8. EMMA KUUSINEN
Emma is familiar to everyone, especially from Inderes’ videos where she interviews analysts about companies, but many also come across her on YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram, and other Inderes “channels.” She is a cheerful and sharp community team member who knows how to pinpoint the most essential takeaways even from complex topics, and she can explain them in a very understandable and engaging way. For these reasons as well, it’s a pleasure to listen to and read the material Emma produces.
In my view, Emma is someone with a broad skillset and well-rounded intelligence. She has a sharp mind—she grasps things quickly—but she also possesses social intelligence and common sense. Because of these qualities, I see her as someone who would undoubtedly excel in many different roles, and I have to say that people like her are few and far between.
I hope I can continue to enjoy the investment content Emma produces in the future, because I truly learn from it. People who can explain difficult and complex matters in a concise and clear manner are usually the smarter ones, just like Emma. Unfortunately, many people in investing and finance often explain things in an overly complicated way, getting bogged down in trivialities (this doesn’t apply to the Inderes team, of course). Inderes continues to evolve and move forward especially thanks to resourceful, versatile people like Emma. 
1. In thirty words, tell us who you are.
An enthusiastic soul and storyteller from Tampere. Originally, I come from a fairly rural background—Tervakoski in Janakkala, to be exact—but over the past six years, I’ve thoroughly become a Tampere local. Still, I love the countryside, and my soul finds peace whenever I visit.
2. Tell us three things forum members don’t know about you.
I renovated my apartment myself (with the help of friends, of course), and the only outside help was a plumber who installed the bathroom fixtures. I’ve always been handy with my hands (and living alone for years has taught me a lot, too); when renovating, painting, installing laminate flooring, and smoothing out walls went really well, and I enjoyed it a lot. I’m already dreaming of buying a new investment property that I could renovate. I don’t have the skills or interest for flipping, but renovating a studio apartment that’s cosmetically in rough shape and putting it up for rent sounds appealing.
I was a vegan for about a year. I’m not anymore, although my diet is still predominantly vegetarian (nowadays I do eat meat; I rarely buy it for home, except for guests, but I won’t say no to a steak at a restaurant). The reasons for veganism were climate-related and wanting to challenge myself.
The third one was hard to come up with, but tying back to my rural roots: I have a tractor driver’s license, and I used to drive a forklift for a living.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You’re not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
I swim in Lake Näsijärvi year-round, with or without a sauna. Mostly without, because it’s more time-efficient. I work out and also ran a half marathon last year. Besides these, knitting and reading come and go in phases.
4. What does a typical weekday look like for you?
Most days I’m in Helsinki, typically 3 days a week. Mornings start early, around 5 a.m., so I can catch the morning train. I always work on the train ride both ways. Depending on how late the Helsinki trip runs, in the evening I’ll head to the gym, take a dip in Nässy, or go for a walk, making sure I hit 10,000 steps for the day (which is considerably harder on remote work days).
My workdays usually start with a clean slate, meaning that every morning I have to plan what to do that day. Of course, there are meetings from time to time, and occasionally videos can be planned in advance, but usually inderesTV videos come together when I open inderes.fi and see what reports have been published on the platform. Naturally, filming needs to fit the analyst’s schedule, and most of the time analysts are flexible so we can get the video done. Part of my daily routine, especially in the mornings, is pumping out content to Inderes’ social media accounts, so I spend quite a bit of time across various social platforms.
5. How would you briefly describe yourself as an investor?
I get easily enthusiastic about investing as well. And my portfolio is a bit of a mixed bag as a result of that enthusiasm; the purchases are well-considered, of course, but getting excited about diverse companies means buying stocks of very different businesses. Then again, that provides good diversification at times, for instance when growth stocks take a beating.
6. How has working at Inderes changed you as an investor?
Working at Inderes definitely forces you to stay calm when buying and selling, partly due to the trading rules. But generally, the atmosphere also encourages a certain composure, which I think is a great thing. You learn a lot at work and get introduced to companies and sectors you wouldn’t otherwise explore. In short, working at Inderes reduces impulsiveness and broadens your perspective.
7. Could you briefly share your investing history?
I’ve probably held stocks in my portfolio since about 2017. Before that, I had some mutual funds that my parents bought when I was a kid. As an investor myself, I jumped straight into the deep end: individual stocks.
Real estate investing interests me as well, and my first investment property appeared in my portfolio in 2021.
So I don’t have an exceptionally long investing history, though my enthusiasm took over to the point that I even went back to school to complete a master’s degree majoring in economics.
8. What does your portfolio look like right now, and what is your YTD?
YTD is -17.35%, with 18 positions. Maybe I’d like to have fewer. Just recently, the portfolio has actually been doing quite well.
9. What is your favorite stock in your portfolio and why?
Inderes. But if that’s a boring answer, then NoHo.
Inderes is my largest holding, and it would be strange if it weren’t among my favorites. A lot of interesting things are happening, like internationalization, and the latest corporate acquisition certainly boosts international growth in a whole new way, in my opinion. I’m excited to be along for the ride.
With NoHo, we are at the core of life’s essentials: food and Tampere. Fighting through the pandemic was a fantastic achievement by the company, and although I used to like Restamax back in the day, from a shareholder’s perspective, it’s good that they don’t rush into everything headlong anymore. Earlier in my career, I also worked actively with the finance departments of both Restamax and the current NoHo, and that’s where my active monitoring started.
10. In thirty words per company, what do you think of these stocks:
-Fiskars
Good mess! There’s been some sprawling, but they’re finding their groove, and the company has delivered solid returns for me. Good brands, too—my cupboards feature Fiskars dishes, cutlery, pots, and pans.
-NoHo
I could start with the same sentence as Fiskars: Good mess! At least previously—nowadays less so, which is great. I follow this company by far the most among all Helsinki Stock Exchange companies (excl. Inderes). I have strong confidence in management, and I like their can-do attitude.
-Sampo
A bit boring, but I hold Sampo in my portfolio too. I like share buyback programs. Unsurprisingly, Sampo was one of my first purchases, and I consider it a fairly successful investment.
11. Does Emma crunch numbers in Excel? Do you work with DCF models? What are your top 3 favorite valuation multiples and why?
I do work with Excel, yes, but not for these things. I spend all day with analysts, so I leave the DCF models to them.
It’s boring to answer P/E ratio, but I’ll say it anyway because of how common it is. And I suppose it’s an okay multiple overall if you want a quick first look at an unfamiliar company.
Besides P/E, the next ones that come to mind are EV/EBIT and EV/S. Both have their flaws, but being a creature of habit, these are probably the ones I look at most. EV/EBIT: Operating profit is relevant in many cases, so I like to focus on that. Granted, that’s not always the case.
EV/S: It might require a bit more prior knowledge about the company, but depending on the business, I think it’s a good metric.
I often look at valuation from multiple angles, and the multiples depend quite a bit on the company and the industry, so picking a TOP 3 was tough. But the ones mentioned here are definitely ones I use from time to time.
12. What stock-picking process do you go through before a stock ends up in your portfolio, and do you ask your analysts for a lot of help?
You get valuable comments from analysts at the lunch table or while making videos. And of course, I love chatting with them! I ask for comments or thoughts from analysts to varying degrees. If it’s an add to an existing holding, I tend to ask less. For new positions, I usually chat about it more.
Besides the analysts, I enjoy discussions within the Community team, where everyone has great insights. You can also get quite different ideas and perspectives from the Community team compared to the analysts, which I think is wonderful. Analysts have their analyst mindset, and sometimes it’s nice to talk about things from other perspectives.
Otherwise, it’s hard to put the process into words. I rely on the discussions mentioned above if it’s a Helsinki-listed company (though there are plenty of opinions in-house on foreign companies, too). Of course, I also do the traditional deep dive into the company’s financials, and ultimately my decisions are fairly quick—I’m not one to second-guess forever. The main thing is to participate in the market :D!
13. What Inderes materials would you recommend to investors that haven’t received enough attention? (Shameless plugs allowed :D)
I recommend our Instagram; these days it has great buzz and information in condensed form. I also recommend the Inderes account on Spotify, where you can listen to things like Kinnusen Jorinata (Kinnunen’s Ramblings) or macro overviews, etc. And finally, Ajan Tasalla (Up to Date), which can be found on the aforementioned Spotify account, among other places. It sums up events nicely.
14. If you could teach all forum members one thing with a snap of your fingers, what would it be and why?
Knitting a reinforced heel flap. I learned it from my grandmother when I was about 15, and it’s a skill that commands respect in knitting circles.
15. If you had to pick four forum members to run the model portfolio in place of Atte, Juha, and Sauli, who would you choose?
Atte, Juha, and Sauli are doing great, but from the forum members, I’ll pick: @Aili, @Sijoittaja-alokas, @SijoitusSeppo, and @musa_2.
16. What kind of information do you especially like to look for on the forum? If you had to pick one favorite thread on the forum, what would it be and why?
I probably visit company threads the most; it’s fun to check if there are comments on a company’s releases and whether they align with my own thoughts.
I almost always check the company thread before making videos too, to see if there are questions the community is wondering about. You don’t always catch everything yourself or think about whether the analyst managed to express themselves clearly enough. I bring these up in the video if I find them on the Forum.
My favorite thread, however, is simply the traditional coffee room (kahvihuone).
17. Do you have goals for your investing, such as specific euro targets or aiming for financial independence? Do you aim to beat the index, why/why not?
I don’t have a euro target, nor any other specific goal really. Just the traditional securing of retirement days and being able to retire a little earlier. Nothing aggressive like hardcore FIRE, though.
18. What is the best part of your job and why? Could you ever imagine becoming an analyst?
Probably the best thing about my job is the freedom, which is somewhat greater than what analysts have, and that’s perhaps why I don’t dream of an analyst career. Self-direction and freedom are important to me, and overly rigid frameworks or not being able to influence my job description or the flow of my workday don’t suit my personality.
Of course, my colleagues and the work community are also really great; I enjoy being at the office and chatting a lot.
19. What should Alokas specifically study to become a better investor?
I don’t know if this applies specifically to Alokas, but personally, I think you can never know too much about macroeconomics. I enjoy reading about it and learning along the way. Alokas probably does a lot of that already, but I’d still recommend it.
20. What would you especially like to thank the forum members for?
An active community is the root of everything. inderesTV videos are made for forum members and the rest of the community. The feedback is direct and honest, not just hype. I think that’s important, so thank you for that! Great ideas come from the forum, and I often peek into the content development thread to see if the community has shared any feedback regarding content. Thank you for those as well; they are definitely read and greatly appreciated.
Thank you Emma for the interesting and fun answers!
Emma is strong in many different areas, has a great attitude, and doesn’t look at things from narrow black-and-white perspectives, so it’s with good reason that I admire and envy her. I recommend taking a leaf out of Emma’s book so you don’t become cynical and gather moss. 
Have a great weekend, everyone! 