Investors who are near the end of their careers want to adopt a more conservative investment stance, since they will have to live off the funds they have accumulated, and will not have the opportunity to fund their 401Ks and IRAs much longer.

Mutual fund companies have recognized this need and have developed Lifecycle Funds that invest in different types of investments depending on the age of the consumer.

For those people born in the 1950s, the expected retirement age of 65 will occur sometime around the year 2020. As the year 2020 approaches, the standard method is to have investments become more conservative.