ARK Innovation ETF, the brainchild of Cathie Wood, drew in investors who believed the companies held in the fund would revolutionize the world, made Wood a Wall Street celebrity, and quadrupled its shares from its lowest point at the height of the pandemic to its peak at nearly $28 billion in February 2021. Now, those who bought at the peak are down 75%. While it would be easy to blame Wood, another manager of any other fund could easily be in the same situation, maintains an opinion piece in MarketWatch.

Similarities can be drawn between today’s market and the tech bubble burst 22 years ago, the article contends; the stock market was frothy in the late 90s just as it was in the years leading up to this current rout. High quality companies became overvalued then as they have now, especially digital-tech companies that saw a huge boost during pandemic lockdowns. Those companies have now had to readjust their cost structure significantly as their growth has rapidly slowed.

Indeed, long periods of excessive growth aren’t healthy, whereas recessions can be as management’s focus is shifted from growth to their own internal operations, the article maintains. The downturn in tech stocks is likely to get worse this year, and stay down for the next few years. Many companies that were once beloved won’t be able to recover, similar to what happened to many dot-com darlings in the late 90s-early 2000s. However, there is opportunity to be found in the mess by identifying once-favored companies who possess the potential to recover and snatch up their shares at a low price while you still can, the article concludes.