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© 2026 Benzinga | All Rights Reserved
August 30, 2023 11:58 AM 6 min read

Is Cathie Wood The Next Warren Buffett? Apple, Tesla Define Their Investment Strategies

by Chris Katje Benzinga Staff Writer
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With a track record of 60-plus years of strong returns for investors, Warren Buffett, who turns 93 Wednesday, is considered one of the all-time legendary investors.

While many strive to emulate Buffett, and some have even been dubbed the "next Buffett," meeting the lofty standards set by the Oracle of Omaha is no small feat.

One name that could stand out as the next Buffett is Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of Ark Invest.

Don't miss Benzinga's one-on-one interview with Wood, airing at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 30 on "The Raz Report." 

What Happened: Over the years, names such as Bill Ackman, Eddie Lampert, Chamath Palihapitiya and even disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried have all been called the "next Buffett."

Although no one has yet managed to fill those sizable shoes, Wood could be on track to become the Buffett of her generation, particularly if her high-stakes investment areas yield significant returns.

Ark Invest provides a range of ETFs focusing on various specialized investment sectors, with its flagship fund, the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK), showcasing the firm's most strongest trading convictions. 

A visit to Ark's website reveals that the firm positions itself as the hub for ETFs centered on disruptive innovation.

“Ark aims to deliver long-term capital appreciation by investing in the leaders, enablers, and beneficiaries of disruptive innovation,” the Ark website states.

The investment themes that Ark funds focus on include artificial intelligence, space exploration, electric vehicles, genomics, sports betting, digital payments, cryptocurrency, digital consumers and 3D printing.

Related Link: Cathie Wood Channels Warren Buffett With Year-End Investing Message 

Wood, Buffett's Differences, Similarities: While Wood could become the next Buffett, their investment approaches are notably distinct.

Buffett liked value stocks for years and continues to invest in many blue-chip, dividend-paying names. Wood favors technology stocks and growth stocks, which often trade with no dividends and can be unprofitable.

Growth stocks fell out of favor with the market and investors and Ark Funds saw declines in 2022.

Outside this recent time frame, growth stocks have gained popularity among investors, particularly as the ranks of retail investors have expanded. Wood may have been among those who were early to recognize this trend.

Benzinga previously shared three pieces of advice from Buffett when it comes to investing. These guidelines include holding stocks for an extended period, investing in sectors you're familiar with and acquiring stocks at sensible valuations.

Wood follows some of these ideas by buying what she knows in the key areas of innovation and disruption.

Known for investing in high-growth names, Wood has also considered price-to-sales ratios for stocks to see which ones might be valued better than others.

When it comes to owning stocks for the long term, she seems to adhere to this principle with stocks such as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and several others remaining in the portfolio since the inception of the funds.

Ultimately, Wood channels Buffett in many ways with high-conviction trade ideas and being early to investment ideas.

Top Holdings: There is minimal overlap between Buffett and Wood given their sharp difference in investment styles.

The top 10 holdings in the flagship Ark Innovation ETF are:

While looking at the names, not all are profitable and there are no dividends to be had for investors.

Compare that with the top 10 stock holdings for Berkshire Hathaway, which includes profitable companies and high dividend payouts:

Performance: Buffett has enjoyed sizable returns over the years, often outperforming the S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY).

From 1965 to 2022, Berkshire Hathaway had compounded annual gains of 19.8%, as reported by CNBC. The S&P 500 had compounded annual returns of 9.9% over the same time period.

Berkshire Hathaway shares are up 25.2% over the last year and up 70.8% over the last five years.

The Ark Innovation ETF is up 2.7% over the last year and down 12.8% over the last five years. Since its inception in 2014, the ETF is up 10.8%.

In recent years, Wood's returns have declined, negatively impacting the five-year and lifetime performance of her ETFs, which were once among the best-performing specialty funds.

With growth names back in favor, the Ark Innovation ETF is up 42% year-to-date in 2023, beating the 15.5% performance of Berkshire Hathaway.

All the Ark ETFs are outperforming Berkshire Hathaway on a year-to-date basis.

Check out Benzinga’s exclusive interview with Wood on the Raz Report Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.

Read Next: EXCLUSIVE: Why Does Cathie Wood Think Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million? 

Photo: Ark Invest, Shutterstock and Fortune Live Media on Flickr.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Posted In:
NewsSpecialty ETFsManagementTop StoriesSuccess StoriesTechMediaETFsArk FundsARK Investartificial intelligenceCathie Woodelectric vehiclesWarren Buffett
ARKK Logo
ARKKARK Innovation ETF
$71.60-2.01%
Overview
AAPL Logo
AAPLApple Inc
$259.25-0.60%
ARKF Logo
ARKFARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF
Not Available-%
ARKG Logo
ARKGARK Genomic Revolution ETF
Not Available-%
ARKQ Logo
ARKQARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF
$121.01-0.35%
ARKW Logo
ARKWARK Next Generation Internet ETF
$128.89-1.26%
ARKX Logo
ARKXARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF
$31.48-0.51%
AXP Logo
AXPAmerican Express Co
$301.00-1.63%
BAC Logo
BACBank of America Corp
$47.96-1.15%
BRK-A Logo
BRK-ABerkshire Hathaway Inc. Common Stock
$740000.00-%
BRK-B Logo
BRK-BBerkshire Hathaway Inc. New Common Stock
$491.69-0.38%
COIN Logo
COINCoinbase Global Inc
$195.90-1.37%
CVX Logo
CVXChevron Corp
$191.950.08%
DKNG Logo
DKNGDraftKings Inc
$25.44-0.51%
EXAS Logo
EXASExact Sciences Corp
$103.510.11%
KHC Logo
KHCThe Kraft Heinz Co
$23.160.11%
KO Logo
KOCoca-Cola Co
$77.27-0.46%
MCO Logo
MCOMoodys Corp
$445.48-0.10%
NVDA Logo
NVDANVIDIA Corp
$184.30-0.93%
OXY Logo
OXYOccidental Petroleum Corp
$55.790.37%
PATH Logo
PATHUiPath Inc
$11.43-7.67%
ROKU Logo
ROKURoku Inc
$99.50-1.23%
SPY Logo
SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
$671.25-0.75%
TSLA Logo
TSLATesla Inc
$404.81-0.74%
TWLO Logo
TWLOTwilio Inc
$126.00-0.54%
U Logo
UUnity Software Inc
$19.75-1.45%
ZM Logo
ZMZoom Communications Inc
$75.10-1.25%

The other ETFs include the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW), Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS:ARKG), Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS:ARKQ), Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKF) and the Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKX).

This investment strategy has shown the differences between investors and the public markets over the years. When value stocks were favored by investors for safety during the high inflation period in 2021 and 2022, Buffett saw outsized returns for Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B), the company he leads.

Buffett held several of the stocks in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for decades, despite increases in valuation and the potential to take profits. Wood cashed out of holdings after they ran up in value, with Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) being a recent example. Wood was early with investing in Nvidia, but when valuations soared, cashed out and missed out on more profits along the way.

One of the biggest differences between Buffett and Wood may center around their favorite stock. While Buffett has traditionally been cautious about technology and high-growth stocks, Berkshire Hathaway bought shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) in 2016 and has added to the position over time. Apple now makes up a huge part of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio, with a 915,560,382-share stake valued at over $160 billion.

Wood favors Tesla, a stock she has been bullish on for years. Buffett passed on a chance to invest in Tesla in the past, a decision that CEO Elon Musk frequently brings to his attention. Buffett has several investments in electric vehicle companies, but doesn’t own Tesla, and also has large investments in oil stocks, in stark contrast to Wood's portfolio choices.

  • Tesla 
  • Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU)
  • Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM)
  • Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN)
  • UiPath Inc (NYSE:PATH)
  • Block Inc (NYSE:SQ)
  • DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG)
  • Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO)
  • Unity Software Inc (NYSE:U)
  • Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS)
  • Apple 
  • Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
  • American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)
  • Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)
  • Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
  • Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)
  • Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
  • Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)
  • Mitsubishi
  • Mitsui
ARKK Logo
ARKKARK Innovation ETF
$71.60-2.01%
Overview
AAPL Logo
AAPLApple Inc
$259.25-0.60%
ARKF Logo
ARKFARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF
Not Available-%
ARKG Logo
ARKGARK Genomic Revolution ETF
Not Available-%
ARKQ Logo
ARKQARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF
$121.01-0.35%
ARKW Logo
ARKWARK Next Generation Internet ETF
$128.89-1.26%
ARKX Logo
ARKXARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF
$31.48-0.51%
AXP Logo
AXPAmerican Express Co
$301.00-1.63%
BAC Logo
BACBank of America Corp
$47.96-1.15%
BRK-A Logo
BRK-ABerkshire Hathaway Inc. Common Stock
$740000.00-%
BRK-B Logo
BRK-BBerkshire Hathaway Inc. New Common Stock
$491.69-0.38%
COIN Logo
COINCoinbase Global Inc
$195.90-1.37%
CVX Logo
CVXChevron Corp
$191.950.08%
DKNG Logo
DKNGDraftKings Inc
$25.44-0.51%
EXAS Logo
EXASExact Sciences Corp
$103.510.11%
KHC Logo
KHCThe Kraft Heinz Co
$23.160.11%
KO Logo
KOCoca-Cola Co
$77.27-0.46%
MCO Logo
MCOMoodys Corp
$445.48-0.10%
NVDA Logo
NVDANVIDIA Corp
$184.30-0.93%
OXY Logo
OXYOccidental Petroleum Corp
$55.790.37%
PATH Logo
PATHUiPath Inc
$11.43-7.67%
ROKU Logo
ROKURoku Inc
$99.50-1.23%
SPY Logo
SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
$671.25-0.75%
TSLA Logo
TSLATesla Inc
$404.81-0.74%
TWLO Logo
TWLOTwilio Inc
$126.00-0.54%
U Logo
UUnity Software Inc
$19.75-1.45%
ZM Logo
ZMZoom Communications Inc
$75.10-1.25%
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