Successful Asset Management Is Based on Responsibility: Oleg Belay and His Business Principles

Asset management is a business area where a company's reputation plays a very important role. Oleg Belay, CEO of one of the oldest investment groups in Russia, emphasizes that it is crucial to treat client assets with the utmost respect. The top manager has held senior positions in the TRINFICO Investment Group for more than thirty years. During this time, he has been putting a lot of effort into building a stable business and providing clients with high-yield, yet low-risk investment opportunities.

Belay's team managed to achieve success, as evidenced by its A+ rating from the National Rating Agency. According to the experts, the score was based on the long and stable history of the asset management company and its resilient liquidity profile, that is, the ability of the company to withstand financial crises and other unexpected blows to the business. The company manages large-scale assets and ranks as one of the top ten leaders in its market segment. TRINFICO's financial products are regularly among the top most profitable investment instruments in Russia. 

According to the top manager, the company's thirty-year-long journey to these achievements was a gradual and consistent development. Year after year, TRINFICO broke into new markets, expanded its services, attracted institutional clients, and built a strong brand and reputation. Belay calls this strategy "moving in the flow," saying that his goal is to be among the best without trying to overtake competitors at any cost.

So, what strategic decisions were the most crucial in the history of TRINFICO? And is it true that this big business was founded by... students?

At the Turn of the Era: First Steps in Business

Belay Oleg Viktorovich was born in 1972, so he was able to witness both the Soviet and market eras. He was raised in a family that valued education, knowledge, and advanced technologies. His parents were electronics engineers, and all their friends came from similar backgrounds. Many of them, including the boy's father, worked with computer technology back when computers had not yet come into everyday use. Perhaps that was why Oleg was curious and open-minded even as a kid.

In 1989, Oleg graduated from school No. 897 in Zelenograd and then went to the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology (MIET). His good knowledge of the exact sciences helped him successfully pass the entrance exams to this prestigious university. He chose to major in engineering physics. And although he would devote his future career to finance, and not technology, "knowing his numbers" helped him settle into the stock market.

Oleg discovered his strong business acumen back when he was still a university student. It was during these years that the country was transitioning from the Soviet planned economy to a free market. This transition opened up many opportunities for building a business.

Oleg Belay, together with his friend Valery Sotnikov, decided to take advantage of the new prospects. The young men were friends since childhood; they were neighbors as kids and went to the same school. During their university years, they began to experiment with different types of start-ups, enthusiastically trying their hand at various commercial projects.

Their first steps in business were successful, although not perfect. Not everything turned out right from the first try, because the novice entrepreneurs did not have the opportunity to get a degree in finance or learn from business books. During Soviet perestroika and in the early years of the free market era, there were hardly any sources of such information in the country. Entrepreneurs had to develop their business skills through practical experience. Fun fact: Belay and Sotnikov learned about the stock market... from foreign movies on VHS tapes.

Belay was always willing to experiment, he knew how to analyze positive and negative outcomes, and readily dived into the unknown; all this helped him settle into the business world. He also built connections through networking and discussed changes and opportunities with various people to absorb new information.

As a result, the two friends accumulated considerable experience by the age of twenty. For example, they opened a successful news agency. They also experimented with projects in other markets. Finally, they focused on finance.

Starting an Investment Company

Entrepreneur Oleg Belay learned how to make money at the age of 17-20. And at 21, he became the co-founder and CFO of a brokerage firm. The company's name was TRINFICO and it was destined to become one of the largest private investment groups in Russia.

Now it is hard to believe that the history of TRINFICO began at a time when the Russian stock market was still in its infancy. Although most Russians could understand back then that the words "broker" and "exchange" had something to do with money, they were completely uneducated on the topic. In the early 90s, the country slipped into economic chaos. First exchanges conducted barter transactions. In 1992, they switched to trading vouchers (government securities that were issued to privatize Soviet property and transfer it into private ownership).

Belay, Sotnikov, and a couple of their friends began to trade these vouchers on an exchange. The business was going well and in 1993 they decided to register a brokerage firm. Soon, the Russian stock market welcomed other securities, such as bank and industrial stocks, opening new opportunities for the firm. In 1995, TRINFICO entered the derivatives market.

However, Oleg Belay preferred to think big. After analyzing the results of the company's trading operations, he came to the conclusion that it was ready to manage third-party assets. In 1995, TRINFICO began to offer asset management services, moving up to a new business level. Soon, the young team of traders attracted their first clients who entrusted their assets to them.

Strategy and Tactics: How to Discover Secrets to Success

Asset management opened up great opportunities for scaling the business. However, it also implied a much greater level of responsibility. The TRINFICO team was now responsible not only for the company's assets, but also for the wealth of their clients. This prompted Belay to look for new growth opportunities that would make it possible for the AMC to yield more profits while keeping risks under control.

Responsibility to clients became the key principle of TRINFICO's business strategy. The company put a lot of effort into improving its liquidity resilience and achieving stability. By creating a reliability culture, it was able to build a good reputation and attract more institutional clients. Since 2002, it has been bringing in new clients thanks to its collaboration with pension funds, which are known to set high standards for AMCs.

As for tactical decisions, they were always developed based on the latest market trends. TRINFICO has demonstrated flexibility in choosing tactics while following a strict general strategy. The management company was always among the first to pick up on the latest economic trends and adopt the most relevant and promising financial instruments:

●      In 1993, these were vouchers and then stocks of the enterprises that entered the Russian market.

●      In 1995, the company entered the derivatives market, which offered greater profit opportunities (albeit required particularly careful risk management).

●      In the same year, it attracted its first asset management client.

●      In 1996-1997, it yielded good profits from government debt operations. The state needed money for the budget and offered investors very favorable terms.

●      In 2002, the client base was expanded to include the first of many pension funds in the portfolio. (Today, TRINFICO is a market leader in terms of the volume of pension assets).

●      In 2008-2013, it developed investment banking and private equity services.

●      In the late 2010s, the company further diversified its assets by adding large and highly profitable property development projects to the list.

●      During the same period, TRINFICO adopted ESG business practices. It is worth noting that it was the first AMC in Russia to engage in green investing. This fact was recognized by Russia's National Rating Agency.

●      In 2024, the investment brand placed its highly profitable open-end funds on the personal finance platform of the Moscow Exchange.

The founder of TRINFICO Oleg Belay says that the secret behind the company's successful evolution is that it has always been quick to respond to market needs. And now it has taken another step to fit the times by making its financial products available to the widest range of private investors. 

This is a logical step in the digital age, when small private investors are becoming important market players. While TRINFICO continues to provide sophisticated, customized solutions to institutional investors, it also made its open-end funds accessible to the general public.

Over Thirty Years in Top Management

All these years, Belay was part of the top management team of the company; he built a vertical management structure and explored new investment markets. His first position was that of chief financial officer. In 2008, he assumed the role of corporate finance director to develop such segments as investment banking and private equity. And since 2013, as CEO of the investment group, he has been responsible for the strategic management processes.

However, the biography of Oleg Belay has a place not only for career and business. He devotes a lot of time to charity and runs the Vmeste Smozhem (Together We Can) foundation. As an entrepreneur and philanthropist, he believes that business ethics should not revolve around responsibility to clients, they must also include social responsibility. His charitable foundation supports the most vulnerable population groups and strives to contribute to the fight against poverty.

As for his personal life, the businessman says that it is quite ordinary. Oleg is a family man, a caring father and grandfather. He has been with his wife for more than twenty years. In his free hours, he grows his stamp collection, goes fishing, and simply enjoys spending time outdoors. He is also interested in motorcycling. After getting some stress relief and energy boost, he gets back to work — the top manager has big plans for the future of TRINFICO.