It is always more interesting to read biographies of businessmen who started small and built their own way to success. But sometimes these tracks are riddled with obstacles, barricades, pits, and bumps right from the start, while the runners are forced to move barefoot. This was the case with Oleg Belay who started his investment business in a country with an underdeveloped stock market, having no access to study materials. When he was a student, his only sources of information about stock trading were Hollywood movies. Today, Belay is the CEO of a large investment group called TRINFICO.
How did a student from a simple family of Soviet engineers manage to travel such a long path? In this article, you can read about:
- the biography of Oleg Belay;
- the background and history of TRINFICO;
- the secret to the entrepreneur’s achievements (those business principles that helped him build a big enterprise).
Starting Point
The future head of the TRINFICO group was born on June 5, 1972 in the USSR. His father worked in computer programming; his mother also had an engineering degree.
The family lived in the city of Zelenograd near Moscow. It was an unusual place; Zelenograd was unofficially considered a science city for young researchers and engineers. Although it was a relatively small settlement, it had a particularly high concentration of universities and research institutions. Almost all its residents at the time were young engineers and scientists, and this created a unique atmosphere in the city.
The boy grew up among people who valued knowledge and were open to new ideas. And although Oleg’s parents could not give him capital for his future business endeavors, they managed to lay an important foundation for his personal development. Oleg grew up to be an educated and well-rounded young man. He was able to get into a large and reputable technical university — the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology (MIET).
But why didn’t the future financier consider getting an economics degree? The problem was that he was choosing his profession during the Soviet era — in 1989. Although perestroika was already well underway and there were many new opportunities for business, it was still officially a country with a planned economy. Soviet financial and economic universities did not train entrepreneurs. Beginning businessmen had to learn everything through practice.
Seventeen-year-old Belay also became interested in commerce. It was at this age that he earned his first money; this inspired and convinced him that he had chosen the right path. In 1989-1992, he and and his school friend moved through several business areas. For example, the young men launched an independent news agency.
Entering Financial Markets and Starting a Company
Running a business was difficult at the time, as information was scarce and entrepreneurs had to gain knowledge in practice, through trial and error. The “era of turbulence” added to the challenges. Oleg and his partner started to experiment with business ideas at the end of the perestroika period when commercial activity in the USSR was semi-official. In 1991, the Soviet era ended and the era of the “wild market” began. The legal framework and institutions of the market economy were just beginning to take shape in Russia.
The challenges of the transition period made doing business difficult. For example, the young men had to learn about trading, investment, and the hectic reality of Wall Street from foreign movies. They were very interested in the topic. But Russia did not have an actual stock market yet!
In 1992, the government announced the privatization reform. The country welcomed its first securities in the form of vouchers. New terms came into use, such as “broker” and “stock exchange.” Granted, 99 percent of Russians did not understand their meaning, but there were also those who saw their financial potential and decided to take a chance. Belay and several of his friends were among the latter. The four novice financiers began voucher trading.
Despite their lack of knowledge, they were able to understand the basic principles of trading. The young people built their start-up capital by trading vouchers and opened their own company in 1993.
At the beginning, they positioned their business as a brokerage firm. At first, they traded only on their own behalf. They started with vouchers and then continued with classic financial instruments. Then, in 1995, their business strategy was radically changed by an important event; the first client hired the company to manage his assets.
From this moment, TRINFICO continued its history as an asset management company. Today, thirty years later, the company is one of the top private investment groups in Russia, with multi-billion dollar assets. The group is now focused on working with institutional investors and developing complex expert solutions for its clients. The Russian National Rating Agency assigned an A+ rating to the company based on the reliability and quality of its services.
Career Steps
During all these years, the founder of TRINFICO Oleg Belay had a direct role in the company’s development and held key positions in its top-level management. His first role was that of chief financial officer. That said, his activities went far beyond the job description. The 21-year-old executive took on a multitude of responsibilities, from financial to managerial tasks. At the same time, he studied promising trends and looked into new business opportunities for the company.
In 2008, he moved on to the position of head of corporate finance. It was a difficult time, as the world was experiencing a global financial crisis. However, the businessman has always believed that “any crisis is a time of opportunity.” He was able to see new prospects for the group and expanded the scope of its services by adding investment banking and private equity solutions to the list.
Since 2013, Belay Oleg Viktorovich has been the CEO of the investment group. He shoulders the full responsibility for the future of the enterprise. He determines its strategic direction — figuratively speaking, he is the one at the wheel of the business.
Business Growth Principles
Entrepreneur Oleg Belay is a private person. He hardly ever speaks with the media and rarely agrees to interviews due to his busy schedule. However, some journalists had a chance to talk with the businessman and ask him about the business and life principles that he considers critical to success. The CEO of TRINFICO highlighted several points.
1. You must be willing to continuously learn, gain experience, and improve your skills
Belay himself was never deterred by the scarcity of information about stock trading; instead, he chose to study market mechanisms in practice. The entrepreneur accumulated his knowledge bit by bit, turning to various sources and extracting useful information from conversations. When he got the opportunity, he delved into theory and received a professional certificate as a financial market specialist; the focus of his studies was the management of investment funds, open-end funds, and non-state pension funds.
Later on, the top manager studied law and became a competent tax specialist. The founder of TRINFICO gives the following advice to young people, “You must always keep learning.”
2. You need to develop your teamwork skills
Oleg places a high value on his associates — those with whom he began building his business back in the early 90s. The core team members are the people who were there with him in the early days of the company. It is hardly surprising that the CEO sees the team of the investment group as its main asset. At the same time, TRINFICO is open to new people and new ideas.
3. You need to learn to distribute tasks and coordinate business processes
The CEO pays a lot of attention to strategic management and considers it the foundation of big success. Over the course of thirty years, his small brokerage firm grew into a large investment group with numerous divisions. All its units work with the same strategy in mind.
4. You must take responsibility for your actions and decisions
Each team member is personally responsible for his or her tasks; this is one of the work policies of TRINFICO. At the same time, the team has a common responsibility to clients who have entrusted their assets to the company.
5. You need to learn to explore promising business niches and discover new investment areas
Being quick to adopt new financial instruments, TRINFICO has always been among the pioneers in its market segment.
- For example, in the early 1990s, the company quickly moved on from voucher trading to stocks, bonds, and derivatives.
- In 1995, it introduced asset management services.
- In 1996-1997, it managed to make a big profit from working with public debt. (Back then, the government was in need of finance and offered good interest rates to investors).
- In 2002, it began working with pension funds.
- In 2008, it introduced investment banking and private equity services to its clients.
- Starting from the late 2010s, the company has been following ESG principles, becoming the first asset management company in Russia to do so.
On a related note, from the very beginning, one of Belay’s responsibilities in the company was to research and introduce innovative financial instruments and develop new business areas. The businessman always had a unique talent to identify promising trends as they were emerging.
6. You should have a reasonable attitude towards competition and “stay in the flow”
The financier recalls that in 1993, he and his friends were overwhelmed with the desire to get to the top and become the undisputed leaders. However, it was just a phase of all-or-nothing thinking that is typical of young people. Nowadays, the top manager does not consider it necessary to overtake competitors at high speed, as this attitude is fraught with risks. Absolute victory is not a prerequisite for success; it is enough to “stay in the flow,” moving forward confidently, calmly, and steadily among the leaders.
This approach has become an important business principle for TRINFICO. It ensures its high profitability and sustainability, which did not go unnoticed by the National Rating Agency. In 2024, the agency confirmed the company’s A+ rating in terms of reliability and quality of services, noting its long history, stability, and resilient liquidity risk profile.
7. You must set clear goals, both for the business and for yourself
Belay is a kind of person who conquers one peak after another. The businessman believes that achieving one goal should be followed by setting a new one. This is his secret to continuous growth, motivation, and undying enthusiasm.