ARK Invest, the US asset manager led by star stock-picker Cathie Wood, has reshuffled its flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) this week, exiting its holding in collaborative design platform Figma while adding to stakes in electric vehicle maker Tesla and blockchain payments firm Circle Internet. The trades, disclosed in daily portfolio updates, underline Wood’s strategy of concentrating capital into what she calls “exponential growth” companies.
The sale of Figma comes more than a year after Adobe’s $20bn (£15.6bn) acquisition of the company was blocked by UK and EU regulators over competition concerns. Without a buyer, Figma’s share price has struggled to regain momentum, and ARK’s decision to cut ties suggests the fund sees limited upside in the near term. ARK had been one of Figma’s prominent institutional holders.
By contrast, the increased allocation to Tesla — already ARK’s largest holding — signals Wood’s belief that the company’s valuation will be driven by its Full Self-Driving software and energy storage business, rather than vehicle sales alone. Tesla shares have rallied roughly 30% year-to-date in 2026, though they remain volatile. ARK also purchased shares in Circle Internet, the firm behind the USDC stablecoin, as part of a broader bet on the tokenisation of real-world assets and decentralised finance infrastructure.
For UK investors and pension holders with exposure to global thematic funds, ARK’s concentrated style means outsized sensitivity to a handful of high-growth names. The FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher to 8,412 on Thursday, with tech-heavy US indices providing the main driver for international portfolios. Analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown noted that ARK’s moves reflect a “high-conviction, high-risk” approach that can deliver sharp gains or steep losses depending on market sentiment towards unprofitable tech firms.
The broader context is a rotation back into growth stocks as inflation in the UK and US shows signs of cooling. The Bank of England held rates at 4.5% earlier this month, while the US Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates in September. Lower borrowing costs tend to favour companies with long-duration cash flows, such as Tesla and early-stage fintech firms. However, the regulatory landscape for stablecoins remains uncertain in both the UK and Europe, adding a layer of risk to the Circle bet.