In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, host Mike Milligan opens with a quick market snapshot—mixed equity performance, slightly lower Treasury yields, a firm Bitcoin price, and a modest rise in gold—framing the day as a rotation between defensive and growth assets. He then shifts to a deep dive on Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, outlining her career, the five thematic platforms that drive ARK (AI, robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing, blockchain), the fund’s size, expense ratio, top holdings, and her evolving Bitcoin price targets. Milligan reviews ARK Innovation ETF’s volatile track record from 2020‑2025, emphasizing the importance of assessing volatility within a personal financial plan and posing three key self‑assessment questions for investors holding ARKK. A behavioral‑finance anecdote follows, using Starbucks’ pumpkin‑spice latte as a seasonal cue to illustrate how humans respond better to short‑term signals than long‑term planning, and how a “one‑of‑a‑kind” plan can embed similar calendar cues (Roth conversions, charitable giving, tax‑loss harvesting). He then lists three macro events to watch that week—Nvidia’s earnings, the Core PCE inflation report, and potential NASDAQ dip buying by growth investors—while stressing these are educational signals, not trade recommendations. The episode closes with Milligan’s personal branding, a call‑to‑action for listeners to contact his advisory firm, and standard disclaimer language. The overall message is that investors should avoid blindly following “recipes” and instead build individualized, cue‑driven financial plans that can tolerate volatility.
Chapters
Pumpkin spice latte in the United States comes out today. That means fall's right around the corner. Also right around the corner this week, Nvidia's earnings and a huge inflation report. And today on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, I'm going to profile Cathie Wood. You may know who that is, you may not, but you will by the time we finish this episode. I'm 34 days away from turning 50 years old. Some people are 34 years. Or 34 months away from retirement. The question remains, whether it's days, months, or years, whose plan are you going to follow? The plan set out by you for somebody else or your personal one-of-a-kind financial plan? Let's get going. Yesterday on the Monday opening and close of the stock market, the markets were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.26%, finishing at 53,417. S&P, NASDAQ, and the Russell 2000 were all lower. S&P down 0.28%, NASDAQ 0.77%, and Russell 2000 down 0.76%. The rates also ticked slightly lower yesterday. The 10-year Treasury yield settled around 4.71%, and the 30-year at just a little hair below 5.25% at 5.23%. 5.23%. Bitcoin though, the story at the end of last week and even today, Bitcoin at the end of the trading day yesterday on the US stock exchange was firm. It was at $78,961. That was up 1.59% on the session. Gold using GLD, the ETF, closed up 0.79% yesterday. Anytime we talk about the market, just remember it's for educational purposes only. It's not advice. On a day like yesterday where the Dow leans defensive green, not a solid up, and the NASDAQ leans growth red, that is the market telling you rotation is happening under the hood. In a one-of-a-kind financial plan, we do not overreact to one session. We ask whether the plan still solves for income taxes, Let's get onto our profile today. Yesterday was Ray Dalio. Today, Cathie Wood. At 70 years old, she is the founder of ARK Invest. She did that in 2014 after 2 decades at Jennison, Tupelo, and Alliance Bernstein. She trained under Art Laffer at USC. She built ARK on one bet, that disruptive innovation is the biggest wealth creation force of our lifetime, and that traditional index funds cannot capture it because they are backward looking. Her flagship is the ARK Innovation ETF, ticker ARKK, assets under management of about $6.4 billion today. That's down from a $50 billion peak in 2021. It's got an expense ratio of 75 basis points with top holding Tesla holding 9 to 10% of the fund. She built ARK around 5 platforms: artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing, and blockchain. She made some big calls during her time, and I stress these are her calls, not mine. She put Tesla at a price target of $2,600 by the year 2030, with about 90% of the value tied to robotaxi and full self-driving cars. She's a Bitcoin bull making the case for a $1.5 million coin. That's a bull case. A base case of $1 million. In a bear case, of $700,000. Later, she trimmed that bull to $1.25 million and the base to $750,000 in the Big Ideas 2026 report. And she recently said stablecoins could reduce her Bitcoin target by roughly $300,000. So her prognostication is on the move. Her August 2026 macro view said, quote, the Fed will not tighten in 2026.
Wow.
Now the honest track record. ARKK returned about 152% in 2020, then negative 23% in 2021, negative 67% in 2022, positive 67% in 2023, then about 8% in 2024 and around 35% in 2025. Guys, that's a roller coaster if I've ever seen one. Low single digit year to year through 2026. And on a 5-year annualized basis, the fund sits at near 9 to 10% in loss. Cathie Wood is not wrong to think in decades. She is wrong for anyone who cannot stomach a 77% discount. It's not a judgment on her. That's a judgment around whether volatility fits into a plan. Someone who gets a lot of press on CNBC and others has constant volatility in their portfolio. If you own ARKK, A-R-K-K, you should be able to answer 3 questions. What percentage of my portfolio is here? What is the tax location? Is it Roth, traditional, or brokerage? And what would I do if it dropped 50% again next year? Guys, we're not chasing returns. We're here to profile some of the biggest names in financial services. Ray Dalio yesterday, macro guy, huge, big following. Cathie Wood today, somebody out in the market helping her investors ride big roller coasters. We don't chase returns as much as we build the one-of-a-kind financial plan. Here on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily.
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And here we are, guys. Starbucks brings back the pumpkin spice latte today. And for the first time, they've added something I'm excited about, the iced banana bread latte and an iced banana bread chai to the permanent menu. Yum. This is not just a coffee story, guys. This is a behavioral finance story. The PSL turns 23 years old this fall, and every year people who would never pay $6 for a coffee pay $6 for a coffee. Why? Because it's a seasonal anchor. It signals a shift. It's a shift that summer is ending, kids are back in school, and football is starting soon. The behavioral lesson, humans are terrible at long-term planning, but brilliant at seasonal ones. That is why a one-of-a-kind financial plan builds cues into the year. September is Rothtober prep. Is a Roth conversion right for you? That goes into October planning so that we execute it and get ready for Medicare open enrollment prep. November is charitable giving and qualified charitable distributions. And December is year-end tax harvesting. Your PSL is your reminder that the calendar has just changed. Has your financial plan changed in a number of years?
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3 things I'm watching for the rest of the week. And listen, this is just pure education as I'm watching. I'm not ready to make big calls or big plans or change anything about my personal financial plan to my clients based on this. But man, after the close on Wednesday, after that big announcement a couple weeks ago where Nvidia said that they had secured a half a trillion dollar line of credit from 9 to 10 financial institutions backed by microchips, they're going to announce earnings. I'm not going to trade on this. Nvidia is the emotional center of gravity for the AI trade this week. The market will swing on what they say on that call. Core PCE inflation is going to happen Friday morning. That's the Fed's preferred gauge. And then the third thing I'm watching is whether Cathie Wood or anyone in the growth camp tries to buy the NASDAQ dip we saw on Monday. I'm going to look for volume tomorrow just to see what's there. None of this is a signal to trade, folks. It's a signal to check whether your plan already answers those questions.
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This has been the, uh, the show for Tuesday, August 25th. Again, 34 days until I turn 50 years old. I am consistently learning not only Spanish, but how to communicate effectively to you about what's going on in the market. So you feel informed, you feel educated, you feel coached so that you can build the one-of-a-kind financial plan. If today gave you one idea worth acting on, text the word ideas, I-D-E-A-S, to the number 600-700, or call my company directly, One Oak Financial, at 757-909-7151. We're not chasing returns, folks. We are building the one-of-a-kind financial plan. My mission is to educate, coach, plan, and my motto is to never miss a moment. I am Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planning Professional. I'll see you tomorrow. This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, and I am Mike Milligan. The show is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute personalized investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Investing involves risk.
Including loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. References to Cathie Wood, ARK Investment, ARKK, Tesla, Bitcoin, Starbucks, Nvidia, or any other person, company, or security are for illustration and educational purposes only and are not recommendations to buy, sell, or hold any security. Price targets attributed to Cathie Wood are First data views and not those of Mike Milligan, One Oak Financial, or any affiliate or unaffiliated group that we are registered with. Consult your own licensed certified financial planner, certified public accountant, or attorney before acting on tax, investment, or legal advice. I am a certified financial planning professional and the founder of One Oak Financial, www.oneoakfinancial.com. That's the number one oak financial.com. Don't forget, share this podcast with your friends, have them subscribe, comment below, and like this for further.
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