Taking it all in - testing and developing their skills, on and off the trading floor in Cph

In this 2^nd blog, featuring our interns at the Markets trading floor in Copenhagen, we meet Johan, Milton, Louise and Morten who are joining us this summer together with Théodore, Ida and Karl, introduced in a previous blog. Tag along and get to know a bit about the four talents; their backgrounds, aspirations and what they’ve experienced during the internship so far.

Johan Lind (22)

Intern in Trading Capital, Markets

I come from Sweden, and have just finished my BSc in Economics and IT with a major in Finance at Stockholm University. I wrote my thesis at Nasdaq about the use of derivatives in Swedish equity funds. During my studies, I have previously worked at the fund company Aktie-Ansvar and at the golf retailer Dormy Golf.

Why  did you apply for a summer internship with Nordea Markets?

With a big interest in the financial markets and having heard great things about Nordea’s internship programmes, it felt natural to apply when the opportunity presented itself. What intrigued me the most about Markets’ internship was, firstly, the role in the Trading Capital team itself, as well as the opportunity to spend time at such a successful and leading bank like Nordea.

Being surrounded by experts for eight weeks on the trading floor really makes the perfect environment to absorb knowledge and learn more about Nordea’s work in the financial markets.

What do you expect to achieve, learn from your internship?

I have several expectations and goals from the internship. One of my main goals is to apply the knowledge and skills I have gained through my studies into a real-world professional setting. I want to learn how to put theoretical concepts into practice and understand the day-to-day operations of the Trading Capital team and Nordea Markets as a whole. I also wish to sharpen my analytical skills.

With Nordea Markets' diverse range of financial products, I am also eager to learn more about different asset classes such as equities, bonds, derivatives and foreign exchange. I want to gain insights into the intricacies of these products and understand how they are traded and managed.

What do you look forward to the most? 

To getting hands-on experience in various aspects of the financial markets and continuing to work on my own project in the Trading Capital team. I also look forward to spending time with various departments to get a broader understanding of their respective functions in Markets. 

What have the first weeks been like – any surprises? 

The first weeks have been great. I have been introduced to my own project concerning inflation risk, and have gotten hands-on experience in valuable tools such as SQL, Python and Excel. I have also had the chance to spend time with other units such as xVA trading, EUR/DKK rates trading, and Equity trading which have given me very valuable insights into each respective field.

The thing that has surprised me the most, is the warm and helpful culture. Whether it is asking a team member for help or asking a different team of their field, everyone is always keen to help out.

Milton Ritzing (23)

Intern in e-Trading Developers, Markets

I’m born and raised in southern Malmø, Sweden. I currently study Industrial Engineering and Management at Lund’s University, Lund. I just finished my third year out of five. It is a very broad and business-focused education, with the option of going math-heavy, which I love.

Fun Fact: I also love history, and if my STEM-career doesn’t work out, I’ll try to become a history teacher. My other hobbies include trying to run or lift weights six days a week in order to stay healthy. I also very much enjoy being with friends and talking about all different sorts of topics.

Why  did you apply for a summer internship with Nordea Markets?

It is in line with the Master I will be pursuing (Finance and risk management). The opportunity to work at a bank and get real life, practical experience is incredibly perfect for me. Hopefully, I will get a feel for how banking works from the inside, get new contacts and friends, and possibly get a foot in to Nordea with the possibility of working here in the future.

How did you hear about the internship – what caught your interest?

I heard about the summer internship during a competition in Lund called Hackathon, organised by Nordea, SEB and LINC (Lund University Finance Society, a student organization). In the competition we were tasked with coding an algorithm which could do live trading for us. It was very fun and challenging, and shortly after the event I received the link to the application through one of Nordea Markets’ representatives at the competition. I immediately applied for the internship.

What do you expect to learn from your internship?

I expect to contribute with some smaller and bigger Java-projects which will be of use for my Nordea colleagues now and also long after I’ve left. I hope to learn (and have already learned a lot!) how to code in a professional setting, working on enormous code bases, and with many different people. Being able to gather knowledge from my experienced, veteran coder-colleagues here at Markets is invaluable.

What do you look forward to the most?

This is going to sound funny, but I look forward to being done. ‘Being done’ in the sense that I can look back at where I was in the beginning of the internship and see how far I’ve come; see what I’ve accomplished, what I’ve learned.

What have the first weeks been like – what have you been doing?

I have been settling in, getting to know people and finding my way around. I’ve been given some coding assignments which are occupying most of my time.

Any surprises, eye-openers?

I’m amazed by the vast knowledge of my colleagues in a wide array of fields. Also, the work environment at Nordea is more laid back than what I ever could’ve guessed. You are given a lot of responsibility and as much help. With that, you seem to be more or less free to do as you want. Wish to go home earlier one day? That’s all good, as long as you hit 37 hours per week and do your job, then no one will bat an eye – at least in the team I’m in. The leadership is also very down-to-earth and kind, as well as the colleagues, which really has given me the impression that Nordea is a nice place to work.

Louise Drenth (24)

Intern in e-Trading Rates Development & Data, Markets

I was born and raised in Helsingborg. After a gap year, during which I did an internship at Volvo Cars in Gothenburg and then backpacked south east Asia by myself, I started studying a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering mathematics in Lund 5 years ago. For the last two years, of which the first was spent on exchange in Vancouver, Canada, I have been specializing in machine learning, software development and financial modelling.

Fun Fact: For the past year, I have been taking classes in aerial hoop, and during the summer, I am taking a class in aerial silk and one in pole dancing .

Why  did you apply for a summer internship with Nordea Markets?

I applied because it seemed like a fun and valuable experience. Since I’m starting to reach the end of my studies, I am trying to figure out what field I would like to work in, and finance has recently caught my interest. I enjoy statistics and coding, and seeing that the finance world has a great need for that, I thought I could try it out and see if it’s a good fit for me (so far I think it is).

I got interested in an internship with Nordea Markets when I back in March participated in a hackathon together with a small group of friends (including my fellow intern, Milton), where the goal was to create a trading bot. I had a lot of fun that day and it really inspired me to try out this field. A few employees from Nordea Markets were there to come with input and act as judges and they mentioned they were looking for summer interns, and I decided to apply.

What do you expect to achieve, learn from your internship?

I hope to figure out if finance is the field for me. Even though I will mostly be coding, I hope to learn a fair bit about different financial instruments and how trading them works.

What do you look forward to the most?

A fun summer in Copenhagen.

What have the first week been like – what have you been doing?

Two weeks at work have never before gone by this fast! After all of the mandatory compliance training etc. I have already managed to make some progress on my main task during this internship, which is to build a dashboard for sales data where sales will be able to search and filter the data and view some helpful plots.

Any surprises, eye-openers?

I’m surprised how relaxed the atmosphere is here at the trading floor (although it is summer holiday season). I really thought it would be more loud and stressful, but everyone is lovely and helpful, and I am really enjoying my time here.

Morten Lund Jensen (26)

Intern in e-Trading FX Business Analysts, Markets

I have a bachelor’s degree in International Business & Politics from CBS (Copenhagen Business School), and I am now studying for a master’s degree in Social Data Science at UCPH (University of Copenhagen). I have also spent a year studying and working in China and the US, respectively.

Why  did you apply for a summer internship with Nordea Markets?

I had a friend that did the internship at Nordea Markets last summer, and he spoke very highly of his experience, and he is still working at Nordea. In addition, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to deep dive into financial markets since the internship is full-time as opposed to regular student jobs in Denmark.

What do you expect to achieve, learn from your internship?

I hope to learn about the various roles and tasks that comprise FX E-trading as I already have learned that it has changed quite a lot in the past few years with more and more trades being executed by algorithms.

What do you look forward to the most?

I look forward to learning about how trading is developing in the financial markets with the implementation of tools such as algorithms and machine learning and how the combination of manual and automatic trading takes place.

What have the first weeks been like – any surprises?

The scale of the Nordea Markets trading floor impressed me a lot, and also the variety of educational, professional, and geographical backgrounds that people have here was a positive surprise.

Watch this space for more blogs featuring the interns' multifaceted experiences on and off Nordea's trading floors in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.