Here's a fun bit of financial detective work: what do a Republican senator from Oklahoma and a star fund manager known for betting on futuristic tech have in common? More stocks than you might think.

When it comes to investment disclosures, Senator Markwayne Mullin and ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood are two of the most followed names. Their portfolios, it turns out, have overlapped on seven stocks over the past three years. It's an interesting convergence between a politician's personal investments and the holdings of a fund family built on a very specific, high-growth thesis.

So, which seven stocks show up in both Wood's ETFs and Mullin's portfolio? Let's run through the list. The data comes from public disclosures for Mullin and from tracking the ARK ETFs.

The Seven Shared Stocks

First, a quick primer on the main ARK ETFs, since that's where Wood's bets are placed:

• Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK)
• Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW)
• Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)
• Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ)
• Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX)
• Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG)

Now, for the overlap. Here are the seven companies, with details on how each investor holds them.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): Mullin has been a buyer. He disclosed four purchases over the last three years, including a chunk of $100,000 to $250,000 in December 2025, a $15,000 to $50,000 buy in February 2025, and two smaller investments back in 2023. Over at ARK, Amazon is a holding in several of the funds—ARKK, ARKW, ARKQ, ARKF, and ARKX—though it's not currently a top 10 position in any of them.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): The senator reported buying the stock three times in the last three years, including a $15,000 to $50,000 allocation in December 2025, with the other two purchases in 2023. For ARK, Caterpillar finds a home in the ARKQ ETF (the autonomous tech and robotics fund), but it's not a top 10 holding there either.

Deere & Company (DE): Another three-time purchase for Mullin over the period, with a $15,000 to $50,000 investment in December 2025 following two buys in 2023. ARK holds Deere in both ARKK and ARKQ. In fact, in the ARKQ ETF, Deere is the seventh largest holding, making up 4.4% of the fund's assets.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): The politician bought Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) stock three times, including a sizable $100,000 to $250,000 purchase in December 2025 and two smaller buys in 2023. ARK holds the Class C shares (GOOG) in ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKK. It's a more meaningful position for the funds: it's the ninth largest holding in ARKQ at 3.50% of assets and ranks No. 10 in ARKW at 3.41%.

Eli Lilly & Company (LLY): Mullin acquired Eli Lilly shares four times, with a $15,000 to $50,000 investment in December 2025, a $50,000 to $100,000 allocation a year earlier, and two purchases in 2023. On the ARK side, the pharmaceutical giant is held in the genomic revolution fund, ARKG, though it's not a top 10 holding there.

Meta Platforms (META): The Republican bought Meta four times, including a $50,000 to $100,000 purchase in December 2025. The other investments were in January 2024, October 2023, and September 2023. ARK holds the stock in ARKW and ARKK, but it's not a top 10 allocation in either fund.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Mullin has disclosed buying Nvidia stock four times, including a large $100,000 to $250,000 purchase in December 2025. That followed investments in January 2024, October 2023, and September 2023. Nvidia is held in ARKQ, ARKK, and ARKW, but similar to others, it's not a top 10 holding in any of those ETFs.

A Tale of Two Portfolios

The overlap is interesting precisely because the underlying investment styles are so different. ARK Invest is built on a thesis of disruptive technology and innovation—betting on companies it believes will define the future, often in high-growth sectors like fintech, crypto, electric vehicles, space, genomics, and AI. It's a forward-looking, thematic approach.

Mullin's portfolio, by contrast, shows a broader mix. He has been buying shares of small-cap companies recently alongside large purchases of many of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks. His trading activity has also included oil stocks and defense stocks—positions that some observers note could be influenced by geopolitical events like the ongoing Iran war.

That last part has raised questions. Mullin sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and his holdings in defense stocks have sparked discussions about potential conflicts of interest. It's the kind of thing that makes people pay closer attention to a politician's stock moves.

On a separate note, Mullin was recently named by former President Donald Trump to be the replacement nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a role that would, of course, require divesting certain holdings if confirmed.

So, what do we make of this seven-stock overlap? It's not that Mullin is secretly running a tech-focused hedge fund. It's more that even investors with very different worldviews and strategies can end up in some of the same giant, liquid, widely-held companies. Sometimes, a stock is just a stock. But when a senator and a star stock picker both own it, it's at least a good conversation starter.