Lifecycle funds are getting a lot of attention.  Many IRA providers offer these funds and the Government Thrift Savings Plan recently added these funds to their list of investments.  Financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn proves some insight.

Investors who use lifecycle funds in their 401(k)s, even for just part of their savings, earn higher returns than those who don't, according to performance studies by the consultant Hewitt Associates. If that doesn't hook you, nothing will.

More than half of the larger 401(k)s offer lifecycle funds—an amazing rate of acceptance for a product that's just 10 years old. By early next year, Hewitt expects to see them in as many 65 percent of plans.