morningstar.
Wood is known for focusing on high-tech companies involved in artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these sectors hold substantial growth potential, despite the volatility that often affects Ark’s funds.
According to Morningstar analyst Bella Albrecht, two of Wood’s Ark funds were among the worst-performing ETFs in the first quarter of 2026, with the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) ranking second and the ARK Innovation ETF ranking fifth.
Wood recently expressed her anticipation of a rate cut, stating that she believes interest rates, particularly mortgage rates, need to decrease. She emphasized that if inflation decreases as productivity increases, the Federal Reserve may decide to cut rates.
In a Bloomberg podcast in March, Wood shared her perspective on the global economy, predicting a “great acceleration” driven by AI and other breakthrough technologies rather than a downturn similar to the Great Depression. She highlighted the deflationary nature of these technologies and the significant cost reductions associated with AI training and inference.
Despite some investors’ skepticism, Wood remains optimistic about Tesla’s future, particularly regarding its autonomous driving ambitions and robotaxi projects. She previously forecasted Tesla’s stock reaching $2,600 by 2030, with a significant portion of the company’s value derived from its robotaxi platform.
As of June 12, 2026, the top 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF included Tesla Inc., Tempus AI Inc., Robinhood Markets Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Shopify Inc., Roku Inc., Coinbase Global Inc., Circle Internet Group Inc., and Twist Bioscience Corp.
Wood’s recent trading activity involved trimming positions in companies such as Tesla, Advanced Micro Devices, Rocket Lab, Roku, and Baidu, while also purchasing shares of SpaceX. This decision to sell Tesla stock was likely a profit-taking move, as Tesla remains a key holding in both the Ark Innovation ETF and the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF.
The original content was published by TheStreet on June 13, 2026, in the Investing section.
