POLUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Mikhail Shelkov exercises controlling authority over principal deployment decisions as the founder and sole disclosed beneficial owner. Polus does not publicize an investment committee or delegate CIO — a structure consistent with single-principal family offices where governance remains with the wealth creator. No external portfolio managers or co-CIOs have been disclosed in public filings or press coverage (per reporting from the Financial Times and Forbes).

Shelkov's liquid capital originates from the 2014 sale of a 48% equity stake in VSMPO-AVISMA, the Russian titanium monopoly that supplies airframes for Boeing, Airbus, and military programs globally (per Financial Times, 2014). Before the sale, Shelkov had built his position over two decades starting from the post-Soviet privatization era. The transaction generated several billion dollars in proceeds, though the precise figure was not publicly confirmed.

Polus Capital Management does not disclose a sourcing model, but its known investments suggest relationship-driven origination anchored in Shelkov's network within Russian industrial and governmental circles. The firm has not been reported to participate in competitive auction processes or engage external placement agents. Its education investment — the Lobachevsky School — appears to have been initiated directly by Shelkov as a founder, not acquired from a third party (public record, school incorporation documents).

There is no evidence that Polus accepts third-party LP commitments or operates any commingled fund vehicles. All known investments — in media, education, and industrial holdings — are held via Cyprus-domiciled entities fully owned by Shelkov (public record, Cyprus corporate registry). The firm functions exclusively as a proprietary capital allocator, not an asset manager marketing to institutional investors.

Polus has never disclosed a co-investment alongside external general partners or participation in any Western private equity fund. The firm's structural preference appears to be for unilateral control positions rather than consortium arrangements. This posture distinguishes it from hybrid family offices that split deployment between direct deals and third-party fund commitments, though the inference is based on an absence of public transactions rather than an explicit stated policy.

Polus does not maintain a separately incorporated charitable foundation in the public record. The Lobachevsky School for gifted mathematics students operates as a tuition-charging educational institution, not a grant-making charity, and is held within Polus's corporate structure. Shelkov's public statements have emphasized educational quality and access rather than charitable tax structures, but no 501(c)(3) equivalent or registered Russian charitable foundation is attributable to Polus.

The firm's entities are registered in Cyprus, a jurisdiction widely used by post-Soviet wealth holders for holding company structures due to its double-taxation treaty network with Russia and EU-member legal framework (public record, Cyprus Department of Registrar of Companies). This architecture provides creditor protection, international legal standing for cross-border contracts, and a degree of operational distance from onshore Russian regulatory risk — a standard configuration for private investment holdings originating in the region rather than a signal of any particular investment strategy.