Accessing the World of Genetics

“As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.”

— Hippocrates

The increasing ability of human beings to treat formerly lethal diseases has had a massive effect on the quality of our lives over the past century. However, many damaging genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs and cystic fibrosis have remained outside of this pattern.

While certain drugs and treatments for these conditions do exist, they only can ameliorate the symptoms, not cure them.

Yet, the fact that the genomics industry is working to remedy this situation by developing gene-editing tools like CRISPR also provides new opportunities for investors. For instance, the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS: ARKG) provides investors with exposure to companies around the world that are involved in the genomics revolution, regardless of sector.

As of right now, most of its holdings are in U.S health care companies, most of which (71.93%) are in the biotech sector. Its other top sectors include advanced medical equipment and technology (12%), medical equipment, supplies and distribution (6.49%), health care facilities & services (4.21%) and pharmaceuticals (4.13%).

Its top holdings include Invitae Corp. (NYSE: NVTA), Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP), Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA), Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT) and Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC).

This fund’s performance has been solid in both the short run and the long run. As of February 10, 2020, ARKG is up 4.70% over the past month and up 19.95% over the past three months. It currently is up 6.59% year to date.

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The fund currently has $514.19 million assets under management and an expense ratio of 0.75%, meaning that it is more expensive to hold in comparison to other ETFs.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

While ARKG does provide an investor with a chance to profit from the world of genetics, the sector may not be appropriate for all portfolios. Interested investors always should conduct their due diligence and decide whether the fund is suitable for their investing goals.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Successful Investing, the Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.