{{short description|American investor and businesswoman}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Use American English|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Cathie Wood | image = Cathie Wood ARK Invest Photo.jpg | caption = Wood in 2020 | birth_name = Catherine Duddy | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1955}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = CEO of Ark Invest | spouse = Robert Wood (divorced) | children = 3 | education = University of Southern California (BS) }} '''Catherine Duddy Wood''' (born 1955)<ref name=godswork /> is an American investor and cofounder, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ark Invest, an investment management firm.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Tesla, Bitcoin Bull Cathie Wood Targets 20% ETF Returns |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-18/cathie-wood-sees-control-fight-ending-lifting-cloud-over-ark | first=Erik | last=Schatzker | work=Bloomberg News | date=December 18, 2020 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=neverheard>{{Cite news | title=Cathie Wood, the Best Investor You've Never Heard Of |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-18/cathie-wood-s-tesla-bet-puts-ark-invest-in-spotlight | work=Bloomberg News | last=Winkler | first=Matthew A. | author-link=Matthew Winkler (journalist) | date=February 18, 2020 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last1=Ballentine | first1=Claire | last2=Greifeld | first2=Katherine | date=December 11, 2020 | title=Cathie Wood Takes Crown From JPMorgan for Largest Active ETF | work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/cathie-wood-takes-crown-from-jpmorgan-for-largest-active-etf | url-status=live | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128105905/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/cathie-wood-takes-crown-from-jpmorgan-for-largest-active-etf | archive-date=2021-01-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last=Fitzgerald | first=Maggie | date=December 23, 2020 | title=Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation becomes largest actively managed ETF, amid 170% 2020 return | work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/ark-innovation-becomes-largest-actively-managed-etf-as-innovation-hits-escape-velocit.html | archive-date=19 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119123217/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/ark-innovation-becomes-largest-actively-managed-etf-as-innovation-hits-escape-velocit.html | url-status=live}}</ref>
Her flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) has received accolades for its performance in 2017, 2020 and 2023, but is also considered by Morningstar to be the third highest "wealth destroyer" investment fund from 2014–2023, losing US$7.1 billion of shareholder value in ten years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-02 |title=15 Funds That Have Destroyed the Most Wealth Over the Past Decade |url=https://www.morningstar.com/funds/15-funds-that-have-destroyed-most-wealth-over-past-decade |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Morningstar, Inc. |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Wood was born in Los Angeles, the eldest child of Gerald and Mary Duddy, immigrants from Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Maggie |date=2022-03-29 |title=Cathie Wood has been a magnet for criticism. She blames her contrarian views, not her gender |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/29/cathie-wood-says-her-contrarian-views-set-her-apart-not-her-gender.html |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> Wood's father served in the Irish Army and the United States Air Force as a radar systems engineer.<ref name=doneyet>{{Cite news | last=Liu | first=Evie | title=ARK's Cathie Wood Disrupted Investment Management. She's Not Done Yet. |url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/arks-cathie-wood-disrupted-investment-management-shes-not-done-yet-51614992508 | work=Barron's | date=March 8, 2021 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1974, Wood graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles, an all-girls Catholic high school.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Secret Sauce Behind ARK's Success Is Cathie Wood's Diverse Team |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-26/secret-sauce-behind-ark-success-is-cathie-wood-s-diverse-team | first=Claire | last=Ballentine | work=Bloomberg News | date=September 26, 2020}}</ref><ref name=duddy>{{Cite web | title=Duddy Innovation Institute – Duddy Innovation Institute – Notre Dame Academy | url=https://academy.ndasla.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1452845&type=d&pREC_ID=1612162 | publisher=Notre Dame Academy | access-date=March 7, 2021 | archive-date=April 16, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416113429/https://academy.ndasla.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1452845&type=d&pREC_ID=1612162 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1981, Wood graduated ''summa cum laude'' from the University of Southern California, with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and economics.<ref name=neverheard/> One of Wood's professors was economist Arthur Laffer, advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, who became Wood's mentor.<ref name=doneyet/><ref name=forbesprofile>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/cathie-wood/ | title=Forbes profile: Cathie Wood | work=Forbes}}</ref>
==Career== In 1977, via her mentor Arthur Laffer, Wood got a job as an assistant economist at Capital Group, where she worked for three years.<ref name=doneyet/> In 1980, she moved to New York City to take a job at Jennison Associates as chief economist, analyst, portfolio manager and managing director. She worked there for 18 years. In the early 1980s, she debated economist Henry Kaufman on why she believed interest rates had peaked.<ref name=doneyet/>
In 1998, along with Lulu C. Wang, Wood co-founded Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund based in New York City.<ref name=doneyet/>
In 2001, she joined AllianceBernstein as CIO of global thematic strategies, where she worked for 12 years, managing $5 billion. She was criticized for performing worse than the overall market during the 2008 financial crisis.<ref name=doneyet/><ref name=neverheard/><ref>{{Cite news | last=Cuccinello | first=Hayley C. | website=Forbes | date=October 13, 2020 | title='Go For It': America's Richest Self-Made Women On Founding Businesses After 40 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/10/13/american-self-made-women-founders-over-40/ | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221145426/https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/10/13/american-self-made-women-founders-over-40/ |archive-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
=== ARK Invest === In 2014, after her idea for actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on disruptive innovation was deemed too risky by AllianceBernstein, Wood left the company and founded ARK Invest.<ref name=doneyet/><ref name=neverheard/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/cathie-wood-s-ark-gives-richard-branson-a-300-million-boost | last=Stupples | first=Ben | date=January 14, 2021 | title=Cathie Wood's ARK Gives Richard Branson a $300 Million Boost | work=Bloomberg News | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last1=Potter | first1=Sam | last2=Ballentine | first2=Claire | date=January 14, 2021 | title=Cathie Wood's Vision for Space ETF Sends Industry Soaring | work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/cathie-wood-s-vision-for-space-etf-sends-whole-industry-soaring | url-status=live | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128100912/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/cathie-wood-s-vision-for-space-etf-sends-whole-industry-soaring | archive-date=2021-01-28}}</ref> The company is named after the Ark of the Covenant; Wood was reading the One-Year Bible at the time.<ref name=meetark>{{Cite news |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3123779/cathie-wood-religious-reddit-hit-trump-supporter-meet-ark | title=Cathie Wood: religious, Reddit hit, Trump supporter? Meet Ark Invest's rock star stock picker who even has her own merchandise | first=Dorothy | last=So | work=South China Morning Post | date=March 3, 2021}}</ref> ARK's first four ETFs were seeded with capital from Bill Hwang of Archegos Capital.<ref>{{Cite news | date=May 7, 2021 | title=ARK Invest CEO Wood says Bill Hwang provided seed capital for first 4 ETFs- CNBC | work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ark-invest-cathie-wood-bill-hwang/ark-invest-ceo-wood-says-bill-hwang-provided-seed-capital-for-first-4-etfs-cnbc-idUSFWN2MU2PD}}</ref>
Her funds have had mixed results over the years, and have been called rollercoaster rides.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weil |first=Dan |date=February 8, 2024 |title=Data shows Cathie Wood's Ark is one of the worst funds - TheStreet |url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/why-cathie-woods-ark-is-one-of-the-worst-fund-groups-in-america |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=TheStreet |language=en-us}}</ref> For the 10 years ending on December 31, 2023, Morningstar ranked ARK Invest Funds as the worst "wealth destroyer" family of funds, based on the "decline in assets in dollar terms, after excluding inflows or outflows."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGee |first=Suzanne |date=February 6, 2024 |title=Ark Investments tops Morningstar list of 'wealth-destroying ETF issuers -report |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ark-investments-tops-morningstar-list-wealth-destroying-etf-issuers-report-2024-02-05/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref>
In 2020, her flagship ARK Innovation (ARKK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was the top-performing global equity fund with at least $1 billion of assets,<ref name="neverheard" /> and Wood was subsequently named the best stock picker of 2020 by Bloomberg News editor-in-chief emeritus Matthew A. Winkler.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Winkler |first=Matthew A. |author-link=Matthew Winkler (journalist) |date=December 31, 2020 |title=The Best Stock Picker of 2020 Wins With Disruptive DNA |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-31/ark-s-cathie-wood-bets-on-dna-innovators |url-access=subscription |work=Bloomberg News}}</ref> In 2023, ARKK was the top-performing actively traded U.S. diversified ETF.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Krantz |first=Matt |date=2023-12-28 |title=Cathie Wood Rises To The Top Again — If You Ignore This Fact |url=https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/etfs/sp500-cathie-wood-rises-to-the-top-again-if-you-ignore-this-fact/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Investor's Business Daily |language=en-US}}</ref> However, ARKK fell 24% in 2021 and, in the first quarter of 2022, it was the worst performer among equity funds covered by Morningstar, Inc.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Semenova |first=Alexandra |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Cathie Wood's ARKK is worst-performing US equity fund in Q1 2022: Morningstar |url=https://news.yahoo.com/cathie-woods-arkk-is-worst-performing-us-equity-fund-in-q-1-2022-morningstar-185220557.html |work=Yahoo! Finance}}</ref> For the 10 years ended December 31, 2023, it generated a 122% return, less than half of the Nasdaq-100's 330% return.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Matthew |title=Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has destroyed $14 billion in wealth over the past decade, Morningstar says |url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/funds/cathie-wood-ark-invest-wealth-destroyed-tech-stocks-morningstar-arkk-2024-2 |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=Markets Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>
In late June and July 2025, Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment sold $47.9 million worth of Coinbase shares (137,075 shares) after the stock surged 37% in the preceding month, buoyed by optimism around crypto regulation and new product launches. Despite the sale, Coinbase remains the second-largest holding in Ark’s flagship Innovation ETF, accounting for 8.4% of the portfolio. Ark’s funds rebounded in 2025, with ARKK up 23.4% through Q3, far outpacing the S&P 500's 6.8% gain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Silin |date=2025-07-07 |title=Cathie Wood sells $47.9 million of surging crypto stock |url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cathie-wood-sells-47-9-million-of-surging-crypto-stock |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=TheStreet |language=en-us}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== Wood was selected for the inaugural 2021 ''Forbes'' 50 Over 50; made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators who are over the age of 50.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gross |first1=Elana Lyn |last2=Voytko |first2=Lisette |last3=McGrath |first3=Maggie |date=2021-06-02 |title=The New Golden Age |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/cathie-wood/?sh=5481c8257360 |access-date=2021-06-02 |work=Forbes}}</ref>
==Personal life== Wood lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.<ref name=wfla>{{Cite news | title=Investor and innovator, Cathie Wood, moves headquarters from New York to St. Pete | url=https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/investor-and-innovator-cathie-wood-moves-headquarters-from-new-york-to-st-pete/ | date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> She was divorced from Robert Wood, who died in 2018. She has three children.<ref name="godswork">{{Cite news | title=Cathie Wood: a tech investor doing God's work | work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4df2b4cf-2ffe-4db5-9594-47e05e1e2240 | date=March 12, 2021 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stamfordadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=robert-wood&pid=190805378&fhid=29310 | title=Robert Wood | publisher=Legacy.com}}</ref><ref name="day">{{cite news |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ark-invest-cathie-wood-typical-day-142448727.html | title=A typical day for ARK Invest's star stock picker Cathie Wood | first=Jen | last=Rogers | work=Yahoo! Finance | date=February 6, 2021}}</ref>
Wood is a devout Christian.<ref name="godswork" /> During the 2020 election, she warned that Joe Biden's plan of taxation and regulation would stifle innovation.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Tesla bull warns Biden presidency could stifle innovation |url=https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/tesla-bull-warns-biden-presidency-could-stifle-innovation-20201008-p56337 | first=William | last=McInnes | work=Australian Financial Review | date=October 8, 2020}}</ref> In 2018, she donated funds to her high school to start the Duddy Innovation Institute, which encourages girls to study disruptive innovation.<ref name="duddy" /> Wood is a proponent of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Yun |date=2024-01-11 |title=Cathie Wood says bitcoin ETF approval makes her $1.5 million bull case more likely |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/cathie-wood-says-bitcoin-etf-approval-makes-her-1point5-million-bull-case-more-likely.html |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ge Huang |first=Vicky |date=November 15, 2023 |title=Cathie Wood Has a Message for Investors: You're Worried About the Wrong Thing |url=https://www.wsj.com/finance/cathie-wood-urges-investors-to-heed-the-risks-of-a-deflationary-world-465e3d2c |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> and has an allocation of 25% of her net worth in bitcoin as of 2024.<ref>{{Citation |title=Ark Invest's Cathie Wood On Bitcoin ETF & Crypto Investing | date=January 10, 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2kICRajgFM |access-date=2024-01-12 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Cathie}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:American money managers Category:American women chief executives Category:Chief investment officers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Catholics from California Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American businesswomen Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:21st-century American businesswomen Category:People associated with Bitcoin