Cathie Wood is widely recognised as one of the most influential fund managers in the industry right now. After working for more than four decades at leading investment firms, she founded Ark Investment Management LLC (often shortened to Ark Invest) in 2014 to focus on innovative companies with a vision to reimagine the status quo – after finding inspiration in the writings of the Christian bible. As I began to get this idea of a firm going and realised that I was fighting this war, I knew I had to name my company ‘Ark’ for Ark of the Covenant Cathie Wood While backing emerging players may be a risky move, Wood’s strategy has paid off, big time: last month, Ark’s exchange-traded fund assets under management hit US$50 billion. From her investment style to her raucous Reddit following, here’s what to know about the star stock-picker. What taught Elon Musk’s kids the most? YouTube and Reddit She named her investment firm after the Ark of the Covenant A devout Christian, Wood found inspiration for her company while reading The One-Year Bible . She often came across passages describing the Ark of the Covenant – the chest said to have held the Ten Commandments – being taken by the Israelites into battle. On the daily devotional podcast Jesus Calling, Wood said her company was founded on faith and added: “As I began to get this idea of a firm going and realised that I was fighting this war, I knew I had to name my company ‘Ark’ for Ark of the Covenant.” How Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath went from dropout to stock market king One analyst’s trash was a young Wood’s treasure Wood’s eye for “disruptive innovation” was honed in the early days of her career at Jennison Associates. As a young equity research analyst, she didn’t have first pick of what to cover, meaning that she ended up with what others didn’t want, which at the time were emerging internet and wireless stocks. Wood saw first-hand the value of these companies and how they had the potential not just for financial returns but to transform the way the world worked. She’s since continued to identify and back disruptive innovators, with Ark focusing especially on firms in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing and blockchain. Jeff Bezos is handing the reins to who? Meet Andy Jassy She’s a big believer in a Tesla-driven future Speaking of innovation, Wood has long been bullish on Tesla, which is the largest holding in her company’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF. Hey, institutional investors! Time to catch up on the real #Tesla story. Thank you @elonmusk for spending time with @TashaARK and me. Truth will win out! https://t.co/XcJAXVe9K7 pic.twitter.com/wCLZC7LGDg — Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) February 19, 2019 Her confidence in Elon Musk’s firm goes far beyond its current electric-vehicle output, looking instead at its prospects as an AI pioneer and autonomous ride-hailing service provider that could change the way we travel – and live – in the future. He overtook Bill Gates, but will Elon Musk ever be richer than Jeff Bezos? She supported Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election Wood backed the 45th president’s bid for re-election – a move that was seemingly incongruent with her invested interests in companies touting science-based solutions. But the Ark founder explained that she was assessing the situation “from a strict economic view”, rationalising that innovation would be better fuelled by continued lower taxes and regulations promised under Trump’s administration. How luxury brands are reassessing their relationships with Donald Trump The internet loves her Aside from being widely respected by professional investors, Wood also has a huge online fan base and is a particular favourite of the Reddit community. Part of the reason for this is because she makes information traditionally accessible only to financial elites accessible to the masses, publishing Ark research for free and openly sharing her insights and opinions on social media. She’s so popular that she’s even inspired a line of merchandise that includes T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the tickers of her firm’s actively managed ETFs. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .