Remember the tech wreck? For some, the hurting hasn’t stopped

The technology bubble popped 17 years ago on March 24, 2000. When will the hurting stop? For some investors, the answer is “not any time soon.”

Consider the Nysa fund (NYSAX), a tiny $1.7 million fund that survived the tech wreck, but just barely. Since the top of the technology bubble, the fund has clocked an 8.65% average annual loss, according to Morningstar. The fund’s annual expenses of 5.09% a year haven’t helped, nor has management’s average annual loss of 10.7% a year the past five years.

But it’s not just tiny, eccentric funds like Nysa that haven’t bounced back since March 24. (As a yardstick, the S&P 500 has gained 4.57% a year since the top of the tech bubble, assuming you include reinvested dividends.) Invesco Technology A (IFOAX), an $85 million fund, has lost an average 4.13% since tech stocks fizzled, despite an average annual gain of 8.36% the past decade.

The funds’ records are a sobering reminder for investment advisers and their clients of the cruel math of big losses — particularly as the current bull market enters its eighth year. A 50% loss requires a 100% gain just to break even. And even with the dizzying gains of stocks like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN), tech funds have still had a tough time recovering from one of the biggest stock bubbles in recent history.

Other big funds have yet to crawl back from the tech-induced bear market, which clawed 21% from the S&P 500, including dividends. The damage to technology stocks — and the funds that invested in them — was staggering. Jacob Internet fund (JAMFX) plunged 70%. Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX) tumbled 61.1%. Janus Global Technology (JATAX) fell 51%. None have recovered from the tech bear.

Of course, those funds are the ones that survived. Many funds went the way of Pets.com and other doomed internet stocks. A record 216 mutual funds were merged out of existence or were liquidated in 2001, the midpoint of the 2000-2002 bear market. Amerindo Technology Fund made huge profits during the bubble by investing in Yahoo!, among other tech stocks. The fund’s assets fell to $98 million from $598 million in 1999, and ultimately liquidated.

Not all tech funds still have losses from the big bust in internet and computer stocks. Victory RS Science and Technology, which fell 52.2% during the 2000 bear market, has clawed a 2% average annual gain since the bubble burst. PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ), which fell 45% in the aftermath of the tech bubble, has gained an average 1.31% since the 2000 peak.