Ark Invest’s Innovation ETF reported a $3.5 billion loss for the fiscal year ending in July 2024, contributing to a total accumulated loss of $22 billion across all of Ark’s ETFs. According to its annual report, Ark’s eight innovation and disruption-focused ETFs have been struggling, with the flagship Innovation ETF down 9% year-to-date and 70% below its all-time high.
The losses come as speculative growth stocks, a major focus for Ark, have been hit hard in recent years. The decline followed the bursting of speculative bubbles in 2021, as rising inflation and interest rates pushed investors away from high-risk, unprofitable companies that Ark had heavily invested in.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this year, Cathie Wood, Ark’s CEO, remarked that trading losses could be helpful in offsetting future taxes, suggesting a silver lining to the challenging period.
Here are some of the biggest realized losses from Ark Invest’s Innovation ETF for the year ending July 2024:
Teladoc Health: $1.5 billion loss
Ginkgo Bioworks: $510.3 million loss
Roku: $467.3 million loss
Invitae: $453.4 million loss (delisted due to bankruptcy)
UiPath: $270.9 million loss
2U: $195.4 million loss (delisted due to bankruptcy)
Twist Bioscience: $50 million loss
Beam Therapeutics: $47.3 million loss
PagerDuty: $10 million loss
Veracyte: $6.8 million loss
These heavy losses reflect the difficulties Ark’s investments in disruptive and speculative growth companies have faced, particularly during the economic headwinds of recent years.
