If you’d like professional guidance from a SEBI-registered financial advisor, please fill out this short form - https://topc.typeform.com/cfo-onboarding We currently advise portfolios worth ₹1,200+ crore, helping people work towards financial independence. In this episode, we sit down with Pawan Bharaddia, Co-Founder & CIO of Equitree Capital who has spent 27 years in the markets, built multiple 40x+ winners, and stayed almost entirely invested in small-cap businesses through cycles, crashes, and long periods of boredom. He shares why 2025 was brutal for small caps, why a deep correction has already played out, and why valuations today are closer to long-term averages even as business growth quietly returns. We also break down how his concentrated portfolio has delivered 34%+ CAGR over five years, despite charging performance fees only after investor capital doubles. Most importantly, he explains his private-equity-style approach to listed markets: owning just 12-15 businesses, holding them for 6-7 years, avoiding hype, and backing promoters with decades-long track records. From India’s manufacturing and export opportunity to defense, infra, and consumption, this conversation reframes what long-term wealth creation in equities really looks like. Equitree Capital: https://equitreecapital.com/contact Pawan Bharaddia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawan-bharaddia?originalSubdomain=in — Subscribe: The 1% Club: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FWSClips0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onepercentclubshow/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-1-clubfws/ Sharan Hegde: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financewithsharan/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharanhegde95/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/financewsharan – Sharan Hegde is a personal finance creator & founder of the 1% Club, simplifying money, markets, and mindset for India’s next generation of wealth builders. – Timeline: 00:00 - Precap 01:05 - Outlook for Small Caps in 2026 03:09 - Pawan’s Fund Returns vs the Top 500 Stocks 05:17 - How He Delivers Such High Returns 09:30 - Why He Prefers Concentrated Bets Over Diversification 13:29 - Pawan’s Framework for Finding Multibaggers 17:13 - Sectors That Can Create the Next Multibaggers 19:55 - India’s Edge in Manufacturing & Infrastructure 22:20 - Other Sectors Powering India’s Next Growth Phase 25:37 - How He Pulled Off 52% Returns 27:09 - Why Small Caps Have the Highest Return Potential 31:29 - How One Extra Year of Patience Gave Him 40x Returns 34:35 - Should You Go All-In on Small Caps Like Pawan? 36:33 - A Look at His Current Sectoral Allocation 38:00 - The One Investing Rule You Should Never Break 43:00 - Closing Thoughts