<prompt> Human: I think i am making the smart decision here but I am still slightly confused about the risk involved in the stock market, especially during the economical and political times in the USworld right now. I am investing the max 5,500 a year in a medium risk American Funds account. How much variation and fluctuation can I expect to see? How reliable are Morning Star ratings? Are there other alternatives I should look at.  <response>: Thats great that youre maxing out your Roth, but Id get out of American Fund asap. They often charge a high load fee when you purchase thats going to eat into your money. VanguardSchwabFidelity are the standard recommendations and using a target retirement fund for your expected retirement year. There will be ups and downs, but retirement is a long time away and the market goes up on average. Theres no magic way to know where its headed in the short term, so you should just invest your money as its available.As for a Roth IRA being your sole retirement account, a Roth IRA is a good place to start when youre young, your taxes are low, and the flexibility of a Roth is desirable. But you will almost certainly end up with a 401k or 403b, etc eventually in addition. 