My retirement fund that I just started was worth $15k in December of 2021. Then, May of 2022, our area was hit really hard. My retirement plan went down to $7k. Today, it’s worth $11k. I lost $4k on my retirement plan. It’s invested in total market funds, some tech, some big cap companies, and healthcare. But every sector has been ravaged by the stock market changes.
You got in at a bad time and probably picked some subpar investments. You likely bought some big tech stocks at the worst possible time, and many of them never recovered because they were way over valued to begin with.
Stick with total market or sp500 fund like VTI or VOO. You’d be up right now if you had.
Also, it sounds like you invested once and then never bought more? The whole point is that you’re buying more every paycheck. You’d be way up if you’d kept investing through 2022 when prices were low.
Retirement accounts with the right funds are supposed to be set it and forget it. Make the automatic contribution every paycheck and look at it maybe once or twice a year. Otherwise, let it be.
Target date funds are also supposed to be set and forget, but this looks like the curve from Vanguards 2030 through at least 2040 target date funds.