If not a fund manager, Siddhartha Bhaiya would have been a “bean counter”. Ace investor’s motto, key learnings

Maverick fund manager Siddhartha Bhaiya, who passed away due to cardiac arrest on Wednesday, December 31, once said he would have been a “bean counter” if he hadn’t become an investor, a revelation he made in an interview to PMSBazaar. The 47-year-old, widely known for his knack for identifying smallcap multibaggers, drew inspiration from Warren Buffett, particularly admiring the legendary investor’s ability to make consistently sound decisions over long periods of time.

A bean counter is an informal term for an accountant, auditor, or finance professional who is seen as overly focused on numbers, costs, and details.

For Bhaiya, longevity separated great fund managers from the good ones and his motto was not to confuse brilliance with bull markets.

Bhaiya’s unfortunate and untimely passing while on holiday in New Zealand sent shockwaves through the investing community.

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

The chartered accountant PMS fund was the top performer in 2025.

Also Read: India’s top smallcap multibagger hunter Siddhartha Bhaiya passes away after cardiac arrest

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

The veteran investor was in the news last month when he described the current market as a “bubble of epic proportions” rather than a healthy bull phase at an event.

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

Bhaiya, a value investor, strongly advocated for gold, which reflected his contrarian mindset. The November data shows that the Rs 4,000 crore fund had 81.5% of its holdings invested in gold ETFs.

Recounting a couple of bold calls that Aequitas took as a fund house in recent times, Bhaiya mentioned buying Gold ETFs and the decision to invest internationally and diversify away from Indian equities.

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