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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |10881 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on May 17, 2024

Ramalingam Kalirajan has over 23 years of experience in mutual funds and financial planning.
He has an MBA in finance from the University of Madras and is a certified financial planner.
He is the director and chief financial planner at Holistic Investment, a Chennai-based firm that offers financial planning and wealth management advice.... more
Asked by Anonymous - Apr 19, 2024Hindi
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Money

Hello Sir, I need some financial advice and modification if needed. I am 32 yo and I am investing below funds since 2 years - 1)Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund Direct Growth 5K 2)Axis Midcap Fund - Growth 2K 3)SBI Contra Direct Plan Growth 10K 4)Nippon India Small Cap 5K 5)Canara Robaco Small Cap 5K 6)Quant Small Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth 5K 7)Tata Digital India Direct Growth 10K Please suggest if i should continue this or change this. I am planning to invest for next 15-20 yrs.My goal is to create a corpus for my kids education and retariment.

Ans: Diversified Investment Strategy
You have a well-diversified portfolio, which is crucial for mitigating risks and achieving long-term growth.

Diversifying across various market capitalizations can balance risk and reward effectively.

Your portfolio covers flexi-cap, mid-cap, contra, small-cap, and sector-specific funds.

Evaluating Current Funds
Flexi-cap funds provide flexibility to invest across market capitalizations, adapting to market conditions.

Mid-cap funds can offer higher growth potential compared to large-cap funds but come with higher risks.

Contra funds invest in undervalued stocks, potentially offering high returns when the market corrects.

Small-cap funds have high growth potential but are also highly volatile.

Sector-specific funds, like digital funds, can benefit from sectoral growth but carry higher risk if the sector underperforms.

Suggested Modifications
Consider reducing exposure to small-cap funds to mitigate volatility.

Reallocate some investment to more stable, less volatile funds for better balance.

Evaluate the performance and expense ratios of your current funds regularly.

Benefits of Actively Managed Funds
Actively managed funds offer professional management and can outperform the market.

These funds can adapt to market changes, making strategic decisions to maximize returns.

Considerations for Long-Term Goals
Aligning your investments with your long-term goals, like children's education and retirement, is crucial.

Evaluate the risk tolerance and time horizon for each goal.

Higher-risk investments are suitable for long-term goals but ensure you balance with lower-risk options.

Direct vs Regular Funds
Direct funds have lower expense ratios but require more effort in fund selection and monitoring.

Regular funds, through a Mutual Fund Distributor (MFD) with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), provide professional guidance.

Regular funds can help you make informed decisions, balancing risks and returns effectively.

Rebalancing Your Portfolio
Periodic rebalancing ensures your portfolio aligns with your goals and risk tolerance.

Review your investments at least annually or when significant market changes occur.

Rebalancing helps in capturing profits and reinvesting in underperforming assets, maintaining your desired asset allocation.


Your commitment to investing for your family's future is commendable.

You have made informed choices in diversifying your investments, which is excellent.

Long-term investing requires patience and discipline, and you are on the right track.

Conclusion
Your diversified portfolio is a good foundation for long-term goals.

Consider reducing small-cap exposure and reallocating to more stable funds.

Regular review and rebalancing are essential for continued success.

Best Regards,

K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,

Chief Financial Planner,

www.holisticinvestment.in
DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information to be as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision.
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Sunil

Sunil Lala  | Answer  |Ask -

Financial Planner - Answered on Jan 09, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 31, 2023Hindi
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I have a corpus of 1 cr in mf with an ongoing monthly sip of 85k..have invested 6 lacs in stocks..I am investing 1.5 lacs each In both ppf and sukanya samridhi scheme for the past 5 years.. I also have invested in hdfc sanchay annuity plan around 5.5 lacs annually for the past 4 years which will give me a monthly income from the 12th years of 50 k.. I have FDs of around 3 cr which is giving me a return of 7% annually.. I have 2 kids and I am 43 yrs old. I am looking at building a corpus of 40 cr plus on my retirement.. I have been investing in mf since 2017.. The funds that I am investing in are 1) axis.mid cap 2) canara robeco emerging equities 3) Nippon small cap 4) Parag Parikh flexi cap 5) quant flexi cap 6) Mirae asset mid and larg cap 7) icici nifty 50 index 8) SBI focussed equity 9) hdfc balanced advantage fund 10) SBI equity hybrid fund Plz suggest if these funds are fine to reach a target of 40 cr plus in the next 17 years... My kids are 10 and 4 yrs old respectively and I want to keep 1.5 cr plus for their education. When they attain the age of 18 years respectively. Kindly suggest do I need to change the investment plan and mutual funds or should I continue with the same strategy to achieve my goal.
Ans: You can not reach to your target of 40 crores plus education corpus of 1.5 cr for 2 children as most of your money is getting invested in fixed income type of instruments, since your goal is still 17 years away you can convert theses fixed income in mutual funds.

..Read more

Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |10881 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Aug 02, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Jul 28, 2024Hindi
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Hello sir, I (33yr) and my wife(30) are earning monthly salary as 3.5L.We are paying monthly 30K EMI for home loan with outstanding of 25L. We are investing below mf's with monthly 40K as SIP and will continue these investments next 10-15 years with annual 5% increase.Currently my portfolio value is 10L with 38% return(35.65% XIRR). And i have invested some amount in real-estate as well.The current market price of that investment is 1.25Cr. 1)Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund Direct Growth-5000 2)SBI Contra Direct Plan Growth-10000 3)Nippon India Small Cap-5000 4)Canara Robaco Small Cap-5000 5)Quant Small Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth-5000 6)Tata Digital India Direct Growth-10000 And my wife is investing monthly 15% of basic salary for ESOP in her company(US listed company). The market value of current stocks price is 25L. We have 1yr kid and will plan another one later.Our goal is to create good corpus fund(appx 5-10cr) to maintain kids education and retirement. Are we in current path to reach our goal or need to make any adjustments?
Ans: Financial Situation Overview

Your combined monthly income of Rs. 3.5 lakhs is impressive.
Home loan EMI of Rs. 30,000 with Rs. 25 lakhs outstanding is manageable.
Monthly SIP of Rs. 40,000 shows good commitment to investing.
Your diverse investment portfolio is praiseworthy.

Current Investment Analysis

Your mutual fund portfolio of Rs. 10 lakhs shows good growth.
The 38% return (35.65% XIRR) is excellent. Keep monitoring it.
Real estate investment of Rs. 1.25 crores adds to your wealth.
Your wife's ESOP worth Rs. 25 lakhs is a valuable asset.

Investment Strategy Evaluation

Your mix of flexi-cap, contra, and small-cap funds is well-diversified.
The technology sector fund adds a growth element to your portfolio.
Annual 5% increase in SIP is a good strategy for long-term growth.
Consider adding some mid-cap funds for better balance.

Risk Assessment

Your portfolio seems tilted towards high-risk small-cap funds.
The technology sector fund also carries higher risk.
Consider balancing with some large-cap or multi-cap funds.
Review your risk tolerance as you approach your goals.

Goal Analysis

Your goal of Rs. 5-10 crores for education and retirement is ambitious.
With your current savings rate, you're on a good path.
Consider increasing your investments as your income grows.
Factor in inflation when planning for long-term goals.

Asset Allocation

Your investments are heavily skewed towards equity.
Consider adding some debt funds for stability.
Rebalance your portfolio annually to maintain desired asset allocation.
Don't forget to factor in your real estate investment.

Tax Planning

Ensure you're maximizing tax benefits under Section 80C.
Consider tax-efficient withdrawal strategies for the future.
Review the tax implications of your wife's ESOP regularly.

Insurance Planning

Ensure you have adequate life insurance coverage.
Review your health insurance needs, especially with a growing family.
Consider disability insurance to protect your income.

Emergency Fund

Set aside 6-12 months of expenses in an easily accessible fund.
This will help you avoid disturbing your investments during emergencies.

Child Education Planning

Start a separate fund for your children's education.
Consider education-focused mutual funds for this purpose.
Factor in potential overseas education costs.

Retirement Planning

Your current investments will contribute significantly to retirement.
Consider starting a separate retirement-focused portfolio.
Review your retirement needs and adjust investments accordingly.

Finally

Your financial planning is on the right track. Keep it up!
Regularly review and rebalance your portfolio.
Stay disciplined with your investments, even during market fluctuations.
Consider consulting a Certified Financial Planner for personalized advice.

Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in

..Read more

Naveenn

Naveenn Kummar  |235 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF, Insurance Expert - Answered on Sep 04, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Aug 21, 2025Hindi
Money
Hi Sir, I’m 24 years old. Currently, my investments are as follows: * PPF – ₹2,78,931 balance, contributing ₹12,500 monthly, maturity on 1st April 2036. * SBI Recurring Deposit – ₹2,40,000 balance, contributing ₹10,000 monthly, maturity around July 2026. * HDFC Fixed Deposit – ₹1,67,891 balance, maturity on 5th May 2026, at 6.60% interest. * HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund – ₹4,500 one-time investment. * ICICI Prudential Gold ETF – SIP of ₹525/month for the last 3 months. Mutual Funds with 10% annual step-up SIPs: * Parag Parikh Flexi Cap – invested ₹9,075 till now, ₹1,575 SIP. * Edelweiss Midcap – invested ₹5,025 till now, ₹525 SIP. * Tata Small Cap – invested ₹5,025 till now, ₹1,575 SIP. * ICICI Prudential Nifty 50 Index – invested ₹1,500 till now, ₹1,500 SIP. Sir, I need your guidance regarding my investment scenario. My goal is to build a corpus of ₹2 Crore (inflation adjusted Rs.6.8 Crore) by the age of 45.
Ans: Dear Sir,

Thank you for sharing your detailed investment portfolio and goals. Considering your age (24 years) and your target of building a ?2 Crore corpus (?6.8 Cr inflation-adjusted) by age 45, here’s an assessment and guidance.

1. Current Investment Snapshot

PPF: ?2.78 L, ?12,500/month, matures 2036

Recurring Deposit (SBI): ?2.4 L, ?10,000/month, matures 2026

HDFC FD: ?1.67 L, matures 2026, 6.6% interest

Mutual Funds: Small one-time and SIP investments with step-up in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap, Edelweiss Midcap, Tata Small Cap, and ICICI Nifty 50 ETF

Observation: Your current equity allocation is relatively small compared to your long-term goal, and most of your corpus is in low-growth instruments (PPF, RD, FD).

2. Goal Analysis

Target: ?2 Cr nominal (~?6.8 Cr with 7% inflation) in 21 years

Current corpus: ~?9–10 L invested in equity and ~?7 L in debt/PPF/FDs

Estimated growth: With current SIPs and step-up, you may fall short of the goal due to low investment amounts in high-growth assets.

3. Recommended Strategy

Increase Equity Allocation:

To achieve ?2 Cr by age 45, you should increase monthly SIP contributions in equity mutual funds significantly, ideally ?25k–30k/month, with step-up aligned with salary growth.

Diversified Portfolio:

Maintain 40–50% in large-cap/flexi-cap funds,

30–40% in mid & small-cap funds for higher growth,

10–20% in balanced or debt-oriented funds for stability.

Long-Term Focus:

Equity investments should be held for the long term, minimizing withdrawals during market volatility.

Continue your PPF and RD investments as safe, debt-oriented instruments, but they alone will not meet your corpus target.

Systematic Step-Up:

Ensure annual SIP increase of 10% or more to leverage salary growth and compounding effect.

Regular Review:

Review your portfolio every 6–12 months to rebalance allocations, track progress toward your goal, and adjust SIP amounts if required.

4. Summary

Your current investment discipline is commendable, but the quantum of equity SIPs is too low for your ambitious goal.

Focus on higher equity exposure, continue safe instruments like PPF/FDs for debt portion, and implement step-up SIPs consistently.

Regular review with a QPFP professional will help you adjust your strategy and stay on track for achieving the ?2 Cr corpus.

Best regards,
Naveenn Kummar, BE, MBA, QPFP
Chief Financial Planner | AMFI Registered MFD
www.alenova.in
https://www.instagram.com/alenova_wealth

..Read more

Latest Questions
Nayagam P

Nayagam P P  |10854 Answers  |Ask -

Career Counsellor - Answered on Dec 14, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 12, 2025Hindi
Career
Hello, I am currently in Class 12 and preparing for JEE. I have not yet completed even 50% of the syllabus properly, but I aim to score around '110' marks. Could you suggest an effective strategy to achieve this? I know the target is relatively low, but I have category reservation, so it should be sufficient.
Ans: With category reservation (SC/ST/OBC), a score of 110 marks is absolutely achievable and realistic. Based on 2025 data, SC candidates qualified with approximately 60-65 percentile, and ST candidates with 45-55 percentile. Your target requires scoring just 37-40% marks, which is significantly lower than general category standards. This gives you a genuine advantage. Immediate Action Plan (December 2025 - January 2026): 4-5 Weeks. Week 1-2: High-Weightage Chapter Focus. Stop trying to complete the entire syllabus. Instead, focus exclusively on high-scoring chapters that carry maximum weightage: Physics (Modern Physics, Current Electricity, Work-Power-Energy, Rotation, Magnetism), Chemistry (Chemical Bonding, Thermodynamics, Coordination Compounds, Electrochemistry), and Maths (Integration, Differentiation, Vectors, 3D Geometry, Probability). These chapters alone can yield 80-100+ marks if practiced properly. Ignore topics you haven't studied yet. Week 2-3: Previous Year Questions (PYQs). Solve JEE Main PYQs from the last 10 years (2015-2025) for chapters you're studying. PYQs reveal question patterns and difficulty levels. Focus on understanding why answers are correct, not memorizing solutions. Week 3-4: Mock Tests & Error Analysis. Take 2-3 full-length mock tests weekly under timed conditions. This is crucial because mock tests build exam confidence, reveal time management weaknesses, and error analysis prevents repeated mistakes. Maintain an error notebook documenting every mistake—this becomes your revision guide. Week 4-5: Revision & Formula Consolidation. Create concise formula sheets for each subject. Spend 30 minutes daily reviewing formulas and key concepts. Avoid learning new topics entirely at this stage. Study Schedule (Daily): 7-8 Hours. Morning (5:00-7:30 AM): Physics concepts + 30 PYQs. Break (7:30-8:30 AM): Breakfast & rest. Mid-morning (8:30-11:00): Chemistry concepts + 20 PYQs. Lunch (11:00-1:00 PM): Full break. Afternoon (1:00-3:30 PM): Maths concepts + 30 PYQs. Evening (3:30-5:00 PM): Mock test or error review. Night (7:00-9:00 PM): Formula revision & weak area focus. Strategic Approach for 110 Marks: Attempt only confident questions and avoid negative marking by skipping difficult questions. Do easy questions first—in the exam, attempt all basic-level questions before attempting medium or hard ones. Focus on quality over quantity as 30 well-practiced questions beat 100 random questions. Master NCERT concepts as most JEE questions test NCERT concepts applied smartly. April 2026 Session Advantage. If January doesn't deliver desired results, April gives you a second chance with 3+ months to prepare. Use January as a practice attempt to identify weak areas, then focus intensively on those in February-March. Realistic Timeline: January 2026 target is 95-110 marks (achievable with focused 50% syllabus), while April 2026 target is 120-130 marks (with complete syllabus + experience). Your reservation benefit means you need only approximately 90-105 marks to qualify and secure admission to quality engineering colleges. Stop comparing yourself to general category cutoffs. Most Importantly: Consistency beats perfection. Study 6 focused hours daily rather than 12 distracted hours. Your 110-mark target is realistic—execute this plan with discipline. All the BEST for Your JEE 2026!

Follow RediffGURUS to Know More on 'Careers | Money | Health | Relationships'.

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Dr Dipankar

Dr Dipankar Dutta  |1840 Answers  |Ask -

Tech Careers and Skill Development Expert - Answered on Dec 13, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 12, 2025
Career
Dear Sir/Madam, I am currently a 1st year UG student studying engineering in Sairam Engineering College, But there the lack of exposure and strict academics feels so rigid and I don't like it that. It's like they don't gaf about skills but just wants us to memorize things and score a good CGPA, the only skill they want is you to memorize things and pass, there's even special class for students who don't perform well in academics and it is compulsory for them to attend or else the student and his/her parents needs to face authorities who lashes out. My question is when did engineering became something that requires good academics instead of actual learning and skill set. In sairam they provides us a coding platform in which we need to gain the required points for each semester which is ridiculous cuz most of the students here just look at the solution to code instead of actual debugging. I am passionate about engineering so I want to learn and experiment things instead of just memorizing, so I actually consider dropping out and I want to give jee a try and maybe viteee , srmjeee But i heard some people say SRM may provide exposure but not that good in placements. I may not be excellent at studies but my marks are decent. So gimme some insights about SRM and recommend me other colleges/universities which are good at exposure
Ans: First — your frustration is valid

What you are experiencing at Sairam is not engineering, it is rote-based credential production.

“When did engineering become memorizing instead of learning?”

Sadly, this shift happened decades ago in most Tier-3 private colleges in India.

About “coding platforms & points” – your observation is sharp

You are absolutely right:

Mandatory coding points → students copy solutions

Copying ≠ learning

Debugging & thinking are missing

This is pseudo-skill education — it looks modern but produces shallow engineers.

The fact that you noticed this in 1st year already puts you ahead of 80% students.

Should you DROP OUT and prepare for JEE / VITEEE / SRMJEEE?

Although VIT/SRM is better than Sairam Engineering College, but you may face the same problem. You will not face this type of problem only in some top IITs, but getting seat in those IITs will be difficult.
Instead of dropping immediately, consider:

???? Strategy:

Stay enrolled (degree security)

Reduce emotional investment in college rules

Use:

GitHub

Open-source projects

Hackathons

Internships (remote)

Hardware / software self-projects

This way:

College = formality

Learning = self-driven

Risk = minimal

...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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