I invested in a mutual fund and it's done nothing but lose value...?

I thought mutual funds were supposed to be safe. I wouldn't have invested if I knew this.

Look at you mutual fund as more of a long term investment and leave it alone. If it is losing value keep putting more money in it because you will be buying more shares for your money when the market is down.
If you have done this for a long period of time you should have a significant amount of money depending on how much you have invested. I have always found that the best time to out money in to the market is when everyone panics and pulls their money. People always pull their money when the market is at a low and put it in when the market is peaking which will ultimately be losing battle.
All in all keep it in because when you pull it is when the market will probably take a turn for the better.
Don't listen to most of the other people that have answered your question that are negative about investing in the market. Chances are most of them live paycheck to paycheck and have nothing put back of any value for their future.

No, mutual funds are no safer than stocks. The idea behind it is that if you do lose value, it won't be as bad as losing all of it in one stock. They want you to focus on that "it won't be AS BAD as..." portion of the selling point.

Any investment broker will tell you, Never Invest money you can't afford to loose.
Investing is always a risk. Good luck.

I would advise to get out of mutual funds. Invest in 1) physical gold and silver 2) gold shares and 3) CD treasury bills 4) money market and 5) keep some cash on hold. These are the worst of times only to get far worse.
(Your mutual fund may have had high expense ratios and bad stock selections)

Mutual funds dilute risk, but they don't eliminate it. There are no stocks that only go up thy all can go up or down but spend most of their time moving more or less sideways, not gaining or losing appreciably.

Mark Twain said, "If you want to be rich, put all your money in the stock market." When someone asked him "What if the stocks go down?" he replied "Well, then don't put your money in."

whoever told you that mutual funds are safe was giving you a line. You should invest in guaranteed income certificates, the interest rate is lower but you never lose your investment money. My dad lost $80,000 on mutual funds during the Asian/Pacific Rim stock crash . In essence he lost most of his retirement fund. DON'T invest in mutual funds.

over what time period?

and what did the comparable market index do in the same time period?

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why did you invest in a fund?
what were your objectives?

are the objectives still valid?
does the fund still meet the objectives?

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maybe it is time to pull the plug. maybe it isn't. need more information to make a reasonable decision.


GL

Mutual Funds are a long-term investment. If the market goes south and you've invested in a fund, likely you've lost money. This often happens at the top of the cycle: People get in when the DJIA has had a 4 month bull run, expecting it to continue. Buy stocks the same way you buy everything else: avoid them when the price is high, load up when they go on sale.

Focus on income producing mutual funds instead of those looking for capital appreciation.

they are safe IF you picked the right ones. But as others have said on here Mutual Funds are LONG TERM investments even in this market I still have a lifetime of my CWGFX over 40% so no worries here.