In an effort to deliver more transparency to her cult following, Wall Street’s darling Cathie Wood has launched a new ETF that excludes major industries such as oil and gas, alcohol, banking, and gambling.
According to a company filing seen by Bloomberg, ARK’s Transparency ETF will closely mirror an index that shuts out the fossil fuel industry, alcohol, banking as well as gambling industries and will instead focus on tech and consumer companies, such as Apple, Chipotle, Microsoft, and Tesla— of course. “This is kind of Ark’s version of ESG,” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF expert Eric Balchunas said. “It’s intriguing because it doesn’t have a moralizing vibe to it, it’s like they’re saying if you go after transparency, you’re probably going to buy good companies.”
Once approved, the Transparency ETF will mark the second ETF that Wood has created since the beginning of 2021, and joins a list of eight other ETFs— two that passively track mirror indexes, and six that are actively handled. “An index-based ESG ETF doesn’t necessarily scream ‘disruptive innovation,’ which ARK has branded themselves around,” ETF Store president Nate Geraci told Bloomberg, adding that “It will be very interesting seeing how they approach marketing this ETF given the strategy seems at odds with companies such as Tesla and DraftKings, large core holdings in other ARK ETFs.”
ARK currently manages approximately $45 billion across its ETFs, and its flagship ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) has risen to $22.5 billion to date.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
