Many famous entrepreneurs built their success with the help of corporate or family capital. Only a handful of people start their businesses from scratch, struggling through economic instability and legal chaos. Oleg Belay is a Russian entrepreneur who had to overcome many obstacles to succeed in life.
The businessman was only 21 years old when he co-founded an investment firm called TRINFICO, which later became a leader in its market segment. Despite his young age, the entrepreneur managed to make informed and wise management decisions. These helped the company grow steadily, stand up to tough competition, overcome crises, and push through collapses of the financial system.
Today, the main shareholder of TRINFICO is none other than Oleg Belay. His biography is a story of success, goal achievement, and efficient risk management; moreover, the entrepreneur always holds himself accountable for the decisions he makes. He says that these qualities helped him ensure the stable growth of his business. Even today, when the investment group has become one of the leaders in the Russian market, he is still loyal to his principles.
Biography of the Businessman
Belay Oleg Viktorovich was born in Moscow. He grew up in a well-educated family, but neither his parents nor any of his close relatives were ever engaged in business. He did not have useful family connections or impressive start-up capital to help him build his own business.
Although the entrepreneur studied at an ordinary secondary school, he received a good education and had no problem getting into MIET. Interestingly, his parents graduated from the same university years earlier. Oleg recalls that although he was choosing between several universities and majors, he was set on getting a degree related to the exact sciences.
The future businessman graduated from university with a degree in engineering physics. Studying was easy for him and for some time he thought that he would dedicate his life to science. However, during his student years, he happened to meet many people who were interested in entrepreneurship. Over time, Oleg Belay decided that he wanted to follow this path too.
First Management Experience
While still a student, the entrepreneur had a chance to participate in many business projects. That was how he gained his first managerial experience. Despite his young age, Oleg proved to be a good and wise decision maker. He was thinking through every potential risk at all times. It is not surprising that later, in the early days of TRINFICO, he was the one responsible for asset protection and structuring in the company.
But several years before the firm was founded, Oleg Belay was still only a student who participated in various business projects. People close to the businessman said that he gave a hundred percent in everything he did. However, he always knew that he wanted to start his own company. He never wanted to be an employee, even if it was an executive role.
Interest in Business and Starting a News Agency
Fortune favored almost every business venture pursued by Oleg Belay. TRINFICO was not the first company that he planned and built. Several years before the founding of the investment group, the entrepreneur co-founded a news agency. For a short time, he was engaged in media business.
The agency distributed information on the topics of finance and stock markets. Many leading trade magazines of that time quoted its publications. The media company had every chance to succeed, but its founders made a sudden decision to part with the business, as they were no longer interested in journalism. By that time, their focus switched to the investment field, which was new to Russia. The market was just beginning to unfold, and this opened enormous prospects for entrepreneurs.
Participation in the Founding of TRINFICO
The company started out as a brokerage firm in 1993. Back then, Russia was still switching to a new economic system after the collapse of the USSR. The stock market was in its formative stage. Foreign firms created intense competition and the lack of industry-specific regulation caused chaos in the market.
Entrepreneurs who were building investment businesses at the time described the following tendencies in the market:
- high risks;
- volatility — sharp rises were often followed by big drawdowns;
- tough competition — many Russian companies found it hard to compete with foreign market players who had solid reputations and considerable experience;
- mistrust among the target audience;
- one crisis situation after another.
As TRINFICO was going through its formative stages, not a single year passed without large-scale negative events that affected the entire investment sector. Trust among clients was declining and many entrepreneurs had to close their companies. Nevertheless, Oleg Belay still saw great potential in the investment industry.
The entrepreneur noted that he never regretted his decision to create an investment group with his partners. He knew how to take risks and manage them. However, not everything was in his hands; even the most talented managers cannot predict collapses of financial systems, let alone fix them.
We are talking, in particular, about the events of 1998 in Russia. That year, the collapse of the GKO pyramid scheme caused the financial market to go into a tailspin. Investors lost the money that they put into state short-term bonds. Like many other companies, TRINFICO had to scale down the business. However, its owners did not even consider liquidating it. While hundreds of its competitors were put out of business, the investment group was able to survive the crisis.
The Businessman’s Role in the Development of TRINFICO
As a manager and entrepreneur, Oleg Belay has always been modest about his achievements. When talking about overcoming crises, he usually praises the work of the investment group’s management. He notes that the crisis became a painful but extremely valuable lesson for the executives.
However, it was Oleg who was responsible for the company’s asset structure during that period. He also put a lot of effort into maximizing asset protection. It had been a priority before, but he took the company’s risk diversification strategies to another level.
Oleg Belay decided to focus on developing business resilience. He understood that a rapid rise to the top and accelerated growth could cost too much for the investment group. As a result, the company has been growing gradually, building up its resilience and adhering to high security standards. Nevertheless, it always promptly responded to market trends, providing clients with access to emerging financial instruments and creating new divisions.
Consolidation of TRINFICO and the Role of CEO
The management of the investment group decided to consolidate its operation in 2013. From that moment on, Oleg Belay has been the CEO of the company. At the same time, he continued to be at the center of all the action; he participated in key business processes, coordinated development strategies, and adjusted the management model.
The executive’s progressive thinking helped the company build a strong presence in many market segments. For a long time, it was the market leader in managing non-state pension fund assets. It regularly produced impressive results. Later on, when working with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, TRINFICO also achieved great performance in managing public pension fund assets.
The company continued to diversify and provide new services, from stockbroking and depository services to crisis management. This allowed it to strengthen its market presence. Today, TRINFICO’s main activity is asset management, but it also continues to provide other diverse and flexible services.
Latest Results
Oleg Belay is virtually the owner of TRINFICO. He managed to build an efficient vertically integrated management model and delegate tasks and responsibilities to key employees. The entrepreneur has been working with many of them for more than 20 years.
The team’s experience and the CEO’s wise executive decisions made it possible for the company to achieve impressive performance. In 2024, the National Rating Agency assigned an A+ rating of reliability and quality of services to TRINFICO. The outlook was evaluated as “Stable.”
The analysts mentioned several reasons for upgrading the rating:
- The company has been in the Russian stock market for over 30 years.
- It has a skilled and experienced team.
- It has a strong liquidity risk profile.
- The company’s client base has been steadily growing.
- Its profitability has been increasing.
The experts also noted that the group now focuses less on its largest clients and pays more attention to retail investors. The stable outlook in the assigned rating indicates that it is highly probable that the company will retain it in the future.
The ESG Mindset
Oleg Belay is a staunch supporter of the “green” agenda. The entrepreneur has repeatedly said that although his company undoubtedly cares about the environment, he sees even more potential in green policies. He believes that by incorporating ESG practices into the business processes, the management can ensure the company’s sustainable development.
While many market players are forced to abandon these practices, the TRINFICO Asset Management Company retains its ESG rating. Interestingly, it became the first Russian asset management company to receive it. The investment group remains committed to the “green” agenda to this day.
Charity and Social Responsibility
Oleg Belay is a well-known philanthropist. When it comes to helping those in need, he believes in getting things done, as opposed to doing charity work for the sake of publicity and brand promotion. Social responsibility in business is not just an empty phrase for the entrepreneur. That is why he came up with the idea of creating the VMESTE SMOZHEM foundation (TOGETHER WE CAN). Later on, the businessman became one of its trustees.
Today, the foundation provides grants to NPOs and charitable organizations that work to solve the most pressing social issues. Its number one priority is to help charities fight against poverty. The organization also assists non-profit organizations that support vulnerable social groups and try to change people’s lives for the better.
