Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC, predicts President-elect Donald Trump‘s return to the White House will trigger significant economic growth through deregulation and tax cuts, drawing parallels to the economic transformation during former President Ronald Reagan‘s administration in the 1980s.
What Happened: In a post-election analysis video, Wood popularly known for leading ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK) outlined how Trump’s anticipated policies, including reform of major regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, could catalyze substantial economic expansion.
“President Trump is coming into office when that part of the equivalent administration has been done,” Wood said, comparing the current economic landscape to the early 1980s. She emphasized that Trump’s growth-focused approach, particularly his promised tax cuts, could mirror the economic success seen during Reagan’s presidency.
Wood highlighted several key initiatives expected under Trump’s second term:
- Reduced government oversight through regulatory reform
- Decreased federal spending
- Lower tax rates for businesses and consumers
- Increased focus on technological innovation
Addressing Trump’s trade policies, Wood expressed qualified support for his targeted tariff approach. “If Trump makes good on tariff promises… if we counter them at home with lower tax rates for consumers and businesses, that’s a trade-off. That’s a good trade,” she said, adding, “I think the President is very growth-oriented and he’s not going to do anything to harm growth.”
Why It Matters: On monetary policy, Wood noted current federal funds rates near 5% could decrease further under Trump’s administration, contrasting with the 15% rates seen in the early 1980s. She predicted businesses might delay certain activities in anticipation of Trump’s promised tax cuts, similar to the behavior observed during his first term.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wood wrote that Trump’s approach to “deregulation (defanging the SEC, FTC, and others), government spending cuts (making room for the private sector), tax cuts, and a focus on technologically enabled innovation are likely to turbocharge the U.S. economy more powerfully than during the Reagan Revolution.”
Wood emphasized that emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and advanced healthcare genomics, combined with Trump’s projected policies, could drive unprecedented productivity growth while helping to control inflation.
The ARK Invest CEO suggests this confluence of technological innovation and Trump’s proposed economic policies could usher in a new era of active equity investing, similar to the market dynamics of the 1980s and 1990s.
Read Next:
- Trump’s Tariffs, Deportations, And Tax Cuts May Push Prices Higher, Experts Say: ‘It’s Pretty Clear’
Image via Ark Invest
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
