The stock market is Always a bit of a roller coaster, but if a persons investments are spread properly, the trend is usually up, over a period of time. There really isn't any other option if a person wants to grow, or at least stay even, financially. Bank accounts have been paying virtually nothing for the past 8 or 10 years, and things like annuities are only of real benefit to the insurance companies. Summers always seem to be a period of losses, as the trading volume decreases. Perhaps the best advice for the average investor is "Go away in May, come back in October".
I always get a bit antsy in Presidential election years...as the politicians get people's minds so screwed up, that they make bad decisions with their investments. I'm going to watch 2016 real close, and may hide out in the Money Markets, etc., for even longer next year.
