ARK Partners With Fintech Startup Say to Increase Transparency in Shareholder Communication

NEW YORK, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ARK Investment Management LLC (ARK), a New York-based adviser focused solely on investing in disruptive innovation, has partnered with Say, the fintech startup that is reimagining shareholder communications. Inspired by an opportunity to transform a rigid, antiquated process, Say directly connects all shareholders—whether they own a fraction of a share or millions—with companies and fund managers. Say creates a new kind of transparency and offers every investor a voice.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) was the first public company to adopt Say for its earnings calls and Q&A webcasts. ARK follows as the first fund manager to incorporate Say into its investor communications. "We are excited to partner with a company that shares the same values as ARK," stated Sebastian Benkert, ARK's Chief Marketing Officer. "Most of ARK's ETFs are actively managed, so naturally investors want to understand our decision-making process. Our quarterly webinars always offer investors a direct line of communication to ARK's investment team. With Say, we now are able to make our investor Q&As more transparent and engaging because shareholders vote for questions they find most relevant."

"Whether you are invested in a public company, a mutual fund, or an ETF—all investors should have a say. It is important that shareholders have the ability to provide input and we could not be more excited to be giving Say to ARK investors," said Zach Hascoe, Say Co-Founder. "We are powering a first-of-its-kind experience for investors in ETFs and mutual funds, allowing fund holders to share insights, ask questions, and create a productive dialogue directly with investment managers."

"With an open research ecosystem, ARK aims to communicate a distinct perspective on the magnitude of technologically enabled disruptive innovation," said Catherine Wood, ARK's Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. "With this an open-source model, ARK achieves new insights. That's why Say is so interesting to us—it adds crowdsourcing to ARK's investor communication." 

Transparency seems to pay off. ARK, who is known for being at the forefront of innovation, received three Mutual Fund Industry and ETF Awards from Fund Intelligence in April 2019, including Active ETF of the Year (ARK Innovation ETF, ARKK), ETF Suite of the Year, and ETF Innovation (ARK's Genomic Revolution ETF, ARKG). 

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 $7.7 billion assets under management as of March 31, 2018. 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 such as robotics, 3D printing, big data, machine learning, blockchain technology, cloud computing, energy storage, and DNA sequencing. ARK's investment strategies include: Industrial Innovation, Next Generation Internet, Genomic Revolution, Fintech Innovations, 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 additional information regarding ARK's funds, please visit http://www.ark-funds.com.

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

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives and risks as well as charges and expenses of an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") before investing. This and other information are contained in each ETF's prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting www.ark-funds.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. An investment in an ETF is subject to risks and you can lose money on your investment in an ETF. There can be no assurance that the ETFs will achieve their investment objectives. The ETFs' portfolios are more volatile than broad market averages. The ARK ETFs also have specific risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the ARK ETFs' prospectuses. 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. Concentration Risk: The Fund's assets may be concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. 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. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events, economic conditions, environmental damages, product liability claims and exchange rates. Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. 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 IZRL. Index Tracking Risk. The returns of IZRL and PRNT may not match the returns of the Index.

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 Fund 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 back by any government. Even indirectly, cryptocurrencies (i.e., bitcoin) 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. Cryptocurrency Tax Risk. 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. Detailed information regarding the specific risks of the ARK ETFs can be found in the ARK ETFs' prospectuses.

Additional risks of investing in ARK ETFs include equity, market, management and non-diversification risks, as well as fluctuations in market value and net asset value ("NAV"). The market price of ETF shares may differ significantly from their NAV during periods of market volatility. ETF shares may only be redeemed directly with the ETF at NAV by Authorized Participants, in very large creation units. Holdings are subject to change without notice and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. Buying or selling ETF shares on an exchange may require the payment of brokerage commissions and frequent trading may incur brokerage costs that detract significantly from investment returns.

ARK Investment Management, LLC is the investment adviser to the ARK ETFs Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor.

Other Finalists "Active ETF of the Year": TrimTabs All Cap U.S. Free-Cash-Flow ETF (TTAC), WBI BullBear Yield 1000 ETF (WBIG), WisdomTree U.S. Quality Shareholder Yield Fund (QSY)

Other Finalists "ETF Suite of the Year": DWS' Xtrackers ESG ETF suite, Global X Suite of Thematic Growth ETFs, IndexIQ's Alternative ETF Suite, Invesco's Smart Beta ETF Suite, WisdomTree's Rising Rates Solutions Suite

Other Finalists "ETF Innovation": Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (MLPX), Nationwide Maximum Diversification U.S. Core Equity ETF (MXDU,  PPTY-U.S. Diversified Real Estate ETF (PPTY), Salt High truBeta™ US Market ETF (SLT),  Vesper U.S. Large Cap Short-Term Reversal Strategy ETF (UTRN), WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund (HYZD)

Methodology: Ranking Entity: Fund Intelligence; Length of the period: 12 Months;

Criteria on which the ranking is based: The winners are comprised of the individuals and firms who have been nominated via the online submission process and through recommendations from market participants. Judges will use the submitted application material, as well as any uploaded supplemental information, to make a determination on the firm, individual or product they believe to be the most suitable and deserving winners for each category. The Judges' Choice Awards are adjudicated by a panel of industry experts convened by the Fund Action and Fund Directions editorial teams. The industry judges contribute their sector expertise to debate the merits of shortlist candidates to come to a decision on the winners. (Award Page: mutualfundindustryawards.awardstage.com/)

Contact: Stephanie Dressler, [email protected], 949-269-2535

SOURCE ARK Investment Management

Related Links

http://arkInvestmentmanagement.com

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