Key Points
Unlike investing in stocks, investing in private companies can be quite challenging for retail investors.
Buying stock in start-ups is generally reserved for venture capital firms or accredited investors.
Cathie Wood's Ark Investor portfolio provides exposure to pre-IPO companies for a relatively low cost.
Today, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic stand out as leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) and space technology, yet direct access to these unicorns has long been reserved for a small circle of venture capitalists and financial institutions.
The ARK Venture Fund(NASDAQMUTFUND: ARKVX) changes this narrative, offering retail investors an accessible vehicle to gain exposure to all three start-ups in one diversified portfolio.
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Investing in private companies as a retail investor
OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic are privately held and venture-backed, creating a steep hurdle for most investors. Unlike publicly traded stocks, shares in these companies do not trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or Nasdaq.
Instead, ownership typically comes through private funding rounds that demand accredited investor status along with minimum investments that can reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. While secondary markets exist for shares in these companies, they are fragmented, opaque, and typically closed to non-institutional buyers.
Liquidity is another major issue when investing in private companies. Unlike a typical stock, investors cannot easily sell when they need cash. Moreover, valuations can swing dramatically between funding rounds.
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Why would you want to invest in a start-up?
What draws investors to start-ups is their potential to deliver multibagger returns in industries poised for massive expansion.
OpenAI has revolutionized the AI era with tools like ChatGPT -- powering everything from creative applications to automating enterprise workflows. SpaceX, led by its reusable-rocket technology and Starlink satellite constellation, is transforming space exploration and global connectivity across government and commercial contracts. Anthropic has emerged as a serious competitor to OpenAI as its Claude family of models has become a core pillar supporting the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem.
While these companies operate at the cutting edge of innovation, all three boast valuations that have multiplied several times in recent years. By the time any (or all) reach public exchanges, retail investors may be paying multiple trillions in market value just to buy a few shares.
The ARK Venture Fund offers a strategic entry point
The ARK Venture Fund serves as a bridge connecting retail investors to pre-IPO stocks. Managed by Cathie Wood's Ark Invest, the fund includes a portfolio of 68 private and public companies. Its largest allocations are:
- SpaceX: 17%
- OpenAI: 11.5%
- Replit: 4.7%
- Figure AI: 4%
- Anthropic: 3.5%
Other notable start-ups in the portfolio include Databricks, Neuralink, Epic Games, Kalshi, and Groq.
As an interval fund, it does not trade like a traditional ETF or mutual fund. Instead, it offers liquidity through quarterly repurchases. According to the fund's prospectus, an initial minimum investment to buy shares starts at $500 and can be made through platforms like SoFi or select brokerages that support the fund. The fund's 3.49% expense ratio is far higher than most ETFs. This premium reflects the costs of sourcing, valuing, and managing private holdings.
Through the ARK Venture Fund, investors are able to sidestep accreditation barriers for a relatively low upfront outlay. Meanwhile, you also buy diversification across a number of marquee names before they go public.
For patient investors comfortable with the fund's liquidity mechanics and elevated fees -- and who have a higher degree of risk tolerance -- the fund represents a one-ticket solution to consider for participating in different breakthroughs defining the next decade of technology and science.
Should you buy stock in ARK Venture Fund right now?
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Adam Spatacco has positions in Amazon and SoFi Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
