Some people reckon investing is a mad scramble where you have to react to every headline to get ahead. If you snooze, you lose. Others approach it like childcare; if you love the little darlings enough they'll grow strong and healthy and look after you. Then there are the cynics who say it's all down to luck; the only reason some investors stand out is because laws of probability dictate it.

And they are all right. And wrong. At different times.