Usually when people say "take risks when you're young" they're not talking about age as the only factor. As people get older, they (often, not always) take on m

Usually when people say "take risks when you're young" they're not talking about age as the only factor. As people get older, they (often, not always) take on more responsibilities such as children or a mortgage. When you have kids, you have to be more careful about "risking it all", etc. I agree that if you don't have other factors like kids or a mortgage, there's no reason you should take less risk, aside from the natural how-many-earning-years-left risk profile that people often follow with investments (ie. Most people shouldn't "risk it all" two years before they retire, etc.)