Cathie Wood gets a lot of criticism, some of it justified. (I wouldn’t want to hear my fund manager say they are guided by a religious deity, either.) That said, she has had plenty of victories, and she seems to have an explanation for her various investment decisions.
I’m not trying to start another Wood trash-fest, but I have noticed something a bit interesting: Some of Ark’s big moves seem to be delayed to an odd extent, and sometimes almost seem like reactions to changes in the stock price.
Perfect example is Palantir: It’s been mainstream knowledge for a while that they are trying to innovate in the area of AI, machine learning, and big data analytics.
And Cathie was well aware of them — her fund sold after a disappointing earnings report last year.
Today I see the headline: “Cathie Wood Makes Whopping $43M Palantir Buy After Stock's Massive Surge.” Why would it take so long to do so? It seems like she and her team would be keeping a close eye on the company, and would have pulled the trigger immediately in response to their projection of profitability for the foreseeable future.
(It’s also worth asking: Considering that Ark’s strategy is based on investing in companies that will innovate over the long-term, why wouldn’t she be buying and holding?)
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