Digital Cash

The Digital Cash Portfolio holds US-listed companies in the digital payments chain: payment processors, card networks, payment solution providers for merchants, and the infrastructure businesses that sit behind them. These companies earn from the movement of money rather than from lending it, so they benefit as more spending shifts from cash to cards, wallets and online checkout. Vested’s research team picks the companies and sets the weights. You can see the full list of holdings and their weights once you sign up.

This portfolio may suit you if you want exposure to the shift away from cash and prefer businesses that earn from transaction volumes. It suits a multi-year holding period. It is less suitable if you want protection in a downturn, since payment volumes fall when consumer spending falls. It is also worth knowing that this is a financials-and-fintech theme rather than a pure technology one, so it behaves differently from the AI or Cloud portfolios.

Yes. Resident Indians can invest in the Digital Cash Portfolio through Vested under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which currently allows you to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for overseas investments. You open a US investment account through Vested, complete a one-time KYC, and transfer money from your Indian bank account. The shares and ETFs are held in your own account in your name, not pooled in a fund, and you can sell and bring the money back to India whenever you want. Gains are taxable in India depending on how long you hold, so factor that into your planning.

Vested reviews every Managed Portfolio, including Digital Cash, once a quarter. A review does not automatically lead to a rebalance. The portfolio is only changed if the research team concludes that the existing allocation no longer makes sense, for example when a company no longer fits the theme or when the weights have drifted away from what was intended. Managed Portfolios are non-discretionary, which means nothing is bought or sold in your account on its own. You are notified when a change is recommended and you decide whether to approve it. There are no brokerage or transaction charges on rebalancing trades.

Because doing this yourself means weighing established card networks against newer fintech businesses, which carry very different levels of risk despite sitting in the same theme. A Managed Portfolio does that groundwork for you: Vested’s research team decides which companies go in, how much weight each one gets, and when something should change. You still own the actual shares and ETFs in your own US account, so you can see exactly what you hold, and this is not a fund unit. It also helps with a problem most people run into on their own, which is quietly ending up with far too much money in one stock. You pay an annual advisory fee on the amount you invest, with no purchase fee, no brokerage on rebalancing trades and no exit load. None of this stops you buying individual US stocks on Vested as well, if you want to do both.

Payment companies earn from consumer and business spending, so revenue slows in a downturn. Regulation is a live risk in several markets, particularly around the fees charged on card transactions, and a rule change can affect an entire business model. New payment methods and account-to-account transfers can bypass traditional card networks over time. Newer fintech companies in this space are valued on growth and can fall sharply when growth slows. Credit exposure matters for some holdings. Vested tags this portfolio as high risk. Because the holdings are priced in US dollars, your returns in rupees also depend on how the rupee moves against the dollar over the period you stay invested.

There are five steps. First, sign up on Vested and complete your KYC, a one-time process to open your US investment account. Second, add money by remitting from your Indian bank account under the LRS route. Third, open the Digital Cash Portfolio and read through its holdings, risk tag and fee before you commit. Fourth, invest the amount you want. You can start small and add to it over time, and there is no lock-in. Fifth, review it periodically and approve or decline any rebalancing recommendation you are sent. You can withdraw at any time without an exit load.