Curious about the unique internship opportunities at CapMan? We sat down with some of our interns and had insightful discussions about their experiences and key learnings.
Roughly a year ago, Daria Andreeva joined CapMan as an Investment Intern in the Real Estate team. Previously, she had gained work experience at a state-owned private equity company and studied International Business at the University of Turku School of Economics.
“During my internship, I was gradually given more responsibility and gained exposure to a broad range of real estate sectors, an industry which was new for me.”
As an intern, she supported the team in market analyses, financial modelling, and due diligence processes. She worked closely with the asset management team and participated in several operational asset management tasks, getting valuable insights into the full investment lifecycle.
Daria noticed that the sector-specific expertise comes through hands-on experience.
“It’s natural not to have all the answers immediately. In our team, there’s always someone you can turn to for support.”
Part of her day-to-day job involved reviewing the deal flow, modelling prospective investments, and performing financial analysis on the portfolio assets. One of the most memorable moments was contributing to her first acquisition deal, when months of hard work were rewarded after an intensive due diligence phase.
“The internship helped me to understand what kind of strategic and analytical skills are required in this field. It reinforced my desire to build a career within private asset.”
Transition into a new role
Following a year-long internship, Daria continued in the Real Estate team as an Investment Analyst. She herself describes the transition as gradually taking more and more independent responsibility.
She finds her job challenging and meaningful.
“Real estate investments directly shape the environments where people live and work. By investing in the Nordics, we create long-term value not only for investors but also for society.”
Daria notes that her work contributes to climate change mitigation and promotes sustainable economic growth. Sustainability is integral to CapMan’s business and is increasingly shaping the real estate sector as well.
“It is motivating to know that my daily tasks are connected to broader societal and environmental goals.”
When Daria first joined CapMan, she viewed the company mainly as a major player in private equity. Over time, her perspective has evolved, and she now appreciates it as a dynamic, collaborative workplace where expertise and shared effort drive results.
“My internship provided me with a strong foundation for success in this role. Looking back, I have learned to appreciate the tasks I undertook during my internship as they have significantly contributed to my professional growth.”
Creating focus for the future
CapMan offers internship opportunities for various fields of expertise. Karthik Kumar is currently studying a dual degree in economics and computational engineering. At the university, there is a strong focus on finance-related topics, as well as on technical courses in the engineering field. That is why Karthik has developed an interest in the finance sector, especially in capital markets.
“I am a very technical person, and I like working with numbers and large datasets”, Karthik explains.
Karthik’s main tasks as an intern include ensuring accurate investor relations data. The work involves participating in fundraising meetings, learning about the background, and exploring investor strategies.
He has enjoyed the international dimension of his work, having collaborated with team members from various CapMan offices, including London and Stockholm.
“The most important thing for me has been ensuring accurate data. That’s a significant source of inefficiency for many companies. Providing these data-driven insights and analyses is becoming increasingly important globally, especially in recent times.”
He notes that large sets of data must be both accurate and informative – a balance between accuracy and information is necessary.
Enhancing strategic and analytical thinking
At CapMan, Karthik has been surprised by the diversity of strategies for each investment sector. Overall, he describes the intern experience as positive. It has enhanced Karthik’s strategic and analytical thinking.
“I think now it’s sort of become more concrete that this is definitely the sector I want to go into.”
His time as an intern has, in a positive way, narrowed down his future opportunities.
Besides loving numbers and data, Karthik says he is a people person and sees the communal aspect as an essential feature of CapMan as an employer.
“Being surrounded by my team members and other teams at CapMan, I’ve gotten to know quite a lot of people from different levels of seniority.”
Karthik reflects that the time at CapMan has made him a better communicator.
“My personal goals for the future would be to maintain a very hardworking mindset and try to be a helpful person with an upbeat attitude. I think that is also something that I’ve been influenced by from the people of CapMan.”
“I am happy that I applied”
Interns portray CapMan as an open and approachable community. Lotta Raappana is aware that some people may find investment firms intimidating.
“They might think, ‘Am I good enough to apply?’ I balanced with the same question. Now I am happy that I applied.”
Lotta works as a legal and compliance trainee in CapMan’s legal, tax, and compliance team. Her team serves as the back office for the entire organisation, assisting with fund establishment, fund management, and contract management.
She has learned that in-house law might suit her better than working for an attorney company with multiple clients.
“In addition to strictly following the law, the in-house team needs to be creative and business-oriented”, she explains.
Lotta approach to the work is to be a problem solver.
“I’ve noticed that for the fund actually to function, the contracts need to be bulletproof and thought through in detail”, she notes.
Lotta is now close to graduating from the University of Helsinki. She is writing her master’s thesis on contract law, specifically focusing on special investment funds. She wanted to combine theoretical knowledge from the university with practical experience gained during her time at CapMan.
During the internship, Lotta has had the opportunity to meet people from all levels of the organisation.
“One of the highlights is our weekly lunch with co-workers and starting tennis and HIIT classes together”, she says.
Passionate about law and EU regulation
Lotta grew up in Finnish Lapland near the Swedish border. Her father is also a lawyer. When she was a small girl, she printed out the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention is legally binding, and Lotta wanted to show her parents that she, too, had rights at home – she wanted a puppy.
“I did not get the puppy, but I think that is when my passion for law started.”
Lotta has also been able to develop her other passion at CapMan. That is battling the climate crisis. She has been actively following EU-level legislation and the discussions surrounding it, applying her knowledge to her work.
The most motivating aspect for Lotta at CapMan has been recognising her professional growth. She describes it as a personal growth curve.
“As I took on more responsibilities, received support, and became more independent, I realised I have the skills to succeed in my role and grow as a legal professional.”
“I feel more open to what really is out there”
During her internship at CapMan, Antonia Strang, too, has gained confidence. Antonia works as a KYC (Know Your Customer) intern in CapMan’s legal team.
Previously, she has worked in a bank, as a mathematics tutor, and as a handball coach.
“As a young woman and in this industry, I’ve learned that I’m pretty good at being strong and standing by my point. And I can communicate that in a way so that my point just doesn’t fall.”
Antonia is excited about her current role. Her background is in economics, and her current tasks with compliance and due diligence processes at CapMan have involved applying theoretical thinking in practice.
“Compliance is essential. You follow the regulation, you follow the law, and you’re part of the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing process. As a financial institution, you have to make the right investments and know your customers you’re making investments to or with”, she explains.
Supportive community
Antonia started as an intern in May and was immediately pulled into the heart of the CapMan community, as corporate functions teams, which are called Platform, gathered for Platform Days in Stockholm.
“That was really nice to get to meet everyone and do outside of work activities together. The organisation is flat and you can talk to anyone, regardless of their position.”
In the first six months, Antonia worked full-time as an intern. After that, she will continue as a part-time intern, as the team was initially looking for someone who could work part-time. In the near future, Antonia will be combining work and studies. She is not afraid of what is to come and appreciates the work-life balance at CapMan. Her supervisor has also said out loud that school comes first, a comment she really appreciated.
Has CapMan then influenced Antonia’s future outlook? Definitely, she says.
“I feel more open to what really is out there. In my current role, I have opened my eyes to more industries. You can work with investing in forestry, infrastructure, or real estate.”
Find CapMan’s open internship positions here: Find Your Joy