My internship experience in the Portfolio Management team
– Henna Takanen, Portfolio Management intern, Helsinki (Spring 2025)
Having had previous experience in real estate, I was eager to learn more about the industry and deepen my understanding from a private equity and investor perspective. I was drawn to Nrep not only because of its strong Nordic footprint and reputation but also because of its value-driven approach.
The opportunity to work in the Portfolio Management team provided me with exposure to the full lifecycle of real estate investments. I also got to expand my experience into new segments, working with residential properties after earlier experience in retail and office assets.
What is Portfolio Management?
Portfolio Management acts as the glue between different functions, sitting at the intersection of transactions, asset management, and strategy. The team plays a key role in shaping investment strategies, maximizing the performance of investments after acquisition, monitoring how they perform against the original business case or market, and preparing assets for exit. We work closely with transaction teams during acquisitions, with asset managers throughout the holding period, and with functions such as fund management, investor relations, and debt financing as needed.
Compared to some real estate firms, Nrep’s PM team operates at a high level with a strong focus on the big picture and portfolio-wide insights. Rather than managing buildings day-to-day, we focus on strategic topics: performance tracking, capital allocation, exit planning, and continuous value creation across the portfolio. One interesting aspect of the Portfolio Management role is the cross-country collaboration it involves. While transaction teams often operate locally, our work spans multiple markets and requires alignment with colleagues across geographies. The Finnish PM team works with residential assets in Finland, Poland, and Germany and collaborates closely with our colleagues in Denmark.
Key Experiences and Learnings
During my internship, I worked on a variety of projects and tasks. These mainly revolved around investment performance tracking and modeling, as well as analysing opportunities to improve both asset performance and our internal processes. In addition to analytical work, I had the chance to drive my own project from start to finish, which helped me develop my project management skills.
It was also fascinating to follow the busy spring fundraising season and observe how different teams collaborate to support investor dialogue. Beyond the work itself, we made time to have fun – from outdoor activities in Nuuksio to trips to Copenhagen, the internship offered a great mix of learning, ownership, and community.
Looking back, this internship gave me valuable insight into real estate private equity and the full investment lifecycle. I would recommend this experience to anyone interested in combining analytical work with strategic thinking through diverse tasks and to those curious about how value is created beyond the acquisition phase.
What stood out to me most was the level of trust and ownership given to interns, the exposure to real impact, and the opportunity to learn from smart and driven colleagues. The experience has equipped me with new skills, a broader industry perspective, and motivation to keep learning.