I am an intern in FX/Derivatives Sales and Research & Risk Solutions, which has four different units and I will be spending approx. two weeks in each unit. During my time in FX Sales, I have overlooked FX trades and looked at hedging opportunities for various kinds of cash flow. Furthermore, I have assisted one of the graduates with looking through leads by examining cash flows, and analysing whether there is an opportunity for optimisation in regards to FX cash flows. I have recently moved to a new unit where I work with interest rate derivatives where I will delve into interest rate swaps and more complex versions of that instrument. In August, I will move to the Risk Solutions & Research unit.
Unique experience
The sales team work together with so many different units, and they’ve been incredibly helpful in setting up small “dates” for me to meet other departments which are also quite interesting. I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend a few hours with FX Spot Trading and SMA as the Non-Farm Payroll numbers were released. It was such a unique experience to literally be in the market and follow the market’s reaction to the employment statistics being released, and also to see how the traders are managing the P&L during fluctuations.
Furthermore, I also got the chance to sit with the Macro Research desk as the CPI index was released for the US. Here, I followed how the analyst decomposed the inflation numbers, and worked on making sense of the development and impact, and how it paints a picture of the Fed’s action going forward in regards to their monetary policy path.
My knowledge has really been tested
I have learned a lot during my first weeks here. My academic knowledge has really been tested and I have learned how academia fits in to the real professional life. I have also learned so much about how the market dynamics play out in real life, and how risks are hedged and managed for the customers and for Nordea. I have also got a few small projects on my own, putting my knowledge to the test for real.
Extremely welcoming people with unique knowledge
One of the things that has surprised me the most, is the openness of everyone at the trading floor. A lot of the people on the trading floor have many years of experience in different areas, and therefore have unique knowledge of the market. Despite having a lot of work to do, people here are extremely welcoming and interested in explaining what they do and how their department works. Also, it’s very fascinating to learn how the trading floor has evolved with the increasing use of technology, and how it is utilized to optimize the work of the employees. While assisting Markets employees with their work, they have explained how they are using various instruments – and I was very surprised that the financial instruments I’ve learned about in school are used in a different way in reality.