As of market close yesterday, the S&P was 9.1% off its recent high, but some exchange traded funds (ETFs) have given back two or three times as much. Having an exit strategy helps protect investors from going down with ETFs when they plummet. Below are some ETFs that have lost the most during the recent market decline:

1. SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) – off 46.8% from April 5, 2006
2. United States Oil (USO) – off 26.8% from July 13, 2006
3. iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors (ICF) – off 26.7% from Feb. 7, 2007
4. iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate (IYR) – off 26% from Feb. 7, 2007
5. Internet Infrastructure HOLDRs (IIH) – off 24.6% from July 13, 2007
6. DJ Wilshire REIT ETF (RWR) – off 24.4% from Feb. 7, 2007
7. Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX) – off 23.7% from July 12, 2007
8. iShares S&P Latin America 40 Index (ILF) – off 22.3% from July 23, 2007
9. SPDR S&P Metals & Mining (XME) – off 21.8% from July 13, 2007
10. Claymore/BNY BRIC (EEB) – off 21.6% from July 23, 2007

Tags: Homebuilders, Latin America, Metals & Mining, Oil, Real Estate, REITs, S&P 500, Steel, Technology, USO