Cathie Wood continues to stretch the limits of her fifteen minutes of fame as Ark Investment Management seeks to introduce a new ETF.
Coming on the heels of much “needed” offerings such as an ETF focused on space-related investments Ark will soon launch a product excluding industries such as alcohol, banking (because, after all, money is evil), gambling and fossil fuels.
Top holdings are tech and consumer firms such as Microsoft, Apple, Nike and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Such socially-conscious investing or ESG (environment, social and government) investing is all the rage. Wall St is not asleep. They’re following the playbook of The O’Jays – “got to give the people…give the people what they want.”
It’s an age-old lesson – investing is NOT about themes or feeling warm and fuzzy. It’s about making money. Feel good ideas lose out when the market dictates the efficient uses for capital.
Unless and until investors learn this lesson Wall St will continue pumping out products to fit every “need.” More accurately they’ll follow the tune of 10,000 Maniacs: “If lust and hate is the candy, if blood and love taste so sweet, then we, we give ‘em what they want.”