Thanks to a combination of factors, such as weak economic data, tariff concerns, higher-than-expected inflation, and fears about AI capital expenditures, the stock market has been beaten down in recent months. And while the overall market has taken a hit, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has been the worst performer of the major indices, with the Nasdaq Composite nearly 15% below its recent high.

Financial technology, or fintech, has been beaten down even worse. In addition to the general market factors mentioned above, there are some that have weighed heavily on fintech stocks, such as fears of slower consumer spending and worries about profit margins for certain types of fintech businesses.

Just to name a few, leading e-commerce platform Shopify (SHOP -1.17%) is down 26% since mid-February. Payment disruptor Block (NYSE: XYZ) is down by 42% from its 2025 peak after a weaker-than-expected earnings report. And online-based bank SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI) has fallen 35% since its January high. I could go on, but you get the idea.

While there are plenty of beaten-down businesses with excellent long-term growth opportunities, it can be intimidating to try to pick individual winners in turbulent times like this. And that's why the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF -1.33%) is on my radar right now.

The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF

Most exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are passive index funds, meaning that they invest in all the stocks in a particular index and aim to simply match its performance over time. On the other hand, the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF is an actively managed fund, which means that it has a portfolio manager selecting stocks (in this case, notable tech investor Cathie Wood). In short, an index fund aims to match the performance of a benchmark, while an actively managed fund like this aims to beat a benchmark index.

One of the biggest differences in practice is that index funds, which tend to be weighted, generally have more of their money in the largest positions and less in smaller stocks (where the most growth potential might lie). On the other hand, actively managed funds will often have a blend of smaller and larger companies among their top holdings, not just the largest businesses in the industry.

That is definitely the case with Ark Fintech Innovation ETF. Here are the fund's top 10 positions as of March 30, 2025:

Data source: Ark Invest. Note: Ark Bitcoin ETF is effectively an investment in Bitcoin (BTC -0.30%).

In short, you'll get a nice mix of different types of fintech stocks, including e-commerce companies, cryptocurrency businesses, payment processors, financial app providers, cybersecurity companies, and more. And while there can be short-term cyclicality and headwinds, there is clearly a massive opportunity in financial technology over the years to come.

Risks to consider

To be clear, there are some major drawbacks. Cost is a big one. The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF has a 0.75% expense ratio, which is certainly higher than most passive index funds (but is in line with what other actively managed funds charge).

This is also a relatively concentrated ETF. There are 37 different stocks in the portfolio as of the latest information, but the top 10 holdings make up almost 55% of the fund's assets. If some of the largest holdings, such as Shopify or Coinbase, take a big hit, it could have a big impact on the fund.

Above all, investing in any rapidly evolving technology is inherently risky, and fintech is no exception. Even the most mature holdings in the portfolio, like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), can be rather volatile over short periods.

Having said that, there's an opportunity to buy some of the most promising fintech stocks at a discount right now due to the recent market weakness. The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF combines many of the top players in the space in a single investment, and with the Nasdaq still well in the realm of correction territory, this ETF is one I'm strongly considering right now, even though I already own several of the stocks in its portfolio.