Cathie Wood's Investment Firm Is Ditching New York For Florida
ARK Investment Management is trading Manhattan for the Sunshine State, announcing it will close down its New York City headquarters by the end of the month.
"We are thrilled to relocate our corporate headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida, as we believe the Tampa Bay region's talent, innovative spirit, and quality of life will accelerate our growth initiatives," ARK founder and CEO Cathie Wood said in a statement announcing the move. “ARK is not a traditional Wall Street asset management firm, and we are looking forward to breaking the mold further by relocating to St. Petersburg, a city investing in technology, science, and innovation.”
The departure from New York means the firm is vacating its 12-story 3 East 28th St. location and will start building a new corporate headquarters at 200 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg next year, Commercial Observer reports. Operations from Florida will start from the first of next month. ARK is also working with the Tampa Bay Innovation Center to build what will be known as the ARK Innovation Center, which will be on 2.5 acres donated by the City of St. Petersburg at Fourth Street and 11th Avenue South.
The 45K SF building is expected to generate more than 1,200 direct and indirect jobs, per the company. Wood said the relocation and the building of the ARK Innovation Center will allow the firm to be more innovative and to “impact the broader community while shining a spotlight on the technological advances and creativity permeating the Tampa Bay region."
Wood formed ARK in 2014, and the firm has reached the top 10 US exchange-traded fund managers, per the Financial Times, thanks to bets on companies like Tesla and cryptocurrencies.
The departure could send a tremor through the New York City business community, with many concerned the city has become less attractive to employers and employees alike in the past few years. Earlier this year, Philip Morris International, which handles worldwide sales of Marlboro cigarettes, announced it is relocating its corporate headquarters and its entire Americas team from New York to Connecticut. Florida has proved popular with the financial services industry too.
Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. said last year it was moving its headquarters to West Palm Beach from Manhattan. Carl Icahn signed a lease last year to move Icahn Enterprises out of its New York City and White Plains offices and into a Sunny Isles Beach building. Blackstone Group announced plans to open an office in Florida earlier this year.
