ARKK vs CATH ETF Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
ARKK and CATH represent two different investing philosophies that happen to be in ETF form. ARKK is a concentrated active disruptive technology bet with extraordinary upside potential and devastating downside — high risk, high reward for technology optimists. CATH is a values-screened S&P 500 fund for Catholic investors who want market exposure aligned with their faith — a values-first investment with near-market performance expectations. These ETFs serve entirely different investor motivations.
ARKK vs CATH — ARK Innovation ETF (Cathie Wood's concentrated active bet on disruptive technology leaders in genomics, AI, fintech, and energy storage with extraordinary volatility) versus Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF (S&P 500 screened to exclude USCCB-conflicting companies for faith-aligned investors seeking market-rate returns with values alignment).
CATH holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CATH has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+13.96% vs +7.75% for ARKK).
- believe ARK's disruptive technology research framework correctly identifies tomorrow's technology leaders before they achieve mainstream recognition — and have multi-year patience for the thesis to play out
- want concentrated exposure to disruptive technology themes (genomics, AI, crypto, autonomous vehicles) with active management flexibility to concentrate in highest-conviction ideas
- have high risk tolerance for 50-75% drawdown potential and can hold through severe multi-year underperformance vs S&P 500 without selling
- are comfortable with 0.75% expense ratio, ARK's post-2021 track record of significant underperformance, and the possibility that near-zero interest rates were a one-time tailwind not repeatable
- are Catholic investors seeking to align investment portfolios with USCCB Catholic social teaching guidelines without sacrificing broad market diversification
- prefer values-first investing where faith alignment is the primary portfolio objective and financial returns should track the S&P 500 as closely as possible after the values screen
- want a simple, low-cost faith-based ETF alternative to building individual stock portfolios that manually exclude USCCB-conflicting companies
- are comfortable with possible tracking error vs the S&P 500 depending on performance of excluded sectors and the 0.29% cost premium over pure S&P 500 ETFs
| Metric | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 39.0 | 65.0 |
| Latest closei | $86.92 | $90.53 |
| 1M returni | +9.82% | -0.91% |
| 6M returni | +22.30% | +14.76% |
| 1Y returni | +7.75% | +13.96% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.77K (+7.7%) started 2025-09-17 | $11.49K (+14.9%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $7.4K (-26.0%) started 2021-09-17 | $18.16K (+81.6%) started 2021-09-17 |
| 10Y ago | $47.91K (+379.1%) started 2016-09-19 | $44.95K (+349.5%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.75% | 0.29% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $6.44B | $1.36B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 0.75% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 56.10 | 24.32 |
| Betai | 2.03 | 1.04 |
| 52-week change | 7.75% | 13.96% |
| Metric | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +7.75% | +13.96% |
| 6M returni | +22.30% | +14.76% |
| 1M returni | +9.82% | -0.91% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 0.27 | 0.73 |
| Betai | 2.03 | 1.04 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 0.75% |
| 5Y CAGR | -6.17% | +11.45% |
Over the past year, ARKK and CATH have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.77), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +7.75% | +13.96% |
| CAGRi | +7.75% | +13.97% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.99% | 13.04% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.27 | 0.73 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.39 | 1.03 | |
| Max drawdowni | 31.35% | 9.42% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.06% | 2.37% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 14.56% | 1.61% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.06% | 2.34% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.97% | 2.79% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.57% | 3.80% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -27.27% | +71.92% |
| CAGRi | -6.17% | +11.45% | |
| Volatilityi | 46.81% | 18.02% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.00 | 0.44 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.00 | 0.64 | |
| Max drawdowni | 76.12% | 28.13% | |
| Current drawdowni | 29.37% | 2.37% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 52.37% | 7.33% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 54.94% | 10.60% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.10% | 6.45% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.56% | 11.73% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +340.65% | +294.34% |
| CAGRi | +16.00% | +14.72% | |
| Volatilityi | 40.68% | 18.61% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.59 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.66 | 0.83 | |
| Max drawdowni | 80.91% | 33.95% | |
| Current drawdowni | 43.56% | 2.37% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 34.81% | 5.26% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 45.50% | 8.52% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.57% | 11.91% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.56% | 16.63% |
| Category | ARKK | CATH |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | ARK Innovation ETF | Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.75% | 0.29% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $6.44B | $1.36B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 0.75% |
- 2020 performance demonstrated upside potential: ARKK's 150%+ gain in 2020 proved that concentrated disruptive technology bets can generate extraordinary returns in favorable rate environments
- Cathie Wood's disruptive technology framework: ARK's proprietary research framework combining multi-year price targets across technology platforms has influenced institutional technology investing conversation
- Active management flexibility: ARKK can rapidly shift into emerging opportunities (AI, crypto, genomics) faster than passive indices — the portfolio rotates toward highest-conviction disruptive technology bets
- S&P 500 market exposure with values screen: CATH provides near-S&P 500 performance with ~450 companies after removing USCCB-conflicting holdings — minimal return impact vs vanilla S&P 500 in most periods
- Faith-based investing legitimacy: CATH's USCCB-guidelines-based screen provides an institutional framework for Catholic values investing beyond individual stock exclusion decisions
- 0.29% expense ratio: competitive expense for a values-screened ETF — much cheaper than ARKK and reasonable vs standard S&P 500 ETFs (0.03%) given the additional screening methodology
- Post-2021 underperformance has been severe: ARKK fell 75%+ from peak to trough in 2021-2023 — investors who bought at peak valuations have experienced significant and long-lasting drawdowns
- 0.75% expense ratio on an ETF with poor recent performance: the active management fee is difficult to justify when recent performance has significantly underperformed the S&P 500
- Concentrated high-multiple growth company risk: ARKK's holdings trade at extreme valuations — in rising rate environments, high-multiple growth stocks experience significant multiple compression
- Catholic values screening may reduce diversification marginally: excluding healthcare companies (contraceptives, stem cell research) removes some S&P 500 names — but the 450+ remaining stocks provide broad diversification
- Performance vs S&P 500 depends on screened sectors' relative performance: if excluded sectors (certain healthcare, defense) outperform, CATH will underperform the standard S&P 500
- Faith-based investing is values-first, returns-second: CATH investors prioritize alignment with Catholic teaching — investors purely maximizing financial returns should compare CATH vs VOO performance track record
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