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Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood is treating the latest market anxiety not as a reason to retreat, but as evidence that the bull market still has room to run. Speaking to CNBC on Friday, she said the unease gripping investors reinforced her optimism after a turbulent stretch for U.S. equities.

U.S. equities sold off sharply Thursday, erasing the initial rally that followed the midterm elections. Stocks connected to artificial intelligence led the decline, pushing the Nasdaq Composite into correction territory before technology shares mounted a tentative recovery Friday.

The Thursday slide was driven in large part by concern that a Congress led by Democrats would slow data center construction. Questions surrounding AI spending, capital expenditure, cash flow, debt and circular financing have also triggered repeated volatility during the year.

Wood said a “wall of worry” now hangs over financial markets, but her experience gives her a different reading of that anxiety. “I experienced the tech and telecom bubble, and you know there really wasn’t much worry about it,” she said.

“It was the 80s and the 90s, and it was a bull market, and people were just assuming this would go to the moon, that is not how this [the AI trade] has evolved.” Wood said investors have worried from the start about the amount and speed of AI spending.

Those concerns also include the shift among hyperscalers from extremely positive free cash flow to negative free cash flow. “So it’s been unsettling the markets for quite some time,” she said.

“I always feel better when the market is worried, because that tends to suggest a more durable bull market, and I don’t think we’ve derailed this bull market.” The performance of Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF in 2025 supported her upbeat position.

The fund gained more than 35% in 2025, far exceeding the S&P 500’s 16.4% advance and the Nasdaq Composite’s 20.5% rally. Asked Friday whether the current bull run was nearing its end, Wood replied: “I don’t think so.”

“I think we’re in the middle of a technology revolution,” she said, citing developments including robotaxis and AI agents. Still, Wood identified the rising cost of capital as one factor that risked becoming a “showstopper.”

Interest rates and bond yields have risen sharply this year as the war between the U.S. and Iran pushes inflation higher around the world. Corporate bond yields have also climbed as creditors demand greater compensation for lending money to companies.

“This correction is partly caused by what’s going on in the bond markets,” Wood said. She added that senior figures in finance who were young during the technology bubble have helped maintain the current wall of worry.

Wood said bond investors can now be added to that cautious group because AI requires substantial fixed costs. Earlier technology businesses were built around software, viral apps, low fixed costs and very high margins, while AI has brought creditors deeper into the technology market.

The AI hyperscalers have some insulation because of their growth opportunities, according to Wood. “If a company thinks that taking on debt is going to accelerate its momentum, meaning its growth rate, it hardly matters what happens to interest rates for those companies,” she explained.

Her advice to investors during the volatility is to identify their positions with the highest conviction and increase their focus on those holdings as markets move. “When you see a rally in a volatile environment, take some profits. When you see a sell-off, you’ll have the psychological wherewithal if you have taken profits to move back in,” she said.

Wood said Ark has concentrated on its highest conviction names during the past week or so, while its SpaceX position has increased. She argued that controversy surrounding data centers on Earth is creating a larger opportunity for data centers in space.

Looking toward 2027, Wood said she expects the equity rally to continue. “This is two steps forward, one step back,” she said of the turbulence following the election. “The revolution will become clearer and clearer next year, and I think the market will do well.”

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.