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The 20 Worst Equity Fund Managers Of 2010
The worst stock fund of 2010 plunged an embarrassing 41.42%, tanking in comparison with the S&P 500 returns in 2010 of 15.06%.
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That means you could've earned 15% by just investing in a low-fee ETF and taking a nap for the rest of the year.
Instead, the managers who made this unfortunate list invested in stocks like Aeropostale, Wells Fargo, Netflix and Siemens -- and they lost big time.
Of course it would be myopic to look at mutual funds in terms of their returns just for 2010. Some managers, like the Rydex Russell fund's Michael Dellapa, Ryan Harder and Michael Byrum, for example, made the top 20 and the bottom 20 too.
But another fund manager, Rajendra Prasad was a repeat offender, having made 2009's bottom rung too, so it's hard to have sympathy for him.
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Here's what investors should know.
UPDATE - The rankings come from independent data provided by Morningstar.
Fund: Empiric Core Equity A
Annual return 2010: -0.07%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $47.82 mil
Top listings: Aeropostale, Inc., Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., Forest Laboratories, Inc., World Acceptance Corporation and TJX Companies.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: BlackRock EuroFund Inv B
Annual return 2010: -0.66%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $357.32 mil
Top listings: Novartis AG, Telefonica, S.A. ADR, British American Tobacco PLC, Deutsche Telekom AG and Sanofi-Aventis.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Giordano
Annual return 2010: -1.56%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $1.65 mil
Top listings: The Travelers Companies, Inc., Wells Fargo Company, Raytheon Company, Deere & Company and McDonald's Corporation.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: California Investment Euro Gr & Inc Dir
Annual return 2010: -2.12%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $12.76 mil
Top listings: Nestle SA ADR, Novartis AG ADR, HSBC Holdings PLC ADR, Vodafone Group PLC ADR and BP Plc ADR.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Allianz RCM Global EcoTrends A
Annual return 2010: -2.43%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $69.29 mil
Top listings: Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Novozymes, Stericycle, Inc., Cree, Inc. and Gamesa Corporacion Technologica.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Rydex|SGI International Long Short Sel A
Annual return 2010: -2.78%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $9.49 mil
Top listings: Apple, Inc., MasterCard Incorporated A, Sony Financial Holdings Inc., Kao Corporation and Exxaro Resources Ltd.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Kinetics Water Infrastructure Adv A*
Annual return 2010: -4.80%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $24.20 mil
Top listings: Ameron International, Inc., URS Corporation, Geberit AG, First American Prime Obligation I and ESCO Technologies, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
* UPDATE - Benchmarked against The Rydex Europe 1.25X the fund performed as it was supposed to. The ratings of the equity funds were calculated independently by Morningstar using their own measures.
Fund: Firsthand Technology Value
Annual return 2010: -5.74%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $137.30 mil
Top listings: Netflix, Inc., Solopower, Series A, Verifone Hldgs 144A, Intel Corporation and Intevac, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Leuthold Global Clean Tech Instl
Annual return 2010: -5.96%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $26.30 mil
Top listings: Fidelity Instl MM Fds Government I, Trina Solar Limited ADR, China Valves Technology Inc., Insituform Technologies A and LSB Industries, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: DWS Climate Change A
Annual return 2010: -6.48%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $39.22 mil
Top listings: Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, Central Cash Management Fd Central Cash Management Fd, A123 Systems, Inc., Wacker Chemie AG and Johnson Controls, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: New Alternatives
Annual return 2010: -7.26%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $235.24 mil
Top listings: American Water Works Co Inc., Edf Energies Nouvelles, Schneider Electric, Iberdrola Energias Renovables SA and Abengoa, S.A.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: ING Euro STOXX 50 Index I
Annual return 2010: -8.64%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $878.67 mil
Top listings: Total SA, Banco Santander SA ADR, Telefonica, S.A. ADR, Siemens AG ADR and Sanofi-Aventis.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Firsthand Alternative Energy
Annual return 2010: -9.24%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $6.30 mil
Top listings: A123 Systems, Inc., JA Solar Holdings Co., ADR, Meyer Burger Technology Ag, Gt Solar International, Inc. and Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Rydex Europe 1.25x Strategy H
Annual return 2010: -11.44%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $26.06 mil
Top listings: Novartis AG ADR, Total SA ADR, HSBC Holdings PLC ADR, France Telecom SA ADR and Siemens AG.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: ProFunds UltraJapan Inv*
Annual return 2010: -16.31%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $19.15 mil
Top listings: NIKKEI 225 FUTURE DEC 10
Source: Morningstar
*UPDATE - This is an international L/S fund. The ratings of the equity funds were calculated independently by Morningstar using their own measures.
Fund: The USX China C
Annual return 2010: -18.86%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $14.61 mil
Top listings: China North East Petroleum Holdings, Ltd., Zhongpin Inc., Yuhe International, Inc., China Valves Technology Inc. and Harbin Electric, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Calvert Global Alternative Energy A
Annual return 2010: -20.12%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $174.03 mil
Top listings: Iberdrola Energias Renovables SA, MEMC Electronic Materials,
First Solar, Inc., SMA Solar Technology AG and Hansen Transmissions International NV.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy
Annual return 2010: -21.90%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $35.65 mil
Top listings: ReneSola Ltd ADR, LDK Solar Company, Ltd. ADR, JA Solar Holdings Co., ADR, Trina Solar Limited ADR and LSB Industries, Inc.
Source: Morningstar
Fund: ProFunds UltraShort China Inv
Annual return 2010: -39.54%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $5.66 mil
Top listings: N/A
Source: Morningstar
Fund: Prasad Growth
Annual return 2010: -41.42%
S&P benchmark: 15.06%
Size: $322,988
Top listings: Sify Tech, China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. ADR, Satyam Computer Services, Ltd., China Sky One Medical, Inc. and China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd. ADR.
Source: Morningstar
Meet The 20 Best Stock Mutual Fund Managers Of 2010 >
Because they're certainly not doing it any favors.
Click here to meet the 20 best stock fund managers of 2010 >
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