Meet Joni, Ronja and Otso and hear about their tasks and experiences as FFPs – could be you, apply now!

You can apply for our FFP programme 2024 now and no later than 22^nd October on the Nordea Career site. 

By Ronja, Joni and Otso

Ronja Mäki-Leppilampi (Financial Reporting & Control)

This autumn, I have started my final year of master studies in accounting at Aalto University. During my studies, I have minored in finance and taken a few courses from economics and business law. Here at Nordea as FFP trainee, I have been working in Group Finance as assistant controller under Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet Control.

From my first weeks here, I have been introduced to similar tasks as other fulltime team members have been doing. I have been positively surprised by the responsibility I have been given. My daily tasks consist mainly of providing accurate and supportive daily P&L reports for other stakeholders in Treasury. For example, I have been involved in analysing changes in financial reports and finding the drivers behind those changes. 

Steep learning curve

Now, almost at the end of my FFP traineeship, I am able to distinguish how steep the learning curve has actually been, and how much I would have been left out if I hadn’t applied to the FFP programme. Thanks goes to my team! :)

In addition to having a deep-dive into the financial services industry, I have been able to meet and share this journey with over 20 other FFP trainees with various educational backgrounds. Together with them I also got to spend really fun and unforgettable summer evenings as we for example went to throw axes, had enjoyed lunches together and shared what the summer has been like at Nordea. The FFP group has felt like being part of a class full of people who share the same journey with you. It’s been great.

Joni Talja (Valuation Management & Control)

Hi! I’m Joni, a fifth-year business student from Aalto University, and for the past four months I’ve been working as FFP trainee in the Valuation Management & Control team at Nordea. Our team is part of Nordea’s Markets & Treasury Financial Control function, which oversees the activities of the front offices of both Nordea Markets and Treasury.

Our team is responsible for monitoring and controlling the valuations of various asset classes that are traded at Nordea. My focus points during the summer have been private equity and debt, in which Nordea Treasury holds a portfolio valued at over €1bn. The portfolio consists mostly of indirect investments in private equity, private debt, and private real estate funds.

The best parts

My typical tasks consist of collecting and analysing data, double-checking reports, and improving the control processes. The job in general is very data-driven: Nordea Treasury holds stakes in over 100 funds, which report their results often on a quarterly basis. This data then needs to be extracted and double-checked from the reports (mostly manually due to differing reporting formats) to have it ready for analysis. After the data extraction, the funds are valued by our team and the team executing the investments to verify that the fund managers’ valuations are not too bullish.

Socializing with other FFP interns, developing the control processes, and having independence over the work have been the best parts of the job. 

The FFP programme brings together a great bunch of juniors from different backgrounds who you are bound to get to know well during the summer internship.

Also, development initiatives (often including some coding and automation) have been fun. Lastly, job is very independent and gives you good control over your calendar. Remote work is an option, and as summer in general tends to be quiet at Nordea, you might have possibilities to combine spare time activities with work as long as the tasks get done.

Otso Väärämäki (Market and Counterparty Credit Risk Analytics)

Hello everybody, I am Otso. Last year, I finished my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management, and at present, I am about to complete my master’s studies in Systems and Operations Research at Aalto University.

Prior to joining Nordea at the beginning of May, I had two things on my mind. First, I was grateful (and still am) that I had been provided with a chance to spend my summer at the bank alongside other FFP trainees. Second, complex systems, such as a market economy, have intriguing intricacies especially related to risk. As being somewhat sceptic of the contemporary way of assessing probabilities and potential outcomes, I have been eagerly exploring how things are carried out in practice and with day-to-day activities at Nordea.

The icing on the cake

My work has mainly consisted of technical tasks. My main project during the summer has been to investigate how to present the risk metrics of trade data in a more illustrative manner. Additionally, I did a summer project with four other FFP trainees where we gave suggestions to improve the investment advisory process.

It has been enjoyable to work independently, and I have been provided with a chance to develop solutions which I see fit for purpose. The days at the office, however, I have not spent by myself. Time has run rapidly especially when discussing versatile topics with my FFP colleagues. 

Moreover, the icing on the cake has been the events that have been organized for us – you cannot go wrong with free food and sauna ;-). 

All in all, the summer has been pleasant and it has offered me more knowledge about what I would want to do when I graduate.

You can apply to join our FFP programme 2024 now and no later than 22'nd October on the Nordea Career site, just click. 

If you're looking for more insight into the FFP life or want to know more about other internships in LC&I or worklife in general in LC&I, have a look at our Career blog here and learn about the wide range of career opportunities.