As said in my first trainee post, I spent my first month at Evli working with the Execution team. After my first rotation, I spent the next seven weeks with the Systematic Funds team in Portfolio Management.
The Systematic Funds team is quite different from the rest of the Portfolio Management teams at Evli due to their unique style of investing and portfolio management. The team relies heavily on their technical skills to build and test academically-proven factors, such as quality, momentum, low risk and value, to name a few. The four factors mentioned are among the most well-known factors in investing and have a proven track record of generating above average returns for investors. However, outside the factors of quality, momentum, low risk and value, I also had opportunities to build models to test other factors, such as pre-earnings movement in stock prices and volatility.
Even with my skills and prior experiences working with SQL, it took a few days to get the flow of how the Systematic Funds team utilizes data to test investment strategies based on the models they’ve built. To get things rolling, I had a great deal of help from the team for the technical side of database management, building models and testing strategies. What made the transition from the Execution team to the Systematic Funds team easy was all the material the team provided me prior to joining the team. Through the material, such as white papers and academic research, I got a grip on the basics of factor investing and the research and reasoning behind them. In addition, during the seven weeks I spent with the Systematic Funds team, I was able to learn the basics of Python, a programming language that I had minimal experience with prior to joining the team. Working with the Systematic Funds team was a great experience with a steep learning curve. I am glad I got the chance to work with the Systematic Funds team, as factor investing seems to be an under covered topic in universities with the value factor being the only factor that comes up in higher education finance courses.
My third and final rotation was with the Evli Investor Service. Working with the Investor Service team was exciting as I was able to work on number of different tasks, from collecting data to generating marketing material for Evli Digital. Working with Evli Digital was something I had looked forward to all summer, as it offered me the ideal opportunity to combine my passions for finance and technology. Furthermore, my last two rotations in the trainee -program both offered me a new look on how technology is utilized in an investment bank to offer premium solutions for clients and to improve internal operations.
Coming to work at Evli every day has been inspiring, rewarding and worth all the hard work I’ve put in throughout my university courses to get me into a position to land a spot in the Trainee program at Evli. Not only because I’ve had opportunities to work on many exciting projects with highly skilled people, but because everyone I’ve had the opportunity to work with has been helpful and encouraging. I had great interest towards joining Evli full-time upon completing the Trainee program and my summer at Evli further solidified that interest. On that note, I was beyond excited to get a full-time offer as a Portfolio Compliance Analyst at Evli and look forward to all the new challenges the role will bring with it. I am excited to be part of a team that brings Evli even further into digitalization and builds upon the strong foundation of Evli.
For those hoping to work in investment banking and wealth management, I highly recommend Evli and the Trainee program. The rotational program offers a great look into the many aspects of investment banking and wealth management. If that sounds like something you are interested in, I highly recommend applying to the Evli Trainee program. Hopefully I get to meet you here next summer. I will happily give you a few tips and pointers.
Jesper Kasanen, Trainee
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Read also:
Trainee blog: A unique opportunity
