Bloomberg Talks: "Cathie Wood Talks ETFs" (Feb 2, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode features Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest, in conversation with Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas and other commentators. The discussion centers on the evolving landscape of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), especially regarding private company holdings, regulatory changes, and fund construction. Cathie also addresses market trends like the "debasement trade," relationships with private companies like SpaceX, and the topic of key-person risk at ARK. The focus is on providing deep insights into the intersection between innovation, regulation, and investment products.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

ARK’s Private Holdings and the SpaceX Factor

[00:37-03:46]

• Cathie Wood confirms SpaceX is her venture fund's second-biggest holding (about 7.5%) and maintains a positive outlook, referencing IPO rumors and the company's expansion into digital data centers and “the Xi ecosystem.”

  • Quote:

    “We're feeling great. Especially the rumors are we have no idea if it will go out at 1.5 trillion. Again, rumors, rumors. But Space X has big ideas. Orbit Digital Data centers being the latest, and Xi, which we also own in Ark V X, is going to become a part of this ecosystem.”
    – Cathie Wood, [01:16]

• When SpaceX goes public, ARK will convert private positions to public, potentially increasing ETF exposure to the company but maintaining fund diversification.

  • Quote:

    “When Space X goes, we will obviously bump up the public position, but we don't have to say sell it. Now it would be unusual if all of these names Space X, Anthropic X, AI, if they all were to go public, yes, we would want to diversify into more private names. We don't have to sell right away.”
    – Cathie Wood, [02:02]

ETFs and Inclusion of Private Assets

[03:10-07:17]

• Eric Balchunas highlights a market conundrum: rising demand for private assets like SpaceX in ETFs, regulatory boundaries, and creative fund structures emerging to meet this demand.

  • Example: Other funds rapidly growing by classifying private holdings as "less liquid" rather than "illiquid."
  • Quote:

    “There’s been three ETFs that have sort of, I don’t know, we could bend the rules or whatever, but they’ve added privates into their Fund... and immediately assets jumped 50% in a week. Clearly the demand is to get this in the ETF format, but it’s not the right format.”
    – Bloomberg Commentator, [03:10]

• Cathie Wood explains ARK’s choice of interval fund format (20% public, 80% private) to circumvent the 15% illiquid asset limit in standard ETFs. She notes evolving definitions of "liquid" due to secondary markets, and private firms’ former reticence to feature in ETF structures is possibly shifting:

  • Quote:

    “The reason we chose the interval fund format was we could have more than 15% of our in illiquid assets. Now it may be that the definition of illiquid is changing. … Secondary markets are beginning to grow, meaning private shares on secondary markets. So there’s access there. So maybe this definition of illiquid or less liquid is, is changing here.”
    – Cathie Wood, [03:46]

• On potential inclusion of small amounts (5-10%) of privates in ETFs, Wood stresses compliance caution due to market volatility and daily marking requirements.

  • Quote:

    “We certainly have thought about it… There's some reticence because they're in, in the worst case, let's just say black swan, the public markets go down dramatically. These, these private positions are not mark to market every day. They could end up easily well above 15%. And then what, what would a fund be faced doing trying to find a secondary market?”
    – Cathie Wood, [05:59]

The "Debasement Trade" and Dollar Diversification

[07:17-09:40]

• The host asks about diversification away from the US dollar ("debasement trade"), traditionally into gold but not recently into crypto.
• Cathie Wood dismisses the thesis, citing long-term uncorrelation between gold and Bitcoin, and asserts US dollar strength due to policy shifts ("Trumpinomics"), deregulation, and anticipated higher returns on US capital.

  • Quote:

    “If you put the dollar into perspective, you will see that over the years and in recent years it's toward the higher end of its range against other currencies. ... We think because of those, the returns on invested capital in the United States are going to go up relative to those elsewhere in the world. ... Trumpinomics, if you want to call it that, is like Reaganomics on steroids. If you look at what happened to the dollar under Reagan, it doubled. It nearly doubled.”
    – Cathie Wood, [07:52]

  • Memorable insight on market cycles:

    “The last two major cycles for bitcoin were preceded by the gold price increasing first.”
    – Cathie Wood, [07:52]

Key-Person (“Key Woman”) Risk and Succession at ARK

[09:40-10:56]

• Clip of Todd Sohn highlights potential risks for funds built around star managers, specifically expressing curiosity about ARK’s contingency if Cathie Wood departs.

  • Quote:

    “Cathie Wood is ARK. She's the face of that company. What happens when Cathie says, you know, I'm moving on or whatever it might be?”
    – Todd Sohn, [09:56]

• Cathie Wood responds playfully and reassures that robust succession and oversight exist at ARK, including directors of research, a chief futurist, analysts, and investment committees for each fund.

  • Quote:

    “We have a very firm succession plan here. The way we've set up the firm with directors of research, a chief futurist, analysts, research associates, markets and really the equivalent of investment committees for each of our funds. I think any due diligence effort would look at what we've done here at ARK and be pretty reassured by it.”
    – Cathie Wood, [10:21]

Notable Quotes

• Cathie Wood ([01:16]): “We're feeling great. Especially the rumors are we have no idea if it will go out at 1.5 trillion. Again, rumors, rumors. But Space X has big ideas.”
• Bloomberg Commentator ([03:10]): “Clearly the demand is to get this in the ETF format, but it’s not the right format. How is this going to play out?”
• Cathie Wood ([03:46]): “The reason we chose the interval fund format was we could have more than 15% of our in illiquid assets. … So maybe this definition of illiquid or less liquid is, is changing here.”
• Cathie Wood ([07:52]): “Trumpinomics, if you want to call it that, is like Reaganomics on steroids. If you look at what happened to the dollar under Reagan, it doubled. It nearly doubled.”
• Todd Sohn ([09:56]): “Cathie Wood is ARK. She's the face of that company. What happens when Cathie says, you know, I'm moving on or whatever it might be?”

Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• [01:16] Cathie Wood addresses rumors and confidence about SpaceX and fund positioning.
• [03:10] Commentary on the bending of ETF rules for private assets and surge in demand.
• [05:59] Cathie Wood details compliance challenges with private holdings in ETFs.
• [07:52] Cathie’s in-depth take on the debasement trade, gold, Bitcoin, and US dollar policy.
• [10:21] Succession planning at ARK—emphasizing stability beyond its star leader.

Conclusion

This episode offers a candid, insightful look into evolving ETF structures, the push for private asset inclusion, and how star managers like Cathie Wood are navigating risk, regulation, and future leadership. It’s an essential listen for those interested in finance, innovation, and the future of investment management.