Finam

Indicators

FINAM is among the five largest investment companies in Russia in terms of the total turnover of securities transactions, the number of customers, the size of the regional network, equity and other indicators. ^[2] It has ratings of the highest level of reliability: from the National Rating Agency AA + ^[2] , from Expert RA Agency - A ++ ^[3] .

FINAM controls about 14% of the total trading volume on the MICEX-RTS (2011), provides services on all major global trading floors ^[4] , including NASDAQ , BATS , New York , Frankfurt , London , Hong Kong , Tokyo , and Mexico , Australian and other stock exchanges ^[5] .

As of December 2015, the holding’s turnover in the international financial market amounted to about $ 52 billion, in Russia - about $ 51 billion. The total turnover of FINAM clients from more than 40 countries in the world reached $ 102 billion in December 2015 ^[6] . The number of registered customers of the holding in 2013 was 118 thousand ^[7] , at the end of 2015 - 317 thousand ^[6] . The main suppliers of new foreign customers are China , India , Thailand , as well as Arab countries and Latin America ^[1] .

Structure

FINAM Investment Holding consists of the following main divisions ^[8] :

• JSC FINAM Investment Company (brokerage services)
• JSC FINAM Investment Bank (banking services)
• Management Company FINAM Management LLC (trust management, including mutual funds )
• LLC Finam.ru (information and analytical agency)

• ANO "FINAM Training Center"
• International brokers WhoTrades Ltd. ( EU ) and WhoTrades Inc. ( USA )
• Private Equity Fund FINAM Global

The group has representative offices in more than 90 cities around the world ^[9] , including 84 branches in Russia ^[10] , as well as offices in New York , Limassol , Karaganda , Delhi , Jakarta , Kuala Lumpur , Bangkok and Beijing ^{[ 6]} .

Guide

• The founder, sole shareholder and chairman of the holding’s board of directors is Viktor Remsha ^{[1] [11]} ;
• The general director of the holding, the general director of IC FINAM - Arsen Ayvazov ^[11] ;
• President and Chairman of the Holding Board - Vladislav Kochetkov ^[11] ;
• The Chairman of the Board of Directors of FINAM Investment Bank JSC is Andrey Shulga ^[11] .

1990s

In 1994, Viktor Remsha with three classmates created the company Finance Analyst. She began to publish the specialized investor portfolio informational and analytical newsletter , which provided participants of the then stock market with up-to- date information on issuers , stock quotes , and stock news. In 1995, Remsha's partners left this business ^[12] .

By the end of the 1990s, the main business of Finance Analyst was brokerage services, in particular, operations with bonds of state savings loans (OGSZ), stocks, futures . He received a license from the FCSM of Russia , became a member of NAUFOR, IFAC , MICEX , RTS ^[13] .

The company was one of the first in Russia to start servicing retail private customers. This priority has been preserved in subsequent decades ^[12] . In 1996, the first regional branch of the broker was opened in Noyabrsk ( Tyumen Region ), the next one - regional representatives appeared in Tyumen , Ufa , Saratov , Orenburg , Makhachkala , by 2001 the branch network of the company “Finance-Analyst” included 34 cities of Russia ^{[ 14]} .

2000s

In 2000, the holding was the first in Russia to offer Internet trading services by releasing boxed software for remote access on the MICEX. In the same year, the Finam.ru information portal was launched for retail traders ^[14] . In March 2001, a holding training center was founded ^[15] . In 2002, the Finance Analytic group of companies was transformed into FINAM investment holding (short for Finance Analytic Moscow - under this ticker, the company traded on the RTS in the mid-1990s) ^[16] .

Since 2002, the holding has been one of the five leading stock market operators on the MICEX. In the same year, an electronic crossing system was launched for over-the-counter trading of Russian stocks ^[9] . In 2004, FINAM acquired the Megawatt Bank, which was in the eighth hundred Russian banks. It was renamed to FINAM Bank. Initially, it served individuals - brokers, but since 2006 it has become a full-fledged investment bank, and since 2011 it has become universal ^[14] .

In 2004, the assets held in trust by the holding doubled compared to 2003. Then FINAM began to trade in securities on US stock markets. In 2006, the company's exchange turnover exceeded $ 70 billion. Since 2007, the holding's branch network has covered 89 cities of Russia. By 2008, 11 mutual investment funds (UIF) were formed. According to the results of 2009, FINAM became the largest Russian broker, its share in the turnover of the Russian stock market amounted to 18% ^[9] .

2010s

In 2010, a social network was launched for WhoTrades traders. Two years later, it was transformed into a service for online communication and training of more than 500 thousand international traders in 21 languages ^[17] . In 2011, FINAM was the first Russian retail broker to establish a subsidiary in the United States ^[1] , in New York, as well as affiliates in Beijing, Delhi and Bangkok. American division of WhoTrades Inc. holding became a member of NASDAQ, and WhoTrades Ltd. - Frankfurt Stock Exchange ^[9] .

In 2011, the National Rating Agency assigned FINAM an individual reliability rating of AA +. In terms of total turnover in securities transactions, the number of customers, the size of the regional network, equity and other indicators, the holding was included in the five largest investment companies in Russia ^[2] . Its founder and head, Viktor Remsha, was included in the top 30 list of “Faces of the Russian Internet” of Forbes magazine ^[18] , and in 2012 he was in the top ten Russian Internet millionaires in the status of “investor” according to the magazine “ Secret of the Company ” ^[19] .

In 2014, the rating agency Expert RA assigned the company a rating of the highest level of reliability - A ++ ^[3] . In the same year, FINAM established FinSight Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on foreign technological projects in the financial sector, with a target volume of up to $ 50-100 million ^[20] . In 2015, the holding announced the launch of an online stock store that allows trading instruments of the Moscow Exchange without visiting the broker's office ^[21] . After the entry into force of the law on the forex market in Russia, FINAM was the first to receive a forex dealer license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation ^[22] .

Providing brokerage services provides about 60% of the holding’s revenue ^[14] . However, from 2003-2004 ^[23] FINAM directs significant direct investments into the IT business ^[16] . The founder of the holding, Viktor Remsha, whom Forbes magazine assesses as “one of the most successful investors in Russian Internet projects” ^[24] , considers brokerage and IT two of the most important areas for FINAM investment ^[23] . At the same time, he identifies three high-tech areas of particular interest to his structures ^[1] :

• social dating ;
• traffic generating companies ( exchange networks , etc.);
• financial online services, the so-called "bank killers."

In particular, FINAM holding controls Mamba , MoneyMail, E-generator , Media2 , MirTesen and others, owns minority packages in Europe’s largest dating portal ^[25] Badoo , Shape.ag mobile software company and a number of others ^[26] . Over the past years, the following FINAM investments have become the most significant and visible in the media:

"Runner"

The Begun contextual advertising system was the holding’s first major investment on the Internet ^[23] . This project was founded by immigrants from the analytical company SpyLOG in 2002 with a starting budget of about $ 50 thousand. A year later, the company's monthly revenue reached $ 150 thousand and the latter was completely redeemed by FINAM for $ 900 thousand. These funds were returned to the holding in the form of dividends in the first year. For almost nine years, FINAM’s dividends from Begun amounted to about $ 35 million ^[16] .

In 2005, Rambler Media holding bought out 25% of the project’s shares for $ 750 thousand, in 2007 it increased its stake to a controlling (50% plus one share) for $ 18 million already. In 2008, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia blocked the deal between Begun and Google shareholders on the sale of the latter 100% of the shares for $ 140 million. Later, FINAM left the business that became unprofitable in 2011 ^[27] , selling its minority stake to Rambler for $ 1.85 million ^[16] .

E-generator

The media holding E-generator , the core of which is the eponymous marketing communications agency, was founded in 2002 in Novosibirsk . In December 2004, FINAM bought 55% of this company. Market participants estimated the deal at $ 15–20 thousand. ^[28] The total revenue of the holding in 2015 amounted to about $ 6.5 million ^[29] . Two key ^[29] assets of E-generator are the media news network Media2 (launched in 2006) and the MirTesen geolocation social network (founded in 2007). Both were further reformatted.

In its current form, Media2 is a media content aggregator in which their news in real time is automatically ranked (including thematic and regional) depending on demand ^[30] . The Media2 project is among the top 10 most popular Internet media in Russia according to LiveInternet , with a monthly audience of 11-15 million visitors ^[31] . Among the partners of the site, most of the major media and media holdings in Russia. Media2 provides more than 3 million clickthroughs to their sites daily ^[32] .

At the time FINAM acquired the MirTesen social network in March 2008, its community numbered about 320 thousand people ^[33] . Now MirTesen is a designer of thematic sites and a recommender community of their authors interested in useful content and interlocutors on specific topics ^[34] . The total monthly audience of the project (as of February 2016) is about 12 million visitors ^[35] , it unites more than 16 million users ^[36] .

"Mamba"

Mamba virtual dating network was founded in 2002. Three years later, the Mamba base covered 85% of all who wanted to meet on RuNet, and its profitability was ensured not by selling banner ads , but by monetizing the audience of the site ^[37] . As a result, in 2005 the project was completely redeemed by FINAM for $ 20 million. In 2007, slightly more than 30% of the company’s shares came from Mail.ru Group for $ 18 million ^[16] . In 2012, Mamba entered the top 30 Russian Internet companies according to Forbes magazine , at that time its revenue was $ 41 million ^[38] . In mid-2013, the total value of this asset was estimated at $ 250 million ^[16] .

Buka, Alawar, Astrostar

In 2005-2007, FINAM became a portfolio investor for two publishers of computer and video games of foreign and domestic production - Buka and Alawar - as well as an online service for compiling horoscopes Astrostar . The holding invested about $ 2.6 million in total holdings in these companies. From its sale in the next three years, it managed to gain more than $ 15 million ^[16] .

Finam FM

In August 2007, FINAM acquired the radio station Bolshoi Radio and renamed it Finam FM . The transaction amount at that time was estimated at $ 10 million ^[7] . The Finam FM radio station broadcast in Moscow and the Moscow Region at a frequency of 99.6 MHz , its information block consisted of daily authoring programs with experts in business , science , culture , and Western rock music of the 1960s and 1980s was the musical basis of the broadcast .

Despite the fact that by 2012 the radio station was in the top three of the most cited media in the capital and the region according to Medialogy ^[39] , and also received a number of professional awards ^{[40] [41]} , it remained unprofitable. The holding considered it as an image asset that helps to popularize the FINAM brand , and did not conduct an active search for buyers, but considered incoming offers, Forbes magazine notes ^[42] . In November 2013, Finam FM was sold to Mikhail Gutseriev’s affiliates ^[43] and in 2014 it was reformatted to Capital FM ^[44] . The deal was valued at $ 8-12 million ^[45] .

Badoo

Badoo International Virtual Dating Network was founded in London in 2006. By the beginning of 2008, when this project brought together more than 12.5 million participants and managed to occupy prominent positions in Europe and Latin America ^[46] , FINAM bought back a 10% stake in the network for $ 30 million, and a year later increased its stake to 20%. having invested another $ 50 million in it. As of mid-2013, the estimated value of Badoo was $ 1.065 billion, and FINAM at that time estimated this company even higher - at $ 2.5 billion ^[16] .

Banks.ru

The Internet resource Banks.ru was founded in 2005, the initial investments of the owners amounted to about $ 100 thousand. In 2010, when this startup became one of the largest specialized resources of the Runet ^[24] , FINAM bought a 30% stake in it for $ 3 million. Over the next three years, the holding doubled its investments: in August 2013, it sold Russia Partners a stake in it for $ 6 million. At that time, the annual revenue of the Banks.ru project was $ 8.5 million and grew by 50-60% per year ^[24] .

«Платиза»

Первая в России ^[47] выдающая онлайн-займы микрофинансовая организация (МФО) « Платиза » была основана ФИНАМом в ноябре 2012 года ^[47] . В число инвесторов этого проекта были привлечены два российских венчурных фонда Flint Capital и Prostor Capital , вложивших равными долями $3 млн в совладельца «Платиза» Federal Finance Group ^[48] . В конце 2014 года последняя вышла из этого бизнеса ^[49] .

Прототипом Platiza.ru стал британский сервис Wonga.com ^[47] . Специализация сервиса — круглосуточная выдача микрозаймов до ₽15 тыс. на срок до 45 дней с моментальным перечислением средств на дебетовую карту или электронный кошелёк Visa Qiwi Wallet или « Яндекс.Деньги » по процентной ставке от 0,5 до 1 % в день без физического предоставления документов. «Платиза» окупилась через полтора года после запуска, в 2015 году компания оценивалась более чем в $25 млн ^[48] и занимала около 25 % рынка ^[50] .

Ежегодно холдинг ФИНАМ становится лауреатом отраслевых премий, победителем конкурсов и рейтингов. В их числе ^[51] :

• «Финансовый Олимп» — 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012;
• «Финансовая элита России» — 2007, 2008, 2009 ( гран-при ), 2010 (гран-при), 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017;
• «Элита фондового рынка» — 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015;
• «Основа роста» — 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015;
• «Время инноваций» — 2014, 2015;
• «Финансовая жемчужина России» журнала «Семейный бюджет» — 2008, 2009;
• «Компания года» журнала «Компания» — 2012.
• 1 место в рейтинге крупнейших российских брокерских компаний «РБК.Рейтинг» по итогам 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 годов.

Международное подразделение холдинга WhoTrades также отмечается различными премиями на своих рынках. Так, в 2012 году оно стало лауреатом Foreign Exchange Awards журнала World Finance . В 2014 году — лучшей социальной сетью для трейдеров, а в 2015 году — самым быстроразвивающимся брокером Латинской Америки по версии портала International Finance Magazine . Кроме того WhoTrades признан «лучшим брокером Восточной Европы» (2014) и «лучшим инновационным брокером Китая» (2015), получив соответствующие награды International Alternative Investment Review (IAIR) Awards . В 2015 году он также был удостоен премии выставки China Forex Expo в Шанхае ^[51] .

• finam.ru — официальный сайт холдинга ФИНАМ.
• Проекты холдинга на официальном сайте ФИНАМ.
• ФИНАМу 20 лет: история бренда . — Finam.ru , 10 июля 2014 года.
• Кудеров, М. Накликали скидку . — « Частный корреспондент », 1 декабря 2008 года.
• Трифонов, А. Интервью: Виктор Ремша, гендиректор и владелец ФИНАМа . — Газета « Ведомости », 27 июня 2013 года.
• Березанская, Е. Затяжной прыжок: как владелец ФИНАМа превратил $12 тыс. в $600 млн за 20 лет . — Журнал Forbes , 5 сентября 2013 года.