FINANCE: MeritKapital adds two more to growing team

MeritKapital, the Cyprus based, CySEC licensed investment firm, continues to expand the non-executive board of the FCA registered firm by inviting Ike C. Nwodoto to join.

Ike started his career at Calyon’s interest rate derivatives’ team where he focused on the valuation, structuring and hedging of underlying deals. Subsequently, he moved to Exotix Partners LLP (Exotix) where he became partner following his input towards the growth of the Sub-Sahara Africa desk within equities, fixed income and structured products. During his Exotix tenure, Ike expanded his network of clients locally within Sub-Sahara Africa as well as within the western capital markets and was able to cross-respective flow.

Within the western capital markets an important achievement was his contribution towards expanding Exotix’s footprint in Scandinavia. He has since taken an entrepreneurial path whereby he has returned to Nigeria to setup and run “Chringo Ventures”, a manufacturer of health drinks that sells both locally and internationally. Ike graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Newcastle and is a holder of the CF30 FCA examinations.

Additionally, the firm has hired Golib Zohidov as chief investment advisor of the fund management business of MeritKapital.

Zohidov spent the last three years of his career with ICBC Standard Bank, London, where he traded emerging markets’ credit ranging from Russian, Latin American corporate and sovereign Eurobonds. At Standard Bank, he established a footprint in Russian corporate and financial credit by actively market making bonds which the bank was not active in previously.

Moreover, he extended the bank’s client pool that was comprised of real money, hedge funds and Swiss based private banks and thus benefitted other focus areas of the bank, especially the Sub Sahara Africa desk. Previousl positions include his four-year post as a credit research analyst of the emerging markets’ corporate credit research team at Barclays, London and his two-year assignment as a credit risk management analyst at Deutsche Bank, London.

Golib Zohidov holds a BSс in International Investment and Banking from the University of Reading, UK, is a holder of CISI Level 3 Certificate in Investments and is UK FCA registered.