The past 12 months have been dismal for equities, but thematic ETFs—which seek to capture hot investing ideas like crypto and cannabis—appear to have borne the brunt of the market’s wrath. Find out which funds made our list of the 20 worst-performing ETFs of 2022.

Worst-Performing ETFs of 2022

If you factor out leveraged and inverse ETFs as well as ETFs covering Russia—which hasn’t traded since the spring—the 20 worst-performing ETFs of 2022 were almost exclusively thematic. For example, the seven worst-performing ETFs of the year all invest in cryptocurrency or crypto-related equities.

Worst-performing ETF types of 2022 include:

• Cryptocurrency ETFs

• SPAC ETFs

• Marijuana ETFs

• Psychedelics ETFs

• ARK Innovation ETFs

Crypto ETFs Lead the Worst Performers of 2022

The Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF (RIGZ) led the decline, retreating 87% through Dec. 27. The actively managed ETF, which invests in the equities of bitcoin miners and semiconductor companies, and its fate is already sealed. RIGZ will see its last day of trading on Jan. 4, 2023, making it one of the first—if not the first—ETFs to close in the new year.

Bitcoin fell 65% in 2022, and it dragged down any fund with even a remote association with it. The declines range from RIGZ’s 87% drop to the 75.8% slide in the Global X Blockchain and Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS). Those fund range in size from less than $1 million in assets to $33.8 million.

The Volt Crypto and Equity ETF (BTCR) fell into the No. 18 spot with a decline of 67.8%. Its strategy includes an options overlay, which may have allowed for some mitigation of the category performance.

The Decline of SPACs, Marijuana and Psychedelics ETFs

Once you navigate through that first cluster of crypto-related ETFs, the eighth worst-performing ETF is the AXS De-SPAC ETF (DSPC), which fell nearly 75%.

The fund invests in publicly traded companies that are the result of a merger with a special acquisition company, and it has less than $1 million in assets. SPACs got a lot of attention during the pandemic with nine ETFs covering the space making their debut since October 2020. However, their performance has been less than inspiring, and a recent Bloomberg article notes that post-merger companies resulting from SPACs have lost a median of 70% of their value.

Marijuana ETFs claim places 9 through 11 as well as the No. 14 and 16 spots. It turns out the largest marijuana ETF was also the worst-performing of the bunch, with the $474.9 million AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) falling 73.7% year-to-date. The other marijuana ETFs in the worst-performer ranks fell between 68% and 73%.