Investments in existing businesses – from acquiring a stake in a startup to financing mergers and acquisitions – remain one of the key ways to increase capital today. However, the Russian market for these investments has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. It was transformed under the influence of macroeconomic shifts, geopolitical restructuring and a new regulatory reality. Today it is a distinctive ecosystem, where domestic players have replaced foreign capital, and classic tools have been supplemented by new digital platforms.
From turbulent zone to new stability
The Russian investment market in 2025 shows signs of stabilization after a period of turbulence. The economy operates in conditions of a high, but gradually decreasing key rate (from 20% in June to 17% in October 2025), that forms a specific investment climate.
- Direct investment and M&A
The M&A market, a barometer of confidence in medium and large businesses, has undergone a profound transformation. If in the first half of 2022 activity on it fell by 28%, then by 2023-2024 a moderate recovery began. By 2025, its pace slowed down, and the structure changed dramatically: the share of foreign players from unfriendly countries became minimal, and Russian strategic investors and companies with state participation became the main actors.
- Stock market
The stock market in 2024 showed mixed dynamics, being under pressure from a high key rate and geopolitics. However, analysts expect the Moscow Exchange index to grow in 2025, the growth potential is estimated at 73% of the level of the end of 2024. The key drivers are dividend yield (projected at 10.7%) and attractive company valuations. Experts identify the most promising sectors: IT, oil and gas, as well as companies focused on domestic demand.
- Collective investment in real assets
There is a steady trend towards an increase in interest in collective formats. Closed-end mutual funds (ZPIF) are becoming a popular tool for investing in commercial real estate. In the first 9 months of 2025, management companies issued 21 real estate transactions for closed-end mutual funds in the amount of 70 billion rubles, mainly in the warehouse segment. This allows private investors with relatively small capital to participate in large projects, distributing risks.
Crowdlending on the rise
The option of investing in someone else’s business today is open to a wide range of people: for this, it is not necessary to be a major investor or deeply understand business processes. Actively developing, this market offers new investment tools.
Crowdfunding investment platforms, legalized by law in 2020, became one of the most dynamically growing segments of the market. It is a tool that allows businesses to raise funds from a wide range of private investors.
The principle of operation is simple – the entrepreneur places the project on one of the platforms registered by the Bank of Russia (at the end of 2025 there are more than 70 of them), indicates the purpose and amount of the fee. The entry threshold is democratic: private investors can invest starting from several thousand rubles.
For businesses, crowdfunding gives access to financing without having to give away a controlling stake or look for one major investor. For the investor, it gives the opportunity to diversify the portfolio with small checks.
It is not surprising that this segment is showing growth: from 2020 to 2024, the crowdlending and crowdfunding market in Russia has grown eightfold – from 7 to 53 billion rubles, while more than 80% of the funds raised are for crowdlending (investments in the form of loans or in exchange for a share). Growth rates remain at a high level (59-64% per year).
Such a take-off became possible thanks to the launch of regulation and control by the Central Bank. After the entry into force of the law “On attracting investments using investment platforms” in 2020, the segment received official status, that contributed to the growth of investor confidence and activity, as well as the influx of new players into the market.
At the same time, crowdfunding has great unrealized potential. About 70% of entrepreneurs are still not aware of this method of finding investments.
In order to bring more benefits to the national economy, regulation of this area requires additional work, in which both the state and representatives of the professional community should jointly participate. Currently, the State Duma is discussing amendments to the law on the activities of investment platforms.
On the part of the industry, the most interested actors are included in the process: in particular, I developed additional amendments to the draft law, and also initiated a discussion of the topic of investments through crowdlending platforms in the Federation Council. Early next year, a public event is planned on the development and prospects for using investment platforms in the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets.
Among the specific items in need of adjustment there are the existing crowdlending restrictions for unqualified investors. Now the annual limit for all such investments is set at 600,000 rubles, while to close offers on crowdfundings, as well as in the interests of investors themselves, this limit, according to expert estimates, should be increased.
Without “rose-colored glasses”
An objective review requires noting not only the advantages, but also the pitfalls. Of course, investments in someone else’s business are inextricably linked with risks. Moreover, in modern conditions, their range has expanded, requiring an investor, especially a beginner, attentive and conscious approach.
- Legal and information risks. The most common problem is the provision of inaccurate information about the business: overvaluation, concealment of real beneficiaries, “suspended” obligations or incorrectly executed intellectual property rights. The risks associated with the origin of assets and the possibility of claims from the state are of particular relevance.
- Macroeconomic and systemic risks. A high key rate makes debt financing expensive, that can negatively affect the profitability of companies with a high debt burden. Systemic risks also include currency fluctuations, inflation and new sanctions threats.
- Fraud risk. In the emerging crowdfunding market, there remains a danger of encountering unscrupulous borrowers or even financial pyramids masquerading as investment platforms.
The potential for legislative and regulatory optimization of the industry is also visible here. Thus, in order to reduce the risks of investors, it would be effective to establish an exchange of information between banks regarding the credit history and the current debt load of a potential client, for example, through the creation of a common API system for verifying clients.
Unnecessary effect
As for the general approaches to combating fraud, one cannot pass by the sensational “Dolina case” in recent months, which has discovered sensitive vulnerabilities in the current legal system.
The situation, known as the “Dolina effect,” is a scheme that allows unscrupulous sellers or real victims of fraudsters to return through the courts the sold apartment without returning money to the buyer. This precedent has become a serious systemic risk for the Russian real estate market, undermining the basic confidence of participants and posing a threat to stability for a secondary housing market.
However, this problem is wider than a specific market, since its essence lies in the conflict between the protection of one vulnerable party (victim of fraudsters) and the principle of protecting a bona fide acquirer, as well as in inconsistent judicial practice. In fact, now it turns out that a formally capable person may in practice not be responsible for his actions, that contradicts common sense and economic logic. To solve this problem (that, moreover, has received so much publicity) means to take an important step towards improving the investment climate in the country.
Conclusion
The Russian investment market in someone else’s business has experienced serious shocks, rethought itself and entered a new stage of development. Its features were the growing role of digital platforms (crowdlending), a shift in focus towards technological and import-substituting industries, as well as the caution of investors who prefer assets with predictable cash flow.
Despite continued macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty, the market offers room for growth. As water always seeps through the stone, so business in any economic conditions finds new ways to attract investment. Strong brands are being formed that allow the investor to receive higher returns than from other assets. Finding such a partner, combining professionalism and a “sense of the market,” is the most favorable scenario for a successful entry into the role of an investor.
By Elvira Glukhova, founder of the Flagman ecosystem and the Creditor company