Cathie Wood, the head of Ark Investment Management, is known for her focus on early-stage technology companies and high-growth innovators. Despite a reputation for significant volatility in her Ark ETFs, Wood occasionally shifts investments into the megacap tech sector when she identifies compelling value opportunities. A notable recent example occurred during the Thanksgiving week, where Wood’s investment vehicles accumulated approximately $56 million in purchases, representing one of her larger recent acquisitions. Wood’s strategy has generated considerable buzz, particularly after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a remarkable 153% return in 2020. As of November 28, 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) has shown substantial gains, up roughly 38% year-to-date, outpacing the S&P 500’s 16.45% increase. However, Wood’s approach has also resulted in substantial losses during periods of market weakness, as vividly demonstrated in 2022 when the fund experienced a decline exceeding 60%. These periods of volatility have demonstrably impacted long-term returns.
As of November 26, 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -6.18%, comparatively lower than the S&P 500’s annualized return of 15.28% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar. This disparity highlights the inherent risks associated with Wood’s concentrated, forward-looking investment style. Further illustrating this dynamic, an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott revealed that the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out approximately $7 billion in investor wealth between 2014 and 2024, solidifying its position as the third-largest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking.
In October 2025, Wood signaled her expectations for a market “shudder” as interest rates began their rise. She maintained a firm belief in the potential of artificial intelligence, directly addressing concerns regarding inflated valuations within the tech sector. "I do not believe AI is in a bubble," Wood stated in a CNBC interview, emphasizing that the transformation of large corporations to capitalize on the productivity gains expected from AI would take time. Her conviction reflected a view of AI’s long-term potential within the enterprise market.
Despite disagreements with Wood’s assessment, a significant purchase was made. On November 25, 2025, Ark funds acquired 174,293 shares of Alphabet (GOOG) Class C stock, valued at approximately $55.77 million. This purchase occurred alongside a report suggesting that Alphabet was considering selling AI chips to Meta Platforms (META). Throughout the year, Wood had been gradually increasing her stake in Google, acquiring 210,430 shares, with the majority of the buying occurring in the third quarter. Alphabet is not currently a top ten holding within the Ark Innovation ETF. As of November 28, 2025, the top 10 holdings within the Ark Innovation ETF include Tesla (TSLA) at 12.12%, Tempus AI (TEM) at 5.51%, Coinbase (COIN) at 5.48%, Roku (ROKU) at 5.43%, Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP) at 5.31%, Shopify (SHOP) at 5.02%, Robinhood (HOOD) at 4.60%, Roblox (RBLX) at 3.80%, Palantir (PLTR) at 3.48%, and AMD (AMD) at 3.43%.
Meanwhile, a significant development was emerging with Meta’s potential to purchase billions of dollars of Google’s chips, initially aimed at starting as early as 2027. Reuters reported that Meta was exploring the acquisition of Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs), positioning itself as a direct competitor to Nvidia in the data center processor market. This move would likely reduce Google’s reliance on expensive Nvidia chips. Citi analyst Atif Malik assessed this development, noting “Hyperscalers Microsoft and Meta remain reliant on Nvidia platforms (and, selectively, AMD), as their own custom programs like MTIA and Maia appear to be encountering delays.” A rising Alphabet share price of 1.53% was observed on November 25th, but the stock experienced declines on November 26th (1%) and November 28th (0.05%). As of November 28, 2025, Alphabet stock has gained approximately 69% year-to-date. TheStreet originally published this story on November 30, 2025, within its Investing section, making it a preferred source for investors.