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why does a etn that is supposed to track crude oil like uwti show constant decline every year? and am i an idiot for investing in it?
user
after looking at both s&p gsci crude oil index excess return (indexsp:spgsclp) and cs vs 3x lc etn nysearca: uwti they seem to track well (using google finance).   i'm not seeing where your statement this etn loses whether oil is gaining or not holds true.   both have posted a year-over-year loss. in the past year the crude oil index has fallen from a high of 494 on october 6, 2014 to a low of 213 as of today october 5th, 2015.  so of course the uwti will lose as well. please also notice that that, as stated in the prospectus for uwti: the etns are intended to be daily trading tools for sophisticated   investors to manage daily trading risks. they are designed t o achieve   their stated investment objectives on a daily basis, but their   performance over different periods of time can differ significantly fr   om their stated daily objectives. the etns are riskier than securities   that have intermediate or long-term investment objectives, and may not   be sui table for investors who plan to hold them for a period other   than one day. you might want to look into investing in an etf for long term investment goals and objectives.  oil etf list
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