Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, likes to make bold bets, even when the stocks she picks are down for a while. 

That’s what she just did, buying a stock that’s down more than 30% year to date.

Wood often views sharp pullbacks as buying opportunities. Sometimes she’s right. Last year, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period.

Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%.

As of March 7, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) was down roughly 7% year to date, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, as pressure mounted on growth-focused tech stocks.

Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of March 7, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -9%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 13.54% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF is down 7% this year, lagging behind the S&P 500.

Cathie Wood repeatedly rejects “AI bubble” 

Getty Images Wood focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She thinks these businesses have great growth potential, though their volatility often brings fluctuations to the Ark’s funds.

From 2014 to 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the third-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking. The analyst hasn’t updated the 2025 ranking.

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In a letter published in January, Wood says the U.S. economy is storing up energy for a sharp rebound in 2026.

“Despite sustained real gross domestic product growth during the past three years, the underlying U.S. economy has suffered a rolling recession and has evolved into a coiled spring that could bounce back powerfully during the next few years,” Wood wrote.

Wood also rejects the “AI bubble” talk again, saying it “is years away” and “the most powerful capital spending cycle in history” is coming.

“What once was the cap in spending seems to have become a floor now that the AI, robotics, energy storage, blockchain technology, and multiomics sequencing platforms are ready for prime time,” she said.

Not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. In the 12 months through March 5, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.2 billion in net outflows, according to ETF research firm VettaFi. 

Cathie Wood buys $27.5 million of Robinhood stock

On March 3, 5, and 6, Wood’s Ark funds bought a total of 356,459 shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), valued at about $27.5 million, Ark’s daily trade information shows. This was one of her largest recent purchases. 

​Robinhood is known for its commission-free trading platform for investors to buy and sell stocks, and also crypto. It generates revenue through payment for order flow (PFOF), interest earned on customer cash balances, margin lending, and subscription services. 

Related: Cathie Wood buys $7 million of popular AI stock

Robinhood’s stock performance is closely tied to bitcoin’s value. Cryptocurrency is a key part of Robinhood’s revenue, accounting for more than 17% of the total revenue in Q4.

Therefore, the pullback in bitcoin over the past several months has weighed on Robinhood’s revenue as well as its stock performance. Robinhood said in a February press release that the Q4 revenue was “partially offset by cryptocurrencies revenue,” which dropped 38%. 

Bitcoin price has nearly halved since hitting a record high of over $126,000 in October last year. 

Year to date, Robinhood stock is down 31%.

Wood made the recent Robinhood stock purchase after the U.S.-Iran war briefly pushed Bitcoin higher. The world’s largest cryptocurrency shortly recovered from weeks of slump and bolted above $70,000 midweek. But as of writing, its price dropped to $67,234.

In her January letter, Wood said Bitcoin is “a good source of diversification for asset allocators looking for higher returns per unit of risk during the years ahead.” She expects Bitcoin “to increase ~0.82% per year for the next two years, at which point its growth will decelerate to ~0.41% per year.”

However, Coindesk recently reported that Bitcoin is now “in deep bear market territory,” according to CK Zheng, founder of crypto investment firm ZX Squared Capital.

“We expect a further 30% price drop during 2026 as the Iran war started,” Zheng told CoinDesk.

Wood had a strong interest in Robinhood after it went public in 2021. However, she sold roughly 30 million Robinhood shares from Q1 2024 to Q4 2025, according to data from Stockcircle.

As of March 6, Robinhood is the sixth-largest holding of the Ark Innovation ETF, accounting for roughly 4.5%.

Top 10 holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF as of March 6, 2026:

  • Tesla (TSLA) 10.36%
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) 6.50%
  • Tempus AI (TEM) 5.13%
  • Shopify (SHOP) 4.98%
  • Coinbase Global (COIN) 4.74%
  • Robinhood Markets (HOOD) 4.51%
  • Circle Internet Group (CRCL) 4.46%
  • Roku (ROKU) 4.01%
  • Roblox (RBLX) 3.76%
  • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 3.68%

In February, Wood bought roughly 1.06 million shares of Robinhood. That month, the company reported mixed financial results.

On Feb. 10, Robinhood posted earnings of 66 cents a share, topping the 60-cent consensus estimate, but revenue came in at $1.28 billion, below Wall Street‘s expectations of $1.34 billion, according to data from Investing.com. Shares of Robinhood plunged 8.9% and 8.8% on Feb. 11 and 12, respectively.

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