Even while other actively managed funds and fund managers battled to recover from the COVID-19-induced slowdown, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest had a spectacular year in 2020. Wood was dubbed the "Midas Touch" after her fund's flagship ARK Innovation ETF ARKK +0.77% (Get Free Alerts for ARKK) returned a whopping 153 percent, outperforming the S& P 500 Index's 16.3 percent gain.

Ark Experiences a Post-COVID-19 Complication: By 2021, Ark's performance had become more mixed. The Ark Innovation ETF dropped 3.7 percent in the first quarter before rebounding with a 9 percent gain in the second.

According to Ark's third-quarter performance report, all of its actively managed funds and its two self-indexed ETFs underperformed the market.

The performance of each Ark ETF in the third quarter is as follows:

ETFs that are actively traded

ETF: Ark Innovation: (-15.5 percent )

The Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) is an exchange-traded fund that invests in autonomous technology and robotics (-9.5 percent )

The Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) is an exchange-traded fund that invests in the next generation of the internet (-9.9 percent )

ETF for the Ark Genomic Revolution (ARKG): (-19.3 percent )

ARK Fintech Innovation ETF ARKF +0.06%: ARK Fintech Innovation ETF ARKF +0.06%: ARK Fintech Innovation ETF ARK (-8.7 percent )

ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX): Ark ETF Trust: (-6.6 percent )

ETFs that track indices

The ETF for 3D Printing (PRNT): (-10 percent )

The Ark Israel Innovation Technology ETF (IZRL) is a mutual fund that invests in Israel's innovative technology (-8.3 percent )

When compared to the more significant market performance, the low showing is exemplified. The S& P 500 Index rose 2.5 percent in the third quarter, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.1 percent.

Consumer and investor confidence is being harmed by macro headwinds, according to Wood's quarterly report. Fears of an economic slowdown arose due to a spike in the delta strain of the coronavirus, supply chain difficulties, and a Chinese government crackdown, she noted.

Ark feels that inflation fears are exaggerated and that the chances of deflation are more plausible.

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Tesla Aids In Weakness Mitigation: Wood is a self-proclaimed Tesla, Inc. TSLA +3.26 percent bull. With over 10% stakes in each, Tesla is part of the ARK Innovation ETF, the Ark Innovation ETF, and the Ark Innovation ETF.

In the third quarter, the electric vehicle behemoth topped the list of contributors to the returns of each of these ETFs.

Ark Invest sold approximately $605 million of Tesla stock in September alone, taking advantage of the EV maker's third-quarter rally.

Tesla's sales have continued far into October.

Energy and financial services are the most likely to be disrupted by innovation. The power and financial services sectors have benefited the most from the shift toward cyclical in the last nine to 12 months, according to Ark. These two industries, according to the firm, will be the most disrupted by innovation during the next five years.

"Autonomous electric vehicles and digital wallets, including cryptocurrencies and the decentralized financial services (DeFi) associated more broadly with blockchain technologies, will, in ARK's opinion, significantly disrupt and disintermediate both Energy and Financial Services over the next five years."