Lucas Degnault likes to check his E*Trade account before school or after his shift at the supermarket. In recent times, it shows a sea of red.
Mr. Dagnault, who has just turned 18, is mostly invested in a fund that tracks the S&P 500. index is off worst start of the year in more than five decades, but he tries not to dwell on it. His strategy is to put about $500 a month in his brokerage account, and he has no plans to stop.