BCS Holding

BCS World of Investments is a 25-year-old financial holding that provides customers with the widest range of brokerage and investment services.

BCS World of Investments - No. 1 on the Russian stock market: leading positions in the rating of the Moscow Exchange in terms of turnover on the stock market (1.26 trillion rubles), in the list of leading operators of the foreign exchange market (3.34 trillion rubles), in the rating of trading participants in terms of the volume of client operations in the derivatives market with a result of 6.1 trillion rubles (data as of 31.03.2021).

As of April 2021, BCS World of Investments serves more than 700,000 clients, the holding employs over 5,000 employees, branches are located throughout Russia (more than 40 cities of presence), representative offices operate in large foreign cities - in New York, London, Limassol and Dubai.

BCS World of Investments is an innovator in the field of digital technologies in the financial sector. All key solutions for both professional investors and newcomers are collected on a single digital platform of the holding. BCS was among the first on the market to offer customers Internet trading, provided access to opening brokerage accounts online and replenishing them through the Fast Payment System, provided investors with the opportunity to work with a single brokerage account, and was the first to launch foreign currency mutual funds.

The reliability of BCS World of Investments was confirmed by leading rating agencies: the highest reliability rating at the AAA level from the National Rating Agency, the creditworthiness rating at the ruBBB + level from RAEX (Expert RA), and the rating at the V/V level from the international agency S&P Global Ratings.

Aktivs

FG BCS is the largest non-bank broker in Russia. In addition to the broker, the group includes a bank, a management company, a private bank and a training center. At the end of 2018, the group's assets amounted to $3.7 billion, share capital - $470 million.

BCS Global Markets

BCS Global Markets is the global investment banking business of BCS Group. The company works with professional investors, provides direct access to foreign markets and vice versa. The company has divisions in New York, London, Cyprus and Moscow. Main office in London. This business in the group has been launched since 2012.

2024: Former top Potanin manager buys BCS UK unit

In July 2024, it became known that the British division of a large Russian broker BCS changed its owner. BCS Prime Brokerage Ltd. came under the control of Gerald Banks, also known as Herman Aliyev, who previously held senior positions in Vladimir Potanin's companies. Read more here.

2023: Separation of Russian business in BCS Holding

At the end of January 2024, it became known about the allocation of Russian business of the international financial group FG BCS (legally registered in Cyprus) to BCS Holding. This was reported in the description of the rating action of the Expert RA agency.

The structure of BCS Holding was formed as a result of the reorganization of the FG BCS financial group in 2022-2023, as a result of which the group's Russian and foreign assets were separated, the agency said.

source = BCS

Holding - "a legal entity that owns Russian assets that were previously part of the" international group - "redistributes funds between investment objects, conducts operations in the money market using free liquidity and available securities, and carries out operations for the purchase and sale of securities."

As of September 30, 2023, the holding included companies under the BCS brand from the banking, investment and insurance sectors. BCS Bank accounted for about 26% of its investments (shares and bonds), the investment company BCS - 11%, the management company BCS Wealth Management - 5%, the insurance company BCS Life Insurance - 4%, as well as loans and shares in the operating company Financial Consulting (formerly BCS Consulting) - 11%.

In addition, according to the Expert RA agency, BCS Holding has a significant volume of quoted bonds of the largest issuers of the Russian bond market - they account for about 31% of its total assets.

At the end of 2023, it became known about the plans of FG BCS to sell 90.1% of its British subsidiary BCS Prime Brokerage to a third-party investor. It was noted that the company was aimed at reorienting to international business and separating other companies of the BCS group from Russian business.^[1]

2021

TAdviser interview with Broker business CTO Viktor Molodtsov

The development of the brokerage business can be successfully carried out on the basis of a stack of modern technologies, widely using free software, containerization and microservices. At the same time, project teams have a high degree of independence, working according to the principles of Agile. Molodtsov Viktor, CTO of Broker business of BCS World of Investments, told TAdviser about this in an interview. Read more here.

How a mobile app improves the chances of successful trading

How to trade on the stock exchange in order to make money on this? One hundred percent guarantees, of course, no one will give. The change in trends and the value of shares is influenced by many factors that the investor cannot manage: the political situation in, to the country the sudden bankruptcy of the company, a new one, virus even the phrase Elona Musk in "." Twitter But it is still possible to increase the chances of success, all other things being equal. And here the features from mobile applications brokers help. For example, the ability to buy shares in a matter of seconds, build forecasts, to trade the American securities and save on - all taxes these are "small steps" that lead to profitable investment. If you are looking for a mobile application stuffed with just such things, you should take a closer look at the mobile from BCS World of Investments. Read more here. [1]

2019

Finnish FIM Asset Management closes BCS accounts due to risks

Finnish FIM Asset Management closed BCS accounts in September 2019, citing "operational/legal risk associated with human resources deficiencies," Bloomberg said in a statement.

Derivatives Market Failure

Amar Patel, a senior vice president who was in charge of stock derivatives at FG BCS, left the company in October 2019 after it froze operations with those instruments due to losses, sources familiar with the matter said.

The dismissal of Patel is one of the consequences of the revision of the derivatives trading business after the management of the largest broker in the Russian Federation realized the scale of losses in the first half of the year, said sources who asked for anonymity due to the non-public nature of the information. Patel, who started at BCS in 2017, and a BCS representative did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The losses arose due to errors in the risk management system and forced BCS to reduce bonus payments to many employees of the stock division, the sources said. According to them, the problem became known after the dismissal of managing director Mathieu Ressancourt in January. Ressancourt declined to comment.

The BCS financial group, owned by Oleg Mikhasenko, in the consolidated statements for the first half of 2019 reflected losses from derivatives trading of 11.3 billion rubles, or $180 million at the exchange rate at the reporting date. This is a third of the group's capital, which in the first half of the year amounted to 32.6 billion rubles. As a result, the group's profit collapsed 3.5 times to 1.3 billion rubles or $20 million. Forbes has reports from the BCS group for the first half of 2019.

As follows from the reporting for the first half of 2019, in the same period last year, the group earned income of 8 billion rubles or $130 million on derivatives trading. For the whole of 2018, these operations brought the group 16 billion rubles ($230 million) in income (Forbes also has a report for 2018).

According to the rating agency S&P, the BCS group received losses due to the desire to make money on sanctions. The company expected the introduction of new sanctions by the United States and the EU against Russian companies and the subsequent weakening of the ruble, as well as an increase in interest rates and a decrease in the value of securities.

BCS opened a long currency position and acquired put options on the dollar and indices of Russian stocks.

However, the stressful scenario did not materialize, which led to expenses for the group, the amount of which was equal to the amount of premiums paid for insurance, the S&P said. The profit of the BCS group decreased in the first half of 2019 from 4.6 to 1.3 billion rubles. The main part of the profit is a tax deduction of 1.2 billion rubles. Losses from derivatives trading amounted to 11.3 billion rubles, or $180 million.

In general, in the first half of the year, profit from trading operations decreased to 2.2 billion rubles from 7 billion rubles a year earlier.

The losses were stretched over time, and the leadership learned their real scale only in 2019, said one of the Forbes interlocutors.

Losses on the derivative desk occurred in the second half of 2018 at the London office of BCS Global Markets, including due to an unsuccessful bet on the "fear index," says a Forbes source who learned about this from BCS employees. "For a couple of years the company made good money, but then all the earnings were lost and the plus turned into a minus. The losses were on the deck of Developed Market Derivatives, which was mainly traded with the company's own funds, "he says.

BCS Global was betting, among other things, on the VIX volatility index, known as the "fear index." Its significance grows when volatility intensifies, usually during the exchange panic VIX reaches its maximum values. Since February 2016, the index has gradually declined until it reached an all-time low of 11 points. But since the beginning of 2018, a sharp increase has begun. "A lot of players were betting on reducing volatility - it was a popular strategy. But when there was a surge, it played a cruel joke with many, "says Timur Nigmatullin, investment manager of Otkritie Capital.

BCS Global had a multidirectional position, but quite large, says Forbes interlocutor. "There's been space revenue for two years in a row, but it's been unlucky in 2018," he says. According to him, this was not customer money, but the company's own position. According to Bloomberg sources, the losses arose due to errors in the risk management system.

At the end of 2018, the London company did not reflect losses, showing $2.4 million in net profit, which turned out to be even more than in 2017 - $1.1 million. Finaz.ru, citing Bloomberg, writes that the losses became known after the dismissal of managing director Mathieu Ressancourt in January. Ressancourt has been the head of the derivatives desk in London since 2014. Leaving BCS is supported by information in the trader's LinkedIn profile. Since June, Rasancourt has taken a job at the French company Silex as a portfolio manager. When asked by Forbes to talk about deals at BCS Global, the trader only said that he had left the company long ago. His acquaintance says Ressancourt left the company himself. He also noted that Ressancourt had losses on the desk, but they were not as significant - "only slightly negative" due to high commission costs and the significant cost of funding.

The loss affected the bonuses of BCS employees. In the first half of the year, the salaries and bonuses of managers decreased almost three times compared to the same period last year - from 380 million rubles to 140 million rubles, according to the financial group.

The BCS press service told Forbes that "the investment bank BCS Global Markets and FG BCS were and remain profitable in 2018-2019. "All our desques work within the limits and investment declarations established by the risk management department. The Company did not suffer any losses that would affect the financial position of BCS GM and FG BCS. No trading desk has suspended its work. BCS GM generally did not stop any operations. As for our derivative desk, he continues his work in London and strengthened the team in Moscow, "the press service said. The official commentary also says that changes in the investment bank team are dictated by business development in accordance with the company's commercial strategy.

At the same time, the press service refused to comment on the financial results of a separate desk, referring to the internal policy of BCS, but noted that "due to the unstable geopolitical situation in 2018, the risk of the investment bank's appetite was reduced." "Trading limits have been reduced and a hedging strategy has been applied. This conservative strategy, as well as the high level of volatility at the end of 2018, limiting trading income, led to a decrease in the financial result compared to 2017, "the BCS official statement said.

2018

Net profit 5.7 billion rubles

BCS did not publish reports for 2018 and 2019. According to Bloomberg, her net profit in 2018 amounted to 5.7 billion rubles ($89 million).

In recent years, BCS has developed intensively in Russia and abroad, after the United States and the EU imposed sanctions against Russian state investment banks in 2014.

In 2018, the company became the only Russian broker member of the New York Stock Exchange.

Andrey Rusetsky - curator of the group of managers for stock markets

In October 2018, asset manager UK BKSNDREY Rusetsky was appointed curator of the group of managers for stock markets. Read more here.

Andrey Rusetsky - asset manager, Konstantin Kravtsov - credit analyst

In August 2018, Andrey Rusetsky, asset manager, and Konstantin Kravtsov, credit analyst, joined the investment team of BCS Management Company.

The development of a line of classic conservative investment products - public mutual funds, primarily focused on domestic financial assets - is one of the priorities in the development of BCS Management Company. It is classic retail mutual funds that are almost the unconditional choice of a domestic mass investor, as evidenced by significant inflows of funds into the industry of traditional open-ended mutual funds over the past few years. BCS Management Company intends to strengthen investment expertise in these products and asset classes in order to strengthen its position in the domestic retail asset management market, "commented Andrei Bershadsky, Investment Director of BCS Management Company.

More information about appointments - in the questionnaires of Andrei Rusetsky and Konstantin Kravtsov.

2015

Logo BCS in 2015

As of March 2015, the BCS financial group was one of the largest investment banks, serving more than 130,000 clients. The group led the stock market MICEX and had an extensive international network with offices in,, and Russia Great Britain at. Cyprus

2012

In 2012, the S&P rating agency for the BCS group set the counterparty's long-term and short-term credit ratings at "B -/C," the outlook is "Stable."

FG BCS launched a new retail brand - BCS Premier.

The mission of BCS Premier is to support and develop well-being based on personal financial planning (PFS) and the institution of personal financial advisers.

Another brand that FG BCS brought to the market in 2012 was BCS Ultima private banking. BCS Ultima is focused on the segment of wealthy Russians and, when working with each client, attaches key importance to personal planning and personal privileges.

FG BCS occupies a leading position in terms of trading turnover on the Moscow Exchange.

2011

At the end of the year, the financial group has the most extensive branch network in the domestic brokerage market - 54 offices and 73 agency points in the largest cities of Russia. More than 100 thousand clients, including over 3.6 thousand legal entities, are engaged in brokerage services at BCS.

2010: Options Market Leader by Deal Volume in Russia

IC BCS became the leader of the Russian options market in terms of the volume of completed transactions at FORTS.

2009

At the end of 2009, the RTS Stock Exchange declared IC BCS the best company in the FORTS market. IC BCS has become the absolute market leader in trade turnover and number of customers.

For the third time, BCS IC won the 2009 Company of the Year National Business Award in the Investment Company of the Year nomination.

The National Rating Agency "confirmed the individual reliability rating of BCS Company LLC at the level of" AAA "- maximum reliability.

BCS IC was recognized as the best in the nomination "Best Broker 2009" of the RTS competition "Best Private Investor" - out of 1036 participants in the competition, 301 accounts were opened by our clients.

The investment company BCS (BCS Company LLC) has carried out another increase in the authorized capital of the company. as of March 20, 2009, this figure reached 1.5 billion rubles.

In March 2009, IK BCS was one of the first in the world to undergo the first supervisory audit of management quality in the company according to the new version of ISO 9001:2008.

According to the results of 2008, BCS became a laureate of the prestigious awards "Financial Olympus" in the nomination "Largest Brokers" and "Financial Elite of Russia" in the nomination "Grand Prix: Investment Company of the Year."

In 2009, BCS became a six-time winner of the national prize "Elite of the Stock Market." According to the results of 2008, BCS became the winner in the nomination "Company of the East Siberian Region."

According to the results of 2008, BCS Investment Company became the "Best Broker of the RTS Futures and Options Market."

2008

President of FG BCS Mikhasenko O.V. joined the Board of Directors of NAUFOR.

According to the results of 2007, analysts of BCS IC once again entered the top ten "Best Analytical Teams" according to RBC.

Investment company BCS became a five-time laureate of the NAUFOR competition "Elite of the Stock Market 2007," having received a winner's diploma in the nomination "Company of the East Siberian Region."

2007

According to the National Rating Agency (NRA), BCS IC has been assigned the AAA rating category (maximum reliability).

IK BCS became a two-time winner of the national business prize "Company of the Year" in 2006 and 2007 in the nomination "Investment Company of the Year."

IC BCS offered customers a new, unique service for the Russian market - Internet trading in the classic RTS market.

Oleg Mikhasenko, President of IK BCS, was elected to the Board of Directors of MICEX Stock Exchange CJSC.

IK BCS won two awards "Financial Elite of Russia - 2007" in the nomination "Best Investment Company on the Stock Market" and "Financial Olympus 2006" in the nomination "Largest Investment Company by Turnover."

2006

BCS IC was the first domestic top broker to introduce a system in the implementation of which an investor gets the opportunity to make transactions in international markets through a licensed Russian investment company.

2005

IC BCS offered its customers a new service unique on the Russian market - free sending of notifications on the execution of trade and non-trade orders by e-mail and Email-SMS.

IC BCS acquired a 0.8% stake in RTS, increasing its stake in the authorized capital of the exchange to 2.8%.

2004

BCS became a shareholder of MICEX and RTS exchanges - 2% each.

BCS IC provided its clients with the opportunity to trade Russian and international assets in one terminal using the QUIK platform.

2003

IC BCS has introduced paperless document management technology between the client and the company using an electronic digital signature.

2002

IC BCS put into operation the technology of the "Unified Brokerage Account." Customers of the company can simultaneously make transactions at 3 sites - MICEX (stock section), MICEX (government securities), RTS-Gazprom.

2001

BCS Investment Company received licenses from the Federal Securities Market Commission to carry out brokerage, dealer, depository and securities trust management activities without limitation of validity.

NAUFOR upgraded the reliability rating of BCS Company LLC from A (high reliability) to A + (very high reliability).

2000

A branch was opened in Moscow.

BCS was one of the first in Russia to offer customers Internet trading.

1998

IK BCS became a member of the MICEX stock market section.

BCS became a member of the Russian Trading System.

1995: Oleg Mikhasenko resells population vouchers and establishes a company

BCS Company LLC has been granted the first license to operate in the securities market as a financial broker and investment consultant.

A company registered in Novosibirsk, fully owned by Oleg Mikhasenko, grew out of a company that in the 1990s resold vouchers to the population as a result of privatization.