Despite the appearances of the last few weeks that included some strong days, there are still some hungry bears roaming in the marketplace and looking for some exchange traded funds (ETFs) to snack on.

ETFGuide reports that in general, the accepted definition of a bear market is a 20% decline over at least a two-month period. Volatile days such as the one we had yesterday only go to show that we’re still in choppy waters.

Given the stomach-churning ups and downs of the markets of late, bear market ETFs have had their chance to perform and prove their worth, as they are designed to increase in value when the stocks they track fall.

Among the bear funds enjoying the summer weather include:

• ProShares Ultra Short Financials (SKF): up 31.2% year-to-date
• ProShares Ultra Short Russell 1000 Value (SJF): up 30.9% year-to-date
• ProShares Ultra Short S&P 500 (SDS): up 28.6% year-to-date

Investors like these funds in times like these - they can help keep the profits coming while the market stalls or even declines. It’s important to remember their risks, however, since they can fall just as rapidly as they can spike higher.

Tags | Financial, SDS, SJF, SKF, UNG