ETF Deathwatch for May 2011: DENT Joins the Watch

May 4, 2011 by  
Filed under Commentary, ETF Deathwatch 2011

AdvisorShares Dent Tactical ETF (DENT), an actively-managed fund from Harry S. Dent, Jr., along with four others joined ETF Deathwatch this month.  In conjunction with four funds being removed, this increases the number of names on the list by one to 139.

The 103 ETFs and 36 ETNs on ETF Deathwatch average $6.8 million in assets and are an average age of 30.3 months.  Eighteen have less than $2 million in assets, barely generating any fees for their sponsors.

ELEMENTS Benjamin Graham Large Cap Value ETN (BVL) and ELEMENTS Benjamin Graham Total Market Value ETN (BVT) have the dubious distinction of being the only two ETPs with less than $1 million is assets.  BVL also wins the award for the least trading activity in April with just 400 shares changing hands – just one trade back on April 7.

Columbia is now the new owner of the Grail ETFs.  One Grail ETF has already changed its name to Columbia, but all five remain on Deathwatch.  We will see if Columbia can turn the situation around.

The five products added to ETF Deathwatch for May are:

  1. AdvisorShares Dent Tactical ETF (DENT): Dent’s ETF debut in September 2009 was met with great fanfare, but I had a less enthusiastic view.  The euphoria faded quickly; performance instantly and continuously lagged its benchmark.  Assets have dropped to $20 million and trading volume has dried up.
  2. Direxion Daily Retail Bull 2x (RETL): RETL is one of four funds introduced by Direxion in July 2010 that have all struggled to gain attention.  With the addition of RETL, three of the four are now part of ETF Deathwatch.
  3. First Trust DJ STOXX European Select Dividend (FDD): Since its August 2007 inception, this “more conservative” dividend-focused ETF underperformed its non-dividend counterparts by 10% per year.  Ouch.
  4. First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank (QABA): I had high hopes for QABA when it was introduced in July 2009, but it takes more than good intent to succeed in this arena.  Assets have stayed stubbornly below $15 million and trading has dwindled.
  5. JPMorgan Quarterly Double Short US 10-Yr Treasury Futures ETN (DSXJ): DSTX was probably destined for ETF Deathwatch since the day of its launch.  However, I give all new products a six-month grace period.  With the grace period now expired, assets of just $5.2 million and no trading activity, DSXJ join the list.  The long-term Treasury version (DSTJ) is not faring much better, but stays off the list for now.

The following four funds came off ETF Deathwatch after significant growth in trading activity the past few months:

  1. Rydex S&P Equal Weight Consumer Staples (RHS)
  2. SPDR Russell/Nomura PRIME Japan (JPP)
  3. PowerShares DB Agriculture Long ETN (AGF)
  4. PowerShares DB Agriculture Double Short ETN (AGA)

The ETF Deathwatch criteria produced the following list of 139 names for May:

ETF Deathwatch for May 2011

#Ticker SymETF NameAge (mths)AUM (millions)3-mth Avg Daily $ Volume
1DENTAdvisorShares Dent Tactical ETF19.7$19.65$84,345
2AADRAdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Foc Gr ADR9.4$8.81$75,394
3PGDBarclays Asian&Gulf Currency Reval. ETN34.9$4.10$13,480
4BXDCBarclays ETN+ S&P 500 2x Short C 2009 ETN17.6$1.75$331,946
5BXDDBarclays ETN+ S&P 500 3x Short D 2009 ETN17.6$1.98$453,226
6JEMBarclays GEMS Currency Index ETN39.5$4.06$12,578
7ADRUBLDRS Europe 100 ADR103.0$22.39$79,896
8GCEClaymore CEF Index GS Connect ETN41.2$3.62$30,312
9ULQClaymore U.S. Cap Mkts Micro-Trm Fxd Inc39.1$4.98$4,028
10UBDClaymore U.S. Capital Markets Bond39.1$5.25$28,648
11GVTColumbia Concentrated Large Cap Value24.2$3.40$2,989
12XRUCurrencyShares Russian Ruble Shares30.0$9.13$146,932
13BRISDirexion Daily BRIC Bear 2x13.8$2.41$19,949
14BRILDirexion Daily BRIC Bull 2x13.8$4.72$184,227
15INDZDirexion Daily India Bear 2x13.8$3.84$419,061
16LHBDirexion Daily Latin America Bear 3x17.1$2.95$287,734
17FCGSDirexion Daily Natural Gas Related Bear 2x9.7$1.64$66,863
18RETSDirexion Daily Retail Bear 2x9.7$2.28$141,719
19RETLDirexion Daily Retail Bull 2x9.7$6.32$85,588
20EFNEGS DJ Emerging Markets Financials Titans19.7$11.31$91,602
21BVLELEMENTS Ben Graham Large Cap Value ETN33.0$0.63$2,419
22BSCELEMENTS Ben Graham Small Cap Value ETN32.9$1.77$14,267
23BVTELEMENTS Ben Graham Total Mkt Value ETN33.0$0.97$5,289
24GWOELEMENTS CS Global Warming ETN37.4$3.86$78,772
25DODELEMENTS Dogs of the Dow Total Return ETN42.3$4.31$88,801
26FUEELEMENTS MLCX Biofuels ETN39.3$2.72$132,425
27WMWELEMENTS Morningstar Wide Moat Focus ETN43.0$10.86$126,599
28EEHELEMENTS Spctrm LgCap US Sector Mo ETN45.6$1.18$2,763
29FZBFaithShares Baptist Values Fund16.7$1.55$5,126
30FCVFaithShares Catholic Values Fund16.9$3.24$30,581
31FOCFaithShares Christian Values Fund16.9$3.22$28,609
32FKLFaithShares Lutheran Values Fund16.7$1.55$8,426
33FMVFaithShares Methodist Values Fund16.9$1.60$16,872
34FDDFirst Trust DJ STOXX European Select Div44.6$11.72$62,823
35QABAFirst Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank22.3$14.07$81,214
36FVIFirst Trust Value Line Equity Allocation53.6$7.56$74,037
37BRAFGlobal X Brazil Financials ETF9.2$9.63$55,621
38CHIBGlobal X China Technology ETF16.9$5.86$102,292
39GMTBGrail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF15.2$5.11$7,170
40GMMBGrail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bnd15.2$5.07$1,813
41RWGGrail RP Focused Large Cap Growth ETF19.2$11.59$208,915
42RPXGrail RP Growth ETF19.2$5.04$22,100
43EENGuggenheim EW Euro-Pacific LDRs ETF50.7$3.25$24,975
44XGCGuggenheim International Small Cap LDRs49.6$11.46$74,113
45OTRGuggenheim Ocean Tomo Growth Index ETF49.6$6.11$42,281
46OTPGuggenheim Ocean Tomo Patent ETF53.2$11.34$228,315
47WXSPGuggenheim Wilshire 4500 Completion ETF13.9$6.58$29,370
48WFVKGuggenheim Wilshire 5000 Total Market ETF13.9$6.13$88,204
49EKHHOLDRS Europe 2001125.1$5.09$11,483
50MKHHOLDRS Merrill Lynch Market 2000+129.8$13.57$22,634
51WMHHOLDRS Wireless127.8$16.72$30,045
52EROiPath EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN48.4$17.90$233,143
53GBBiPath GBP/USD Exchange Rate ETN48.4$4.93$31,361
54GRNiPath Global Carbon ETN34.7$4.17$52,063
55TWONIQ Taiwan Small Cap11.5$4.50$172,677
56MUAEiShares 2016 S&P AMT-Free Muni Series16.0$20.54$127,333
57AXDIiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Consumer Discr9.6$6.83$97,430
58AXSLiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Consumer Staples9.6$3.30$47,059
59AXENiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Energy9.6$6.97$91,062
60AXFNiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Financials15.4$2.64$3,988
61AXHEiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Health Care9.6$3.09$63,949
62AXIDiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Industrials9.6$6.62$223,630
63AXITiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Info Technology9.6$6.12$66,711
64AXMTiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Materials9.6$7.25$205,092
65AXTEiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Telecom Services9.6$6.32$63,321
66AXUTiShares MSCI ACWI ex US Utilities9.6$5.70$55,187
67EMFNiShares MSCI Emerging Markets Financials15.4$23.91$172,588
68FEFNiShares MSCI Far East Financials Sector15.4$2.51$8,945
69EUSAiShares MSCI USA Index Fund11.9$1.46$42,036
70TZDiShares S&P Target Date 2010 Index Fund30.2$4.84$59,357
71TZEiShares S&P Target Date 2015 Index Fund30.2$10.13$70,003
72TZGiShares S&P Target Date 2020 Index Fund30.2$17.35$128,584
73TZIiShares S&P Target Date 2025 Index Fund30.2$12.40$51,732
74TZLiShares S&P Target Date 2030 Index Fund30.2$12.58$64,532
75TZOiShares S&P Target Date 2035 Index Fund30.2$7.23$31,943
76TZViShares S&P Target Date 2040 Index Fund30.2$14.63$70,649
77TGRiShares S&P Target Date Retirement Inc.30.2$6.14$27,567
78CRBIJefferies|TR/J CRB Global Ind Metals Equity18.3$7.28$88,469
79DSXJJPM Qtrly Dbl Short US 10-Yr Treas Fut ETN6.9$5.21$78,147
80JFTKEYnotes FT Enhanced 130/30 Large Cap ETN35.8$3.89$12,269
81URRMarket Vectors Double Long Euro ETN36.3$1.20$33,753
82INRMarket Vectors Indian Rupee/USD ETN37.9$7.71$57,741
83NASIPax MSCI North America ESG Index11.5$2.97$25,600
84PQZPowerShares Active Alpha Multi-Cap37.1$4.13$48,701
85PLKPowerShares Active Low Duration37.0$11.41$119,370
86PMAPowerShares Active Mega-Cap Portfolio37.0$5.57$50,321
87LBNDPowerShares DB 3x Long 25+ Treas ETN10.2$3.28$15,068
88ADZPowerShares DB Agriculture Short ETN37.0$2.30$26,575
89BDGPowerShares DB Base Metals Long ETN34.9$1.64$20,000
90BOSPowerShares DB Base Metals Short ETN34.9$2.98$16,754
91DEEPowerShares DB Commodity Dbl Short ETN36.6$1.59$37,811
92DPUPowerShares DB Commodity Long ETN36.6$8.25$58,204
93DDPPowerShares DB Commodity Short ETN36.6$1.16$17,272
94PICPowerShares Dynamic Insurance67.1$9.45$169,679
95PJMPowerShares Dynamic Small Cap53.7$18.99$63,512
96PSTLPowerShares Global Steel Portfolio31.7$8.29$88,233
97PTOPowerShares Ibbotson Alternative Completion35.8$9.26$59,411
98PYHPowerShares Morningstar StockInvestor Core53.7$19.82$92,297
99PSCMPowerShares S&P SmallCap Materials12.9$3.06#N/A
100SBMProShares Short Basic Materials13.6$3.42$134,975
101UPVProShares Ultra MSCI Europe12.2$4.52$61,931
102UMXProShares Ultra MSCI Mexico Investable Mkt12.2$2.21$68,364
103UXJProShares Ultra MSCI Pacific Ex-Japan12.2$4.27$106,547
104BIBProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology12.9$11.78$380,480
105UWCProShares Ultra Russell300022.2$9.12$61,392
106YCLProShares Ultra Yen29.5$3.33$289,627
107SMDDProShares UltraPro Short S&P MidCap40014.8$3.71$751,689
108CMDProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Commodity29.5$4.39$107,290
109RXDProShares UltraShort Healthcare51.7$3.39$77,044
110SMKProShares UltraShort MSCI Mexico22.7$2.35$97,546
111JPXProShares UltraShort MSCI Pacific ex-Japan22.7$6.76$97,499
112BISProShares UltraShort Nasdaq Biotechnology12.9$1.87$104,298
113SFKProShares UltraShort Russell 1000 Growth50.9$4.27$110,792
114SJFProShares UltraShort Russell 1000 Value50.9$2.12$49,850
115SDKProShares UltraShort Russell Midcap Growth50.9$2.50$108,684
116SJLProShares UltraShort Russell Midcap Value50.9$1.77$34,811
117TWQProShares UltraShort Russell300022.2$1.33$78,786
118TLLProShares UltraShort Telecom37.6$2.31$47,578
119SDPProShares UltraShort Utilities51.7$4.17$112,348
120RWVRevenueShares Navellier Overall A-10027.6$10.55$144,844
121KMESPDR KBW Mortgage Finance ETF24.3$4.19$28,810
122VRDSPDR Nuveen S&P VRDO Municipal Bond ETF19.4$9.01$96,772
123IPFSPDR S&P International Financial33.7$7.68$123,483
124IRYSPDR S&P International Health Care33.6$14.96$148,513
125IPUSPDR S&P International Utilities33.6$8.81$34,785
126TDDTDX Independence 201043.6$14.41$41,106
127TDXTDX Independence In-Target43.6$16.01$45,850
128MLPSUBS E-TRACS 1x Mthly Short Alerian MLP ETN7.1$8.10$23,619
129MLPGUBS E-TRACS Alerian Natural Gas MLP ETN9.7$14.21$120,282
130UBNUBS E-TRACS CMCI Energy TR ETN37.4$3.63$16,968
131UBGUBS E-TRACS CMCI Gold TR ETN37.4$7.71$36,104
132UBMUBS E-TRACS CMCI Industrial Metals TR ETN37.4$6.51$31,480
133UBCUBS E-TRACS CMCI Livestock TR ETN37.4$5.20$24,280
134PTDUBS E-TRACS CMCI Short Platinum ER ETN36.2$3.05$4,268
135USVUBS E-TRACS CMCI Silver TR ETN37.4$12.45$245,813
136SPGHUBS E-TRACS S&P 500 Gold Hedged Idx ETN15.2$13.48$27,130
137IVOVVanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF7.8$6.54$105,924
138EUWisdomTree Dreyfus Euro36.0$10.20$74,263
139JYFWisdomTree Dreyfus Japan Yen35.8$6.43$79,901
Data sources:  AUM from National Stock Exchange, daily prices and volume of individual ETPs from Norgate Premium Data, and all other information compiled by Invest With An Edge.

Past issues of ETF Deathwatch are available here.

Disclosure covering writer, editor, and publisher: No positions in any of the securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.  No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.

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