ARK Partners With Fintech Startup Say to Increase Transparency in Shareholder Communication

ARK Investment Management LLC (ARK), a New York-based adviser focused solely on investing in disruptive innovation, has partnered with Say, the fintech startup that is reimagining shareholder communications. Inspired by an opportunity to transform a rigid, antiquated process, Say directly connects all shareholders—whether they own a fraction of a share or millions—with companies and fund managers. Say creates a new kind of transparency and offers every investor a voice.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) was the first public company to adopt Say for its earnings calls and Q&A webcasts. ARK follows as the first fund manager to incorporate Say into its investor communications. “We are excited to partner with a company that shares the same values as ARK,” stated Sebastian Benkert, ARK’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Most of ARK’s ETFs are actively managed, so naturally investors want to understand our decision-making process. Our quarterly webinars always offer investors a direct line of communication to ARK’s investment team. With Say, we now are able to make our investor Q&As more transparent and engaging because shareholders vote for questions they find most relevant.”

“Whether you are invested in a public company, a mutual fund, or an ETF—all investors should have a say. It is important that shareholders have the ability to provide input and we could not be more excited to be giving Say to ARK investors,” said Zach Hascoe, Say Co-Founder. “We are powering a first-of-its-kind experience for investors in ETFs and mutual funds, allowing fund holders to share insights, ask questions, and create a productive dialogue directly with investment managers.”

“With an open research ecosystem, ARK aims to communicate a distinct perspective on the magnitude of technologically enabled disruptive innovation,” said Catherine Wood, ARK’s Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. “With this an open-source model, ARK achieves new insights. That’s why Say is so interesting to us—it adds crowdsourcing to ARK’s investor communication.”

Transparency seems to pay off. ARK, who is known for being at the forefront of innovation, received three Mutual Fund Industry and ETF Awards from Fund Intelligence in April 2019, including Active ETF of the Year (ARK Innovation ETF, ARKK), ETF Suite of the Year, and ETF Innovation (ARK’s Genomic Revolution ETF, ARKG).

SOURCE ARK Investment Management