VelocityShares Credit Suisse 3X Long Crude ETN (UWTIF)

[Mokyo Toe]

Heheh... I sure nailed it in this March 27, 2015 post, as people posted how their $500 gambles would turn them into multi-millionaires by August. This ETF closed that day at $2.31 (about $231, adjusted post-splits) At issue were "decay" and "contango", two very real phenomena that investors in this junk didn't understand or chose to ignore, despite the efforts of some to explain them:

"This will never reach $30 again" (Yep, check)

"This will probably never see $4 again" (Yep, closest it ever got was $3.89)

"If oil bounces between $40 and $50 all summer, everyone on this forum will be underwater by the end of August." (Yep, understatement of the year. This was down to 74 cents by then)

"it might go sub-$1 and split" (Sure did, twice. Adjusting for the splits, this was worth 24 cents in the end)

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=112187617

I should have noted that delisting was the ultimate destination for this scam, but I figured I had already said enough.

My only reason to revisit this post now (I was reminded of this ETF this morning and looked it up to see whatever happened to it) is to point out that the guy who points out the fly in the ointment is never the popular guy on a forum. However, an investor who refuses to consider the flaws of his investment really is just a misguided gambler and not an investor at all.