While some ETFs — such as those from SPDR, iShares and PowerShares — have done impressively well, others have seen "dreadful runs," notes Benzinga today.

Benzinga names four new funds whose poor performances have been unnoticed.

Guggenheim Shipping (SEA) [profile]

Sure, the fund is up 9.6 percent year-to-date, but all those gains were from the first quarter. In the past six months, however, SEA has dropped 15.6 percent. Waning emerging markets commodities demand plague the fund, with the Baltic Dry Index, which measures daily charter rates, faltering as well.

Market Vectors China (PEK) [profile]

China ETFs have been struggling this year compared to those of its fellow emerging Asian economies. PEK, which is the only ETF with exposure to China's A-shares market, is especially troubled, down almost 9 percent over the past three months, which is significantly worse than both iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund and Guggenheim China Small-Cap ETF.

IndexIQ Australia Small Cap (KROO) [profile]

Australia's aspirations to implement punitive mining royalties and taxes on companies operating in this sector are a bad plan at a time when miners are struggling with slack emerging markets demand and the European recession. That spells disaster for KROO, which has nearly 28 percent allocated to materials stocks. To wit: KROO is up 1.4 percent in the past month, but note that it also dropped 12.1 percent the past six months.

Teucrium Sugar Fund (CANE) [profile]

A severe Midwest drought may have booted rallies in commodities funds like Teucrium Corn Fundand Teucrium Soybeans Fund, but CANE has been left behind. Year-to-date, it dropped 12.5 percent, and is also deep in the red over the past 30 days three months and six months.  

Edited by: HFD


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