Q&A with Ashutosh Bishnoi

Ashutosh Bishnoi is the Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra Asset Management Company Private Limited, India’s youngest mutual fund house

Q. I have two young children – one is ten and the other is only 5 – how do I plan for their future?

Today in India a silent revolution is taking place. And that silent revolution is the ambition that our children have.In all my tours around the country, particularly in smaller cities and villages, I haven’t found any children with ordinary ambitions. Gone are the days when children only wanted to be doctors, engineers, accountants and MBAs.

The top choice of a young child in northern India is to represent India at the Olympics—in rifle shooting, wrestling or boxing—and if not that, to at least make it to the kabbadi league or IPL. There are those who are training to make it big in music and acting, and then there are those who want to be NASA scientists. Either it is a world class skill or a global job for both girls and boys equally!

Q. Now you’re really scaring me!

Not unless your only plan is to make your children either doctors or engineers, or if you are planning to just marry off your daughter. Please take a moment to rethink about this very seriously: First, you are not going to make your child do anything he or she does not want to do, period. It is not going to happen that way. And second, you won’t understand much about how to deal with unusual ambitions… you’ll need to do a lot of research and seek expert advice. Start looking for experts, institutions and vocational advisors who can help you to realise your children’s dreams.

The last but most important decision you’ll have to make is: How to Fund Your Children’s Ambitions? There is no better way than to start right now. You must ensure that the money you save not only gets a chance to grow, but also that it is available to your children at the right time.

When you are ready, give us a call at Mahindra Mutual Fund and we’ll tell you about mutual fund options that are specially designed to take care of children’s development needs.

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