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Nikunj

Nikunj Saraf  | Answer  |Ask -

Mutual Funds Expert - Answered on Dec 15, 2022

Nikunj Saraf has more than five years of experience in financial markets and offers advice about mutual funds. He is vice president at Choice Wealth, a financial institution that offers broking, insurance, loans and government advisory services. Saraf, who is a member of the Institute Of Chartered Accountants of India, has a strong base in financial markets and wealth management.... more
Sandeep Question by Sandeep on Dec 15, 2022Hindi
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I am from Mumbai my salary Rs 45000 per month and I am 40 years old now I wanted to invest in mutual funds for better retirement kindly suggest name of mutual fund to invest.

Ans: Hi Sandeep. In response to your concern, I would suggest to start your MF investment journey with below mentioned schemes for the vision of retirement planning.

  • Nippon India Growth Fund
  • Quant Flexi cap Fund
  • SBI Small Cap Fund
  • ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund
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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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |10881 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Apr 23, 2024

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hi sir i am 41 years old, now i want invest in mutual fund for my retirement and for my two sons one of it is 15 years and second is 10 years old. i can invest 5000 rs per month please suggest me funds that can i invest.
Ans: Given your investment horizon for retirement and your sons' education, you have a long-term horizon which allows you to consider equity-oriented mutual funds for potentially higher returns. Here are some suggestions tailored to your needs:

For Retirement (Long-Term):
Large Cap Funds: These funds invest in well-established companies, offering stability and growth potential. Given your longer investment horizon, consider allocating a portion to large-cap funds to provide stability to your portfolio.
Multi-Cap Funds: These funds offer diversification across market capitalizations and are suitable for long-term wealth creation. They can adapt to different market conditions, providing flexibility to the fund manager.
For Sons' Education (Medium to Long-Term):
Balanced Funds or Hybrid Funds: These funds invest in both equities and debt, offering a balance between growth and stability. They can be suitable for medium to long-term goals like your sons' education.
Children's Gift Funds or Children's Education Funds: Some mutual funds offer specific funds designed for children's future needs, providing a tailored solution for education expenses.
Considering your investment amount and goals, you can consider investing in a combination of the above-mentioned funds to achieve diversification and align with your financial goals. Here's a potential allocation:

Large Cap Funds: 40%
Multi-Cap Funds: 40%
Balanced or Hybrid Funds: 20%
Remember, it's essential to review your investments periodically and adjust your portfolio as needed based on performance, changing financial goals, and market conditions. Consult with a financial advisor to ensure your investment strategy aligns with your financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon.

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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |10881 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Aug 27, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Aug 27, 2024Hindi
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Hi Sir, my age is 47. I would like to invest 30000 per month for a period of 10 years for retirement. Could you please suggest 5 mutual funds where I can invest 6000 each?
Ans: At 47 years old, you're planning to invest Rs. 30,000 monthly over the next 10 years, with retirement as your primary goal. This approach is commendable as it aligns with the disciplined, long-term investment strategy required to build a robust retirement corpus.

Diversification Across Mutual Funds
Investing in five different mutual funds with Rs. 6,000 each per month is a smart move. It offers diversification, which helps mitigate risks and provides a balanced portfolio. Here’s how you can diversify:

Large-Cap Equity Fund: Large-cap funds invest in well-established companies with a solid market presence. These companies have a history of stable returns, which can provide a safety net in your portfolio. A significant portion of your investment should be allocated here, as it ensures stability.

Mid-Cap Equity Fund: Mid-cap funds invest in companies that are in their growth phase. They offer higher growth potential compared to large-cap funds but with slightly higher risk. Allocating a part of your investment here can add growth potential to your portfolio.

Small-Cap Equity Fund: Small-cap funds target smaller companies with high growth potential. Although they come with higher risk, they can offer substantial returns over the long term. A small portion of your monthly investment in small-cap funds can significantly enhance your portfolio’s growth.

Balanced or Hybrid Fund: These funds offer a mix of equity and debt investments, providing a balance between risk and reward. By including a hybrid fund, you add a layer of stability to your portfolio, which can be beneficial as you approach retirement.

International Equity Fund: Investing in an international equity fund offers exposure to global markets. This not only diversifies your portfolio geographically but also protects it against domestic market volatility. It’s an excellent way to hedge against local economic downturns.

Monthly Investment Strategy
Given the goal of retirement, a systematic approach with monthly SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) is ideal. Here’s how you can allocate your Rs. 30,000 monthly investment:

Large-Cap Equity Fund: Rs. 6,000
Mid-Cap Equity Fund: Rs. 6,000
Small-Cap Equity Fund: Rs. 6,000
Balanced or Hybrid Fund: Rs. 6,000
International Equity Fund: Rs. 6,000
This allocation provides a balanced mix of stability, growth potential, and international diversification.

Evaluating and Rebalancing
Your investment journey doesn’t end with selecting funds. Regular evaluation is crucial. At least once a year, review your portfolio's performance and market conditions. Rebalance your portfolio if necessary to ensure it aligns with your retirement goals. For instance, as you approach retirement, you might want to shift more of your investments into less volatile funds, such as debt or balanced funds.

Final Insights
Your proactive approach to retirement planning is commendable. By investing Rs. 30,000 monthly across a diversified portfolio, you’re setting yourself up for a financially secure retirement. Remember, consistency is key, and with a disciplined investment strategy, you can achieve your retirement goals.

Best Regards,

K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,

Chief Financial Planner,

www.holisticinvestment.in

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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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