# Investment Capital Ukraine

Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) is a Kyiv-based financial group specializing in trading, investment banking and asset management. The group is owned by its top management. ICU's managing directors are Makar Pasenyuk and Konstantin Stetsenko. Valeriya Hontareva served as the group's chairperson from 2007–2014, before resigning to serve as a head of the National Bank of Ukraine. In 2013, Avangard Bank joined ICU Group.
According to actual information of the bank, the former minister for energy and coal industry of Ukraine, V. Demchychin, holds approximately 10% of the ICU holding.
Money on a $10 million project gave the British Hedge Fund Autonomy Capital Research LLP.

## Structure

ICU HOLDINGS LIMITED includes:
* LLC "Assets Management Company "Investment Capital Ukraine"" (Ukraine)
* Investment Capital Ukraine LLC (Ukraine)
* Westal Holdings Ltd (Cyprus)
* PJSC "Bank Avangard" (Ukraine)
* ZNPF "Investment Capital - Bond Fund"
* ZNPF "Investment Capital - Action Fund"
* PIF "Investment Capital Balanced"
* Open Pension Fund "Dynasty"
* Investment Company "Ludvinovka 31"

## Operating activities

ICU specializes in debt and equity origination, buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory, financial consulting, and debt restructuring. As of 2015 ICU has completed the transaction for the restructuring of public and private debt totaling more than US$5.0 billion. ICU has been named as a leading agent for restructuring in 2009-2010 and Ukraine's best investment bank in 2015 by Cbonds financial news agency.

### Trading

ICU is engaged in trading shares and fixed income. It was the first Ukrainian entity to become a leading member of International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) in September 2013. ICU has a central position on the local stock exchange market. It conducts operations at Ukraine's main trading facilities – Perspektyva Stock Exchange, PFTS Stock Exchange and Ukrainian Exchange. ICU is a member of a self-regulating organization (SRO) – The Association of Ukrainian Stock Traders. ICU was chosen to be an official IPO partner of the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2007.

### Asset management

ICU is a leading Ukrainian asset manager with domestic and international operations. The group provides its services to private and institutional investors, both residents and non-residents. As of July 2015, ICU manages investments of over US$250 million. Key Funds:
* Investment Capital Bond Fund – Ukrainian public funds that invest in fixed income instruments;
* CIS Opportunities Fund – foreign fund that invests in the securities markets of the CIS;
* Global Strategy Fund – foreign fund with the focus on global markets.
Investment Capital Bond Fund is known for its high yield. According to the Investfunds rankings, it has shown 308% growth over the September 2011 - June 2015 period, beating the UX index by 348%.

## ICU Business Books

In the spring of 2015, the financial group launched the publishing project "ICU Business Books" (full name "ICU Business Books for the sake of the future of Ukraine", shortened #Cubooks). The purpose of the project is to increase the level of intellectual discussion in Ukraine, which will contribute to reducing the influence of mystical thinking, cargoults and in general populism in the broad masses of Ukrainian society.
The form of implementation of the project - the publication of Non-Fikshn literature, mainly business books and economics, which, according to ICU, deserve attention of the broad reader audience of Ukraine. As of March 30th, 2020 in a series #ICUbooks came eleven books.
Among them are such bestsellers as:
* Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty - Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.
* Zero to One! Notes about Startup - Peter Thiel.
* Plutocrats. The era of new rich and decline of the old system - Chrystia Freeland.
* Capital in the Twenty-First Century - Thomas Piketty.
* Talking to my daughter about the economy - Yanis Varofakis.
* The Euro and the Battle of Ideas - Markus Brunnermeier, Harold James and Jean-Pierre Landau.
* Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World - Alex Tapscott and Don Tapscott.

## Avangard Bank

PJSC "BANK AVANGARD" was registered by the National Bank of Ukraine on July 5, 2013. In accordance with the bank license #269, General license on conducting exchange operations #269 (dated September 2, 2013) and Annex thereto, the Bank offers a wide range of banking services and products and focuses its main activity on the forex market, money market and stock market, carrying out operations at the expense of both its own funds and the clients’ funds. On July 17, 2014, Credit-Rating, a nationally recognized credit rating agency in Ukraine, has confirmed its long-term credit rating of uaA, stableoutlook.
According to the actual financial statement of 31 December 2015, the bank serves 228 accounts of 98 customers with 23 employees.

## Government officials who worked in ICU

Investment Capital Ukraine employed people who worked in public positions in Ukraine since 2014, including:
* Valeria Hontareva - Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine.
* Volodymyr Demchyshyn - Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine in the Second Yatsenyuk Government.
* Dmytro Vovk - a temporary executor of the head of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities.
* Oleksandr Pilovsky - Chairman of the National Commission, which carries out state regulation in the field of communication and informatization.
* Yevgen Bars - First Deputy Chairman of Ukravtodor.

## Selected awards

* 2013–2014 – The Best Government Bond Trader by the Number of Transactions by Perspektyva Stock Exchange
* 2009–2011, 2015 – The best Sales in Ukraine by Cbonds.
* 2013 – The Best Analytics (3rd place) by Thomson Reuters
* 2012 – The Best Asset Management Company by World Finance
* 2012 – The Best Multi-Strategy Income Fund (2nd place) by Bloomberg