Lifecycle Fund (redirected from Life Cycle Funds)

Lifecycle Fund

Any mutual fund in a fund family that offers funds with varying levels of risk that are targeted at potential shareholders in different age groups. For example, a fund family may offer three lifecycle funds, one aimed at investors in their 20s and 30s, one at persons in their 40s and 50s, and one for those nearing or in retirement. In this situation, the first fund will carry the most risk because younger investors often seek to make a large return while the third will carry the least risk as investors wish mainly to protect their savings and pensions.

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Lifecycle fund. A lifecycle fund, which is a fund of funds, invests in individual mutual funds that a fund company puts together to help investors meet their objectives without having to select individual funds.

Some companies offer a set of lifecycle funds, each with a different level of risk and return, from conservative to aggressive. In that case, you may choose a lifecycle that's appropriate for reaching your goals within the time frame you've allowed.

The typical pattern is for younger investors to choose a more aggressive lifecycle fund and those nearing retirement to choose a more conservative fund.

With target date funds, which are a type of lifecycle fund, you choose a target retirement year, and the fund manager invests and reallocates your money more and more conservatively as you near retirement.