MOST statements in life, when repeated often enough, will be taken as the indisputable truth. This is especially the case if our general, everyday observations sort of suggest that the statements are right. Few will stop to question their validity – what are the assumptions embedded in those statements, who made those statements and to what purpose, have robust tests been done to verify claims made in those statements. In the field of finance, one wisdom which is often purveyed is that of life cycle investing. The theory goes that young people should be more aggressive in their investments, i.e. they should allocate a higher proportion of their portfolios to equities for the long term compounding effect to take place. But as a person nears retirement age, he or she should cut their exposure to equities and hold more of their portfolios in bonds and cash......