With an RESP you decide how you want the money to be invested, so it's different for everyone. We have one for my son and we chose the Canadian Index Fund which seems to do fine. It goes up a bit, but not usually down. When you set it up, you decide your tolerance for risk, and that is how they help you decide where to invest the money. If you really have no risk tolerance, you can buy GIC's or something safe, but you won't make much interest. You still get the government kick-ins though. It's definitely a great way to save for your children, just choose what your comfortable with for investments, and you can't go wrong!