Cathie Wood's ARKX Space ETF on track for one of most successful fund launches ever

• ARKX collected $536 million in its first five trading days, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
• This figure far surpasses the industry average of ETFs collecting $100 million in three years.
• ARKX may be well on track to hit the $1 billion mark in merely months.

Cathie Wood's newly launched exchange-traded fund focused on investments in space exploration is on its way to becoming one of the most successful fund launches in history.

Ark Space Exploration and Innovation ETF took in $536.2 million in its first five days since it began trading on March 30, according to FactSet data, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This figure far surpasses the industry average of ETFs collecting $100 million in three years.

At its current pace, the newest fund of Ark Investment Management may be on track to hit the $1 billion mark in a few months. The fastest ETF to reach the $1 billion threshold was State Street's SPDR Gold Trust fund in 2004, which made this record in just three days.

"I think in terms of metrics of volume and inflow, it would be hard to argue that it's anything but a successful launch," Andrew Chanin, ProcureAM CEO and co-founder, told Insider.

But Chanin, the man behind UFO, a passive space-themed ETF, noted that Wood's ETF affords her more wiggle room to invest in companies that do not necessarily generate their revenues from space.

The top holding of ARKX is Trimble, a technology company that provides GPS, laser, and optical technologies. The California-based company has an 8.61% weight in the ETF. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Ark's 3D printing ETF are also among the top 10 holdings.

Wood's last fund was launched two years ago, with the debut of ARK Fintech Innovation ETF, which focuses on financial technology innovation.

The arrival of ARKX comes amid rising interest in space exploration among the broader public. UFO has seen a 14% gain year-to-date although it has lagged the S&P 500 since its inception in 2019. UFO is the world's first pure-play space ETF and holds Loral Space, Viasat, and Gilat, among others.

"It's not being about creative and buying tangential plays on whether the company is affected by space," Chanin said, talking about his fund. "We are actually looking at companies that are generating revenue from space."

The space industry has become mainstream in the past years as more well-known companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic continue to make progress.

ARKX closed at $20.81 on Wednesday, down 1.37%.