You're not alone if looking at financial statements from last quarter sends shivers up your spine.
Most people own stock either directly, in a mutual fund, or through a pension plan.
Because of the horrible performance of the stock market just about everybody's portfolio went down. It wasn't just a handful of stocks that got hit, nearly the entire market took it on the chin. Before you go after your broker or financial planner it is important to know how you did compared to the markets. A majority of people lost money last quarter, but if you beat the market then you might want to think twice before sending hate mail to your broker or planner. You may have heard people preach that when things are bad diversification is the name of the game.