Invest in Two Fintech Exchange-Traded Funds with $2000 for a Lifetime Investment
Fintech ETFs: ARKF and FINX Differ in Focus but Share Fintech Giants
The financial technology (fintech) sector has been a challenging space in the 2022 bear market and the two years that followed. However, two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) and the Global X Fintech ETF (FINX) – have continued to attract investors.
The top holdings of ARKF, managed by notable tech investor Cathie Wood, include Coinbase Global, Robinhood Markets, Square (Block, Inc.), PayPal Holdings, SoFi Technologies, Adyen, Upstart Holdings, Affirm Holdings, and Shopify. ARKF emphasizes companies innovating in financial technology such as crypto exchanges, digital payment platforms, and fintech lending.
On the other hand, FINX, which tracks an index of companies that aim to transform the financial sector, focuses on a broader fintech sector including payment processors, financial software, and services companies. The top holdings of FINX, as of the latest data, include PayPal Holdings, Square (Block, Inc.), Mastercard, Visa, Adyen, Intuit, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), Fiserv, Black Knight, and Global Payments.
Despite the differences in focus, both ETFs share some fintech-related names. For instance, PayPal Holdings, Square (Block, Inc.), and Adyen are common to both. However, ARKF has more exposure to newer fintech innovators and crypto-related firms like Coinbase and Robinhood, while FINX holds larger established fintech service and payment companies such as Mastercard, Visa, and Intuit.
In summary, ARKF leans toward innovation-driven fintech firms, especially in crypto and new financial platforms, whereas FINX includes a wider mix of traditional and established fintech infrastructure and services players. This reflects ARK's active, innovation-focused management versus Global X's broader fintech index approach.
As for the expense ratios, ARKF has a slightly higher expense ratio of 0.75%, still reasonable for a highly specialized, actively managed fund. On the other hand, FINX has a 0.68% expense ratio. The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) is an actively managed fund with more than $1.2 billion in assets, while the Global X Fintech ETF has delivered 10.6% annualized returns since its inception in 2016 and a 0.68% expense ratio.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in online payments, cashless money transfers, and cryptocurrency surged, which could bode well for both ARKF and FINX. In 2025, there was a resurgence of fintech stocks, with examples including SoFi and PayPal. The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF's top five holdings include Shopify (SHOP), Robinhood (HOOD), Coinbase (COIN), Circle Internet Group (CRCL), and Roblox (RBLX), with Shopify making up 9.30% of the ETF and Robinhood making up 8.64%. Circle Internet Group makes up 6.06% of the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF.
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