(Bloomberg) -- Ark Investment Management is “going through soul-searching” as its growth-focused funds fall out of favor amid expectations of tighter Federal Reserve policy, said founder Cathie Wood.
The $17.8 billion ARK Innovation ETF has tumbled more than 20% this year, with several of its top holdings like electric-vehicle giant Tesla Inc. and video-streaming platform Roku Inc. down from their peaks. During the same period, the S&P 500 Index climbed about 24%.
“I’ve never been in a market that is up -- has appreciated -- and our strategies are down,” Wood said in a Thursday interview with Bloomberg Television. “That has never happened before.”
Wood says her funds are sticking to their plans even after the rough stretch, and that their models forecast big returns in the next half decade.
“Our strategy is our strategy,” she said. “The opportunity in our strategy is huge right now. We expect a compound annual rate of return of roughly over 40% over the next five years.”
“When we go through a period like this, of course we are going through soul-searching, saying ‘are we missing something?’” she said, adding that in response, Ark has doubled down on its research and modeling.
Wood noted that the companies she invests in are aggressively investing in the future. While those stocks may have high multiples now, Ark is assuming that those valuations are going to compress in the longer term.