Exploring market dynamics, cracking real-life cases and enjoying every bit – Swedish interns tell why
While friends and family are enjoying a leisurely summer break, these four talents chose to spend their summer with us at Nordea Markets’ trading floor in Stockholm. Two weeks into their internship they’ve been with the Macro Research and Derivatives teams - and met several Markets people, who have helped them gain insight into the dynamics of the financial markets. They've got product deep-dives, cracked challenging cases involving FX and interest rate hedging strategies, and much more.
Meet Wilhelmina, Fanny, Wilmer and Isabelle, who in their first blog in a series, share their learning experiences and overall impressions from their internship at Nordea Markets – highlighting a ‘genuinely welcoming’ and ‘collaborative atmosphere’ with ‘passionate Markets professionals’ eager to share their knowledge and help the students learn as much as possible and grow.
Fanny Strandberg (24)
I’m studying a Master in Economics at Lund university. I have previously done an internship at the Swedish Ministry of Finance.
I applied for this internship because I wanted to try working in a bank being such an important institution for society. Markets specifically appealed to me as you get to work directly with the financial market, it is fast-paced and all geopolitical events and different macroeconomic trends have a direct effect on your daily work. I thought that seemed super exciting. And it definitely is.
Great start
We started the internship at the Macro Research desk, which was great. Coming from the economics field, I especially thought it was exciting to get to see how a bank works with their market research and analysis. Week two at the Derivatives desk, we learned about interest rate swaps and interest rate strategies. It was interesting and fun to use our knowledge from school together with the new things we learned from the macro desk, which are applied to a financial instrument.
We have had several sessions with Markets colleagues who have gone through the thinking, working and analysing processes, and explained how the different instruments work. It has been super fun and educational.
It has been super fun and educational. You work and laugh with your colleagues.
From day one, all the Markets colleagues have taken so good care of us, there was a very warm welcome and the atmosphere on the floor is very open – you work and laugh with your colleagues and do a good job together.
Wilmer Samuelsson (22)
I grew up in Gothenburg where I studied my bachelor’s degree, and I'm currently halfway through pursuing my masters in finance, at the School of Business, Economics & Law at the University of Gothenburg.
I have a big interest in financial markets and products., and wanted to further explore my interest, and through the unique structure of the internship programme – rotating between desks on the trading floor – I feel I get that here.
Already learned a lot
I've learned a lot already during the first two weeks at the Macro Research and Derivatives Securities desks – which I knew very little about before staring here. I feel, I have acquired a much broader understanding of the financial markets and a trading floor’s role in it.
During the internship, we get a new business case each week. In Case 1, we were to examine how capital flows in and out of Sweden effect the exchange rate of the Swedish krona. Primarily examining the role of the Swedish AP funds and insurance companies who both manage a lot of funds that are invested abroad. We also got a crash course from the FX team which we felt helped a lot in understanding the role FX hedging has on capital flows.
Case 2: We got tasked to set up an interest rate hedging strategy for a Swedish real estate company using primarily interest rate swaps. We based our hedging strategy on our macro-economic outlook which we discussed and constructed together with the Macro Research team which we spent the previous week together with.
The four interns excited to present their business case for the Derivatives team.
The Derivatives teams also gave us a deep dive into different interest rate products such as swaps, swaptions and interest rate caps, and how they can be used both in speculations and hedging based strategies.
Highly collaborative atmosphere
The highlights, so far, have been getting to know all of the Markets people, who all have been extremely helpful and social, making it a great learning environment.
One thing that has surprised me the most, is the highly collaborative atmosphere between everybody on the trading floor. It’s been striking to experience how much they’re working together and exchanging ideas within the teams, but also across teams which makes for a very positive and energy filled environment.
Wilhelmina Stenbeck (23)
I’m from Stockholm and moved to Lund to study my bachelor in business & economics (with an orientation in Economics). I’ve just finished the first year of my master in Applied Economics & Finance at Copenhagen Business School.
I’m really interested in macro-economics and how events across the world affect the financial markets. This internship seemed like a perfect opportunity to dig deeper into that. Also, I was drawn to the structure, where you rotate between desks on the trading floor which is a great way to learn from different professionals about diverse products and areas.
Extremely valuable, exciting and inspiring meetings
During our first weeks here, we’ve worked on two cases, had many different introductions and talks with various Markets professionals who have taught us a lot of things, from broad economic macro views and outlooks for the future, to detailed explanations on how to price products. These meetings have been extremely valuable, exciting and inspiring.
Listening to the Markets people and seeing how truly passionate they are about their job, while also taking their time to meet us and share their experiences and insight have been really enlightening. That’s the reason why we, already, have learned so much here at Markets.
The interns enjoy lunch together with colleagues from the FX and Research & Risk Solutions teams, at the roof top terrace of Nordea's headquarters in Stockholm.
We have enjoyed nice lunches with our colleagues from the different Markets teams and got to know each other better. During our first week, we were invited out for a summer after work get-together. This was a really fun event for us to meet people from all the different desks and have informal talks with them. It was a really fun evening and everyone was so welcoming – I had a great time.
I have learned so much. I’ve also been challenged, especially with the business cases we get, but it goes hand in hand with learning. The cases gives us the opportunity to learn and think by ourselves – and then ask and rethink again. It has been both challenging and also one of the highlights.
I am also so thankful for all the professionals who take the time to explain things to us and come to our presentations and ask questions. It is very special, and also a bit scary to present to such skilled and wise people, but it is clear that all they’re interested in is for us to learn and develop. I am really thankful for that.
It is noticeable that people here love their jobs.
The atmosphere at the Markets trading floor has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. Every single person I have met here has welcomed us really nicely and been very helpful. The trading floor is more social than I imagined, and it is noticeable that people here love their jobs.
We have interacted with many people from various desks who have taken their time to explain concepts that are new to us, and all of them have made sure to explain it until we understand. I really like the atmosphere and the attitude here on the trading floor, and it feels very special to get to experience it.
Isabelle Byman (24)
I’m from Stockholm and recently graduated from Lund University with a degree in Engineering Physics, specializing in Financial Modelling. Last summer, I was an intern at Robeco, an asset manager in the Netherlands.
I applied for the internship as the rotational structure appealed to me. I’m excited by the opportunity to work across different desks, gain insights into various products and strategies, and better understand how different teams contribute to the overall business.
Fast-paced environment
I began a week later than the other interns, so I started at the Derivates desk, where we worked on an exciting challenge where we developed an interest rate hedging strategy for a real estate company. It was a great opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to a real-world scenario.
The technical language and fast-paced environment have been challenging, but the support from everyone has been extremely helpful. One of the highlights has been how approachable people are. Even when it’s busy, they’re willing to take the time to explain and guide.
One eye-opening aspect has been witnessing the markets' immediate response to macro events. It’s striking to see how quickly sentiment shifts and how that translates directly into trading decisions.
Stay tuned for the next blog in the series by our interns at the Markets trading floor in Stockholm.
Meanwhile, you can explore some of the blogs from other interns and graduates in our Meet our Talents blog.
Interested in a career at Nordea Markets LC&I?
Nordea Markets LC&I (Large Corporates & Institutions) is the leading international capital operator and investment banking partner in the Nordic region. Let some of our student interns, graduates as well as experienced professionals explain it to you; how it works, what we do, and about the many career opportunities we can offer you.
