Siddhartha Bhaiya saw Opportunities Outside India Before Passing

Fund manager Siddhartha Bhaiya, who recently passed away following a cardiac arrest, had turned cautious on Indian equities in his final views, while spotting selective opportunities across global markets. he remained optimistic on non-tech themes in the U.S., consumption-led plays in China, and defensive sectors in Europe, which he believed offered better risk-adjusted opportunities.

“As I said,we currently do not find valuation comfort in the Indian markets. However, we do see some good opportunities in international markets,” Bhaiya told PMSBazaar in an interview. He was bullish on defensive sectors in Europe, non-tech themes in the U.S., and consumption-led plays in China.

He did not elaborate on the specifics of the statement.

The fund manager passed away following a cardiac arrest on Wednesday, december 31, while holidaying in New Zealand.His untimely demise has sent shockwaves through the investing community.

Bhaiya, a value investor and strong advocate of gold, was a renowned small-cap multibagger hunter known for his contrarian mindset. In recent months, he had pared a significant portion of his equity exposure and reallocated capital towards gold. As of November data,the Rs 4,000 crore fund had as much as 81.5% of its assets invested in gold ETFs.

the former Managing Director and CIO of Aequitas investment Consultancy had said three factors drove his decision to sell equities: stretched valuations, widespread market euphoria around specific geographies, sectors or stocks, and corporate governance concerns.

“We remain keen observers of market trends and note that current valuations appear quite rich. Regardless