This is really just a rule of thumb with the general understanding that risk appetite should decrease with increased age. However, everyone should decide for oneself how much risk is acceptable. One can be very young yet hold only a small percentage in stock and higher percentage in bonds if one is uncomfortable with paper losses.


It also depends on the macro situation. For example, in the last 2-3 years, bonds and stocks have both gone down and fixed deposits offer fairly reasonable returns of 3-5% annually. In this case, cash is probably better than even bonds.


Additionally, not all stocks are the same. Generally, people invest in US stocks for capital gains and SREITs for dividend income. The runway to returns for developing economies tend to be longer than developed markets.


Thus, when I’m closer to retirement, i would rotate away from developing countries to SREITS and take profit from US market. I dont think i will ever withdraw entirely from the stock market.