#cvol

It has been a big week for revelations in the world of exchange traded funds (ETFs) . The SEC hit Citigroup, Morgan Stanley , UBS  and Wells Fargo with penalties over over $9 million and the State of Massachusetts slammed RBC Capital Markets with $3 million in fines and restitution. Regulators are concerned that ETFs are being sold by brokers who don't understand what they are selling to retail investors who don't understand what they are buying. The ETF Database maintains a free internet database that provides a wealth of information of exchange traded funds.  At the end of 2011, they published an article profiling the ten worst performing ETFs of 2011. They are:

SEA- Guggenheim Shipping ETF, down 46%

CVOL-C-Tracks ETN Citi Volatility Index Total Return, down 48%

EGPT-Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF, down 48%

GAZ-UBS Natural Gas Total Return ETN, down 49%

PLTM-ISE Global Platinum Index Fund, down 49%

PBW-WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio, down 52%

SCIF-India Small Cap ETF, down 53%

GRN-iPath Global Carbon ETN, down 56%

URA-Global X Uranium ETF, down 60%

KWT-Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF, down 67%