If Siddhartha Bhaiya had not been a fund manager, he would have been a ‘bean counter’. Ace Investor’s motto: key lessons

Maverick fund manager Siddhartha Bhaiya, who passed away on Wednesday, December 31 due to cardiac arrest, once said he would have been a ‘bean counter’ had he not become an investor, a revelation he made in an interview with PMSBazaar. Widely known for his knack for identifying small-cap multibaggers, the 47-year-old was inspired by Warren Buffett and particularly admired the legendary investor’s ability to make consistently good decisions over long periods of time.A bean counter is an informal term for an accountant, auditor, or financial professional who is seen as overly focused on numbers, costs, and details.

For Bhaiya, longevity separated the great fund managers from the good ones, and his motto was not to confuse brilliance with bull markets.Bhaiya’s unfortunate and untimely death while on holiday in New Zealand sent shockwaves through the investment community.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of our Managing Director, Mr. Siddhartha Bhaiya, on December 31, 2025, following a sudden cardiac arrest during a family vacation in New Zealand,” Aequitas said in a statement on Friday.

The chartered accountant PMS fund performed best in 2025.

Also read: India’s top smallcap multibagger fighter Siddhartha Bhaiya passes away after cardiac arrest

Among its big stock calls, Avanti Feeds tops the list, with a 100x return. He also made 50x returns in Apar Industries and Sanghvi Movers. Small caps like JSL, GAEL, HEG, Finolex Cables and TIIL were 20-baggers for him. Other stocks where he achieved more than 10x returns are HIL, Garware, CCL Products, Cosmo First, Maithan Alloys, Nilkamal and Powermech.

The veteran investor made headlines last month when he described the current market as a “bubble of epic proportions” rather than a healthy bull phase during an event.

“We remain keen observers of market trends and note that current valuations appear quite rich. Regardless of market corrections, our approach remains bottom-up: we focus on individual companies, their valuation comfort and growth prospects. This disciplined approach has helped manage downside risks to our investor capital while generating good returns,” he had earlier told PMSBazaar in an interview.

Bhaiya, a value investor, made a strong case for gold, reflecting his contrarian mindset. The November data shows that the Rs 4,000 crore fund had 81.5% of its investments invested in gold ETFs.

Talking about some bold calls that Aequitas has made in recent times as a fund house, Bhaiya mentioned buying gold ETFs and the decision to invest and diversify internationally away from Indian equities.

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