ETF Prime: Crigger on ARK Invest’s Future 

To open the podcast, Geraci brings on VettaFi’s Lara Crigger to discuss a multitude of ETF-related topics. The pair opened the podcast discussion talking about ARK Invests’ future in the industry. Geraci highlights how the firm has gone from having $60 billion in assets to less than $11 billion in less than two years. He then asks Crigger for her thoughts on the overall state of ARK’s ETF business.

“To put it into perspective, ARK is still among the top 20 ETF issuers with the highest revenue,” said Crigger.

Despite ARK’s rough past two years, Crigger highlights how a lot of ETF issuers would still love to be in the place that ARK is in. However, she also mentioned it is hard to not compare ARK to where they once were within the industry.

Crigger mentions that the firm’s drop could be attributed to poor performance from funds like the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK B) and the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG A-). She is surprised that ARK wasn’t able to fully capitalize on the artificial intelligence trend from earlier this year. Crigger highlighted the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ B-) as one of the firm’s funds that failed to take advantage of the AI craze.

The pair continued to discuss ARK’s downfall, and what investors can expect from the firm moving forward. The duo also touches on the disruptive technology industry at large.

The conversation then moves to Fidelity’s recent share class filing. Geraci describes how the firm recently filed an ETF share class for their mutual funds. He also mentions that this filing follows similar actions from PGIA and Dimensional. Geraci is also quick to point out that all these filings from three firms are for active ETFs. He then asks for Crigger’s thoughts on the filings, and if she thinks the SEC will become comfortable with these styles of filings moving forward.

“This is actually one of the stories I am watching very closely through the remainder of the year,” she said.

Crigger mentions that now that Vanguard’s patent has expiredm it has created an opportunity for other firms. She believes that there is an argument to be made that this style of filing is what made Vanguard the second-largest ETF issuer in the world.

On top of that, Crigger mentions that what is powerful about this style of filing is you are able to extend all the different tax benefits that come from investing in ETFs to all investors. She is also interested in the filing that F/M Investments put into play earlier this year as well. Ultimately, Crigger is intrigued to see how this story will play out, and how the SEC will respond to all of these filings.

In addition, she shares several other topics and stories that she is watching for the remainder of 2023.

To close this week’s podcast episode, Geraci brings on Jeff Benjamin, the wealth management editor at etf.com to discuss how media outlets cover ETFs. He mentions how Benjamin has been covering the financial world for over 30 years and has worked with several different media outlets. Benjamin then goes in-depth into his background in journalism, and how he got into the financial world. Geraci then asks Benjamin for his perspective on what makes a good story, and what he is explicitly looking for when he is creating a story.

“We are looking for things news related to the ETF space, and the broader financial advice industry,” said Benjamin.

He highlights that exclusive news from firms and experts as contributing factors to what can make a good story. To close the podcast, the pair discusses what makes for a good source, and more. Benjamin also gives several tips for financial advisors when dealing with members of the media.

For more ETF Prime podcast episodes, visit our ETF Prime channel.