<prompt> Human: This time last year I decided to open a Fidelity account and contribute 5,500 to a Roth IRA. Ive been shocked to see that within the last year it has only accumulated 1. Is this a normal rate of return or is there something Im missing?  <response>: Think of an IRA like a container. Inside your container are your investments. After putting money in the container, you have to select some investments, otherwise it just sits there in a cash fund earning a minimal amount of interest. 