As a conservative investor you really don't like risk. You want fairly stable returns from year to year. Based on your risk profile you are most concerned with keeping what you have. Conservative investors prefer a stable return over the medium to long term, by investing mainly in bonds and cash and a small proportion of money in shares and property investments. As a result, they are generally only prepared to accept the possibility of a negative return once in 8 - 10 years.
As a balanced investor you are prepared to accept shorter term fluctuations in performance for potentially higher returns over the long term. Based on your risk profile, you generally want a balance between income and capital gains. Balanced investors prefer medium to higher returns, by investing in a diversified portfolio with a bias towards growth asset classes such as shares and property, and are generally prepared to accept the possibility of a negative return once in 5 - 7 years.
As a growth investor you are looking to maximise your longer term investment returns and you can accept a wide range of earnings (high and low) from year to year. Based on your risk profile you are prepared to sacrifice portfolio income and short term stability for the chance to earn higher long term results. Growth investors prefer higher returns over the long-term by investing mainly in growth asset classes, and as a result, are generally prepared to accept the possibility of a negative return once in 3 - 4 years.