Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, is looking past the panic around Donald Trump's tough new tariff proposal — and seeing something others might be missing.
While many view the policy as a massive tax hike that could rattle global trade, Wood thinks there's a potential upside. Her outlook changed when Trump handed trade talks over to Treasury Secretary Bessent, moving away from earlier choices like Peter Navarro and Howard Lutnick. She thinks the initial confusion may have been deliberate — or at least effective — in pushing countries toward serious negotiations.
In her view, this “shock therapy” approach could actually lead to fewer trade barriers and lower tariffs, something unlikely to happen without pressure.
Wood also believes the sharp slowdown caused by these policies might prompt policymakers to respond with tax breaks, lighter regulation, and even lower interest rates.
Meanwhile, ARK Invest made a few moves during the market dip. Wood added Nvidia (NVDA, Financial), Amazon (AMZN, Financial), Robinhood (HOOD, Financial), and GitLab (GTLB, Financial) to ARK portfolios. She's also staying bullish on Tesla (TSLA, Financial) and Palantir (PLTR, Financial), calling them strong picks for navigating a shaky economy.
To her, this might be the kind of disruption that innovative companies are built to thrive in.
