History of Cathie Wood in Timeline

Cathie Wood is an American investor renowned as the founder, CEO, and CIO of Ark Invest, an investment management firm. She's known for her high-conviction investments in disruptive innovation, focusing on areas like genomics, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology. Wood is a vocal advocate for these technologies and their potential to revolutionize various industries. Her investment strategies often involve a long-term perspective, targeting companies with high growth potential even if they are considered risky by traditional investment standards. Her views are widely followed in the financial world.

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Full Timeline

1955: Catherine Duddy Wood Born

In 1955, Catherine Duddy Wood was born. She is an American investor, founder, CEO, and CIO of Ark Invest.

1974: Graduation from Notre Dame Academy

In 1974, Catherine Wood graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles, an all-girls Catholic high school.

1977: Job as Assistant Economist

In 1977, Catherine Wood obtained a job as an assistant economist at Capital Group, where she worked for three years, thanks to her mentor Arthur Laffer.

1980: Job at Jennison Associates

In 1980, Catherine Wood moved to New York City to take a job at Jennison Associates as chief economist, analyst, portfolio manager and managing director.

1981: Graduation from USC

In 1981, Catherine Wood graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and economics.

1998: Co-founded Tupelo Capital Management

In 1998, Catherine Wood, along with Lulu C. Wang, co-founded Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund based in New York City.

2001: Joined AllianceBernstein

In 2001, Catherine Wood joined AllianceBernstein as CIO of global thematic strategies.

2007: Financial Crisis

During the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Catherine Wood, as CIO of global thematic strategies at AllianceBernstein, was criticized for performing worse than the overall market.

2008: Financial Crisis

During the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Catherine Wood, as CIO of global thematic strategies at AllianceBernstein, was criticized for performing worse than the overall market.

2014: Wealth Destroyer Investment Fund

From 2014–2023, Morningstar considered Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be the third highest "wealth destroyer" investment fund.

2014: Founded ARK Invest

In 2014, after AllianceBernstein deemed her idea for actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on disruptive innovation too risky, Catherine Wood left the company and founded ARK Invest. ARK's first four ETFs were seeded with capital from Bill Hwang of Archegos Capital.

2017: Flagship ETF Performance

In 2017, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) received accolades for its performance.

2018: Donation to High School

In 2018, Catherine Wood donated funds to her high school to start the Duddy Innovation Institute, which encourages girls to study disruptive innovation.

2018: Death of Robert Wood

In 2018, Catherine Wood's ex-husband, Robert Wood, passed away.

2020: 2020 Election Warning

During the 2020 election, Catherine Wood warned that Joe Biden's plan of taxation and regulation would stifle innovation.

2020: Top Performing Global Equity Fund

In 2020, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation (ARKK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was the top-performing global equity fund with at least $1 billion of assets. Wood was subsequently named the best stock picker of 2020 by Bloomberg News editor-in-chief emeritus Matthew A. Winkler.

2020: Flagship ETF Performance

In 2020, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) received accolades for its performance.

2021: Forbes 50 Over 50

In 2021, Catherine Wood was selected for the inaugural Forbes 50 Over 50; made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators who are over the age of 50.

2021: ARKK Fell

In 2021, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation (ARKK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) fell 24%.

2022: Worst Performer Among Equity Funds

In the first quarter of 2022, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation (ARKK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was the worst performer among equity funds covered by Morningstar, Inc.

2023: Flagship ETF Performance

In 2023, Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) received accolades for its performance.

December 31, 2023: Worst "wealth destroyer" family of funds

For the 10 years ending on December 31, 2023, Morningstar ranked ARK Invest Funds as the worst "wealth destroyer" family of funds, based on the "decline in assets in dollar terms, after excluding inflows or outflows."