Investment Process | ARK Investment Management

ARK’s Investment Process

Top-Down Research

To define the investment universe, ARK’s investment process initially examines how the world is changing and where it is headed.

Ideation

Identify Disruptive Innovation

Sizing The Opportunity

Define The Potential Universe

Bottom-Up Research

To refine the investment opportunity, ARK’s bottom-up analysis evaluates potential investments based on our defined key metrics.

Stock Selection And Valuation

Select Portfolio Companies

Portfolio And Risk Management

Monitor Conviction & Market Volatility

Top-Down: Ideation

ARK’s research and investment team initially examines from the top-down how the world is changing and where it is headed. To understand quickly changing innovation themes, ARK employs an open research ecosystem to gather information, both helping to define and refine its internal research process. Inputs include theme developers who are thought leaders in their fields, social media interactions, and crowd-sourced insights as people respond to ARK’s public research.

ARK’s Open Research Ecosystem

ark open ecosystem, ark research ecosystem, investment process

Analysts
Theme Developers
Portfolio Managers

Research Model Example

Top-Down: Sizing The Opportunity

As a result of extensive and iterative research steps, ARK anticipates and quantifies multi-year value-chain transformations and market opportunities. ARK models cost-curves and calculates elasticity of demand to identify entry points for technology enabled disruption. Through this process, specific companies percolate to the top as best positioned to benefit, at which point we begin our bottom-up process.

Bottom-Up: Stock Selection And Valuation

ARK’s bottom-up analysis begins with a distilled group of potential investments, not a benchmark. ARK evaluates potential investments based on key metrics to quantify the companies in context of the opportunity. This includes building out a valuation and revenue model for each company in the portfolio over the next five years. These models incorporate the company’s unit volume growth, cost declines, market adoption and penetration, share count growth, and future multiples. Finally, as the CIO and Portfolio Manager, Cathie Wood has the final accountability for the selection of investments and approval for all investment decisions.

Investment Briefs
Company Scores
Five Year Valuation Models

Portfolio Tracker

For informational purposes only.

Bottom-Up: Portfolio and Risk Management

ARK monitors the underlying investment thesis of every company during weekly portfolio and research meetings. Generally, ARK will trim or add to positions to, among other things: (i) take advantage of opportunities created by short-term negative market actions or market sentiment; (ii) provide liquidity to invest in companies in which ARK has relatively more confidence; or (iii) fund names that ARK believes offer relatively more market opportunity relative to current price. ARK may sell a company if our investment thesis has changed, ARK’s metrics don’t support a certain position size, or we believe a company is no longer on the leading edge of innovation.

ARK’s Investment Process Is Powered By An Open Research Ecosystem

ARK’s Investment Team is led by Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer, Cathie Wood, who has ultimate responsibility for investment decisions. Cathie is supported by Brett Winton, ARK’s Director of Research. Brett has worked alongside Cathie for almost 15 years and is responsible for managing ARK’s analyst team and research process. ARK’s analysts are set up by cross sector innovation themes, rather than sectors or geographies. Analysts collaborate within particular themes, as well as across themes in order to capitalize on technological convergence.

ARK Incorporates Sustainability Intrinsically

ARK believes that our sole focus on innovation intrinsically identifies companies that will contribute positively to the future. All members of ARK’s research and investment team are involved in the effort of integrating environmental, social, and governance issues into our investment process.

ARK’s investment philosophy and process inherently considers ESG principles that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). Innovation can spur economic growth for all, reduce inequality, improve ways of doing business, and protect our environment.

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Top-Down and Bottom-Up Research To Capture Innovation Early