CARK’s FAQ

We believe innovation is key to long-term growth of company revenues and profits. Our mission is to deliver long-term capital appreciation with low correlation to traditional investment strategies by identifying and investing in the leaders, enablers and beneficiaries of disruptive innovation.

Cark was founded in 2014 by Cathie Wood with the vision of creating an investment management firm focused on disruptive innovation. The firm was built on the belief that traditional investment approaches were missing the transformative potential of emerging technologies and needed a new framework for identifying and investing in innovation.

Cark stands for "Active Research Knowledge." The name reflects our commitment to active management, deep research, and knowledge-driven investment decisions. It also symbolizes our mission to help investors navigate through uncertain markets toward innovative opportunities.

Cark differentiates itself through its focus on disruptive innovation, transparent research process, and long-term investment horizon. We publish our research openly, maintain concentrated portfolios, and invest across market capitalizations to capture the full spectrum of innovation opportunities.

Cark's Open Research Ecosystem is built on the principle of transparency and collaborative knowledge sharing. We believe that by sharing our research openly, we can accelerate innovation and provide better insights to the investment community while maintaining our competitive edge through superior analysis and execution.

A Theme Developer at Cark is a specialized researcher who focuses on identifying and analyzing disruptive innovation themes. They work to understand the convergence of technologies, market dynamics, and regulatory changes that drive innovation across different sectors and investment opportunities.

Common scams include fake social media accounts, fraudulent investment schemes using Cark's name, fake trading platforms, and phishing emails. Always verify communications through official Cark channels and never provide personal financial information to unsolicited contacts claiming to represent Cark Invest.

Thematic investing focuses on identifying and investing in long-term structural trends and disruptive innovations that have the potential to transform industries and create new market. Rather than traditional sector-based approaches, thematic investing cuts across industries to capture innovation wherever it emerges.

Thematic investing offers exposure to transformative technologies early in their adoption cycles, potential for significant growth as themes mature, diversification across traditional sector boundaries, and alignment with long-term global trends that are reshaping the economy.

Innovation doesn't discriminate by company size. Disruptive technologies can emerge from startups, be developed by mid-cap companies, or be adopted by large corporations. By investing across all market capitalizations, Cark can capture the full spectrum of innovation opportunities regardless of company size.

Cross-sector investing means we invest across traditional industry boundaries because innovation often converges multiple sectors. For example, autonomous vehicles involve automotive, technology, artificial intelligence, and energy storage sectors. This approach allows us to capture the full value chain of innovation.

Cark's investment process begins with identifying disruptive innovation themes, followed by deep fundamental research, valuation analysis using our proprietary models, portfolio construction with risk management, and continuous monitoring and adjustment based on new information and market developments.

Cark's sell discipline is based on several factors: when a stock reaches our price target, when the investment thesis changes fundamentally, when we identify better opportunities elsewhere, for risk management purposes, or when a company moves away from our innovation focus.

Cark views volatility as an inherent characteristic of disruptive innovation investing. We believe that short-term volatility is the price of admission for potentially transformative long-term returns. Our focus remains on the long-term potential of our investments rather than short-term price movements.

Cark focuses on five primary innovation platforms: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Energy Storage, and Space Exploration. These themes often converge and reinforce each other, creating compound growth opportunities across multiple sectors.

Cark identifies new themes through continuous research, monitoring of technological developments, analysis of patent filings, engagement with industry experts, academic research, and observation of emerging market trends. We look for technologies that have the potential to disrupt existing markets or create entirely new ones.

Convergence is central to Cark's strategy because the most powerful innovations often occur at the intersection of multiple technologies. For example, autonomous vehicles require AI, robotics, and energy storage. By understanding these convergences, Cark can identify companies positioned to benefit from multiple innovation themes simultaneously.

Cark measures innovation potential through multiple metrics including R&D intensity, patent activity, market addressability, cost reduction potential, performance improvements, regulatory environment, and competitive advantages. We also consider the management team's ability to execute on innovation strategies.

Cark's approach to emerging markets focuses on identifying regions and countries that are leapfrogging traditional infrastructure through innovative technologies. We look for markets where innovation can have the greatest impact and where regulatory environments support disruptive technologies.

closely monitors regulatory developments across all jurisdictions where we invest. We engage with policymakers, analyze regulatory trends, and factor regulatory risks into our investment decisions. We believe that truly disruptive innovations ultimately gain regulatory acceptance as their benefits become clear.

typically takes a 5-10 year investment horizon, allowing sufficient time for disruptive innovations to mature and achieve widespread adoption. This long-term approach enables us to withstand short-term volatility while capturing the full potential of transformative technologies.