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Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) is a Kyiv-based financial group specialising in trading, investment banking and asset management. The group is owned by members of its top management, including Makar Pasenyuk and Konstantin Stetsenko. Valeria Hontareva served as the group's chairperson from 2007 to 2014, resigning [1] to assume the position of head of the National Bank of Ukraine. In 2013, Avangard Bank joined the ICU Group.
According to information provided by the bank, the former Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine, V. Demchyshyn, holds approximately 10% of ICU. [2]
Funding for a US$10 million project was provided to the British hedge fund Autonomy Capital Research LLP.
ICU Holdings Limited includes the following entities:
ICU specialises in debt and equity origination, buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory, financial consulting and debt restructuring. As of 2015, ICU had completed transactions for the restructuring of public and private debt totalling more than US$5 billion. ICU was recognised as a leading agent for restructuring in 2009–2010 and as Ukraine's best investment bank in 2015 by the Cbonds financial news agency.
ICU is active in trading shares and fixed income instruments. It became the first Ukrainian entity to join the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) as a leading member in September 2013. ICU holds a central position in the local stock exchange market, conducting operations on Ukraine's main trading platforms, including the Perspektyva Stock Exchange, the PFTS Stock Exchange, and the Ukrainian Exchange. It is also a member of the self-regulating organisation, the Association of Ukrainian Stock Traders. In 2007, ICU was selected as an official IPO partner of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
ICU is a Ukrainian asset management company operating both domestically and internationally. It provides services to private and institutional investors, including residents and non-residents. As of July 2015, ICU managed investments valued at more than US$250 million.
Key funds include:
The Investment Capital Bond Fund is noted for its high returns. According to the Investfunds rankings, it achieved 308% growth between September 2011 and June 2015, outperforming the UX Index by 348%.
In spring 2015, the group launched the publishing project ICU Business Books (full name: ICU Business Books for the Sake of the Future of Ukraine, shortened as #ICUbooks). The aim of the project is to raise the level of intellectual discourse in Ukraine and to help reduce the influence of mystical thinking, cargo cults, and populism within wider Ukrainian society.
The project is implemented through the publication of non-fiction literature, primarily business and economics books that, according to ICU, merit the attention of a wide Ukrainian readership. As of 30 March 2020, eleven books had been published in the #ICUbooks series. [3]
Notable titles in the series include:
PJSC "Bank Avangard" was registered by the National Bank of Ukraine on 5 July 2013. In accordance with Bank Licence No. 269, the General Licence for conducting exchange operations No. 269 (dated 2 September 2013), and the relevant annexes, the bank provides a range of banking services and products. Its primary activities are focused on the forex market, the money market, and the stock market, conducting operations using both its own funds and client funds.
On 17 July 2014, Credit-Rating, a nationally recognised credit rating agency in Ukraine, confirmed the bank's long-term credit rating at uaA with a stable outlook.
According to the financial statement as of 31 December 2015, the bank served 228 accounts belonging to 98 customers and employed 23 staff members.
Since 2014, Investment Capital Ukraine has employed several individuals who later held public positions in Ukraine, including: