(Photo: from personal archive)

Managing Director for Investments of TKB Investment Partners Vladimir Tsuprov is responsible for an investment portfolio of almost 300 billion rubles. Under his leadership, the volume of the company's assets in 2015 increased by 128%, which brought it to fourth place among the largest Russian management companies, and the mutual fund of foreign currency bonds became the second most profitable fund on the Russian market in five years. Tsuprov told RBC about how to manage big money, why it is better to do it from St. Petersburg and what will happen to the Russian economy.

“Moscow is too noisy”

• My way to financial industry was very short: I graduated from the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, where I studied at the Department of Securities, and then quickly went through all the steps of the career ladder - from equity analyst to managing director of investments.
• When I started my career in 1998, I had to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of the people around me. I have no authority in the investment field, but I pay attention to any interesting experience.
• I have been managing assets for over ten years, being in St. Petersburg, as well as my team, which does not in any way affect the efficiency of the process. Moreover, it eliminates the unnecessary noise that constantly surrounds the manager. The investment space in Moscow, seething and full of rumors, clouds perception and can distract from work. It's healthier to stay away from it.
• I'm a trustee, which means I work within strict limits set by the client and current legislation. I have two main tasks: the first is to ensure high-quality work of the team in the chosen market, the second is to refuse to work in a market for which I have no expertise. For some reason, the latter is usually ignored in Russia.
• The manager has unique abilities— he quickly makes decisions in conditions when little is clear to others. We can easily place millions of dollars in bets under conditions of complete uncertainty. But I must know when to stop: even if potential income from the transaction is huge, I do not have the right to invest more money in it than the risks allow. Those who do not follow this rule always end up the same way - bankruptcy.

Vladimir Tsuprov

Born in 1976 in Leningrad. Graduated from St. Petersburg State University Economics and Finance with a degree in Finance and Credit. Works in the investment business since 1998. In 2000, he headed the analytical department at Web-Invest Bank, and in 2002 he took the position of Deputy General Director of Management Company KIT Finance. In 2003-2005, Tsuprov held senior positions at the National Development Bank. In 2005, he returned to KIT Finance Management Company as director of the asset management department. Today he is the managing director for investments at TKB Investment Partners.

• The main principle of the manager— understand what needs to be done, why and what risks arise. The golden combination of these factors, coupled with the ability to obtain the information necessary to make a decision, is the key to success. You can improve in this matter forever.
• In our company The investment process is constantly evolving, and now there are even two approaches competing with each other. One is based on calculating the sustainability of the future cash flow of a company when assessing the value of its shares, the other - using value investment methods, when the value of a company is estimated based on historical data.
• We see a crisis of confidence to the managers. People don’t want to give money to other people who, as it seems to them, put their savings in some kind of black box, cut coupons from it themselves, and the investor gets it “as it happens.”

“The economy will not return to stable growth”

• Obvious investment ideas can not be. Billions of rubles and billions of dollars are circulating on the market, so all the ideas that were once on the surface have long been bought out. If it were obvious where to invest money now, these assets would immediately become very expensive.
• In 2015, Russian Eurobonds received profitability both from the devaluation of the ruble and from the rise in dollar prices for these securities. There is no great merit to the managers in this, because those who managed such funds “ridden away” from the fall of the ruble and the growth of the American currency. So, if you want to praise a Eurobond portfolio manager, then you should look not at the profitability, but at how he performed in comparison with competitors or the benchmark.
• Eurobonds are unlikely to be issued this year just as attractive as in 2015. Bonds have already risen very well in price. For this growth to continue, they must reach zero profitability, but this is impossible. So now we're talking about not about making excess profits, but about how to show profitability that significantly exceeds deposits.

"TKB Investment Partners - Currency Bond Fund"

Price net assets(as of May 30, 2016) - 439.2 million rubles, share - 27.3 thousand rubles. Invests in government and corporate Eurobonds of issuers from Russia and the CIS countries available on international markets, as well as in currency bonds, for which companies from Russia and the CIS countries act as guarantors. According to Investfunds, it has become the most profitable mutual fund on the Russian market (among those actively traded) for five years. His result (as of December 31, 2015) is 150.84%. At the same time, in 2015 the fund showed a return of 38.03%.

• Eurobond mutual funds incur significant costs compared to deposits - more than 2% per year. In order to outperform a deposit with a rate of 2% per annum in foreign currency in terms of profitability, a manager needs to earn 5% per annum “dirty”. Then, minus the costs, this will be a good result for the client. Now the manager has to think about this, and not about how to repeat the result of 2015.
• A few years ago At one of the client presentations, I said that I did not see any opportunities for a significant growth of the MICEX index and did not understand what could be the reason for it. And then it “arrived from where we didn’t expect it”: a more than two-fold devaluation of the ruble pushed the ruble index to new heights. Today, the main factors that will influence Russian stock prices are the ruble exchange rate and the dynamics of interest rates.
• What matters now is not whether the Russian economy has a chance to bounce off the bottom. The important thing is that there is nowhere to bounce: the force of gravity will pull us back. Russian economy may stabilize and grow by 1-2%, but this will not be a sustainable upward movement. The economy will not return to stable growth, and in the long term it may continue to decline. It is quite difficult to prove this, since it is already felt at the level of intuition.

Managing Director for Investments of TKB Investment Partners Vladimir Tsuprov (Photo: from personal archive)

"Learn how to clean up trash"

• We live in conditions littered information space. The investment industry, as one of the most complex, is littered to the limit. Even at Sony, Nikon and Canon corporations, decisions about what specifications new ones should have digital cameras, accepted by marketing departments. Learn to clear away this information garbage. If this is difficult, then invest in bank deposits.
• The first question to answer is- this is what currency you will invest in. You also need to understand for what period the investment portfolio is being formed. Having answered these two questions, you can already think about the assets in which you will invest money.
• If you want foreign currency savings, but not in the form of a bank deposit, then you should pay attention to mutual funds investing in foreign exchange instruments. They are good because you don’t have to pay income tax on currency revaluation. This compares shares in such mutual funds favorably with purchasing Eurobonds on a brokerage account. And if additional taxes are introduced on foreign currency deposits, then this instrument will completely turn out to be the best way save money in foreign currency
• Remember that with 1st of January 2015, you have the opportunity to receive a tax deduction (not pay 13% personal income tax) in the future if you invest in any mutual funds for more than three years. This is a very serious advantage that significantly increases the attractiveness of mutual funds as investment instruments.

"TKB Investment Partners"

Previously - TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners, KIT Finance and KIT Fortis Investments. Operating in the trust management market since 2002. Until 2015, it was the largest management company with foreign capital in Russia, owned by the French BNP Paribas Investment Partners and financial structures RUSSIAN RAILWAYS. In July 2015, they sold their shares to the head of the Alor group of companies, Anatoly Gavrilenko.

After the change of control of both founders of KIT Fortis Investments, their Russian joint venture will become known as TKB BNP Paribas. And it will be among the top three in terms of assets under management, partners believe

Management Company KIT Fortis Investments announced a joint announcement on June 30 with Transcreditbank and the management company BNP Paribas Investment Partners about significant changes in KIT Fortis Investments. Following the purchase of Fortis in February, BNP Paribas became a shareholder of KIT Fortis Investments and transferred assets worth €300 million to management from BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP).

KIT Fortis is equally owned by BNPP IP and the KIT Finance group, controlled, like Transcreditbank (TKB), by Russian Railways. Now TKB will buy out 50% of the management company for fair value, a source close to Russian Railways knows. According to him, on June 30 the creation of the TKB BNP Paribas brand will be announced. Valery Miroshnikov, first deputy general director of the DIA, whose company is rehabilitating KIT Finance, knows about this project, but declined to comment.

If we assume that the assets of KIT Fortis are marketable and the commission on them is 2%, then the company earns approximately 1.5 billion rubles. per year with expenses of about 1 billion rubles, believes managing partner of Third Rome Management Company Andrey Movchan. Thus, based on an estimate of 8 EBITDA, we can offhand estimate the company at $160-180 million, he believes.

“We are interested in this project, and we will participate in it with a Western partner on an equal footing,” said TKB Chairman of the Board Yuri Novozhilov. According to him, the bank thought about the ideology of developing its own management companies and came to the conclusion that the format inherent in the relationship with BNP Paribas IP allows it to become a TKB international company. TKB hopes that they will get a good synergistic effect from this cooperation. “We are discussing the terms of the partnership,” notes Novozhilov, “it will include, among other things, distribution issues through almost 300 branches of Transcreditbank.”

In February, Novozhilov stated that the management company was tasked with becoming one of the top three leaders in terms of assets under management by the end of the year (see inset). According to Alfa Capital CEO Mikhail Khabarov, the company can achieve such results by raising funds from shareholders, but attracting a share of market clients will be problematic. If the objectives are set in retail, where the leaders are Uralsib, Troika Dialog and Raiffeisen Capital, then it is not difficult to enter the top three, but if we are talking about the market struggle for institutional clients, then the network of branches will not help and there is no chance of ousting the leaders of this The market is much smaller, Movchan believes.

Need to double At the end of the first quarter of 2010, according to the NRA, the third place in terms of assets was occupied by Uralsib Management Company (111.1 billion rubles) and KIT Fortis in this ranking took 8th place (60.9 billion rubles .). "KIT Fortis Investments"

Management Company

Shareholders: KIT Finance and BNPP IP.
Own funds (as of June 15, 2010) - 340.7 million rubles.
Own assets (as of March 31, 2010) - 515.7 million rubles.
net profit - 138.4 million rubles.
assets under management (as of April 30, 2010) - more than 70 billion rubles.

Transcreditbank

universal bank

Shareholders: JSC Russian Railways (54.4%), NPF Blagosostoyanie (19.7%), Closed Mutual Fund Management Company RVM Capital (20.9%).
financial indicators (Interfax-CEA for the first quarter of 2010):
equity- 20.8 billion rubles,
assets - 285.3 billion rubles,
profit - 1.04 billion rubles.

10.07.2015 09:00

Anatoly Gavrilenko bought TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners

Having parted ways with both previous owners, the management company will change its name to TKB Investment Partners, but will retain the strategy and team.

One hundred percent control of TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners passed to Anatoly Gavrilenko, chairman supervisory board Alora and the beneficiary pension funds"KIT Finance NPF", "Promagrofond" and "Heritage". “The new shareholder fully supports the goals of the company, positively assesses the results of its development and the achievements of management,” the management company emphasizes in its message.

Previously, the company was owned on a parity basis by BNP Paribas Investment Partners (a division of the French group BNP Paribas) and structures of Russian Railways. The parties did not disclose the amount of the transaction, but according to Kommersant sources close to one of them, the figure is comparable to the capital of TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

As of May 31, the company's own funds amounted to 655 million rubles, and the volume of net assets under management and consulting, according to its data, was 136 billion rubles. According to the calculations of the National Rating Agency, over the year the assets under management of the company decreased sharply - by 43% to 115 billion rubles (at the end of March). At the same time, the volume of equity capital over the same period increased by 2% to 674 million rubles.

General Director of TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners Vladimir Kirillov expects that his company will continue to remain profitable

According to an RBC source, one of the reasons for the sale of its stake by the BNP Paribas group was the reluctance of Western investors to do business in Russia after the extension of sanctions. At the same time, Russian Railways no longer needed to own its own management company after part of its pension empire was acquired by Boris Mints’ O1 group.

Having changed its name to TKB Investment Partners, the company will remain an investment center for Russian securities for domestic and foreign clients. “Such a purchase is a unique chance on the market! The company employs excellent professionals who are able to follow the plan and develop it independently, as they have done in all previous years,” Gavrilenko is quoted as saying in the message.

“I am glad that the new shareholder fully shares management’s view on further development,” commented on the deal CEO company Vladimir Kirillov, especially noting that his management company is “independent and autonomous” and conducts operating activities exclusively at the expense of its own profit.

One of the largest Russian management companies, KIT Fortis Investments, is changing its business strategy. Its new shareholders, the international group BNP Paribas and Transcreditbank, which will own the company in equal shares, plan to use the 300 branches of the Russian bank to promote investment products.

Its representatives spoke yesterday about the upcoming changes in the management company KIT Fortis Investments. BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) and Transcreditbank will enter into a partnership agreement, within the framework of which a new entity- TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners. The Russian bank and the international financial group will own the company in equal shares. The corresponding changes to the company's documents, in particular, to the rules of mutual investment funds (UIFs), will be drawn up in the near future, said Vladimir Kirillov, general director of TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

The management company "KIT Fortis Investments" was previously owned in equal shares by the holding company "KIT Finance" and the Belgian financial group Fortis Investments. Last year, a controlling stake in Fortis Belgium, a Fortis Investments shareholder, was acquired by the international group BNP Paribas. Transcreditbank appeared in the project after it was decided to transfer to it by the end of the year a stake in the management company from the holding company KIT Finance, which, like Transcreditbank, belongs to Russian Railways.

According to Transcreditbank President Yuri Novozhilov, the bank will receive a stake in the new company “at fair value.” TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners products will be sold in more than 300 Transcreditbank branches. “First of all, we are aimed at retail clients,” said Mr. Novozhilov. Foreign investors will be able to become clients of Russian stock funds through the entire international BNPP IP network, which operates in 70 countries.

As of the end of May, KIT Fortis Investments managed assets in the amount of 79.9 billion rubles. (seventh place among Russian management companies).

BNPP IP has €540 billion under management (the ninth largest asset manager in the world), including approximately €60 billion invested in emerging markets.

The current configuration in to a greater extent should be beneficial to Russian partners, market participants believe. "The main opportunity if there is an international partner is to use its international distribution network to find foreign investors who are ready to invest in Russian market"- says Anatoly Milyukov, executive vice-president of Gazprombank. In his opinion, the opposite situation, when BNPP IP will attract Russian investors, is not yet possible, “this is the second stage."

At the same time, such changes in the composition of shareholders, and especially the change of name, may alert Russian retail investors who are already clients of the company, market participants note. Mr. Kirillov also admits this. According to him, today mutual funds occupy 5% of the total assets managed by KIT Fortis Investments, despite the fact that fees for managing retail funds account for about 25% of the company’s total income. “This is a very important line of business, despite the fact that it does not occupy such a significant share in the total volume of assets,” says Mr. Kirillov. In this regard, according to him, the company will have to carry out “large-scale work to explain to retail investors that by changing the name and attracting new partners, nothing threatens the reliability and efficiency of their investments.”

Alexander Mazunin

KIT Fortis Investments is an international management company, a joint venture between the Russian holding company KIT Finance and one of the largest European management companies, Fortis Investments. In this section you can get detailed information about our company: here you will get acquainted with our history and team, receive information about our ratings and awards, learn last news.

Our goal

KIT Fortis Investments, which combines the experience, knowledge and products of two leading financial brands in Russia and Europe, is unique in the collective investment market of Russia and the CIS. Our goal is to constantly improve the level of asset management, create relevant products on the Russian and CIS markets, provide our clients with the opportunity to invest in international markets through a huge selection of Fortis Investments funds with many years of experience successful management.

Our mission

The management company KIT Fortis Investments considers market development as its mission financial services Russia in the field of asset management.

The main principles that guide the Company in its activities are high professionalism, responsibility and openness to clients, a creative approach to business and readiness for change, and strict adherence to Russian legislation. It is no coincidence that KIT in the company's name stands for Creative Investment Technologies.

Official information

The management company was created on March 11, 2002. On April 6, 2007 it was registered new edition of the charter, according to which the management company KIT Finance was renamed KIT Fortis Investments (OJSC).

Authorized capital The company is 150,000,000 rubles and is fully paid in cash.