Nia Bowers
The modern financial market is a platform where thousands of traders test their forecasts and strategies every day. The rules of the game are simple: it is important not only to make money, but also to be able to preserve your investments, anticipate risks, and manage them in a timely manner.
Artem Nikonov is one of those who does this professionally. He is an active member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals and the CFI Institute, winner of the prestigious Business Leaders competition in the category “Leader in Risk Management in the Financial Market” (Russia, 2025), member of the expert council of the second All-Russian competition for innovative IT companies and startups “Bridge Tech Contest II” (Russia, 2024), guest member of the jury for the selection of startups for the international competition “Trends in Fintech, Insurance, Blockchain by Astra Global” (Switzerland, 2023). He has been working in the market for over 9 years, 7 of which he has completed with a positive annual income.
“In 2016, there was no artificial intelligence that could quickly provide training materials and reliable information on the topic of the request. I gained knowledge mainly from books, discussed it with like-minded people in the community, and sometimes asked questions on popular forums at the time, but the competence of the “advisors” could raise serious doubts,” recalls the trader.
Nikonov started out like everyone else, buying and selling currency pairs, gradually delving deeper into analytics and research.
Through years of trial and error, he created a risk and capital management system—a portfolio consisting of investments with varying degrees of volatility, which allows him to significantly outperform the benchmark and keep index declines to a minimum..
Artem, a talented and extraordinary private trader, is a proponent of steady and sustainable profit growth, with timely loss minimization. Therefore, his portfolio includes stocks, bonds, ETFs, and index funds. At the same time, the trader uses futures and options. This allows him to count on additional returns. He regularly reviews his portfolio and uses currency instruments and combines stocks with different maturities to reduce volatility.
When talking to Artem, you realize that he is in favor of developing a culture of investing in general. In his opinion, the Russian stock market has enormous potential. In recent years, the Central Bank and the Government have taken extensive measures to accelerate the development of this area.
“Let me give Lukoil as an example. The company has been paying dividends for many years, its shares are growing steadily, and its business is developing. Lukoil demonstrates stability and, to some extent, even predictability, which undoubtedly increases the confidence of shareholders and the public. There are more and more similar examples on the Russian market. And that’s encouraging,” Artem shares.
The expert notes that the future generation has a completely different perception and attitude towards money. His ten-year-old son already invests in the shares of large companies, knows what dividends are, and even argues his predictions of growth or decline in the value of certain shares.
“My son receives money from my wife and me for his achievements in school or sports. He also understands that dentistry is expensive, and if he takes care of his teeth, he saves the family budget. So when his teeth are fine, he also gets a bonus,“ smiles Artem. ”As for specific recommendations, we have come to the conclusion that I can explain things to him if necessary, but he will make his own decisions.”
Nikonov continues to actively develop his investment business. Today, he has his own staff of assistants, which has allowed him to reduce his working hours from 14 to 6 hours a day.
“Markets are in different time zones, so they open at different times. It is physically difficult to concentrate on a large number of instruments for 16 hours throughout the working day. Fatigue causes your attention to wane, which predisposes you to act emotionally. That’s why I vitally need my team,” Nikonov explains.
Artem talks about discipline. It is very important in such a profession, as are effective ways to restore energy and emotional balance. But stress is nevertheless inevitable. And it is impossible to get used to it over time.