How to buy ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) from Europe & the UK

So, can European or UK investors invest in ARKK ETF?

Yes, ARKK ETF is available in Europe. However, there are three key points to consider before investing:

1. Limited Availability: Most brokers do not offer the ARK Innovation ETF. The only broker we found that provides access to it is Interactive Brokers (see image below).
2. Low Assets Under Management (AUM): The AUM is currently under $1 million. Typically, if an ETF’s AUM does not exceed the $100 million mark within a year, the likelihood of the fund closing increases.
3. High Total Expense Ratio (TER): The TER is 0.75%, which is relatively high for an ETF.

Other ETFs to consider from ARK Invest:

Another option is to indirectly invest in the “original” ARK Invest ETFs (through CFDs – explained below). Since US-listed ETFs do not comply with European UCITS regulations (indicated by their ISIN starting with “US” – for example, US00214Q1040), they cannot be offered to European investors.

Thus, if you search for “ARK Innovation” or “ARKK” on any European broker platform, you will likely find no results unless it is a contract-for-difference (CFD).

What is a CFD?

A CFD allows you to achieve the same returns (positive or negative) as you would by investing directly in the asset by replicating it. It can also provide leverage to potentially increase your returns. Therefore, a CFD can give you the same exposure to the ARKK ETF by mimicking its daily movements (1-to-1 or even in a leveraged format). This is called indirect exposure since you do not actually own the asset.

How accurate is the CFD replication?

In eToro, an online broker with over 30 million users, you can buy a CFD of ARKK. As previously stated, in practice, owning the ARKK ETF or a non-levered CFD of ARKK ETF should give you a very similar performance, as shown here (performance from 17/05/2023 to 16/05/2024):

• ARK Innovation ETF:

• CFD on ARK Innovation ETF:

As you can notice, the “real” ARK Innovation ETF had a one-year performance of +16.54%. On the other hand, the CFD on ARK innovation ETF had a one-year performance of +16.49% for the same period.

In eToro, you will not incur any overnight or weekend fees for using a CFD to trade ARKK ETF when using an “X1 leverage” factor. In other words, a 1% move in the ETF will dictate a 1% move in the CFD. Still, if you want to get more aggressive, you can leverage your exposure up to 5 times (additional leverage fees will apply). The only fee you will face is the spread for buy/selling, which, for US-based instruments, is 0.15%.

This is what it looks like before giving a buy/sell order:

For more information on the platform, check our eToro review.

Pros and cons of using a CFD in eToro to invest in ARKK ETF

Other European brokers that allow indirect exposure to ARKK ETF

Trading 212 allows you to get the same indirect exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF through “trackers,” namely the “LS ARK Innovation Tracker ETP.” As you can see in the image, it gives you access to it through three different currencies (EUR, USD, and GBP):

In addition, you have access to leveraged trackers: “3x” and “-3x”, meaning you can go long or short, respectively, with a more aggressive exposure.

The non-leveraged ETFs, the one highlighted in the previous image, present an annual cost of 0.36%, which is worse when compared to the version shown on the eToro platform.

As a side note, Trading 212 is offering one free share worth up to €100! It may be worth checking that out. For more details, check our Trading 212 review.

XTB also allows you to get on board in the ARK Innovation ETF through an ETF CFD. Contrary to what happened in eToro and Trading 212, here you have no option to get a 1-to-1 exposure. As seen below, you can only invest with a leverage factor of 5, meaning €100 invested is, in reality, €500 invested (€100 yours plus €400 borrowed). So, additional fees will be applied.

For more details, check our XTB review.

Bottom Line

All in all, you can invest in the ARK Innovation ETF, but it is likely that your broker does not offer it (or any other of the other ETFs offered by ARK). Through a CFD, you can get the same exposure so make sure you use the financial instrument that better aligns with your intention of getting exposure to the Cathie Wood ETF.

Nobody knows how “disruptive technology” will behave in the following market cycle. Still, we believe that ARK Invest ETF might be a good option to participate in large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets resulting from several thematics such as robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology.

We hope it helped cover whether ARKK ETF was available for European and UK investors!