'Don't invest in stocks...': Mutual Fund veteran explains how he is building ₹100 cr wealth without picking stocks

Building long-term wealth in equities is often associated with identifying multibagger stocks or making timely investment decisions. Gajendra Kothari, founder of Etica Wealth, has chosen a different path. Despite having more than two decades of experience in financial services, he says he has never relied on direct stock investing to build wealth. Instead, he has focused entirely on mutual funds, a strategy that has helped him build a corpus of around ₹63-64 crore, with a target of reaching ₹100 crore by 2030.

Speaking on the Paisa Vaisa podcast hosted by Anupam Gupta, Kothari said he began his investment journey in 2010 with a systematic investment plan (SIP) of just ₹10,000 a month. Over the years, as his income increased, he steadily increased his investments. Today, he invests ₹52 lakh every month through SIPs into mutual funds.

Trusting fund managers over stock picking

Kothari says one of the biggest reasons behind his approach is his faith in professional fund managers. Although he is qualified in finance and has access to market research, he believes investors need not reinvent the wheel.

"I don't invest in stocks at all," he said, adding that experienced fund managers have demonstrated their ability to create long-term wealth over several market cycles. Rather than spending time selecting individual companies, he prefers to let skilled fund managers make those decisions while he focuses on disciplined investing.

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Three variables behind his wealth journey

According to Kothari, wealth creation depends on three simple variables—investing more money over time, earning reasonable long-term returns and allowing investments sufficient time to compound.

He said his monthly SIP has grown from ₹10,000 in 2010 to ₹52 lakh today because he consistently increased investments as his business income rose. Combined with returns of around 15% and the power of compounding, this has helped his portfolio grow substantially. He believes that with a current corpus of around ₹63-64 crore, reaching ₹100 crore by 2030 is now largely a matter of continuing the same disciplined process.

Patience matters more than prediction

Kothari believes investor behaviour plays a much bigger role in wealth creation than finding the "perfect" fund.

He shared that even his worst-performing mutual fund investment over the past 16 years has generated around 12% annualised returns simply because he resisted the temptation to sell. According to him, frequent portfolio churn, reacting to short-term market movements and chasing last year's best-performing funds often hurt long-term returns.

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He also views market corrections differently from many investors. Instead of worrying about falling markets, he considers them opportunities because SIPs buy more units when prices decline, potentially enhancing long-term returns.

Retail investors

For most retail investors, Kothari advocates a simple investing strategy rather than a complicated portfolio.

He recommends investing regularly in a Nifty 500 Index Fund and remaining invested for decades instead of trying to predict market movements. He also advises investors never to stop their first SIP, saying uninterrupted investing is what allows compounding to work effectively.

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As an illustration, he cited the example of a ₹10,000 monthly SIP continued for 30 years. A total investment of ₹36 lakh could potentially grow to around ₹21 crore at an assumed annualised return of 15%, highlighting the impact of disciplined investing over long periods. 

SIP Math Behind Compounding

Particulars	Amount
Monthly SIP	₹10,000
Investment Period	30 years
Total Investment	₹36 lakh
Assumed Annual Return	15% CAGR
Potential Corpus	Around ₹21 crore*

For Kothari, the path to substantial wealth has not been built on stock tips or market timing. Instead, it has been driven by steadily increasing investments, trusting professional fund managers and giving compounding enough time to deliver results.