Ark Innovation Fund Rallies: Should Investors Still Avoid ARKK 'At All Costs'?

The ARK Innovation ETF ARKK has had a brutal year, falling more than 60% over the past 12 months compared to just a negative 2.5% total return for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY in that same stretch.

The ARKK fund has bounced a bit in three weeks, gaining 5% overall. However, former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson said Monday that investors should think twice before buying the dip in the ARKK fund.

Risk Management: Tilson said he's bullish on growth stocks and tech stocks overall, but he said in his daily email newsletter that the ARKK fund and its manager Cathie Wood are simply too risky to trust.

Related Link: ARK Innovation ETF Hits 1-Year Anniversary Of All-Time Highs: How Closely Is ARKK Tracking The Nasdaq's Dot-Com Bubble Burst?

"I think there are much better ways to play it and continue to believe investors should avoid ARKK at all costs for all of the reasons I've outlined in previous e-mails – most notably that Wood is a terrible stock picker and an even worse risk manager," Tilson said.

Better Buys: Tilson pointed out that Wood initially founded ARK because of a disagreement on risk with her former employer, AllianceBernstein. Her former boss at AllianceBernstein has even recently told the Financial Times that Wood's "biggest blind spot is managing risk and volatility." That assessment has certainly proved true during the high-risk, high-volatility market of the past 12 months in which the ARKK fund has been among the worst performers on Wall Street.

For investors looking to buy the 2022 market dip, Tilson said two of his favorite investments that he prefers instead of the ARKK fund are S&P 500 index funds, such as the SPY fund, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B).

Benzinga's Take: Loading up on high-risk speculative investments like the ARKK's top holdings can produce some staggering short-term returns when the market is hot, but it's hard to argue with long-term results. Over the past three years, the SPY fund has generated a 52.4% total return, Berkshire has a 52.9% total return and the ARKK fund has only a 7.5% total return.