Everybody wants their investments to go straight up - all the time, but if the market is declining, it is irrational to expect that your portfolio won't decline. It is the extent of your decline relative to the market that is important. Many times, investors only remember the high water mark of their portfolios. They want to see their investments go up every month. This however, might not be the case.
Investors easily forget how much their portfolio has grown over the previous months.
A recent move down in value might be nothing more than the normal fluctuation of an investment portfolio. If you invested in the market through stocks or mutual funds and didn't expect to see your portfolio go down at times, you have made a grave error. Many investors are taking on more risk than they can bear. In recent years, the market has returned more than double its average long term rate. This has pushed risks higher than normal.