Cramer says there's no reason for Ark's new space ETF to exist

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday he was skeptical about the latest exchange-traded fund launched by Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest.

“One look at the newly launched ARK Space Exploration ETF tells you everything you need to know about how managers can’t resist creating new funds, even if there’s no reason for them to exist,” Cramer said on “Mad Money.”

The ARK Space Exploration ETF (ARKX) tracks publicly traded companies in the budding space industry. The fund, which began trading Tuesday, sipped 1% to $20.30 in its first session.

Trimble, The 3D Printing ETF and unmanned systems provider Kratos Defense and Security Solutions are the fund’s three highest-weighted holdings. Defense contractors L3Harris and Lockheed Martin, as well as airplane manufacturer Boeing, are also part of the fund due to their space exposure.

While ARKX includes some pure space plays, Cramer was perplexed as to why names like Amazon, Alphabet and Netflix were included in the fund along. Chinese e-commerce plays JD.com, Alibaba and Tencent — as well as tractor manufacturer Deere — are also part of the ETFs holdings.

“It’s ridiculous, but there aren’t enough genuine space-related stocks to make a decent ETF and the manager wants to collect that 0.75% expense ratio,” Cramer said. “Maybe … don’t launch a space ETF if you have to pad it out with Netflix and Deere.”

Ark Invest did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Ark Invest, which targets disruptive companies particularly ones in technology, has picked up a lot of attention for its other funds’ strong during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, that momentum has eased this year in as many investors have sold high-growth stocks from the past year in favor of companies whose businesses are expected to boom during an economic recovery.

In its ARKX prospectus, the company said it plans to invest at least 80% of its assets in domestic and foreign companies that are connected or will benefit from space travel or services beyond the earth’s surface.

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Alphabet, Amazon and Boeing.

Disclaimer