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Patrick

Patrick Dsouza  |1446 Answers  |Ask -

CAT, XAT, CMAT, CET Expert - Answered on Oct 01, 2025

Patrick Dsouza is the founder of Patrick100.
Along with his wife, Rochelle, he trains students for competitive management entrance exams such as the Common Admission Test, the Xavier Aptitude Test, Common Management Admission Test and the Common Entrance Test.
They also train students for group discussions and interviews.
Patrick has scored in the 100 percentile six times in CAT. He achieved the first rank in XAT twice, in CET thrice and once in the Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test.
Apart from coaching students for MBA exams, Patrick and Rochelle have trained aspirants from the IIMs, the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and the S P Jain Institute of Management Studies and Research for campus placements.
Patrick has been a panellist on the group discussion and panel interview rounds for some of the top management colleges in Mumbai.
He has graduated in mechanical engineering from the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad. He has completed his masters in management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.... more
Asked by Anonymous - Sep 29, 2025Hindi
Career

Sir, after completing my B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 2015, I prepared for GATE and various state-level mechanical exams. Unfortunately, I was not able to clear them. After spending 4–5 years preparing in this field, I shifted my focus to banking exams. In banking, I was able to qualify in the prelims when vacancies were good, but I could not clear the mains. Now, at 31+ years of age and without a job, I recently qualified in the ICET exam with a rank under 100. However, due to a poor choice, I opted for a college that had IT companies in its placement record, thinking it would increase my chances of recruitment, instead of choosing a UNIVERSITY that had better opportunities with banks. Later, I even gave up that college seat. At present, in the special counselling phase, I am unsure if I will be able to secure a seat again in the UNIVERSITY. I am confused about my next course of action—whether I should pursue an MBA or not. I would like your guidance on the following points: Do banks in India or IT companies offer better recruitment opportunities for MBA graduates? Do banks like Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, which recruit through MBA programmes, have an age limit? Do IT companies impose an age limit for MBA placements? Should I join whichever MBA college I get admission into this year, or wait one more year, reattempt the exam, and aim for the desired university? Please guide me on the best course of action..

Ans: It is better to take up a job so that there is some work experience there in your cv rather than just joining any MBA college. you can simultaneously prepare for MBA entrance. But join only if you get a good college. Else take a few years work experience and try for executive MBA course later. Another option would be to do short job oriented courses in the area you are interested.
Banks may not have age limit when the recruit, but your age could face a problem in some of the companies. Same goes with IT companies.
Career

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Patrick

Patrick Dsouza  |1446 Answers  |Ask -

CAT, XAT, CMAT, CET Expert - Answered on Oct 01, 2025

Career
Sir, after completing my B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 2015, I prepared for GATE and various state-level mechanical exams. Unfortunately, I was not able to clear them. After spending 4–5 years preparing in this field, I shifted my focus to banking exams. In banking, I was able to qualify in the prelims when vacancies were good, but I could not clear the mains. Now, at 31+ years of age and without a job, I recently qualified in the ICET exam with a rank under 100. However, due to a poor choice, I opted for a college that had IT companies in its placement record, thinking it would increase my chances of recruitment, instead of choosing a UNIVERSITY that had better opportunities with banks. Later, I even gave up that college seat. At present, in the special counselling phase, I am unsure if I will be able to secure a seat again in the UNIVERSITY. I am confused about my next course of action—whether I should pursue an MBA or not. I would like your guidance on the following points: Do banks in India or IT companies offer better recruitment opportunities for MBA graduates? Do banks like Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, which recruit through MBA programmes, have an age limit? Do IT companies impose an age limit for MBA placements? Should I join whichever MBA college I get admission into this year, or wait one more year, reattempt the exam, and aim for the desired university? Please guide me on the best course of action...................
Ans: It is better to take up a job so that there is some work experience there in your cv rather than just joining any MBA college. you can simultaneously prepare for MBA entrance. But join only if you get a good college. Else take a few years work experience and try for executive MBA course later. Another option would be to do short job oriented courses in the area you are interested.
Banks may not have age limit when the recruit, but your age could face a problem in some of the companies. Same goes with IT companies.

..Read more

Latest Questions
Reetika

Reetika Sharma  |541 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF and Insurance Expert - Answered on Feb 12, 2026

Money
Sir, How can we reduce the Commision on Regular MF ?What is Steps to avoid the Tax if wants to Switch from Regular to Direct?.
Ans: Hi Amit,

Your concern regarding commision in regular funds is quite genuine and common these days due to the misleading content shared by some people.
You should understand that a whilst regular funds have comparatively lower expense ratio than direct funds, and this has risen to the direct fund popularity. But in actual a direct fund portfolio is only good if you know all ins and out of the market, have proper knowledge and knows the correct way to invest perse your individual profile.

There are few benefits of regular fund portfolio which is highly overlooked:
- a professional builds your portfolio keeping in mind your detailed profile, funds selction are done based on your risk profile
- a professional knows the best time to invrease your investments, to hold and to shift. They constantly monitor the same and periodically review them

And a regular fund portfolio definitely beats the direct fund portfolio made with random tips and zero or less knowledge.
Hence I would not suggest you to switch from regular to direct funds if you are working with a professional.

Also switching from regular funds to direct will attract tax, there is no way to avoid the taxation.

However, you can get your portfolio reviewed from another advisor and ask them to guide you to make necessary changes.

If you do not have an advisor, connect with a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

...Read more

Naveenn

Naveenn Kummar  |249 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF, Insurance Expert - Answered on Feb 11, 2026

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 11, 2025Hindi
Money
Hi there, I am 53 years and retiring on 31/12/2025. I hvae a daughter and son, both studing and un-married. I am curently holding mutual fund (investment only) of around 15lacs. I am doing a SIP of 12000/- PM. Beside this, i have an equity investment of 15.50 lacs. I do have 65lacs in FD and the same amunt is expected upon retirement. I have a own house and there is no loan obligations currently. i have another 50lacs given to relatives and there is no timeline when I will be receiving this amount. I have around 100000 monthly expense and ofcourse the marriage expenses of my daughter and son in next 3-4 years. Kindly advise the best strategy and utilization of funds. Thank you.
Ans: Hi sir ,
You are entering a very sensitive financial phase where protection of capital becomes more important than aggressive growth. At the same time, you still have 30 plus years of life expectancy to fund, along with two large near-term goals children’s marriages and ongoing household expenses. So the strategy has to balance income, liquidity, and moderate growth.

Let me break this down in a practical way.

1. Where you stand today

Assets available / expected

Mutual Funds approx 15 lakh

Direct Equity approx 15.5 lakh

FD 65 lakh

Retirement proceeds expected approx 65 lakh

Money given to relatives 50 lakh uncertain timeline

Own house no loan

Total financial assets (excluding relatives money)
~160 lakh

If relatives repay, corpus rises to ~210 lakh but we should not depend on it for planning.

2. Monthly expense reality check

You mentioned ?1,00,000 per month = ?12 lakh per year.

Assuming 6 percent inflation, this expense will double in ~12 years.

So retirement planning must create income + growth, not just fixed income.

3. Immediate financial buckets to create

Think in 4 separate buckets instead of one pool.

A. Emergency + Liquidity bucket

Keep 18–24 months expenses.

?20–25 lakh
Park in:

Savings + sweep FD

Liquid / money market funds

Purpose: medical, family, urgent needs without breaking investments.

B. Marriage funding bucket (3–4 years)

Do not keep this in equity markets due to time risk.

Estimate requirement realistically. Suppose:

Daughter marriage 25–30 lakh

Son marriage 20–25 lakh

Total say 50 lakh

Park in:

Short duration debt funds

Bank FD ladder

RBI bonds

Capital safety is priority here.

C. Income generation bucket

This is the most critical post-retirement engine.

From your corpus, allocate ~70–80 lakh.

Options mix:

Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS)

Post Office MIS

RBI Floating Rate Bonds

High quality Corporate FD

Debt mutual funds with SWP

Target blended return: 7–8 percent.

This can generate ?45k–?55k monthly income.

D. Growth bucket (Long term)

You still need equity to beat inflation.

Allocate 25–30 lakh minimum.

Continue SIP (even post retirement if possible).

Suitable allocation:

Large Cap funds

Balanced Advantage / Dynamic Asset Allocation

Multi Asset funds

Time horizon: 10–20 years.

This bucket funds late retirement and healthcare inflation.

4. What to do with existing investments
Mutual Funds (15 lakh)

Keep invested. Review fund quality. Shift to:

Balanced Advantage

Large Cap / Flexi Cap

Avoid small cap concentration now.

Direct Equity (15.5 lakh)

Gradually reduce risk.

Move profits into hybrid funds or debt over 12–18 months. Do not exit in one shot to avoid tax and timing risk.

5. Retirement corpus deployment illustration

Here is a simple structure using your ~160 lakh corpus:

Bucket Amount Purpose
Emergency 25 L Liquidity
Marriage 50 L 3–4 yr goals
Income 60 L Monthly cashflow
Growth 25 L Inflation hedge

If relatives repay 50 lakh later:

Add 20 lakh to growth

Add 15 lakh to medical reserve

Add 15 lakh to income bucket

6. Monthly income gap

Expense: ?1,00,000

Income possible:

SCSS + MIS + Bonds: ~?50,000

SWP from debt / hybrid: ~?20,000

Equity dividends / growth withdrawal later: ~?10,000–?15,000

Gap may still exist initially.

So you may need:

Part time income / consulting (even ?25k helps)

Delay large withdrawals till age 60 when senior schemes expand

7. Important risks to manage
Healthcare

Take a family floater + super top up if not already.

Longevity risk

Plan till age 90, not 75.

Relatives money

Treat as “bonus”, not retirement funding.

Document repayment if possible.

Inflation

Do not over-allocate to FD.

That is the biggest mistake retirees make.

8. Action checklist

Finalize marriage budget realistically

Create 2-year emergency fund

Invest in SCSS immediately after retirement

Restructure equity to hybrid orientation

Continue SIP from surplus if feasible

Arrange health insurance buffer

Write a will and nominations

...Read more

DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related document carefully before investing. The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information and as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision. RediffGURUS is an intermediary as per India's Information Technology Act.

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