Ark investment management founder Cathie Wood discussed the merits of her fund portfolio and how it’s made up at a Twitter Spaces event.

ETFs getting better every day: Wood said she’s seeing pension funds’ reluctance to invest in ETFs slowly changing. It was Asian bond and sovereign wealth funds that started using Ark’s ETFs, similar to how the Nasdaq and S&P used them, she called in a Twitter Space hosted by Pensions & Investment Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Ablan on Tuesday.

They used them to quickly meet their allocation needs and because of the ETFs’ high liquidity given the ecosystem around the ETFs, which includes authorized participants, the market makers and the way they handle both launches and redemptions, he said the fund manager.

Wood clarified that Ark’s funds haven’t had a major outflow, except for what was seen in early 2021, and their net retention rates have been “shocking.”

Ark doesn’t have many trading accounts, but sovereign wealth funds invest in it, she added.

The sovereign wealth funds were there because they can think things through Ark Innovation ETF ARKK or Ark Genomic Revolution ETF bats for the fund’s genomics or multi-omics strategies, or Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARCQ for autonomous technology and robotics strategy, the fund manager said.

“You can[Fonds]treat like stocks and have some leeway,” Wood said.[funds}asstocksandtheyhavesomelatitude”Woodsaid[funds}asstocksandtheyhavesomelatitude”Woodsaid

See also: How to invest in startups

New Nasdaq: “We are the new Nasdaq,” said the fund manager, echoing her past view. She clarified that she wasn’t venturing on the Nasdaq but was trying to make the point that Ark fills the role.

“We are what Nasdaq was in the ’80s and ’90s,” Wood said.

Wood explains why some of the biggest tech stocks, known by the acronym FAANGs, aren’t part of Ark’s portfolio and says she sees them as troubled.

Those FAANGs are now the largest parts of the Nasdaq and S&P 500 index, she noted.

Meta…