Table of Contents
Starting a business during a period of financial and political instability in a country new to a free market economy is a challenging task associated with many risks. However, entrepreneur Oleg Belay figured out how to defy expectations and construct a steady and manageable business in such dubious times. What makes this accomplishment notably extra astounding is the manner that he became just 21 years of age at that point.
Be that as it may, for the duration of the 1990s, business in Russia became for the maximum element beaten by means of greater youthful business visionaries. Yesterday’s college students had been often greater pressure-resilient and higher at handling dangers. So, Oleg Belay’s experience of co-founding an investment company at such a young age could hardly be called unique.
On the other hand, his ability to handle fierce competition and his success in building a stable investment business are a different story. During that period in Russian history, stock markets were only starting to take shape and there was no comprehensive regulation of the industry. Nevertheless, the entrepreneur, together with his partners, managed to create TRINFICO Investment Group and lay the foundation for its many years of successful operations.
Biography of the Businessman
The future entrepreneur grew up in a well-educated family. However, his parents were not the type to engage in business. There had been many difficult points in Oleg Belay’s biography. But he was a creative and responsible person as befits an entrepreneur and knew how to make tough calls. His friends and family could see these qualities in the future businessman even when he was a schoolboy.
Childhood and Teenage Years
Belay Oleg Viktorovich was born on June 5, 1972 in Moscow. He attended an average secondary school with no special educational programs. Oleg says that he owes a lot to his family; his parents were software engineers who managed to instill in their son a thirst for knowledge and interest in learning.
His favorite subjects in school were the exact sciences. However, he was also interested in the humanities (history and literature in particular). He paid enough attention to physical education and was partial to art. Despite his many interests, the future entrepreneur decided early on that he would get a degree related to the exact sciences. This, however, did not weaken Oleg’s interest in business — the teenager began dreaming of opening his own company when still a school student.
Engineering Degree
When applying to universities, Oleg was considering several options. Eventually, he settled on MIET, from which his parents had once graduated as well. Later on, he would note that he did not consider it a priority to follow in their footsteps. The young man had a natural inclination towards science and was serious about devoting his life to it.
Studying came easily to the future businessman. This gave him enough time to socialize with his peers and pay attention to what was happening in the country and around the world. Oleg’s diverse interests did not get in the way of his academic performance. Although he decided against pursuing science as a career, he had no problem graduating from the university with a degree in physics engineering.
Interest in Entrepreneurship
Even before the launch of TRINFICO, Oleg Belay managed to participate in several business projects. He became passionate about entrepreneurship in his student years. Such interest was not unusual among the younger generation at the time; in the era of the emerging free market in post-Soviet Russia, many young people — almost fresh from school — were eager to do any kind of business. Not all risk-takers, however, were guaranteed success in the future.
First Business Projects
During his student years, Oleg Belay began to seriously think about starting his own business. However, the young man knew that he did not have enough relevant experience. Having great communication skills, he managed to quickly blend in with the business community and meet people who were about to start their own companies. Some of them invited the young man to take part in their projects. He eagerly accepted the offers.
Later, Oleg would emphasize that he had no desire to build a career as a manager and was always honest about this fact with his business partners. He gave his best and delivered excellent performance in every position he held. However, the young man always knew that this was only a temporary stage in his life. He never gave up the idea of starting his own business or co-creating an enterprise that would be truly worthy of his interest.
Consistent with his desires, Oleg Belay co-founded a news agency with a partner. They chose finance as their main focus. For some time, the partners had been reporting financial news. Their services quickly attracted the attention of major Russian media companies. However, the success of the agency did not inspire its creators to continue running the business, as they soon lost their interest in journalism and switched the focus to investing. The main reason for this decision was that they managed to see the enormous prospects of the emerging stock market in Russia.
Focus on Investing
The collapse of the USSR was accompanied by multiple reforms, including the transition of post-Soviet countries to new economic models. Securities first made their way to investors and this marked the beginning of stock trading in Russia. Oleg Belay, and many other entrepreneurs, recognized the huge opportunities before them.
But they also recognized the risks coming from:
- poor regulatory frameworks;
- fierce competition;
- a poor understanding of the industry by the target audience;
- successive financial crises;
- a virtual absence of corporate reputation as a concept.
Russian business visionaries who assembled their speculation organizations during the 1990s frequently notice the last option in their meetings. Privatization, the rise of protections markets, and the change to another monetary model were upsetting for some residents of the post-Soviet republics. Periodically, they couldn’t comprehend the worth of the resources in their control and committed errors while discarding them.
Multiple instances of fraud created a negative opinion of the investment industry among many people. Law-abiding and ethical companies often had to fight for their reputation because of the shadow cast on them by other market participants, who in fact had nothing to do with professional asset management. Explaining this to the target audience, however, was not an easy task.
Oleg Viktorovich Belay was aware of these and other risks associated with building a business in the investment industry. But at the same time, he recognized the big opportunities behind this business. The entrepreneur was willing to carefully manage risks and ensure the stable growth of his company. He understood that he could not be 100 percent in control of the situation, but he was ready to make every effort to succeed.
Founding of TRINFICO
In 1993, Oleg became a co-founder of a firm which conducted transactions with newly-issued securities and was initially positioned as an ordinary Moscow-based broker. However, the company’s executives managed to ensure its rapid growth and quickly expanded the service offerings.
History of the Investment Company
Oleg Viktorovich Belay co-founded TRINFICO at a fairly young age. This, however, did stop yesterday’s graduate from assuming one of the most important roles in the investment firm. From the very beginning of the company’s history, he was involved in all major business processes, including risk management and asset protection.
Together with his partners, Oleg Belay developed the business strategy of the investment group, focusing on systematic goal-setting. The management team considered it unreasonable to artificially accelerate the growth of assets and other performance indicators. TRINFICO executives chose long-term stability over momentary leadership. This turned out to be a good strategic decision.
Formation and Development of TRINFICO
While the Russian stock market was rocked by one crisis after another and many companies were forced to undergo the liquidation process, Oleg continued to work on the gradual development of his business. TRINFICO quickly built a good reputation and expanded its range of services.
After some time, it began working with non-governmental pension funds. The company unfailingly delivered excellent results when managing their assets. Shortly after, TRINFICO Investment Group signed an agreement with the state-owned Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. And once again it managed to demonstrate professionalism as an asset management company.
The most troublesome period in the organization’s set of experiences was the emergency of 1998 that was achieved by the breakdown of the “GKO fraudulent business model.” It impacted all market members. Many organizations couldn’t endure the monetary breakdown and had to leave business. TRINFICO executives, however, claim that they did not even consider closing the business. The company managed to successfully overcome the consequences of the crisis and quickly resumed the usual operations.
Consolidation and Latest Achievements
In 2013, after the consolidation of the investment group, Oleg Belay assumed the responsibilities of CEO at TRINFICO. He continued to follow the path of stable growth and responsible investment. To this day, his strategy revolves around prioritizing the issues of security and efficient risk diversification.
Today, TRINFICO:
- has an ‘A+|ru.iv|’ rating of reliability and quality of services (upgraded by the NRA in 2024);
- offers a wide range of services to private and institutional investors;
- regularly ranks among the top companies in the segment based on various criteria;
- has an experienced investment team, which has recently been taken into account in the upgraded rating of the company;
- remains independent from private and state capital;
Oleg Belay has been the head of the company for many years. He continues to follow the principles of responsible investment and advocates integrating ESG factors into the company’s corporate strategy. The entrepreneur is not abandoning the idea even today, when, due to the difficult economic situation and foreign pressure, even the largest corporations begin to overlook the “green policies.”
Personal Life of the Entrepreneur
Oleg Belay is married and has two children and two grandchildren. The businessman enjoys motorcycling and calls himself an “active recreationist.” He travels a lot and often visits different parts of Russia.
The businessman pays a lot of attention to charity. For many years, he has been a member of the board of trustees at a charitable foundation called VMESTE SMOZHEM (TOGETHER WE CAN), which aims to fight poverty and help the most vulnerable social groups. Moreover, he himself played an important part in the founding of this nonprofit organization.
Read more on KulFiy