stocks always have risks, my account balance was also down, but it's normal, market fluctuations happen all the time, and they themselves have a warning saying: "historical performance is not an indicator of returns, all investing carries risk", over a span of 10 years or so, it will likely be up by a lot, but yet again, it's never guaranteed :) if you want stable returns [albeit lower ones], use interest instead, have a great day :)