Since we are now in April, the first quarter of 2022 has officially wrapped up. That means it's a good time to take stock of the year to date and take note of the winners and losers that are starting to emerge in 2022. So today, let's check out which ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have proven to be most disappointing over the year so far.
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The 5 worst-performing ASX ETFs of the March quarter
BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP)
This ETF is a relatively new one on the ASX, having only started life in November last year. CRYP is designed to track a basket of companies that all deal with cryptocurrencies and the emerging crypto economy. Some of CRYP's top holdings include Riot Blockchain, Coinbase Global, and Silvergate Capital Corp. This ETF has not had a pleasant few months though. Over the quarter ending 31 March, CRYP units lost 18.3% of their value.
BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF (ASX: CLDD)
Another relative newbie to the ASX, the BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF is our next fund. CLDD began trading in February 2021. It's a fund designed to give investors access to the theme of cloud computing. Most of its holdings are US companies, which include Dropbox, Akamai Technologies, and Workday. Sadly, CLDD has also had a rough run of late, with this ETF reporting a loss of 18.6% over the quarter just passed.
BetaShares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: RBTZ)
We can see a theme emerging with this list today as we look at another tech-based ETF in RBTZ. The name says it all with this fund, which has companies hailing from the US, Japan, and Switzerland, amongst others. With RBTZ, you'll find companies like NVIDIA Corp, Yaskawa Electric, and Upstart Holdings here. But the tech selloffs of the last few months have not spared this ETF. During the March quarter, we saw RBTZ units shed a nasty 20.68% of their value.
ETFS Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund (ASX: LNAS)
This ETF is a little different. It tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, but not in the same way an index fund does. Rather, it offers geared (or leveraged) exposure to the Nasdaq. In other words, it's designed to use borrowings to magnify the gains of the index. But, as we see now, gearing also amplifies losses. We can see this in action by looking at the Nasdaq 100 March quarter loss. While the index lost a tad over 10% over the three months to 31 March, LNAS units lost a hefty 22.58% of their value.
ETFS S&P Biotech ETF (ASX: CURE)
This biotech-themed ETF may be having a strong day so far today (up 2.73% at the time of writing) but, unfortunately, that doesn't change CURE's dreadful March quarter. In fact, this ETF takes out the top spot for the worst-performing ETFs over the quarter just gone. The fund returned a loss of 24.8% between New Year's Day and 31 March. CURE tracks a portfolio of biotech shares, mostly hailing from the US. Some of its top holdings include Moderna, Ocugen, and Iovance Biothera.
