In this episode, we have Vishal Jain, CEO of Zerodha Fund House, who brings over two decades of experience in building ETFs and passive investment products.

From launching India’s first-ever ETF with Benchmark AMC in 2001 to now leading the country’s first passive-only AMC, Vishal has contributed through various roles to India's financial markets.

We break down:
- The history of mutual funds in India from the 1960s to today’s ₹68 Lakh Cr AUM industry.
- Why index funds & ETFs are transforming retail investing.
- How retail participation is growing (but why 2/3rd of investors still hesitate).
- Vishal's investing philosophy is rooted in a belief in India's growth story, beyond the obvious goal to beat inflation.
- The role of gold as a portfolio hedge, even for those bullish on India.
- Zerodha Fund House’s vision—Can passive investing truly take over?

If you're curious about where India's investment space is headed and how you can position yourself wisely, this episode is a must-watch!

2:10 - History of mutual funds in India
7:09 - Exchange-traded funds
10:13 - Employee Provident Fund in ETFs
11:01 - Why COVID increased trading activity?
12:36 - Is now a good time to invest?
14:02 - How Vishal builds his portfolio
16:18 - Trends in India’s mutual fund adoption
17:44 - Why only 1/3rd of retail investors buy mutual funds?
21:36 - Can investment markets learn from OTT growth?
22:52 - Does India need more mutual fund providers?
23:51 - Is India’s growth limited to the top 1%?
27:06 - Can you buy mutual funds w/o a demat account?
28:07 - Physical gold vs. gold ETFs
29:34 - Who’s buying mutual funds?
33:11 - What’s driving usage of financial products?
34:26 - AI’s role in customer acquisition
36:40 - What’s Zerodha Fund building?
38:32 - Risk & return across asset classes
40:12 - Is Vishal bullish on India’s future?
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Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.

Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.

We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
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Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
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Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
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This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.

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Ep 259: Rick Glassman and Agents of Chaos