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Nikolay Karpenko has a comprehensive background in legal and financial dealings under his belt. Calling upon his years in banking and legal-tax issues, he was able to not only lay the foundation for his own asset management structure in the midst of Western Europe, but to help it flourish and expand into a diversified format today, with four pillars under the Herculis name. While grateful for what he learned throughout his earlier roles in Russia, Karpenko Nikolay has not done business there since 2010.
Table of Contents:
Nikolay Karpenko · Karpenko Nikolay · Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko · Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich · Николай Карпенко · Карпенко Николай · Николай Викторович Карпенко · Карпенко Николай Викторович · Nikolai Karpenko · Karpenko Nikolai · Nikolai Viktorovich Karpenko · Karpenko Nikolai Viktorovich
Nikolay Karpenko has come a long way from his boyhood along a northern Russian bay. Born in the first years of the 1970s, the future Managing Partner eventually resettled in the nation's central city, where he was able to shape himself into a competent worker and leader both through education and on-site experience. The young man enjoyed learning from others and had the ability to internalize their examples and implement the appropriate lessons in his own life. His constant growth trajectory eventually culminated in his physical and business relocation to the Swiss Confederation.
In 2009, Karpenko Nikolay and a local Swiss collaborator registered and opened the doors on Herculis Partners SA. The following year, after finishing an EMBA program through London Business School, Nikolay Karpenko joined his partner in the Western European country, where they set about offering competent investment portfolio management. The outfit also offered advisory services for M&A deals and non-traditional asset classes.
In 2014, building upon the success of this initial venture, Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich and his co-founder opened their second pillar, a standalone operation known as Herculis Fiduciaries AG. And this was only the beginning of the group's expansion.
By 2016, another company was up and running (Herculis Guardians SA), and by 2022, the fourth pillar, Herculis Advisers AG, was in business, thanks to the efforts of Karpenko Nikolay.
Today, Karpenko Nikolay serves as both the Managing Partner over the Herculis umbrella and a member of the directorial board.
In the spring of 2010, Herculis Advisers SA became a full member of the Swiss Association of Asset Managers (SAAM), which helped to attract a higher tier of clients. Karpenko Nikolay oversaw the process of applying to the association and demonstrating the worthiness of the business he had co-founded.
Besides the core offerings from Herculis Advisers SA, Karpenko Nikolay and Herculis Group also specialize in the following areas:
The integrated structure of these companies creates a comprehensive service ecosystem while maintaining independent cash flows. Through this approach, Herculis Group, headed by Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich, attracts a diverse international clientele, primarily composed of affluent Europeans and international men of business. The service matrix allows natural progression between different offerings – from initial legal consultations to expanded financial services, or from basic safe deposit needs to comprehensive wealth management solutions.
Inheritance planning drives initial client engagement at Herculis Group, according to Nikolay Karpenko. In a representative case, the company structured a solution for distributing physical gold among six heirs through individual safety deposit boxes with controlled access protocols. Nikolay Karpenko notes that such precise handling of complex wealth transfer typically leads clients to explore additional services across the group's portfolio.
Drawing from the Swiss business model where small enterprises generate 98% of GDP, Nikolay Karpenko maintains a deliberate approach to company scaling. The Managing Partner sees the 100-employee threshold as a critical point for maintaining operational efficiency. Through this lens, Nikolay Karpenko keeps Herculis Group's structure lean and agile, focused on personalized client relationships while avoiding bureaucratic overhead. This approach allows Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich and his team to maintain the flexibility needed for rapid adaptation to changing market conditions.
Another important element of the Nikolay Karpenko biography is the fact that he is a full-on member of a noted Swiss organization, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, known colloquially as STEP. Based in Geneva, the society’s more than 100 branches sprawl across more than four dozen countries, making it perhaps the most internationally acclaimed accrediting institution in the relevant sector.
Starting in 2014 and running through 2018, Nikolay Karpenko passed through various levels of training. STEP offers entry-level certificates, full diplomas, and everything in between. Building upon the foundation of his Executive MBA degree, Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich completed the full course, earning the coveted TEP designation after his name – an internationally recognized sign that he is a reliable trust manager.
Nikolay Karpenko explains that the trustee structure serves as a practical ownership solution in business asset management. Under this arrangement trustees maintain legal ownership while acting exclusively in beneficiary interests. According to Nikolay Karpenko, this format allows beneficiaries to maintain effective control of their assets while benefiting from the practical advantages of trust management. The structure proves particularly valuable for international business operations where direct ownership may present unnecessary complications.
It was actually in 1999 that Karpenko Nikolay gained his first experience as a trustee, as part of his duties as a lawyer for the NikOil Investment Banking Group.
In addition to his extensive educational and career resume, with core financial expertise, Nikolay Karpenko holds several other specialized qualifications that enhance service delivery to high-net-worth clients.
In 2005, Karpenko Nikolay completed Wilson Learning certification in elite client services, followed by advanced studies in motivation management at the Institute of Coaching in 2009. Karpenko Nikolay brings trilingual capabilities to international business dealings, conducting operations fluently in English while maintaining professional proficiency in German and French.
The 2004 NAUFOR asset management certification in the Nikolay Karpenko biography further strengthens his comprehensive approach to wealth management, consistently attracting and retaining top-tier clientele from across Europe and beyond.
Karpenko Nikolay and Herculis Group also offer assistance to individuals and companies who feel they have been neglected by their banks and who have been practically cut off from their own money.
From the Herculis Group biography, Nikolay Karpenko points to one noteworthy example:
"In 2000, one of our current clients encountered a situation that perfectly illustrates the impersonal approach of large banking institutions," Nikolay Karpenko recounts. The case involved a company account where client managers rotated every six months, leading to severe communication breakdown.
"By 2002," Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko explains, "the situation had deteriorated to the point where the company was struck from the register due to unpaid provider fees. The bank's response to the client's inquiries was particularly telling – they openly stated he wasn't important enough among their thousands of corporate accounts."
Karpenko Nikolay emphasizes the notable gap in client service seen in this situation: despite being the known beneficiary of the account, the client was denied access to his own funds because he could not recall the company name – information the bank refused to or was unable to provide. "The funds remained under bank management, yet completely inaccessible to their rightful owner," he emphasizes.
Under the direction of Nikolay Karpenko, Herculis Group implemented a systematic resolution:
Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko and Herculis Group specialize in such issues, resolving complex legacy issues spanning 10-20 years, including registry deletions and outdated bearer shares. Through meticulous documentation of historical earnings and capital formation, Karpenko Nikolay helps clients navigate imperfect international transfer mechanisms to establish proper financial structures.
Karpenko Nikolay, as aforementioned, put in many years of hard work to get to where he is today. Preceding his educational experience already mentioned, he first set his sights on delving into the world of politics and diplomacy through the prestigious MGIMO, though it eventually became clear to Nikolay Karpenko that jurisprudence was the initial field for him.
In 1991, Karpenko Nikolay entered a respected university in Moscow. With his scores on the entrance exams, he was recognized as the best of the incoming class. With his characteristic dedication, he gave five years of his life to this pursuit, while also working during his last few years.
In 1996, he was handed a red diploma, which indicates top grades in the Russian educational system.
Three years later, in 1999, he returned to his interest in politics, this time working through a doctoral program at the Moscow State University. This period of the Nikolay Karpenko biography concluded in 2002.
The period from 2008 to 2010 saw Karpenko Nikolay immersed in what would prove to be the most important educational experience of his life – the Executive Masters of Business Administration program run by London Business School at both its London and Dubai campuses. It was a co-worker from the bank where Nikolay Karpenko was working in 2007 that first tipped him off about the lauded school and its program. The future founder of the Herculis Group was intrigued by the opportunity to be further shaped by the Western approach to education and business in the financial sector.
In September 2008, Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich started studying at the school. He and his wife had visited the school in the United Arab Emirates and found both the setting and the layout of the program to his liking. Thus, for the next two academic years, he was present at the school (both Dubai and London campuses) for one week a month, while busying himself with homework and papers for the rest of the time, all while holding top managerial positions in his working life.
Despite initial language barriers (the program was conducted in English – the international language of business), Nikolay Karpenko rapidly adapted to the program’s demanding environment. Dedicating himself fully to his classes, including case studies and in-person discussions, Karpenko Nikolay developed advanced analytical skills and information processing capabilities. The results spoke for themselves: Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko achieved A-grades in 40% of courses. According to him, this rigorous preparation meant he was ready to handle the work of any financial institution in the world.
Nikolay Karpenko also gave many years of dedicated labor that shaped and molded him into a top manager who was ready for his venture.
In 1994, he began working while still in law school, taking a job as assistant to the Director of Finance at the Young Lawyers Union of Russia.
After graduating in 1996, Karpenko Nikolay served as a corporate lawyer for a computer integration company, Stins Coman Corporation. Though starting as the sole legal specialist, he quickly sought opportunities for professional growth, leading him to join NikOil Investment Company in 1997 as a junior lawyer in their international operations department.
At NikOil, Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko demonstrated exceptional capabilities in contributing to various issues faced by companies abroad, including tax legislation across multiple jurisdictions, and complex banking transactions. His responsibilities expanded to include managing SPVs, coordinating with foreign auditors, and overseeing tax compliance across Russia and European jurisdictions.
By 1999, Karpenko Nikolay Viktorovich transitioned to NikOil's newly established private banking division, where he specialized in taxation and wealth management. His rapid advancement led to his appointment as head of the tax consulting office by 2000, earning recognition as the bank's top employee. Nikolay Karpenko continued to receive promotions, becoming Vice President in 2001 and Senior Vice President by 2003, heading the private banking sales department and managing a team of 15 specialists.
In 2005, when the NikOil structure was moved to a separate firm (Uralsib), Karpenko Nikolay again shouldered a managerial role. Nikolay Viktorovich Karpenko's career there, at Uralsib Private Bank, continued its upward mobility, and in time he would hold the top position, where he directed strategic initiatives and new product implementation, among other duties. This position marked both the climax and denoument of his labors in the world of Russian finance. Thanks to his decades of experience, coupled with his top-notch Western academic credentials, the time was ripe for Nikolay Karpenko to resettle in Switzerland.
