Jim Cramer blasts Cathie Wood: ‘it’s true that she’s the kiss of death’

Tech stocks are down big this year on fears of aggressive rate hikes, and the brunt of it is falling on the Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF that’s now down 60% for the year.

Cramer’s remarks on ARKK underperformance

The massive underperformance in Wood’s flagship exchange-traded fund instigated Jim Cramer this morning into calling her the “kiss of death”. On CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, he said:

It’s true that Cathie Wood is the kiss of death. I don’t want to say that usually, but I think you have to throw out all the bromides and speak truthfully here because the viewers deserve it. She’s awful.

Not long ago, the Mad Money host also blasted Cathie Wood for picking stocks like a newbie. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is now down more than 25% versus the start of the year.

Wood slashed Tesla to load up on GM

His comments arrive shortly after the Ark Invest founder slashed her stake in Tesla by $12.7 million to load up on General Motors Company (NYSE: GM). Commenting on the move, Cramer said:

I think General Motors is doing pretty well, but people don’t want to own that stock going into recession. If it offered a dividend, which CEO Mary Barra didn’t want to do, I think people would be reluctant to sell it here.

GM is now trading at a 52-week low of $35 a share. Last month, the legacy automaker reported lower-than-expected revenue for its fiscal first quarter.