Farewell to one of India’s best contrarians

I write this with shock and disbelief after receiving the news of the passing of Siddhartha Bhaiya, Managing Director of Aequitas Investments.

As I process the loss, what stands out most apart from the personal warmth he brought into every interaction is the conviction with which Sid held his market views over the past one to two years. At a time when optimism around Indian equities was bordering on euphoria, Sid chose to step back and take the unpopular route.

His message on Indian markets was clear and consistent. Sit on cash. Do not rush into equities. There is too much froth in the system. While many dismissed this as excessive caution, Sid stayed firm. He repeatedly advised investors to move towards safety. Bonds, gold in size or simply holding cash. He went as far as to say he was comfortable allocating 70 to 80% of one's portfolio to liquid funds and gold.

With the benefit of hindsight, Sid was bang on.

During his last visit to the CNBC-TV18 studio, he offered me a ride home after the show. As we spoke markets, he smiled and said, “Nigel, I know you love your SIPs, but keep some powder dry. You will get great opportunities.” That was classic Sid. Calm, clear & always thinking two steps ahead.

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This was the same Sid and the same Aequitas team that identified names like Apar Industries and Power Mech at a time when they were completely out of favour. Their investing philosophy was never about chasing momentum. It was about patience, deep research and the courage to look wrong before being proven right.

Another call where Sid stood apart from the crowd was his bullish stance on China relative to India. While most market participants were firmly positioned on the India growth story, Sid argued that valuations mattered and that China offered better risk-reward at that point. That too turned out to be a timely and accurate call.

Sid did stuff on his own terms which involved high ticket size and concentrated investments.

1. His fund gave superb CAGR of 32.87% since Feb 2013 (Returns are net of fees and expenses)

2. He always did things his own way—launching a PMS with minimum ticket size of ₹1 crore back in 2013, when the industry ticket size was at ₹25 lakh. Later on, when the industry moved to ₹50 lakh his fund demanded a minimum cheque of ₹10-₹25 crore.

3. A clear example of his contra approach: he invested in India’s largest stainless steel company Jindal Stainless in early 2020 when it was available at a market capitalization of around ₹2,000 crore, when its European peers were also struggling. He exited the investment in 2024 at around 30-35x return, just when enthusiasm around Indian infrastructure peaked.

On a personal note, Sid was one of those rare guests who would make it a point to come on the show if I was anchoring. Beyond television, we met for coffee with my wife and spoke about everything from markets and books to life and kids. He constantly encouraged me to keep building on the niche brand I had created and offered advice with no agenda, only goodwill.

We had planned a show together on “Finding Alpha” in January 2026. Sadly, that conversation will now remain unfinished.

Sid Bhaiya was a true contra investor in markets and in life. He was comfortable standing alone, confident in his thinking and generous with his time and wisdom.

Rest well, Sid.

Strength to his wife and children during this difficult time.