Is luck-based investing a fool’s gamble? Spectator Money investigates

I used to like aphorisms. Maybe a little too much. In the good old days, I sought them out on Google – their infinite wisdom reassuring validation for whatever romantic or existential mess I’d gotten myself into. Today, they hold the appeal of a ripe Époisses. Rendered hackneyed and empty by social media. Occasionally, amid the deluge of syrupy cack on my Instagram, I’ll spot a gem. If you want more luck, take more chances. You may play the Euromillions, own Premium Bonds or like me, indulge in the occasional turn of roulette. Unlike me, you probably didn’t disappear on your husband for three hours, before breakfast, inside a Monaco casino. But as we all know, you’ve got to be in it to win it.  The era of low interest rates has altered the contours of acceptable risk, but is luck-based investing ever justified or is it simply a fool’s gamble?

Winning is outrageously unlikely.