Etoro launches disruptive portfolio with Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest

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

The ‘Ark-FutureFirst’ portfolio will allow Etoro users to invest in companies who are ‘pioneering the groundbreaking technologies which are shaping our future,’ the investing platform said.  

The portfolio will focus on innovating companies operating in the technology, healthcare and sustainability sectors, that are looking to deliver high growth. 

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

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

‘As more investors around the world are gaining access to ETFs via the growth of digital platforms, we are excited that this partnership will enable us to introduce some of our best ideas and original strategies at Ark Invest Europe to Etoro’s 38 million retail investors.’

Etoro said the portfolio is fully invested, and will be allocated equally across seven of Ark’s exchange traded funds.

The investments will cover ‘disruptive innovation’, which includes 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’re 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 research and portfolio management expertise.

‘With the Ark-FutureFirst portfolio, Etoro users can seek growth through truly long-term, cross-sector trends that are predicted to not just shift markets but the world for decades to come.’

Cathie Wood’s investment firm was launched in 2014 and its flagship fund Ark Innovation has risen 23 per cent in the last year. 

But it is down 11 per cent this year and has risen just 12 per cent over the last five years.

The rollercoaster returns delivered by Ark have seen it both rocket and sink. After soaring 148 per cent in 2020 thanks to investments in Tesla and Zoom, the fund fell 23 per cent in 2021 and a further 67 per cent in 2022.

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