ARK Investment Management Launches the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ARK Investment Management LLC (ARK), a New York-based adviser focused solely on disruptive innovation, today launched the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), its fifth actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF), and seventh ETF overall. The new fund will begin trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange Arca on Monday February 4^th.

The ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) invests in equity securities of companies that ARK believes are shifting financial services and economic transactions to technology infrastructure platforms, ultimately revolutionizing financial services by creating simplicity and accessibility while driving down costs.

"Powered by innovations within mobile, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology, companies within fintech are working to disintermediate or bypass incumbent financial players and challenge traditional institutions by offering new solutions that are better, cheaper, faster, and more novel and secure," stated ARK's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Wood. "Fintech reimagines the generation, transfer, and storage of value in today's increasingly digital economy, and its impact will extend across every industry. Through facilitating peer-to-peer transfers, gifting, intermediary products, and other non-GDP related economic activity, the companies in ARKF, in our view, will touch more than the $80 trillion in GDP today." 

"Launching ARKF was a natural progression that builds on the success of our sub-advised fintech mutual fund with Nikko Asset Management in Japan, which received the Morningstar Fund of the Year 2017 Global Equity Award," stated ARK's Chief Operating Officer, Tom Staudt. "We believe all investors, both retail and institutional, should have access to investment opportunities in disruptive innovation and are excited that ARKF will fill a hole in US public equity markets for an actively managed, research-based fintech fund."

ARK has become a global investment manager, advising or sub-advising funds and separate accounts across four continents, including North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. The firm offers a range of investment vehicles including ETFs, institutional and retail separately managed accounts, US and international mutual funds, and a UCITS fund. As of January 30, 2019, ARK's assets under management (AUM) had grown to $6.5 billion, a testament that ARK's active approach to investing and focus on disruptive innovation not only is unique to the industry, but also is driving its success. ARK's ETF suite accounts for over $2.25 billion, with ARKF joining existing innovation funds: ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW), ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG), ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (ARKQ), The 3D Printing ETF (PRNT), and ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF (IZRL).

About ARK Investment Management LLC

Headquartered in New York City, ARK Investment Management LLC is a federally registered investment adviser and privately held investment firm with approximately $6.5 billion assets under management as of January 30, 2019. Specializing in thematic investing in disruptive innovation, the firm is rooted in over 40 years of experience in identifying and investing in disruptive innovations that should change the way the world works and deliver outsized growth as industries transform. Through its open research process, ARK identifies companies that it believes are leading and benefiting from cross-sector innovations centered around genome sequencing, energy storage, robotics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. ARK's investment strategies include: Industrial Innovation, Next Generation Internet, Genomic Revolution, Fintech Innovation, Mobility-as-a-Service, Space Exploration, 3D Printing, Israel Innovative Technology, and the overall ARK Disruptive Innovation Strategy.

In July 2016, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., the parent company of American Beacon Advisors, Inc., announced that it had taken an investment of a minority interest in ARK. In August 2017, Nikko Asset Management ("Nikko AM") acquired a minority stake in ARK to enhance its disruptive innovation focused investment solutions. These partnerships are providing ARK with distribution across the United States and the Asia Pacific regions.

For more information regarding ARK's research and advisor services, please visit http://www.ark-invest.com.

For additional information regarding ARK's funds, please visit http://www.ark-funds.com.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives and risks as well as charges and expenses of an ARK ETF before investing. This and other information are contained in the ARK ETFs' prospectuses, which may be obtained by visiting www.ark-funds.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. 

The principal risks of investing in the ARK ETFs include: Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities the ARK ETF holds may fall due to general market and economic conditions. Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. Health Care Sector Risk. The Health Care Sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs. Industrials Sector Risk. The industrials sector includes companies engaged in the aerospace and defense industry, electrical engineering, machinery, and professional services. Financial Technology Risk. Companies that are developing financial technologies that seek to disrupt or displace established financial institutions generally face competition from much larger and more established firms. Fintech Innovation Companies may not be able to capitalize on their disruptive technologies if they face political and/or legal attacks from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. A Fintech Innovation Company may not currently derive any revenue, and there is no assurance that such company will derive any revenue from innovative technologies in the future. Financial Sector Risk. The factors that impact the financial sector will likely have a greater effect on this Fund than on a fund with less exposure to such sector. Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Cryptocurrency Risk: Cryptocurrency (notably, bitcoin), often referred to as ''virtual currency'' or ''digital currency,'' operates as a decentralized, peer-to-peer financial exchange and value storage that is used like money. The Funds; specifically ARKK, ARKW, ARKQ, may have exposure to bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, indirectly through an investment in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (''GBTC''), a privately offered, open-end investment vehicle. Cryptocurrency operates without central authority or banks and is not backed by any government. Even indirectly, cryptocurrencies may experience very high volatility and related investment vehicles like GBTC may be affected by such volatility. As a result of holding cryptocurrency, the Fund may also trade at a significant premium to NAV. Cryptocurrency is also not legal tender. Federal, state or foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of cryptocurrency, and regulation in the U.S. is still developing. Cryptocurrency exchanges may stop operating or permanently shut down due to fraud, technical glitches, hackers or malware. The Fund's exposure to cryptocurrency may change over time and, accordingly, such exposure may not always be represented in the Fund's portfolio. Detailed information regarding the specific risks of the ARK ETFs can be found in the ARK ETFs' prospectuses.

Many significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of investments in bitcoin are uncertain and an investment in bitcoin may produce income that is not treated as qualifying income for purposes of the income test applicable to regulated investment companies, such as the Fund. GBTC is expected to be treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and therefore an investment by the Fund in GBTC will generally be treated as a direct investment in bitcoin for such purposes. See ''Taxes'' in the Fund's SAI for more information.
Risks specific to Index ETFs include Index Tracking Risk. The returns of the ETF may not match the returns of the underlying index that the ETF is designed to track. Risks specific to IZRL include Index Tracking Risk. The returns of the ETF may not match the returns of the underlying index that the ETF is designed to track. Israel Risk. Israeli companies may be adversely affected by changes in political climate, government regulation, world events, economic conditions, and exchange rates. The unique characteristics of securities of Israeli companies and the Israel stock market may have a negative impact on the ETF.

Contact:
Shania Tavares
1-646-808-3731
[email protected]

SOURCE ARK Investment Management LLC

Related Links

http://www.ark-invest.com