ARKX vs ROKT

ARKXCARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF

ROKTAState Street SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF

In short

ARKX ARK's only space fund, and one of the rare ones in its niche run by stock pickers instead of an index. Roughly 40 global names spanning rockets, the technology that makes them work, and the companies that quietly cash in.

ROKT Most space funds stop at the atmosphere. ROKT plays both frontiers: rockets and satellites plus the hardware that explores the deep sea, wrapped in an AI-informed S&P Kensho index running since 2018.

Stated mandate

ARKX The fund seeks long-term capital growth by actively investing mainly in domestic and foreign equity securities of companies involved in space and defense innovation, including aerospace, enabling technologies, and aerospace beneficiaries.

ROKT The fund seeks to track the S&P Kensho Final Frontiers Index, targeting companies whose products and services support innovation in outer-space and deep-sea exploration through an AI-informed, quantitative index methodology.

Why people hold it

• ARKX Actively managed rather than index-tracked: ARK's team hand-picks roughly 40 names instead of buying whatever screens as 'space'.ark-funds.com
• The mandate reaches past rocket builders to enabling technologies and aerospace beneficiaries, companies that profit from orbit without ever leaving the ground.
• Global by charter, holding both US and foreign shares, so the theme isn't capped at American launch providers and defense primes.
• Running since 2021 and actively traded at a decent size, which puts it in the upper half of the space-fund group on the practical stuff.

• ROKT 0.45% a year, the cheapest sticker in this cohort: ORBX runs 0.50%, while UFO, ARKX and NASA each charge 0.75%.
• The index bolts the S&P Kensho Space Index onto the deep-sea exploration names from the Kensho Drones Index, so orbit and ocean floor arrive in one ticker.ssga.com
• Trading since 2018 under the SPDR roof, and one of the strongest implementations in the space-theme group on cost, portfolio and staying power.
• Roughly 40 stocks, refreshed on the index's annual reconstitution, with cash paid quarterly.ssga.com

Worth knowing

• ARKX The 0.75% fee sits right at the median for space funds and above index-based rivals such as ROKT (0.45%) and ORBX (0.50%).
• Roughly 40 holdings plus a human making the calls means single positions and ARK's stock-picking judgment both carry real weight here.
• The stated goal is long-term capital growth, not income; the fund has not been making regular distributions.

• ROKT Trades lightly next to mainstream ETFs and carries a modest asset base; wider bid-ask spreads are the usual trade-off at that size.
• Two frontiers in roughly 40 names is a concentrated slice of the market that can move very differently from a broad index.
• The deep-sea sleeve means this is not a pure space bet: part of the portfolio never leaves the water.ssga.com

Full ARKX profile⁠

Full ROKT profile⁠