Most people buy when everyone else is buying and the price has been driven too high. Likewise, they sell when everyone else is selling which is when you should be buying if you have researched and believe in the company and it's management.
Most Mutual Fund managers don't out perform the index in their own market. Yes, there are bubbles like the current gold market but you need to be nimble and get out when conditions change.
Buying the Bond market via mutual funds makes sense to me because I need all those other investors to participate in those really good firms. I can't keep up-to-date on international stock market[s] or political shenanigans so using a mutual fund whose managers are there - on the ground, keeps me mostly on the plus side.
I don't have enough money to buy enough shares with enough diversification to make a serious profit. Sometimes I'd like to write to the manager of my least favorite fund and ask ...'hey guy...what were you thinking!'
Lastly, just because an investor is 60 y/o doesn't mean they need to drop equities, they may need to rebalance or choose less volatile stocks but they do not cash out just because they reach some arbitrary age.
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