If you really think about it, you'll find a remarkable range of life's situations that can be inherently risky. Nearly everything Read A lot more person does is some type of gambling. Even with such mundane act of getting up and going to work, increases one's probability of being killed in a transportation accident. In face of today and everything you know about investing, be it in business, an asset class (stocks, bonds, real-estate, cash and commodities), or index fund, even in its most basic element, it really is nothing but "betting" that someday tomorrow will probably be better with pleasant expected returns on investment; or possibly not. There is only one big risk you should avoid and that is the risk of doing nothing and not taking your chance.

Come to look at it in face value, investing within any money market really is, legalized gambling, per se.