Vidya Bala
Founding Partner & Head, Research and Product
About Vidya
Vidya helped build one of the country’s earliest robo-advisory solutions in the country in her earlier role at FundsIndia. She believes in not just providing the right solutions for investors but also taking ownership for the same and following up or changing course when the situation warrants.
Vidya was the head of mutual fund research at FundsIndia where she did some path-breaking work in analysing funds and offering researched portfolios. Her recommendations had a sound track record of beating markets and showcasing consistency. They were followed widely by investors, advisors and media.
A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Vidya began her career as a Senior Internal Auditor for Ashok Leyland. She then went on to work for The Hindu Business Line’s Research Bureau, tracking mutual funds, stock markets, sectors and the macro economy for eight years. She has more than 18 years of experience, of which over 15 were spent analyzing the markets.
Vidya is known in the media for her straight talk and, calling out bad products.
Stay in touch
Vidya in the media
- One size fits all approach does not work for debt funds – LiveMint
- Big Truth about investing in Small Caps – The Hindu
- Why SEBI needs to strengthen rules to protect investors in debt mutual funds – Economic Times
- Why people are exiting their real estate investments – FundsIndia
- The debt funds spook and what it means – FundsIndia
Watch Vidya talk about her financial journey
Vidya's recent articles
Risk premium – What it is and how it helps you set return expectations
In this article, we’ll explore where risk premiums come from in debt and equity. This is important because risk premiums are not fixed and change with time. So, if you base your return expectations wrong, you may wind up with a different corpus that you originally planned to.
IPO Review: GR Infraprojects
In a bull market, when fancied sectors command premium valuations, IPOs in that space also come with a stiff asking price. We have seen this in the chemicals space. However, when a sector has been languishing for long and sees pick up only in pockets, will an IPO from such a sector leave money on the table? More specifically, will GR Infraprojects be one such offer? Read our take.
Mutual fund rolling returns – 3 things you must know
If you are new to mutual fund investing, it ta¬kes a while before you can come to terms with the multitude of terms used to showcase mutual fund returns. There is, for example, absolute returns, annualized returns, CAGR, IRR and so on. And to top it, folks like us keep talking to you about rolling returns and chide you for looking at trailing returns (or point-to-point returns)
Uncovering covered bonds
We have been receiving queries from many of you on the series of covered bonds/market-linked debentures that are being issued by a platform. Many of you seem to derive comfort from the fact that the platform is backed by marquee investors. The interest in this new kind of bond appears palpable going by the number of YouTube videos plugging covered bonds as a high-return alternative to FDs.
How to build a permanent portfolio
The concept of a ‘permanent portfolio’ has been gaining interest in the past few years, likely driven by the influx of new investors in the market who are looking for zero or low maintenance investment solutions. The term itself has meant different things and these different meanings have varying degrees of ‘permanence’ about each of …
How to build a permanent portfolio Read More »
PowerGrid InvIT – should you invest?
POWERGRID Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT) is the third InvIT and the second in the power transmission space (the other being IndiGrid InvIT) to be listed in the Indian stock markets. It is sponsored by listed PSU Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL and henceforth called the Sponsor).
Please find an explanation of what an InviT is here. This article will give you only our quick take on the offer and whether it is suitable for you. It is not a deep dive into the InvIT’s business and financials.