Genomics

The Genomics Portfolio holds US-listed companies working on genetic science and its medical uses: gene sequencing equipment, diagnostic testing, gene editing and therapy, and biotechnology research. It gives you exposure to a part of healthcare that is not well represented on Indian exchanges. This is a research-driven sector, which means outcomes depend heavily on trial results and regulatory approvals. Vested’s research team chooses 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 advances in diagnostics, sequencing and gene therapy over a long horizon and accept that outcomes vary widely between individual companies. It is best treated as a smaller position within a wider portfolio rather than a core holding. It is less suitable if you need stability or a short holding period, or if you would be uncomfortable with a company’s value moving sharply on a single trial result.

Yes. Resident Indians can invest in the Genomics 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 Genomics, 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 picking genomics stocks yourself means reading trial data and approval pipelines, which is genuinely specialist work and hard to keep up with alongside a job. 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.

Outcomes in this sector depend heavily on research results, which makes them harder to predict than in most parts of the market. A failed clinical trial or a rejected approval can move a company’s share price sharply in a single day, and several businesses in this sector are not yet profitable. Research is expensive and results are uncertain by nature. Drug pricing rules, insurance reimbursement decisions and patent expiries all affect earnings. Sentiment towards biotech swings with interest rates, since these are long-duration investments. 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 Genomics 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.

The cost of sequencing a human genome has fallen dramatically over the past two decades, which turned genetic analysis from a research project into something usable in routine medicine. That has opened up three areas investors now look at: diagnostics that detect disease earlier, including blood-based cancer testing; targeted therapies matched to a patient’s genetic profile rather than prescribed broadly; and gene editing, which aims to treat inherited conditions at the source. The investment character of this sector is unusual, though. Outcomes are often binary. A trial result or a regulatory decision can transform or destroy a company’s value in a single day, so diversification matters more here than in most themes.