An index pundits love to call Wall Street's "fear gauge" is flashing red. Should we panic?

Americans have become increasingly responsible for their own financial destinies. The certitude of Social Security has been evaporating for younger people, while 401(k)s have displaced pensions across corporate America, leaving more investment decisions in the hands of individual workers. Those decisions should be based on facts, yet myths abound when it comes to the stock market. Here are five I hear constantly in my conversations with investors.