'When There's Blood On Street': Late Siddhartha Bhaiya's Bold Strategy Of Spotting Multibaggers

D-Street mourns the sudden demise of renowned fund manager Siddhartha Bhaiya, who passed away at the age of 47 after a cardiac arrest on Dec. 31, 2025. Bhaiya was the managing director and chief investment officer at Aequitas Investments and widely regarded as one of India's best fund managers.

Along with his top contrarian bets, the market veteran was known as the 'multibagger hunter' for his quick and bold strategies of spotting multibagger stocks in trade, that gave a thrust to his returns on investments. In an exclusive interview with NDTV Profit last year, the expert revealed his strategy of how to spot multibaggers.

"I want to see blood on the Street because that's when you make a multibagger," Bhaiya told NDTV Profit last year when he was sitting on around 80% cash. He revealed that Aequitas Investments made a lot of money during March 2020 when the stock market underwent a major correction after the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed.

"We made a lot of money in small-and midcaps during March 2020,'' he claimed. "Whenever there's a correction on the Street, we'll be the one buying most of the stocks," added Bhaiya. The leading fund manager always held a long-term bullish view on India.

Bhaiya, regarded among India's top smallcap multibagger hunters, delivered as high as 2,800% absolute returns as Aequitas picked up promising stocks at early stages. This made Aequitas one of Dalal Street's top PMS funds. Bhaiya's vision was to scale it into a $1 billion net worth organisation.

In the last two-three years, even as Indian equities — particularly the broader small and mid-cap stocks — hit record highs, Bhaiya was always known to maintain a cautious stance on bold moves. He took note of the stretched valuations in the Indian stock market compared to other Asian EMs.

Last year, he warned that investor exuberance amid market euphoria was running ahead of fundamentals when India's economic growth was weaker than what it is now. Market participants note that his investment philosophy centred on a bottoms-up approach and taking contrary bets on scalable business models. ''There will be correction in the short-term, but that's just market noise,'' he told NDTV Profit.

Bhaiya used a combination of factors to study the market cycle, including fundamental factors and technical view to blend value discipline with growth-oriented stock selection. He described the recent rally as a ''bubble of epic proportions'' rather than a bull run and urged investors to focus on long-term bets.

Bhaiya founded Aequitas Investments in 2012 after quitting Nippon India Mutual Fund, where he spent nearly seven years as a fund manager. Under his leadership, Aequitas grew into one of most closely tracked platforms and top-performing PMS, managing around Rs 7,700 crore across PMS and alternative investment fund (AIF) strategies.

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

Aequitas added that Bhaiya was far more than a successful investor. “Siddhartha was the driving force behind Aequitas — a visionary investor and a builder of institutions." According to the statement, the PMS fund remains committed to continue Bhaiya's legacy.