Michael Burry just unveiled a new short bet against Cathie's Wood's innovation ETF - but he's far from the only skeptic

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Michael Burry just unveiled a new short bet against Cathie's Wood's innovation ETF - but he's far from the only skeptic
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
  • Michael Burry revealed a new bet against Ark Invest's Disruptive Innovation ETF in a recent 13F filing.
  • Burry bought puts in the ARKK ETF totaling about $31 million, according to the filing.
  • Bets against Cathie Wood's flagship fund are piling up as one issuer seeks to launch a Short ARKK ETF.
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Cathie Wood's Ark Invest and the meteoric rise of its Disruptive Innovation ETF continues to attract skeptics willing to bet against the fund.

Michael Burry is the latest investor to reveal a bet against the ETF, according to Scion Asset Management's second-quarter 13F filing. Burry initiated the new position by buying $31 million worth of puts in the ARKK ETF.

Burry's not the only one, as the Disruptive Innovation ETF has a 30-day put-to-call ratio of 1.8, meaning more people are buying bearish put options on the fund than bullish call options.

Other investors are outright shorting shares of the ETF, with short interest currently sitting at a record high 11.63%, according to data from Koyfin. With 21.58 million shares sold short as of Friday, the bet against ARK Invest's Disruptive Innovation ETF now totals $2.6 billion.

Eyeing an opportunity to capitalize off the rising short interest in Cathie Wood's ARK Invest ETF, Tuttle Capital Management filed a prospectus with the SEC to launch a Short ARKK ETF earlier this month. The Short ARKK ETF will attempt to generate inverse returns to the ARKK ETF by entering swap contracts tied to the ETF. The ETF would make it easier for short sellers to bet against the fund.

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Burry's bet against ARK is likely tied to his conviction that Tesla is a short, given that Scion Asset Management's largest position is a $731 million put position in the electric vehicle manufacturer, representing a whopping 35% of his fund's more than $2 billion in assets under management. Burry increased his bet against Tesla by 34% in the second-quarter.

Tesla remains Ark Invests largest position by a significant margin, with it making up nearly 11% of the ARKK ETF as of Friday.

The ARKK ETF is down 7% year-to-date, but up 38% over the past year. The ETF was down about 3% on Monday.

Read more: Inside Cathie Wood's China investing strategy: The Ark Invest CEO breaks down why she's selling out of Chinese stocks - and what she'll be buying instead with the cash raised

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