Etoro launches a disruptive portfolio with Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest

Etoro has launched a new technology and innovation-focused portfolio in partnership with top US fund manager Ark Invest.

The ‘Ark-FutureFirst’ portfolio allows Etoro users to invest in companies that are “pioneering the disruptive technologies shaping our future,” according to the investment platform.

The portfolio will focus on innovative companies active in the technology, healthcare and sustainability sectors and that want to achieve high growth.

Ark Invest is run by Cathie Wood, whose company has delivered something of a rollercoaster of returns for investors in recent years.

She said: ‘We are excited to partner with Etoro to launch a new model portfolio around three key areas that we believe are primed for transformative growth: technology innovation, the sustainable revolution and healthcare disruption.

‘As more and more investors around the world gain access to ETFs through the growth of digital platforms, we are pleased that this partnership will allow us to bring some of our best ideas and original strategies at Ark Invest Europe to the 38 million private investors of Etoro.’

Etoro said the portfolio is fully invested and will be divided equally among seven of Ark’s exchange-traded funds.

The investments will cover ‘disruptive innovation’ including AI, robotics and public blockchains, healthcare and renewables, energy efficiency and sustainable food production.

According to Etoro, there are significant growth opportunities within these sectors, including ‘exponential’ growth in the disruptive innovation sector.

Gil Shapira, Chief Investment Officer at Etoro, said: “We are excited to partner with Ark Invest to bring this new portfolio to retail investors around the world. The Ark team has built a prestigious reputation for its original expertise in research and portfolio management.

“With the Ark-FutureFirst portfolio, Etoro users can pursue growth through truly long-term, cross-industry trends that are predicted to transform not only markets, but the world in the coming decades.”

Cathie Wood’s investment firm was launched in 2014 and its flagship fund Ark Innovation is up 23 per cent in the past year.

But it is down 11 percent this year and up only 12 percent over the past five years.

The roller coaster returns provided by Ark have both rocketed and sunk. After rising 148 percent in 2020 thanks to investments in Tesla and Zoom, the fund fell 23 percent in 2021 and another 67 percent in 2022.

Earlier this year, the ETF was first launched for European investors, after Ark acquired Rize ETF from British company AssetCo six months earlier.