13 minute read
Cathie Wood: Faithful Investing
Faithful
Investing
by Amy Kerr
WALL STREET TRADERS WHISPER Cathie Wood’s name with reverence held for titans like Warren Buff ett and Jack Bogle. The sixty-fi ve-yearold has made a name for herself by staking huge investments in innovative technologies—and having an unwavering faith. Wood is the founder, CEO, and CIO (Chief Investment Offi cer) of ARK Invest, an investment management fi rm focused on companies transforming how the world lives and works. The companies in Wood’s portfolios are household names—Tesla, Square, Roku, Teladoc Health, Shopify. She openly shares her research on social media, unheard of in the investing world, believing the rising tide of information will strengthen her company, the companies in her portfolio—and even her competitors. Her embrace of innovation isn’t new. Wood’s been doing things a little diff erently for decades. She was born in 1955 to Irish immigrants who had settled in Los Angeles. Her father was a successful radar system engineer in the U.S. Air Force, an extremely detail-oriented thinker who pushed his daughter to think about how two things that seemed unrelated could be connected. While she was introduced to faith in her childhood home, “when I was on my own, faith took on a completely diff erent dimension,” she remembers. “It deepened as I was going through college.” As the oldest child in her family, Wood felt she had to carry the mantle for her family and approached her time at the University of Southern California feeling pressured to succeed. She needn’t have worried. She graduated from USC and began her career at the tender age of twenty. Her college mentor Art Laff er, the celebrated economist, introduced her to the Capital Group, one of the world's oldest investment management organizations. She became an assistant
Cathie at work, c. 1980
Cathie with her three children
economist before moving on to hedge fund Jennison Associates where, at twenty-fi ve, she became their chief economist. “While I was at Jennison, I started thinking about the markets in a way that began to diff er from the way markets are analyzed today,” says Wood. “I couldn’t cover something at the fi rm that someone else was, so I had to wait for ones that nobody wanted. I often say I was like a little dog under the table scrapping for bones.” One by one, Wood found stocks her colleagues weren’t covering, like database publishing companies Reuters and Telerate. The business model was foreign at the time: the companies collected data from fi nancial companies, then sold it back to them. “Nobody wanted database publishing companies,” she says. “And I thought, Wow, that’s a very interesting concept. So I picked it up.” That concept ended up becoming the precursor for the Internet. “That is what made my career, but also made me appreciate the power of innovation, how much it’s underestimated in the early days and how exponentially explosive growth can be over time.” Wood spent eighteen years at Jennison. She went on to co-found a hedge fund called Tupelo Capital; three years later, she joined AllianceBernstein as a portfolio manager and thematic risk strategist, responsible for managing more than $5 billion. As she blazed her trail, Wood raised three children and held tightly to her faith. “I belong to a group at Walnut Hill Community Church, an incredibly supportive group for leaders of companies. In 2006, one of the leaders introduced me to Jesus Calling and said, ‘I’ve started reading this book, and it’s transformed me in terms of thinking about my business in the context of my faith.’ “So I began to read Jesus Calling every day, and it’s really helped to center me and ground me. First thing I do in the morning as my coff ee is brewing, I read Jesus Calling. I would say almost every page is meaningful.” A woman of deep conviction, Wood’s faith compelled her in 2014 to launch her own investment fi rm when she was fi fty-seven years old. As she says, “the future of investing is investing in the future,” and she aims to fund companies that she believes “change the world and make it a better place.” She named her company ARK after the Ark of the Covenant, which the Israelites carried into battle before them. “They believed that the presence of God was in the Ark, so I knew I had to name my company ‘ARK,’” she says. For the fi rst three years, Wood funded the company by herself. She watched her bank account dwindle while her company stayed stagnant. “I would kneel down and say, ‘Okay, God, You’re in control. Even if this company fails, I know I’ve done the right thing. This is a walk of faith for me. Your will be done.’” Today, ARK has nearly $50 billion in all of its funds combined. “It is by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that I moved in this direction. I believe that in starting ARK Invest, I was fulfi lling His will for me here on Earth. It’s about allocating capital to God’s creation in the most innovative and creative way possible.”
Learn more about Cathie and ARK Invest at ark-invest.com.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code to hear more of Cathie’s story!
SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
@caitlinhubbard_ “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” -John C. Maxwell @ifyougiveateacherabook Y’all know I love my @jesuscalling devotional…how beautiful is this Christmas version?! It has a devotion for each day in advent @karenmoellerwellness Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffi ns made with Greek Yogurt. These are my favorite!!
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CHRIS TOMLIN
Songs That Celebrate the Greatest Miracle
by Amy Kerr
For platinum-selling worship artist Chris Tomlin, the Christmas season has always held a special place in his heart. “I have two brothers, so there were three boys in our family growing up in East Texas. We were so fi red up about Christmas every year. As little boys, we’d sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve and be thinking, This is going to be the greatest night.” He’s carried that passion into his GRAMMY and Dove-Award winning career as performer and songwriter. For the past decade, Chris has put on a popular Christmas tour that’s a favorite of fans—and the artist himself. “The Christmas tour is what I look forward to more than anything, because I love the Christmas season. I love all the diff erent Christmas songs, but there’s something special about the ones that are the songs of worship, what Christmas is really about, like ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’ We’ve sung them so many times that they’ve become Christmas carols. But, you know, the person who wrote those songs didn’t think, I’m writing a Christmas carol. They said, ‘I’m just writing a song of worship for my congregation.’ It’s been a couple hundred years now, and these songs have lasted. I think there’s a reason they’re some of the greatest songs ever written.” Inspired by the songs of worship celebrating the holiday and Savior he loves, Chris decided to try his hand at writing his own songs befi tting the Christmas season. “When I try to write songs, I’m always thinking, I want to write songs that bring worship to God, the reason we have Christmas,” he says. “I’ll never match ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ or ‘O Holy Night’ or anything like that. But I’m always shooting for it. I want to write something that helps people sing and worship God. Because Jesus is the greatest miracle that’s ever happened to the world. I love that the Christmas season is the season of hope. Even with the hustle and bustle, it slows us down to be thankful for what we have. My encouragement is that you would fi nd the peace and hope of the season.”
Learn how you can enjoy Chris’s music and performances this Christmas at christomlin.com.
Adapted for print from the Jesus Calling Podcast. Put your phone in Camera mode, and hover over this code to hear more of Chris’s story—including his most hilarious Christmas memory ever!
HOLIDAY BAKING WITH THE BREAD LADY GINGERBREAD SPICE CAKE SPICE CAKE
With a nickname like “The Bread Lady,” you know Sarah Gonzalez has a mouth-watering recipe or two planned for her holiday table. Owner of a small-town bakery in the rolling hills of Tennessee, Sarah found planned for her holiday table. Owner of a small-town bakery in the rolling hills of Tennessee, Sarah found herself fl ipping the pages of her great-grandmother’s cookbook when she noticed a 170-year-old recipe herself fl ipping the pages of her great-grandmother’s cookbook when she noticed a 170-year-old recipe for a spice cake fi lled with ginger and cinnamon, perfect for Thanksgiving dessert or even Christmas morning. She’s shared this from her brand-new book, Baking with The Bread Lady.
FOR THE CAKE
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened ½ cup white sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ½ cups all-purpose fl our 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ¾ teaspoon table salt) 1 cup molasses 1 cup buttermilk
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
10 tablespoons salted butter, softened 8 ounces cream cheese or mascarpone, softened 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
BAKING TIP!
DIRECTIONS
1. First, prepare the cake. Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper, and grease with nonstick spray. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar. Beat until light and fl uffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until fl uffy. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk together fl our, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and salt. 4. In another bowl, whisk together molasses and buttermilk. 5. Add half the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and mix until thoroughly blended. Then, add all of the buttermilk mixture to the batter, and mix well until blended. Finally, add the rest of the dry ingredients into the bowl, mixing one last time until all ingredients are blended together. 6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan, and smooth the top to distribute batter evenly. 7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the pan, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely. 8. While the cake cools, prepare the buttercream. Cream together butter and cream cheese (or mascarpone, if using) in the bowl of an electric mixer fi tted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer on medium speed. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. 9. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low. When all sugar is added, gradually increase whipping speed to high, mixing until thoroughly blended. 10. Add vanilla and give the frosting a fi nal whip. Don’t over mix, as this will cause the frosting to separate. 11. Spread frosting completely over cooled cake. Lightly dust cake with cinnamon, and serve. Don’t have buttermilk on hand? You can make your own! Just mix one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with a scant cup of milk. Gently stir, and let the mixture sit for fi ve minutes. That’s it!
Sarah’s book Baking with the Bread Lady is available at your favorite book retailer today!
Games & Puzzles Christmas Charades
Help get the Snowman to the snowflakes by tracing a path through the maze. Winter Maze
PLAY THIS GAME OF HOLIDAY-THEMED CHARADES AT YOUR NEXT FAMILY GATHERING!
HELP THE SNOWMAN GET TO THE SNOWFLAKE BY TRACING A PATH THROUGH THE MAZE. • Decorating the Christmas tree • Ugly sweater • Snowball fight • Unwrapping presents • The Grinch • Santa Claus • Christmas shopping • Caroling • Elf on the Shelf • Sledding • Eating Christmas dinner • The Nutcracker • Little drummer boy • Wrapping gifts • Hanging lights • Ice skating • Making a snow angel
Snowflakes as Unique as You
Psalms 139:14 reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made—just like these snowflakes!
IN THE SPACE BESIDE EACH SNOWFLAKE, SEE IF YOU CAN DRAW THEM.
Has God Forgotten Me?
In God Has Not Forgotten You, Dr. David Jeremiah assures you that God does hear your prayers and will help you through your troubles. In fact, God is right here with you in every moment, in every circumstance of your life. As surely as God knows the number of hairs on your head, He knows your heart’s concerns. You are not forgotten.
