For Daniel, Kiitorata served as the starting point of his career as an investment manager. What he remembers most from the trainee period are the new learning opportunities, the fantastic team, and the executive lunches. 

Hi Daniel! Please briefly tell us about your educational and work background. 

I'm in my fifth year of business administration at LUT University in Lappeenranta. My major is strategic finance, and I aim to graduate next year. My work background is diverse: I've previously worked in wealth management in a back-office role and as a sales manager at a startup. In the Back Office, my responsibilities included buying and selling orders of various instruments (stocks, funds, bonds) in the market. 

What role did you start in, and what tasks and projects were you involved in? 

I worked as an investment manager trainee at OP Private Banking in OP Uusimaa. An investment manager's responsibilities include managing the wealth of assigned corporate clients. At the beginning of the trainee period, my colleagues took me along to observe their work closely. At the same time, I started learning how to handle my new tasks and the regulations. After three months, I began meeting clients independently. 

During the trainee period, I also had the opportunity to do a one-month job rotation: I worked two weeks with risk management and compliance and another two weeks with controllers and ALM (Asset Liability Management). 

Although wealth management is the main focus of an investment manager's work, these job rotations taught me a lot, for example, about the bank's balance sheet, income statement, and executive work. 

What kind of support did you receive, for example, from your mentor or team? 

I was fortunate to have an excellent mentor and colleagues. I met my mentor regularly once a month, and we discussed various topics, ranging from writing my thesis to going through my first client meetings. 

My colleagues also welcomed me into the team right away. After the first week, we had already planned a joint after-work HIIT workout session. My colleagues have been amazingly supportive while I learned new things—I could always ask questions and (almost) always got an answer. 😃 I've also made lifelong friends! 

What did you learn from the Kiitorata program? 

I gained so much from Kiitorata that it's hard to list everything! The most essential lessons for my work were the new insights into wealth management and investment advice as a process. I also learned a lot about different kinds of businesses through the clients – as corporate clients can come from various fields. 

The activities included in the Kiitorata program also taught me a lot, and I was surprised by how much effort had been put into planning it. It included executive lunches with each member of OP Uusimaa's executive team. These were precious experiences, and I learned a lot from them. 

What advice would you give to someone considering applying to Kiitorata? 

Apply! Kiitorata is a unique opportunity to become a versatile expert in finance. Also, remember to enjoy the program's activities, and most importantly – build connections and go to lunches/afterworks! OP Financial Group is a big company, and knowing people from all parts of the organization is advantageous. 

Thank you very much for the interview, and good luck moving forward!