NO #4: “That’s what makes our internship so great ...”

By Ari, Signe, Vetle, Peder, Eirin and Martine

So, what have we been up to the last two weeks? A lot – in a good way ;-). Here goes:

Four of us, Signe, Peder, Martine and Eirin, have been working in Equity Research with different hands-on tasks such as analysing data and producing different material for companies within several sectors. Meanwhile, Ari and Vetle continued their excellent team work, and assisted FX Sales on pricing of basis swaps, using Excel and Bloomberg extensively.

After having finalised one of our projects, we typically present it in front of the leaders. To further steepen our learning curve, gain valuable insight and to support each other, we always attend one another’s presentations.

Last week, we watched Vetle and Ari presenting their take on the pricing of basis swaps. And here they are, Vetle and Ari, after their presentation, happy (and probably relieved) as it all went well ;-).

And here’s a snapshot of Signe and Peder presenting their research – and that was likewise well received.

As you most likely have noticed by now, we see each other quite a lot during the day, even though we work in different units. We hang out together and always have lunch together, and often a senior or two comes along and join us. Last week, when we had 20 degrees and sunshine, we enjoyed our lunch outside – soaking up the vitamin D, while chatting about the day, about work related things, as well as non-work related stuff.

Besides working on our various projects, we have also had some very inspiring meetings with some super pro experts, presenting various business areas in Nordea. Martin Jansson, Chief Investment Advisor from Securities Finance Sales, spent two hours of his busy schedule, to give us an insightful introduction to securities finance, structured products, private equity and much more.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Robert Næss, Leading Manager in Equity Norway in Nordea Asset Management, who gave us a unique tour into the Norwegian equity market. We also met with Lars Løtvedt, Product Manager from Fixed Income in Nordea Asset Management, who walked us through the Norwegian rates market.

After gaining insight into Nordea Asset Management, which is another part of the bank (with “our home” being in the Large Corporates & Institutions (LC&I) organisation), we are left with loads of new information, learnings and inspiration – and a little bit more clarity on Nordea as a whole.

Another treat – the Summer Academy

On top of it all, every Thursday afternoon, we are fortunate to attend the ‘Summer Academy’, tailormade just for us interns. Here different speakers share their expertise with introductions to their respective departments, telling about the various products and services offered.

Last week, Lars Even Klepsland from Markets Trading Norway, shared his experience and valuable knowhow on everything from rates, the capital market and bonds – you name it!

By now, you can probably imagine just how fast the last two weeks have went for us, being involved in interesting projects and tackling challenging tasks. There’s a lot of learnings and information to absorb on a daily basis – and that’s what makes our internship so great and exciting – not to mention the people and our close-knit interns group.

Luckily, the six of us make such a great and close team. We truly enjoy our time here which occasionally includes ordering some dinner (see photo above), and taking breaks together to gain further motivation and energy from each other – not to mention good laughs.

We’ll be back with more insights from the trading floor soon – stay tuned!

Meanwhile, have a look at some of the other blogs from our summer interns here.