Oleg Belay: a Russian Financier, Top Manager, and Investment Expert

The independent investment group TRINFICO has a long and interesting history. Its story began soon after the USSR had transformed into the modern Russian Federation — when it became possible to do business in the country after seventy years of planned economy. Oleg Belay was among those who took advantage of this opportunity. He began to study the art of trading and investing in practice; and in 1993, together with his friends, he founded the TRINFICO company.

More than thirty years have passed since then and we can now objectively evaluate its business results. Oleg Belay himself and his investment group managed to achieve remarkable success:

TRINFICO is now one of the largest independent investment groups in Russia; it manages the assets of institutional investors and receives high scores from rating agencies ('A', 'A+'). One of its biggest achievements was becoming the first Russian asset management company to receive an ESG rating. The group's divisions provide a wide range of investment services; its portfolio managers develop personalized strategies for corporate clients, pension funds, and private individuals. Its open-end funds demonstrate high return rates and have repeatedly been included in the top most profitable financial instruments on the Russian stock market.

Throughout these years, Belay Oleg Viktorovich has held various senior positions in the company and worked hard to ensure its success. He has established himself as a strong asset structuring expert. He specializes in institutional-grade transactions. The top manager has proven himself to be a talented leader and has built an efficient organizational structure, which helps to effectively coordinate the work of all divisions in the group.

How It Started

Oleg Belay was born in Moscow in 1972. However, he spent his school years in Zelenograd, where his parents had moved soon after his birth. His mother and father worked in electronics and programming. Belay's family had a modest income, so he was by no means born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was destined to become a self-made man.

But his parents gave something more important to their three sons who were raised with love and care. They set a good example for their children and taught them the importance of studying, developing, and reading books.

Belay had no problems with his grades at school. He was good at the exact sciences: physics and mathematics. This was the main factor that influenced his decision when choosing a university; after graduating from School No. 897 in Zelenograd, the young man began to compare the best technical universities in Moscow. There were several options: MEPhI, MIPT, and MIET (the largest and most reputable physics and mathematics universities in the capital).

Belay chose MIET (Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology), as it focused on the application aspect of the exact sciences. MIET trained specialists for the most advanced industries, such as electronics and computer technology. Those were the fields that the young man considered the most exciting. He chose to major in microelectronics and semiconductor devices and graduated from university with a degree in engineering physics.

But how did it happen that Oleg Belay became a financier instead of a physicist?

Belay's student years coincided with a very particular period in the country. He started university in the late 1980s, when the USSR was going through perestroika, which brought about the first signs of business freedom. He graduated from MIET in the early 1990s, when a free market returned to Russia. Ambitious students, people with an entrepreneurial spirit, and forward-thinking visionaries enthusiastically rushed into business. One of them was aspiring entrepreneur Oleg Belay.

By the age of 17, he was no longer living on his scholarship money alone; he learned how to make money in his first year of university. In the following years, he tried his hand at several business projects. The young man did a lot of networking, absorbed useful information, and looked for ways to apply his knowledge and talent. He and his childhood friend discussed various business ideas and experimented with them.

They managed to find their true calling through… Hollywood movies on VHS tapes. That was how the students learned about Wall Street, stock markets, traders, and investment bankers. Nothing similar existed in Russia at the time. But Belay had a feeling that he was about to embark on a big, remarkable, and exciting journey. He knew that the rapid development of financial institutions in Russia was around the corner.

Oleg did not want to just observe this process. He wanted to be in the thick of it.

Trading and Starting a Company

In 1992-1993, the concepts of stock exchange, brokers, vouchers, and shares invaded the lives of Russian citizens who had just said goodbye to the Soviet planned economy. The Russian stock market began to take shape. Belay and several of his friends, who were also fascinated by the idea of ​​stock markets, decided to try their hand at trading.

At that time, their main financial instruments were vouchers, or privatization checks, issued by the Russian government to stimulate the markets. Each citizen received a voucher that could be used to obtain a share of state property.

The country saw the emergence of buyers (who were interested in purchasing vouchers in large quantities) and sellers (who constituted the majority of the population). That was also the moment when traders entered the scene and began to shape securities markets. Among them were Belay and his partners.

They had been successfully trading on the young, spontaneous stock market for seven months. And in 1993, riding the wave of success, they opened the brokerage firm TRINFICO.

Hardships and Achievements

But make no mistake, their path was not easy. The main problem in this business was an information vacuum; it was hard to find books on stock trading in Russia. Publishers had only just begun translating business literature and often mistranslated financial terms. Novice traders had to figure out the laws of the market on their own and learn trading through practice.

Being good at math and computers, Oleg was able to quickly adapt to the new field. He enthusiastically studied market patterns, analyzed them, and quickly gained practical experience. He even managed to get hold of some foreign books. Oleg continuously improved his knowledge and skills.

This principle of continuous learning and acquiring new skills became a defining factor in Belay's career. He later studied to become a certified fund specialist, acquiring advanced expertise in mutual and non-governmental pension funds. The top manager is now also well versed in related areas, such as law and tax. Today, as the CEO of TRINFICO, Oleg Belay continues to learn new things every day. When the businessman is asked about the secret to success, he always mentions continuous learning and self-improvement.

Top Management and Business

There were not many job transfers in Oleg Belay's biography. From 1993 to 2008, he was the CFO of the company. Then, up until 2013, he was in charge of the corporate finance department. In 2013, he assumed the responsibilities of CEO. The top manager is also the director general of the group's holding company, JSC TRINFICO Holdings.

All this time, in addition to his official responsibilities, Belay has also been developing new business divisions. The CEO compares the history of his investment group to continuous evolution in line with constantly changing market trends.

Here are some examples of how TRINFICO adjusted its business tactics based on emerging challenges:

1993-1995. At the beginning of this period, the TRINFICO team trades vouchers, which are still relevant at the time. However, by the time privatization checks leave the scene, the company is already engaged in classic trading; it now works with stocks, government bonds (first issued in 1994), and futures (TRINFICO enters the derivatives markets in 1995).

1995-1997. The business undergoes an important transformation; the brokerage firm TRINFICO becomes an asset management company. This step is the company's response to the growing demand for professional asset management services among large clients. Belay's team is among the first to offer these services in the country. In 2002, a pension fund becomes one of the company's institutional clients. This fact indicates that the firm has already gained a serious reputation among investors in a relatively short period of time.

Late 2000s and 2010s. The investment group expands its service offerings. These now include private equity, investment banking, and real estate investment solutions. The investment group creates the TRINFICO Wealth division to develop individual and family wealth management solutions.

At the turn of the 2020s. Green investing is becoming a powerful global trend. TRINFICO is the first Russian asset management company to embrace this trend, as evidenced by its ESG score from the National Rating Agency. In the following years, the company confidently confirms this rating based on all three components: environmental, social, and governance.

2024-2025. TRINFICO proves to the market and society that high-quality portfolio management services, which used to be considered a privilege of institutional clients and high net worth individuals (HNWIs), can also be available to the widest possible audience. The group democratizes financial services by listing its mutual funds on a popular digital marketplace created by the Moscow Exchange.

This brief overview shows how far TRINFICO has come in three decades. Throughout the history of the investment group, Oleg Belay has been at the forefront of its evolution. Today, as the CEO of the company, he is responsible for making major strategic decisions.

Belay has many plans for the future of his business; the top manager defines its goals, achieves them, and immediately sets new ones. This approach, just like continuous self-improvement, is one of the main business principles of the executive.

A Few Words about Private Life

The businessman's life is not at all limited to work, market trends, and stock market assets. Oleg Belay says, "You should always remain human." This phrase encompasses the very philosophy that guides him in his life and career. Outside the office, he is a good family man, a philanthropist, and just an ordinary person with healthy hobbies. He raised two children, and today he is a happy grandfather. He is always ready to help those in need and even started a non-profit organization called Vmeste Smozhem.