Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has acquired thematic ETF issuer Rize ETF from AssetCo for £5.25m, marking the firm’s first foray into the European ETF market.
The acquisition includes an earn-out provision, capped at £5.25m, which will operate over five years and is subject to a minimum, dependent upon certain conditions.
Rize ETF, which currently manages $452m assets under management across 11 ETFs, will be renamed ARK Invest Europe.
ARK Invest Europe will be the hub for the firm’s expansion into continental Europe, the UK and new markets globally.
As part of the agreement, ARK and AssetCo will partner to support the launch of several ETFs for River and Mercantile.
Cathie Wood (pictured), founder, CIO, and CEO of ARK Invest, commented: “We believe that the European ETF market presents a strong growth opportunity as new and younger investors continue to gain access to ETFs via the growth of digital platforms, and as active ETFs increase market share by meeting the demand for innovative investment exposures.
“By merging its passion for thematic and sustainable index investing with ARK's actively-managed approach centred on disruptive innovation, we can offer our clients a more diverse array of investment options to invest in the future.”
Stuart Forbes, co-founder of Rize ETF, added: “Leveraging ARK's global network and our expertise in European distribution, we aim to strengthen our collective global presence.
“This initiative signifies not just business growth, but a collaborative exchange of global asset management best practices, insights, and tactics.”
Rize ETF was founded in 2019 by former Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) colleagues Forbes, Anthony Martin, Jason Kennard and Rahul Bhushan.
The firm offers a suite of thematic UCITS ETFs with its largest ETF, the Rize Sustainable Future of Food UCITS ETF (FOOD), housing $178m AUM.
In July 2021, AssetCo, the firm chaired by Martin Gilbert, acquired a 63% stake in Rize ETF for £16.5m.
However, the firm wrote down of value of Rize ETF by approximately £5m in June this year after stating it remains “materially behind plan”.
