ARK Invest is betting big on private technology companies.
“It's a great time to invest in innovation,” Brett Winton, the company's chief futurist, told CNBC's “ETF Edge” this week. “Both venture exposure and public innovation companies are very well regarded today to make a long-term investment.”
Winton worked with the ARK Invest team to create the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX), a closed-end period fund, in September 2022.
Closed-end funds allow investors to invest in companies at their net asset value at any time, regardless of market fluctuations. Investors can then sell back to the fund every three months during specific time frames.
According to the ARK Invest website, the fund's largest private holdings as of April 10 were Epic Games, SpaceX, Freenome, and Anthropic.
“Interval funds are specifically designed to allow ordinary investors to invest in less liquid assets,” Winton said. “You don't have to be an accredited investor… and you can invest at net asset value.”
As of Thursday's close, the ARK Venture Fund was up 29% since its inception. However, it has been discounted more than 7% year to date.
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