World Stock Watch

Investment Giant Ark Invest Takes a Hit: $22 Billion in Losses Revealed

The investment landscape has been unforgiving, and Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has felt the pinch. The company’s latest annual report reveals a staggering $22 billion in accumulated losses across its suite of eight innovation and disruption-focused ETFs.

A Steep Slide for Ark’s Flagship ETF

The Ark Innovation ETF, the crown jewel of Ark Invest’s offerings, took a particularly hard hit, with losses totaling $3.5 billion from July 31, 2023, to July 31, 2024. This marks a significant downturn for the ETF, which is currently down 9% year-to-date and a whopping 70% from its record high.

Cathie Wood’s Unconventional Take on Losses

In a now-deleted X post, Cathie Wood offered an interesting perspective on these losses. She argued that trading losses can be a valuable asset, as they can offset future taxes. “Our trading-related capital tax losses should offset trading-related capital tax gains for years, an under-appreciated asset associated with our strategies,” Wood stated.

The Perfect Storm: Speculative Stocks and Market Volatility

The past few years have been brutal for speculative growth stocks, which are Ark Invest’s bread and butter. The deflation of the speculative trade in 2021, coupled with high inflation and rising interest rates, has led to a mass exodus of investors from these types of companies.

The Biggest Losers: Ark Invest’s Flagship ETF

So, which stocks in Ark Invest’s flagship ETF took the biggest hit? Here are the top 10 realized losses for the fiscal year ending July 31:

• 10. Veracyte (VCYT): $6.8 million
• 9. PagerDuty (PD): $10.0 million
• 8. Beam Therapeutics (BEAM): $47.3 million
• 7. Twist Bioscience (TWST): $50.0 million
• 6. 2U (Delisted due to bankruptcy): $195.4 million
• 5. UiPath (PATH): $270.9 million
• 4. Invitae (Delisted due to bankruptcy): $453.4 million
• 3. Roku (ROKU): $467.3 million
• 2. Ginkgo Bioworks (DNAA): $510.3 million
• 1. Teladoc Health (TDOC): $1.50 billion