Next Friday, an Inderes summer worker will be interviewed. 
Whose reaction to my interview request was this:
I heard talk that he is a quite knowledgeable guy, especially for his age.
This Friday, it was the turn of a versatile quality writer. 
Have a nice rest of the week, everyone!
40. MoneyWalker
The greatest strength of our forum is its high-quality investment and financial writings, which bring a lot of added value to all kinds of different investors—such writings are provided, among others, by the user MoneyWalker. He has opened interesting threads about companies and various investment topics, and in addition, he has written well-structured, high-quality posts about various companies that have certainly provided added value even to analysts.
Sippola has also mentioned this user to me in a positive light, and I am not surprised at all; this guy seems to follow the investment world broadly from various perspectives, which has probably helped him produce very content-rich messages.
MW is a high-quality writer who hasn’t become familiar to me at least as an investor or a person… although his excellent posts have given me a very strong impression that he is a very smart investor.
1. In thirty words, tell us who you are.
A fifty-year-old family man living in the Helsinki metropolitan area, having spent his childhood in various parts of Finland, an entrepreneur, and a Master of Science in Information Technology. Worked with information systems in many different roles both as an employee and an entrepreneur. Invested for a long time, but with poor success.
2. Tell us three things that forum members don’t know about you.
I invested in options in the 80s and naturally suffered losses 
I coded trading systems in the 90s.
I think a car is a good investment if it brings you pleasure. 
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You are not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
I love moving in nature regardless of the season and weather. Working out and music have always been a part of my life. I have taken up listening to audiobooks. But family is the meaning of my life.
4. What is your typical weekday like?
From 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. I do my day job mostly remotely. I exercise in between. In the evening I practice investing and spend time with my family. My life is steady and healthy without major work-related drama.
5. Could you describe what kind of an investor you are?
I am a hardworking and increasingly patient growth investor. Dividends do not interest me at all. Due to lack of time, I hardly swing trade anymore, and I no longer engage in day trading. I can invest in cyclicals if I understand the industry’s cycle. Investing is a pleasant lifestyle and a livelihood for me, not just a hobby.
6. Could you share what your investment history looks like?
I started investing at age 14 with my summer job earnings. I used the accumulated savings to finance my studies. I failed to avoid Black Monday in 1987. That was terribly annoying, but afterwards I heard that the crash came as a surprise to everyone. I still don’t know what I should have learned from it.
I got a job and started saving at age 23. At the bottom of the housing crisis in 1993, we bought our first home with all our savings and a bank loan. I kept loan repayments to a minimum and managed to save from my salary into stocks: Nokia, Sonera, TJ-group. I sold them just before the dot-com bubble burst in 1999, because we needed to buy a bigger apartment for the family. From my income as a successful entrepreneur, I put all extra money into stock market shares until in 2007 we had to build an even bigger apartment for the family.
At the start of the financial crisis, I didn’t own a single stock. At the bottom of the financial crisis in early 2009, I already had small savings and some construction loan left. All-in, I bought Ford stock at $1–$2. My view was that Ford would endure and GM would fail. That’s what happened, and a year later I sold the Fords at around 400% profit. More would have been available, too. The profits came too easily. I thought I was a good investor.
Thus, I avoided the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the financial crisis purely by luck due to my real estate projects.
I took a break from active investing in 2010–2018 due to busy family years. Mostly I studied and practiced trading a bit with futures and currencies. I owned Revenio, among others, which I let go of eight years too early. I joined the forum in 2018, and investing as a future main livelihood started tempting me more and more. This dream is yet to be realized.
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, I sold heavily and managed to time my purchases at the bottom. At the end of March 2020, I was all-in again. That was probably good luck again, but I did have a clear view that the recovery would be J-shaped. I refused to believe in the tech downturn that began in 2021. That is relatively and absolutely my biggest investment mistake so far.
7. What does your portfolio consist of? What are your three latest acquisitions and why have you added them to your portfolio?
I manage my company’s, my personal, my family’s, and one other portfolio. The portfolios contain over 50 companies from Finland, the United States, Sweden, Norway, and Canada. In the United States, Sweden, and Norway, I invest exclusively in tech; in Canada, in mining companies. In Finland, the main focus is on small growth companies followed by Inderes.
I have bought the following stocks over the past month:
Embracer. The market’s belief in the company is gone. However, the company has 14,000 employees, of which 10,000 are game developers. This is a valuable asset whose potential the short-sighted market fails to look far enough ahead.
Intel. A turnaround company. The 2.5-year downtrend of the stock price has ended. The construction of new production lines in Germany and the US improves the company’s competitiveness. Talk of Nvidia as a future customer and the AI hype are increasing demand for the stock at least in the coming months. In an uptrend on a weekly basis.Paypal. I bought at the peaks of the overheated market in 2021. The company’s sales are projected to continue 15% annual growth, and valuation multiples are excellent for a growth company. Technically, the price bottom is possibly behind us. In an uptrend on a daily basis. I plan to increase my position in a couple more tranches.
8. What does your step-by-step stock picking process look like?
If I don’t know the company yet, I get a superficial look at its business from the company’s own website and equity research, if available. I usually buy the first tranche even before a thorough introduction. I can’t be bothered to research unless I have a small position.
I currently check valuation levels with key figures on Koyfin. Usually, there are also forecasts for a few years ahead.
I always time my purchase using technical analysis. The stock is sold if technical analysis shows that market momentum has turned. I don’t want to keep owning a good company that the market rejects. This is difficult. I hope to learn soon.
9. What is the biggest success of your investing career and what factors led to this success?
Difficult question. I don’t have information on hand for all my sales. I would like to measure success by the share of capital gains in the portfolio’s value. In that sense, buying Ford in 2009 and selling in 2010 would be the biggest success. However, the investment was heavily gambling-like. On the other hand, this led me to study the US automotive industry and buy Tesla stock.
As an investor, my biggest success is the purchases of Qt Group in 2017 and sales in 2021. The purchases were over 10% of my portfolios, and I had the patience to hold them. The rise was eventually over 1500%. I bought because I believed in the product. I sold because I considered management compensation unacceptably generous, which in my opinion showed poor board judgment.
10. What are your two biggest strengths as an investor and what do you consider to be your biggest area for development as an investor?
My biggest strength is definitely that I have made several mistakes and learned from at least some of them. Another strength is the passion to ponder the future prospects of companies. A clear area for development is timing the right moment to sell. I have often ended up owning a stock that the market has rejected. On the other hand, I have often sold too early.
11. Analyze these three companies with 30 words per company.
-Kahoot!
A learning app that is the second most popular in the world right after Google. The company is an alternative on the OTC market (Oslo) in a gigantic market that reshaped due to the corona pandemic. The market didn’t like the slowing growth. However, it has grown almost in line with management’s promises for three years. I own shares.
-Remedy
Finland’s only listed gaming company, whose valuation is unfortunately difficult to estimate. It is a high-risk investment. The market does not believe in the success of all five simultaneous game projects. The next game, Alan Wake II, will be released in October in less than four months. A flop would collapse the stock price. Forecasting is harder than normal. I own shares.
-Tecnotree
A Finnish software developer that makes ERP systems for telecom operators. Of its 884 employees, 654 are in India. It is the cheapest company on the Helsinki Stock Exchange based on earnings multiples. The market fears that its revenue will not fully reach the cash register. Management has increased its ownership through stock rewards and direct purchases. I own shares.
12. What are your four most important valuation multiples and why?
EV/EBIT and EV/EBITDA. Some earnings-based valuation multiple is a must even for growth companies. The latter if earnings are still negative.
EV/S and EBIT% + growth%. With these combined, I can position the company in a comparable valuation field with other growth companies.
ROIC. The company must generate added value, meaning ROIC must be higher than WACC.
OCF/EV. Operating cash flow yield. Even for a growth company, this should improve annually.
13. What do you get from the Inderes Forum that you can’t get anywhere else?
From the forum, I constantly get new ideas and dissenting views on companies. They help challenge my own wrong views.
14. Analyze these guys:
What these gentlemen have in common is a polite and friendly style. Model members.
@jaska7, a hard worker at digging up information for the forum, especially about green tech companies. I still read the posts, even though I don’t really have green tech in my portfolio right now.
@JHeiskanen, an excellent writer at the beginning of his investing career, the driving force of the Rush Factory thread.
@Lexus, a versatile investment professional, a valuable member for the rest of us forum members.
@Roni_Peuranheimo, a rising analyst star who takes the time to answer all my Tecnotree questions. In a challenging role, as Tecnotree’s management comes from a different culture.
15. You have spent a huge amount of time on the Forum and thus know us forum members well. Can you name a typical mistake made by forum members that we could learn to avoid?
I have learned that no one’s purchases should be followed. The three biggest losses in my portfolio have occurred over the last four years by buying in the footsteps of a well-known forum member. I will never do it again. Do not follow me, even if I announce my purchases or sales. Those announcements are just for my own mental maintenance.
16. Investment psychology is far too underrated as an area of investing. Do you practice investment psychology in any way, and if so, how?
Yes, in two ways. I have learned to control my emotions when stock prices fall and rise. The decrease in the value of the portfolio no longer causes me grief. Mistakes must be remembered, but lost money must not.
Secondly, stock prices are market psychology. Technical analysis is my tool to signal and anticipate the degree of market greed and fear. I have practiced this for over 40 years.17. What would today’s MoneyWalker say to the MoneyWalker of the past who had just started investing?
Get to know the company and its forecasted future before you buy the stock. The same applies especially when selling.
18. What goals do you have for investing? Do you have goals in terms of euros?
My goal is to beat the S&P 500 index on an annual basis, which means I want to beat my wife’s investment portfolio. I no longer have a specific euro-denominated goal.
19. Could you give a tip on how Alokas could learn to analyze companies more independently?
First of all, I would separate the analysis of the company from the analysis of the stock price. In company analysis, the company’s own website is the primary source of information, but I also recommend using analysis services. For example, Koyfin and Tikr are well worth their price.
Stock price analysis does not receive the credit it deserves in investment literature. It makes no sense to buy even an undervalued company whose price turns downward when the market rejects it. You have to have the patience to wait for a turnaround in sentiment. That is why I would learn the basics of technical analysis.
20. What would you especially like to thank the forum members for?
Thank you for all the company threads and the analyses you write in them. They are an irreplaceable help when trying to figure out what you think about companies as investment targets. Such a knowledge bank cannot be obtained from anywhere else.
Thanks to MW for the high-quality answers!
I am truly happy with my interview series and especially with these excellent answers from the interviewees. I sincerely hope that many forum members and other investors as well would read these thoughtfully, because you can definitely get a lot of help for your own investment activities from them, as long as you are open-minded and read the answers with thought.
I want to thank MoneyWalkker for their contribution to our high-quality Forum. It’s pretty cool that there are various investors hanging out here who share information and help other investors - that’s perhaps the best thing about this Forum.
Have a great weekend!
Below is Acumen’s tweet regarding MoneyWalkker’s interview; I took screenshots of the tweet and the images in it:
https://twitter.com/AcumenFutures/status/1674743016148353024
There is a lot in MW that I personally would like to be; a versatile thinker who looks at things from many angles, patient, humble, and always eager to learn. It is worth learning from mistakes, which often starts with admitting your own mistakes, which can sometimes be very difficult.
Have a nice and relaxing Friday evening!
P.S. Antti Siltanen has conjured up an Initiation of Coverage report on Biohit; it would make for good weekend reading for everyone.
On Friday, it will be the turn of Inderes’ multi-year (and highly praised) summer worker.
Next week, it’s the turn of an analyst who, in my opinion, covers the most difficult companies to analyze… though I’m sure he doesn’t think so. 
Every day, it’s a pleasure to read the company threads and other investment-related topics. You constantly notice that the area of expertise for the contributors on this Forum is, of course, investing. One doesn’t always realize or appreciate enough how some people actively create such great, well-written investment content here – it’s a huge help to the rest of us investors. Thank you to all the active members! 
41. MIIKA PUROLA
Miika works in the community team, but we haven’t really interacted much before this interview because our work hasn’t crossed paths. I got a tip from within the company that Miika is worth interviewing, so I took that advice to heart.
My impression of Miika has been that he is versatile and intelligent, but since I don’t know him well enough, I asked some Inderes employees to tell me something about Miika:
@Jeremias_Makkonen: Miika is a great guy who time and again manages to amaze with his diverse expertise and intelligence. I especially admire Miika’s ability to approach things from angles that I wouldn’t even think of myself.
@Tomi_Valkeajarvi: Miika is a true multi-talent who can do practically everything from coding to crunching numbers. Whenever he comes to the office, he brings positive energy and a can-do attitude with him. One of the smartest guys for his age that I’ve ever run into.
Miika is clearly a sharp fellow, so now you get to hear the thoughts of this young, high-quality employee.
1. In thirty words, tell us who you are.
I am a 21-year-old mathematics hobbyist from the University of Helsinki who has been working at the corporatized Inderes for 5 long years. I am also the father of Mimmu the dog, who likes to go around the office asking analysts the most irrelevant questions and wandering around aimlessly.
2. Tell us three things that forum members don’t know about you.
When applying for a TET (work experience) position, I called Verneri “Valtteri”. I was Inderes employee no. 16 if I remember correctly. Petri Kajaani played me under the table in table football during my TET, and I haven’t played since except out of sheer necessity.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You are not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
I could claim that my interests are chess, mathematics, and e-sports. In the realm of real sports, I also like padel and football.
4. What is a normal weekday like for you?
Let’s pick the most likely scenarios. I wake up around eight, after which I take the dog out, because morning walks are a “blue job” according to my girlfriend. I brew some bad-tasting coffee and sit down at the computer to do whatever comes up. On school days I sweat and bang my head against the wall over some simple problem, and on work days I wonder how I’m going to employ myself. The distribution of evening events is considerably wider, and I might even venture out to exercise, read articles/books, or play computer games.
5. Could you briefly describe what kind of an investor you are?
As an investor, I have been perhaps even too passive. I think I have made a total of only 4 sales during my meager history. Otherwise, the rotation in my portfolio has happened in the form of corporate transactions, when some of the companies I owned have been bought out. I believe that limited resources combined with Inderes’ trading restrictions and a student’s constant liquidity crisis require patience in stock picking. I also believe that one of the most significant ways to generate returns with my own resources is to take on entrepreneurial risk, i.e., in practice, ownership risk, and get rewarded for this risk. So in the past, I have tried to find high-quality companies, like probably all forum members do, in such a way that there are clear positive drivers for their businesses that materialize over the longer term. I don’t believe that my own time + limited understanding and other constraints imposed by my current life situation would require a more complex return basis when picking stocks.
In the future, my style will change, but that time is not quite yet.
6. Could you briefly explain what kind of investment history you have?
I started picking stocks with my first paychecks from Inderes in 2018. Since then, the following have visited my portfolio in chronological order: Evli, Pihlajalinna, Hoivatilat, Talenom, Harvia, Qt, Relais, Inderes, and Rovio.
In recent years, the number of purchases has decreased significantly, and I have transitioned to what feels like eternal hodling regarding these holdings.
7. How has working at Inderes benefited your stock picking? What kind of summer employer is Inderes?
In the early stages, Inderes helped me avoid many pitfalls. I received help both in the form of book recommendations and having my assumptions challenged. I remember Sauli’s words, “Quantity makes up for quality,” when I went to ask what books I should read. After that, we hunted down all the books found at the office, and I packed them into my backpack as summer reading. Looking back, this advice has helped a lot in finding a certain kind of intuition. Inderes’ most significant contribution is probably tacit knowledge: which things are relevant and which are not. This has helped open up the playing field of fundamentals in a way that is difficult to replace by reading an increasing amount of literature.
As an employer, Inderes offers different opportunities for different roles for up-and-coming individuals. For me, Inderes has provided a platform to learn, develop myself, and be of use to colleagues and community members. At Inderes, it is possible to take on as much responsibility as your back has the tendons to carry. The organizational model gives individuals, especially in the community team, the freedom to self-actualize and the freedom to make choices to develop the community’s direction. This has suited me extremely well, even though it sometimes feels like constant self-initiative and self-employment takes energy.
**8. What does your portfolio look like right now, and which two stocks are you expecting the most price appreciation from this year?**I believe my portfolio is too concentrated due to the aforementioned reasons, and currently, it only contains 4.5 companies: Inderes, Qt, Relais, and a tiny bit of Talenom. The half-company is Rovio, whose freed-up capital is awaiting allocation. Since the question requires two, let’s choose Qt and Inderes :D. Regarding these companies, it would perhaps be better to replace the word “expect” in the question with “hope for”.
9. Do you take more risks because you are young? Why or why not?
I hope I do. Extra stress is surely easier for the body to experience when young, as cells still regenerate net-new. I believe I am close to a normal actor, whose circle of life and life situation encourage taking fewer risks as one ages. In my own case, I also have to remember that even though my portfolio is concentrated, the absolute sums in stocks are light enough that the portfolio halving doesn’t force me into self-destructive thoughts.
10. What is your stock-picking process step by step?
My stock-picking process embarrasses me. Not because I couldn’t justify them or stand behind them, but for semantic reasons. My current holdings were chosen in accordance with my philosophy at the time: after reading analysis, making my own scenarios, and asking both the analyst and colleagues. However, my own philosophy on markets/allocation is currently undergoing such major changes that I haven’t wanted to form my own view yet on how I want to allocate my funds. And on the other hand, what my own allocation process should be. This is also one reason for the low portfolio turnover. I see that I can currently use my time more effectively by studying the matter rather than making allocation decisions. If the answer left you cold or with a bad feeling, you should watch this week’s video of Turo that has been buzzing around the office as well:
Pikkupoika puhuu siansaksaa reup
11. What are the most important points in analysts’ reports for you and why?
Nowadays, I read less analysis myself, but the most important value of the reports for me is understanding the elements through which a company’s business is worth outlining/modeling. In the extensive report, the analyst has made choices about which things they feel are significant for the company and with what relative weights these should be emphasized during the analysis phase. The analyst’s work regarding industry outlook and market valuation are also significant in my opinion.
12. You may choose two people from the community team to produce material who especially deserve additional visibility? (self-promotion allowed)
An absolute legendary clip: Inderes Free-tili - YouTube
And as serious content, I recommend anything that Antti Järvenpää touches.
14. What do you get from the Inderes Forum that you can’t get anywhere else?
The Forum has formed into the local pub of the Inderes community, which, like a cornerstone, forces investors to step into Inderes’ service. For myself, the Forum represents a tavern where it’s possible to get quirky ideas, the latest news, and sometimes also something entertaining. I read the forum more without logging in, so please don’t judge me for the embarrassingly weak statistics.
15. You are forced to give your portfolio to three forum members to manage for a year, who would you give it to and why?
@Yu_Gong , @Tommi_Saarinen and @Matias_Arola I believe this combo could surprise.
16. Leaving aside the interest and entertainment of the hobby of investing, why and what do you invest for?
I invest so that in the event of unexpected events, I could live without major financial worries. I have a bad habit of spreading sourness around me when stressed, and by preventing this, I would help myself be a more positive self to those close to me.
17. What longer-term goals do you have in investing? Do you have any euro-denominated goals?
I don’t like investment porn, so for that reason, I wouldn’t share euro-denominated goals on principle, even if I had them. The longer-term goal is to quench the thirst for the sport.
18. If you could teach forum members one thing at the push of a button, what would it be and why?
If I could teach forum members one thing at the push of a button and at the same time myself, then something like this, because a meme for it was found in my own meme library: Kalman filter - WikipediaAnd since my friends weren’t interested in this meme, I don’t expect to get anything other than tomatoes for this post.
Meme:
19. Can you give a tip on how a Rookie could become a better investor?
Challenge the analysts, ask about their feelings, and try to question the perspectives they present.
20. What would you especially like to thank the forum members for?
I want to thank the forum members for developing and maintaining a valuable community. The formation of a high-quality community that benefits multiple parties is not something to be taken for granted.
Thanks Miika for the answers!
The answers speak for themselves; Miika is precisely what the people at Inderes have said he is, so Inderes’ future is in good hands, as long as these sharp young talents are well taken care of.
Miika has sides and qualities that many successful people also have; the ability to look at things from different perspectives, plus he is versatile and not some black-and-white know-it-all, but a hardworking, forward-moving guy. In investing, too, it’s precisely guys like Miika who succeed—those who openly and objectively explore things eagerly without any unnecessary, better-than-thou guesswork.
Nothing more to add, have a great weekend everyone! 
I received praise for Miika and his answers via WhatsApp messages from three different people, among others. For example, intelligence and sense of humor were mentioned… I have to say, I wish I had been like that at 21, or even now!
Next week, it’s the turn of a highly regarded analyst of challenging companies, then the following week, if I recall correctly, a representative from a certain company. Sometime later, there will be forum members, more analysts, someone with a large portfolio, etc.
Remember to watch the previous interviews as well, thank you and have a peaceful weekend everyone!
This Friday, it’s the turn of an analyst who has exactly those really difficult companies to follow and who has an interesting educational background for an analyst, and why not otherwise as well.
Next week, it’s the turn of a company representative whose company is known for being employee-friendly, if I may say so.
The next interviewees will follow according to when their answers arrive.
Have a great start to the week!
43. ANTTI SILTANEN
I ran into Antti at the office and found him to be a really laid-back and nice guy, just as I had thought and heard. I think Antti is a fantastic analyst because he is able to explain the industry and operations of the challenging companies in the challenging sectors he covers in a way that even an ordinary investor who is unfamiliar with the field can get a lot out of these companies. Furthermore, Antti is an important guy for Inderes because probably fewer people are able to get such a good grasp of the companies he covers, and perhaps more companies like these will also be brought under Inderes’ coverage.
I also appreciate Mr. Siltanen because his background is quite atypical for an analyst, yet he is a very credible analyst (lyytikko). The more I have hung out on “financial investment Twitter”, the better I’ve realized that it’s good if a person has some experience, background, and knowledge of things other than just their own bubble’s matters and opinions… so it’s great to have different guys with different backgrounds among the analysts.
So it’s probably worth reading carefully the thoughts and answers of this in a good way a bit different analyst.
1. Tell us in thirty words who you are.
Inderes’ Life Science analyst since 3/2022, meaning I cover life sciences-based companies. I am married and the father of a baby girl. The family also includes a Labrador Retriever named Bea-Birgitta. By educational background, I am a molecular biologist, Ph.D.
2. Tell us three things that forum members don’t know about you.
I ended up at Inderes thanks to the username @TJT. I was checking out Inderes as an investment target and noticed his message on the forum.
I definitely hadn’t thought of an analyst’s job as a possibility, but when the existence of the open position became clear through this message, I had decided to apply pretty much before I even got the link open.
I have been on Japanese TV. Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize for the development of so-called induced pluripotent stem cells at the same time I was living and working at Osaka University working with those cells. The country went nuts over the Nobel Prize, and the very next day, the morning TV show “Morning Bird” came from Tokyo to the lab to film. I didn’t have any actual business in the lab at that time, but my boss asked me to show up anyway because apparently it looks better when there are international folks in the pictures 
. I am still quite a Japan enthusiast after all the great experiences from that time. That TV incident was mostly an amusing coincidence, but local friends, food culture, and many other things have left an indelible mark and made a deep impression.
Verneri and I grew up on the same street. However, we have enough of an age difference that we only got to know each other at Inderes.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? Nothing related to investing is allowed.
I play in a band. A friend of mine who has long been active in DIY music stuff asked me a few years ago if I would be interested in the role of a bassist in a band playing cellar blues. I made sure he was aware that I don’t play any instrument. Apparently, that didn’t matter. I figured it’s better to agree right away – another band invitation for someone who can’t play might not come again very soon… I quickly noticed that turning up the volume makes up for the lack of skill with interest.
In the summers, I spend time at the cabin and especially fishing there. Zander jigging and a bit of trolling are the main disciplines. I also enjoy grilling and smoking in the summer kitchen. Motorcycling has been close to my heart, but the bike is currently parked due to lack of time. In winter, fishing changes to downhill skiing. Otherwise, exercise is taken care of by walking the dog and occasional freestyle wrestling training in the garage gym.
Board work for the early-stage Medtech company Epiheart could also be counted as a hobby.
4. What is a typical weekday like for you?
I wake up around 7. Actually waking up takes about half an hour and three cups of coffee, after which I take care of morning chores and reading messages and news while multitasking. The actual workday starts around 8:30, nowadays typically remotely, because we moved outside the capital region at the beginning of the year. Up to this point, a big part of the work has been working on initiation of coverage reports, which often takes the whole day. The end of the workday varies a lot. Sometimes I finish at office hours, but often I take a break in the afternoon and continue working in the evening. Weekday evenings include family time, exercise, and reading.
5. Could you tell us what kind of work history you have?
I had decided to focus on doing research already when considering a place to study. Biology was chosen as a field, on the one hand, because understanding life at the molecular level felt extremely interesting overall, and on the other hand, due to endless application possibilities, for example, through the development of new treatments. Molecular biology later became my major. After my studies, I did my dissertation at the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Helsinki. After the dissertation, I was for a year in Japan at Osaka University and then again at UH (HY) as a postdoctoral researcher. The job included, in addition to research, teaching pharmacology at the medical school. I decided to stop research at the turn of 2016-17 and moved to Biocenter Finland, where my duties included coordinating technology cooperation between Finnish universities in the Life Science field. As side gigs, I coordinated technology cooperation between faculties and independent institutes at UH. I have been a hobbyist investor for a long time, and Inderes then opened up the opportunity to combine my interest in biosciences and investing. It’s a great thing that Inderes found the courage and vision to recruit an analyst with an atypical background.
6. How would you describe yourself as an investor?
I started out with a value-investing style because it felt like the most natural fit for me. Nowadays, my strategy starts with a well-weighed allocation, somewhat in the spirit of the All Weather Portfolio. When it comes to equity investments, the idea is that different types of stocks perform well at different times, so my strategy includes various stock investment styles, meaning some style should in principle always work at any given time. The intention is also to protect the portfolio from my own biases and mistakes, which is why the share of active stock picking is limited. However, actual stock picking keeps things fun and interesting. Long-term, growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) type thinking is emphasized there, especially now that trading is restricted due to Inderes’ rules. Previously, I also picked stocks more diversely on a shorter time horizon. I also emphasize the companies I follow in my choices nowadays.
7. Could you tell us about your investment history?
I originally started at the peak of the tech bubble with mutual funds. The method was technical analysis, with the help of which I determined that IT and biotech (sic) funds, for example, were brilliant investment targets. Naturally, I monitored the fund values daily. The adventure resulted in licking my wounds, and investing wasn’t on the agenda during my university years anyway. Around 2006, I got excited about studying and following economics, which led to my first direct stock investments – this time near the peak of the financial bubble. Getting through the financial crisis with a full equity weight was a good experience. Since then, crises or rigged markets™ haven’t really shaken me. After that, investing has had periods of more activity, such as studying quantitative investing and behavioral finance. At other times, my interest and time have been spent on other things, but I have always returned to the hobby. The corona crisis sparked my interest again after a break, especially in stock picking. I actually feel most at home in bear markets, when it’s easier to find things to buy.
8. What has been the biggest benefit of being an analyst for your investing?
Inderes’ process and the time spent on coverage allow for a deeper and more comprehensive immersion into an investment target than would otherwise be possible. This has brought balance and a versatile perspective both to my own monitoring and to how I view other investment targets. Of course, Inderes also has many highly competent colleagues who are enthusiastic about investing, with whom it’s fun to discuss and bounce ideas around.
9. How do you think about the diversification of your portfolio, or do you think about it at all?
I used to think about it a lot. Nowadays, it’s no longer so necessary, as diversification is largely taken care of by following the investment strategy. First, of course, is the asset class allocation, which is the most central decision. Underneath that, I diversify my equity investments using three different styles: stock picking (mainly in small domestic market companies), indexing, and quantitative investing. For the last one, I built my own model as a hobby project based on literature, research, and backtesting, which I still implement. Within stock picking, I have about 20 lines, which could certainly use some pruning. Thanks to these different styles, the weight of individual companies in the portfolio is quite limited.
10. What does your portfolio look like right now? What are your top three holdings and why?
Paper Gold – relates to the allocation mentioned above, which also includes precious metals and raw materials. BRKB – is in my portfolio as a substitute for fixed-income investments from a time when the risk-return ratio of bonds was exceptionally weak. AFL – this has been in the portfolio for over 10 years. Strong defensive cash flow with very low risk. Nowadays, it serves the same purpose as BRK as a substitute for fixed-income investments.
I suspect your question might have meant stock picking, which the above don’t strictly represent, so the stock picking top 3 are: Harvia – a competitive company that I’ve been invested in since spring 2020. The timing of purchases and sales has roughly hit the right ballpark, so the position has grown into the portfolio’s largest. Bioretec – a recent acquisition. The rationale can be read in the latest update and initiation report. OmaSP – A strong track record, pleasant valuation, and I estimate the company still has some room for growth.
11. Selling stocks is talked about too little in my opinion, so I’ll ask you what your step-by-step stock selling process is like?
Typically, a company ends up being sold if it turns out to be less quality than I estimated, or if the investment otherwise lacks the prerequisites to achieve its goals. The sale is executed right away, at least in principle; I’m not interested in timing it using TA, for example.
12. In thirty words per company, tell me what you think of these stocks:
- Biohit
A moderately valued diagnostics company that flies somewhat under the radar. Success largely depends on Gastropanel and the Chinese market, so risks are quite concentrated. The longer-term outlook is hazy, which will hopefully be clarified in the autumn strategy update.
- Faron Pharmaceuticals
A multi-tasking drug development company that would need a large capital injection to fully implement its plans. The target of the lead asset bexmarimab, Clever-1, is underexplored in cancer biology, which on the one hand creates a niche of its own for Faron, but can also introduce uncertainties into contract negotiations.
- Nexstim
Driven by new NBS6 equipment, licensing revenues—significant for a company of this size—expected to start next year, and a new collaborative clinic network model. Visibility, especially into the latter, is weak. In my view, the TMS market faces structural challenges as competitors pursue revenue growth at the expense of profitability.
- Orion
Nubeqa recently rose to become the company’s largest product, and positive news from that front is expected for years to come. Nubeqa’s cash flow opens up a wealth of opportunities for capital allocation and opening up different types of growth paths.13. You follow several companies (BBS, Biohit, Bioretec, Faron Pharmaceuticals, Modulight, Nexstim, and Orion) that I think are very risky lottery tickets, excluding perhaps Orion. Isn’t investing in many stocks like these quite a bit of a gamble? Somehow, many of these feel like such challenging targets for ordinary investors that at most they could only take a small “fun position” in them.
A good question that would deserve a more thorough answer than is possible here. Personally, I see really only Faron as somewhat of a lottery ticket due to the nature of drug development. Of course, future uncertainty is higher in these companies on average than in the rest of the stock market. Company-specifically, this uncertainty varies a lot and is of a different nature in different companies. However, success is in the companies’ own hands, so I form forecasts and an understanding of the probability of long-term success and competitive factors by evaluating them. Here are a few themes through which I evaluate a company’s probability of success and thereby good stock returns:
The company’s operational activities and management quality. Are the company’s resources and the quality of its execution sufficient to succeed in the market? Companies operate fundamentally in international markets, so the quality of execution must be at a high level to succeed there. Comparing the company’s previously given outlook to what subsequently materialized (talk vs. actions) gives an indication of how likely the currently stated outlook is to materialize in the future. The history of the business is likely to repeat itself for better or worse, unless significant changes have taken place in the company. Evaluating this is probably as easy or difficult for investors less familiar with the industry as it is with other sectors.
Product quality/competitiveness. Products are sold in evidence-based markets, so the product must be better than competitors in terms of efficacy, safety, cost, etc. profile. An example is Orion’s Nubeqa, which is comparable to competitors in efficacy, but better than them in its adverse event profile. Evaluating a product’s competitiveness may be difficult from outside the industry, so hopefully analyses will help with this.
Binary risk. For example, a drug candidate can become worthless if the efficacy or safety profile is not good enough. This thus brings genuine lottery-ticket-like nature. In Medtech or diagnostics companies, this is typically less present.
Financing risk. Is equity financing needed? How many rounds? When? How have previous share issues succeeded? Is there a risk of drifting into a heavily diluting anti-spiral?
Marketing authorizations. Is there a possibility that the marketing authorization will not be granted or will be significantly delayed? What are the consequences of the delay, e.g., regarding financing?
So in summary: I do not see investments as a gamble, but there is certainly future uncertainty. An ordinary investor should probably keep positions modest and remember good diversification.
14. In your opinion, what is the hardest part of an analyst’s job? What do you like most about your work?
I like almost everything, really. Getting to know companies and discussing cases with colleagues, cooperating with company management and employees, modeling and writing, etc.
I am better at slow thinking than fast thinking. Therefore, I think the hardest part is getting all the new information summarized into the model on earnings day, when reading the report, following the webcast, asking questions, interviewing management, and writing the report itself all take up time on the same day. I would gladly spend even more time pondering and digesting new information.
15. You have to hand over your portfolio for three years to two Inderes members who are not analysts and two forum members, who would you choose and why?
Yu Gong. I don’t know what would happen to the portfolio, but at least I would get a good laugh from Yu’s jokes. Antti Järvenpää. I haven’t actually talked about investing with Antti very much, but he is a smart and cultured man to such an extent that I don’t doubt his investment skills for a second. Sijoittaja-Alokas. Even I know that it pays to recruit talent, not skill. I firmly believe that Alokas’s passion for investing will carry far into the future. Mauri similarly seems like an extremely smart and passionate investor who approaches things with an open mind.
(I’m tagging you so you notice: @Yu_Gong, @Antti_Jarvenpaa, and @Mauri regards, Alokas)
16. In your opinion, what is the best thing about our Forum? What are your favorite threads, if the threads of the companies you follow are not counted?
Despite the instruction, I have to mention the Faron thread as top quality thanks to, among others, jerej, Vino_Pino, and Rushimato. Otherwise, I follow the threads of Life Science companies other than those under my coverage and threads concerning Inderes. Following other threads is sporadic due to lack of time. The best part is probably the background work of enthusiastic people and the unearthing of new facts and perspectives.
(I’m tagging you so you notice: @jerej, @Vino_Pino, and @Rushimato regards, Alokas)
17. If you could teach/internalize one thing related to analyses to the forum members at the push of a button, what would it be and why?
The valuation of several companies I follow is imprecise in nature due to future uncertainties. For this reason, a target price condensed into a single exact figure is something that I think should not be taken very literally. The direction of the recommendation is more relevant. I would believe, though, that many have already internalized this.
18. Do you have concrete investment-related goals, for example, euro-denominated or percentage targets?
There are no numerical targets, but through stock picking and quantitative investing, I aim for a better risk-adjusted return than the index.
19. How could Alokas learn to invest in slightly riskier and/or companies in more challenging industries?
In addition to basic work, such as getting to know companies and reading analyses, I would encourage everyone to ask questions actively. I am happy to answer questions and forward them to management through interviews. Questions also help me spar with my own thoughts, which became evident once again with this interview!
20. What would you especially like to thank the forum members for?
For high-quality discussions even during a more bearish market.
Thanks to Antti for the very interesting answers!
At least for my part, I got some food for thought and information from this interview that I can use when researching various companies that I don’t necessarily have the same kind of “touchpoint” with as I do with more common companies.
Antti has a great way of explaining things in an interesting and clear manner, making others interested in things they wouldn’t have been interested in otherwise. Of course, what you say is important, but so is how you say it, simply from the perspective of learning and understanding—that’s (also) why I’m an Inderes fan.
Thanks and have a great weekend everyone!
P.S. From this Friday afternoon until perhaps Sunday, I will be much less active on the Forum, so I might not be able to react to flags, tags, or private messages. We are spending some quality time with old friends. I will probably drop by the Forum to read a bit and post a couple of messages.
I respected Antti a lot, but even more after the interview.
I like being able to ask people all sorts of things; it’s nice to get to know new and different people, and you always learn something in the process. This thread of mine is personally wonderful because I get to ask smart and diverse investors about things that interest me.
I hope that my interviews, for their part, help make the community even more tight-knit.
Next week, it’s time for that one IR person.
Thanks to the readers, take it easy and have a nice rest of your summer day! 
This Friday, July 18th, it’s the turn of the company representative I’ve been hinting at in many posts, so I won’t say more about that.
Next week, it will be the turn of an analyst who has been praised as a realistic analyst—a view I very much agree with, by the way. In addition, he’s a sharp guy who produces high-quality material and spends a commendable amount of time on the Forum too.
Have a great earnings week everyone, and try to survive Thursday, when 20 companies are scheduled to report!
43. EMMI BERLIN
When thinking about familiar figures in investor relations across different companies, the first ones that immediately come to mind for me are @Mirko_Sampo_IR and, of course, Emmi Berlin. Numerous people have praised Emmi to me in private messages (and she is certainly praised elsewhere too!), and I am not surprised at all. Thanks to Emmi and Mirko, the companies they represent become more familiar, a stronger bond of trust is formed with these companies, and such individuals create an even better overall image of the companies.
Gofore is one of my favorite companies, and that is largely based on what I have heard and read about it as an employer. I must say that Emmi and Gofore are a great match in my opinion—both in a way represent certain long-term and sustainable values, the implementation of which is rewarding, especially in the long run. Role models are always needed, for example, Gofore as an employer and Emmi in charge of communications; Emmi also excels at bringing up important matters in a human and understandable way rather than distantly and suspiciously hiding things, meaning many companies could take a cue from Emmi.
The investment world needs more positive optimists like Emmi, who sustainably move things forward with kindness. Emmi listens to others and discusses matters with investors and other parties, communicating in a way that allows everyone to feel on equal ground. It is easy to think that what Emmi and Gofore do and communicate are obvious, easy things, but that does not seem to be the case when looking at how things are generally done.
Others besides investors and companies would certainly also find useful food for thought in Emmi’s thoughts and answers.
1. Describe who you are in thirty words.
I am Emmi, 46, mother of two teens, enthusiastic communicator, locally rooted from Tampere, a traveler who has seen the world, Ilves fan, history nerd, book lover, food enthusiast. At work early, last at parties, sometimes at the gym. At a furious pace, with a great vibe, with dry humor.
2. Name three things that forum members do not know about you.
Many know that I have been a communicator and IRO for Spinnova, which develops ecological textile fiber, but hardly anyone remembers that about 13 years ago I was in the same role at Neo Industrial (now Reka), which tried to start the production of ecological viscose fiber in its Avilon business at Valkeakoski’s Säteri. It was a great disappointment when the project collapsed as the viscose market overheated just as former employees of the previously closed factory were being hired back. I have always appreciated being the underdog, rising from there to a winner, and the courage to try to do something significant in general. I don’t even think success is what decides it—the main thing is that an attempt is made.
At the turn of the millennium, in my early twenties, I was a beginner working at a communications agency focused on financial and investor relations. At that time, my clients included the Helsinki Stock Exchange and the Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion (Pörssisäätiö), and financial sector players and market laws became familiar. I edited the foundation’s web magazine, which included the monthly “Seppo’s List,” meaning stocks recommended by Seppo Saario. I learned a lot about stock picking from that. Other favorite people of mine in the industry from that time were finance professor Vesa Puttonen, whom I regularly interviewed, the late Russia expert Pekka Sutela, and portfolio managers Mika Heikkilä and Tomas Hildebrandt.
An even more ancient funny fact is that as the 90s tech bubble was building, I was at the other end of the famous Evli IPO queues, namely in the bank’s customer service, where we churned out contracts for retail investors. My career in communications also began at Evli, where in '99 I ran their first intranet project. Before that, the internal communication of the rapidly growing organization of about 500 people was mostly handled through company-wide emails, so the need for new structures was clear.
Even now, 24 years later, there are still companies that have not understood the importance of internal communication. I admire Evli’s founders anyway, and building an intranet at such an early stage was particularly far-sighted—meaning very typical of their thinking.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You are not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
I wish I could list something interesting as a hobby, but besides being a mother of two children and having a challenging full-time job, I haven’t felt I have time for any regular hobbies. Next, as bandwidth starts to free up when the kids are in their teens, I would like to do volunteer work. I exercise somehow every day; I jog, do yoga to calm down, or grind at the gym depending on my mood. Travel, good food, and wine are among my interests 
When traveling, I usually want to go somewhere where I can both relax and explore historical sights. I can stand in museums for hours. Shopping is no longer among my hobbies; instead, I prefer recycled fashion. Effort must be put into ecological consumption, finding things out, and being committed to conserving natural resources, so I suppose that is some kind of hobby too.
**4. What is a normal weekday like for you?**I wake up around 7:30 a.m. and, depending on the day’s schedule, either stay home to work or walk/take the tram to the office if it’s raining—at least if someone asked “Are you coming in tomorrow?” the day before. My colleagues are so amazing that it’s always nice to go to the workplace. Although an IRO is sort of always on standby, I relatively rarely work overtime, so I trudge back home between four and five, make food for the teenagers, and usually head out for the gym or a run. If the kids are not with me, I will likely see a friend or have a long phone call with a friend who lives far away. My friends are very important to me, and some of them also live in my former hometowns of Helsinki and Jyväskylä. You can even do chores while on the phone. I’m a bad sleeper, so in the evenings I prefer to read rather than binge streaming series, with varying success.
5. Could you tell us about your work history?
I started my communications career at Evli in the late 90s, and at the turn of the 2000s, I moved to an agency specializing in financial and investor communications. Our clients were large listed companies and financial sector operators, and typical for the spirit of the time, we produced a lot of print publications, but online magazines and investor pages were also making their way in back then. I was independently responsible for large client accounts and learned, as a managing editor and producer, to juggle multiple time-critical projects at the same time. Work that builds stress tolerance was good training for future roles.
I love not only producing text, but also editing and translating texts written by others. However, I don’t feel like an expert huddled in a corner; rather, I am an extrovert and often the person in the company I represent who knows almost everyone and knows a little bit about everything. I have a jovial personality, which I think suits this kind of people-centric service profession.
I got my first IR job in 2005 when my client Glaston chose me as their Communications and Investor Relations Manager. I got both this and several future jobs because I had convinced someone in the company with my previous work. I left Glaston with mixed feelings after getting married and moving to Jyväskylä. An interesting cleantech career opened up for me there; I was responsible for the communications of wind power company Moventas for about five years.
In 2010, the daughters of Moventas saved from the parent company’s bankruptcy had just been sold for a euro apiece to a stingy industrial investor, and they were being restructured for almost the entire time I worked there. As a communicator during those years, I experienced probably every change that can happen in a company and learned to do a lot with a very small budget. Renewable energy was also a very meaningful cause to work for. After a few other turns, such as being responsible for the current Reka’s group communications and IR, I ended up at Spinnova in 2017. The 4.5-year journey that started from there was a great achievement. In my work at Gofore, I am focusing solely on investor communications for the first time, and the company couldn’t be better in terms of its reputation, performance, and culture.
6. Could you describe what kind of investor you are?
Although I have been involved in the financial sector for almost my entire career, I haven’t been systematic enough to invest myself. It’s embarrassing to admit this at this age, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk, rather you should change things. My most important investments currently are my first (and only) home in Tampere and—surprise, surprise—Spinnova and Gofore shares found in my stock portfolio. Two very different, but in my opinion, good investment targets. I also think my former employer Glaston has been an undervalued stock for a long time. I feel that an IRO has almost an obligation to own the company they represent, even though I also understand if someone, specifically for hygiene reasons, does not want to do this.
If I choose individual stocks in the future, I will do so based on both historical return and, even more so, on gut feeling, and very likely with an ESG angle. I regret not participating in the IPOs of Kempower or Betolar, for example. Climate change is, in my view, (unfortunately) the megatrend of megatrends, and all business focused on combating climate change has growth potential—you just have to separate the wheat from the chaff. I understand industrial and commercial scaling to some extent, which is what I would pay attention to in these.
7. We talked a bit beforehand, and you mentioned that you invest on behalf of your children. What can be found in their investment portfolios? On what basis have you chosen the contents of their portfolios?
The children’s fund investments are in moderate funds. Back in the day, me and the children’s father followed Seppo Saario’s advice, meaning we have invested child benefits.
8. What do you want to teach your children about financial management, saving, and investing?
I want both of them to understand the value of a good education and work. Teenagers nowadays seem to have a lot of role models among people who have gotten rich through something other than long-term work or, for example, honest entrepreneurship.
Quick wins happen very rarely or never in life, but if I myself had saved even a euro a day since my children’s age, I would be a rich woman. I also want to give both of them the advice that even when getting married, it’s good to maintain your own finances and security for the future, and preferably make a prenuptial agreement.
9. What have your jobs at Gofore and Spinnova taught you about investing?
At Gofore, I have seen how open a company can be if it wants to—on the other hand, this has made me realize how little some companies provide information about their operations. Therefore, I would probably pay very close attention to both the company’s reporting and all other communications, because thanks to my modest portfolio, I would be able and want to monitor the affairs of the company I own very closely. I think communication is an underestimated asset overall. When done right, it can be a competitive advantage, especially for an investment target.
**10. Well, tell us investors, what kind of employer was Spinnova?**Back in 2017, I was only the 10th employee, and even then, it was very important for Spinnova to be a good employer and take care of its people. Although rapid growth always brings growing pains, the company has had a remarkably low turnover rate. All Spinnovateurs are inspired by their meaningful mission and proud of their achievements, as they should be. Few investors know or remember that, for example, the massive project for the factory that started in spring was pulled off by the company with a very small organization, meaning they are capable of incredible feats.
Among the oldest Spinnovateurs, everyone, right down to the founders, consists of former researchers. Going from a researcher to an ultra-agile industrial developer must have been an incredible personal transformation journey for each of them. For the rest of my life, I will be proud to have been a part of executing that great climate mission. As I described earlier in the Neo Industrial context as well, I truly respect all brave entrepreneurs and founders.
11. Well, how have you liked working at Gofore, what is the best part about working there?
For me, the best part has been the amazing colleagues who have become my friends. It’s telling that, for example, last autumn I spent my delayed summer vacation with a group of colleagues, and this year’s winter vacation trip was made with my boss. In the work itself, the best part is that while there is familiarity, there is also constant challenge. Gofore never rests on its laurels, not even in IR. The spirit of continuous learning and a questioning pioneer mindset is in Gofore’s DNA.
Gofore has two values: to be the best possible workplace and to succeed through the success of its customers. The word count granted by this interview wouldn’t be enough to tell of Gofore’s workplace deeds, but they are quite exceptional things—and like our company-specific collective agreement (TES), also things that others copy. It is a privilege and a pride to work in such a company.
12. What do you think are Gofore’s best aspects? What things do you think an investor should especially monitor at Gofore?
Gofore has performed well even in a somewhat sluggish market during the past year or so that I have represented the company. Therefore, the most common investor question is what our secret is. Even though we are otherwise such a fun and interesting company, this can only be answered with a somewhat boring response. Gofore has done long-term work in accordance with the previously mentioned values for 20 years and has been very consistent in executing its strategy. Because we sell our experts’ know-how, the experts are genuinely our most precious treasure, and a lot of effort has been and is being spent on nurturing them. Customer relationships are also built long-term and consistently, and the number of customers paying over one million euros a year is steadily growing all the time.
If you look at a longer timeline, Gofore’s commitment to public sector expertise has paid off and carried us through even challenging years. Alongside it, the private sector’s approx. 40% share of net sales is growing as, among other things, the digitalization needs of industry and machinery manufacturing increase. Gofore has consistently built the necessary expertise for this for several years now. Although we constantly seek and achieve growth, we do not take excessive risks in, for example, corporate acquisitions or internationalization.
There are no safe havens in the stock market, but stable, predictable operations combined with frequent reporting borders on being as safely unsurprising as a direct stock investment can be.
Of Gofore’s key figures, I would at a minimum monitor organic growth and EBITDA, because we seek both growth and profitability, as well as personnel-related key figures. If I do say so myself, our interim reports are versatile and worth reading with their appendices; they provide, among other things, examples of our customer implementations, as well as our near-term risk assessment and longer-term market outlooks, meticulously prepared on a quarterly basis.
13. What is good investor relations (IR) communication like in your opinion?
In my opinion, Gofore’s investor communication is exemplarily open, and I am proud of it, even though it’s not my own doing. At our company, people genuinely and constantly think about how we could improve transparency even further and, of course, be consistent in it. Gofore has generally made many open-minded decisions in the spirit that if we think they are good and there are no obstacles, they are implemented, even if no one else has done it first.
Monthly reporting has been a fantastic choice, and I am surprised that more companies haven’t copied it. Many IR teams would probably shy away from public monthly reporting, but producing the report isn’t even a big hassle and removes the need for earnings guidance and profit warnings. That is valuable for the investor and for the steady value formation of the share.
IR doesn’t have to be rocket science, and regulations don’t prevent a personal touch. I found it heartwarming when Inderes announced last winter that they would start reporting monthly key figures precisely inspired by us. So what pleased me here was both that Gofore was able to inspire another listed company to equally up-to-date reporting, and also that Inderes publicly stated they took a cue from us. I don’t know if anything like this has ever happened
One thing that probably all IR teams have faced in recent years is that sometimes even in IR, you have to admit that you don’t know or that you cannot assess or forecast. I think it’s important to articulate that as well. Investors certainly understand how much the corona pandemic or foreign and domestic political turmoil has challenged and continues to challenge all actors in society.
IR can also be, besides strictly on-topic, as error-free and fully regulatory compliant as possible, also approachable, conversational, and relaxed. A prominent figure in the IR industry recently paid me a great compliment; that I have once again done good, “Emmi-style IR,” meaning just that. The way of working isn’t tactical or the polishing of a personal brand, but simply my way of being and communicating, and I think it also represents Gofore’s culture well.
14. What do you think of Inderes’s communication in general?
I like its relaxed approach. At this year’s Pörssigaala (Stock Exchange Gala), Mikael Rautanen and I praised each other for how we have stood out in this regard. The investment world has traditionally been a bit too mysterious and solemn. Inderes does not take itself too seriously and has strongly transformed the industry’s content by experimenting with different formats without making the content overly entertaining. I also really like how Inderes’ experts put themselves on the line, make appearances, and, for example, make their own portfolios public.
(@Mikael_Rautanen, I pinged you so you’d notice, regards Alokas)
15. Could you tell us in what different ways Gofore has benefited from being an Inderes client company?
I think Inderes is an important, if not the most important, forum for retail investors, and therefore also a valuable platform for the company to monitor their views and attitudes towards the information the company provides. However, a company’s participation on the forum should not be limited to passive listening and “benefiting” from the discussion, but should also involve interaction – it’s good to remember that failing to communicate is also always a message. Organizational communication stopped being one-way broadcasting a long time ago.
Gofore has benefited not only from @Joni_Gronqvist’s good analysis, which forum members use quite diligently, but also from a functioning event concept. We use Flik for all IR events, and things run like clockwork with them. I particularly like Grön’s earnings lives; it’s interesting to hear firsthand how an analyst reads and interprets reports.
16. User @Pohjolan_Eka asked Inderes’ CEO “…can you at Inderes also somehow explain why it’s worth organizing a CMD in the first place?” Could you answer why such events are worth organizing?
A CMD is definitely an important event! It allows you to delve deeper into themes that might otherwise be hard to find a suitable forum or format for. Back in the day, CMDs were the privilege of a smaller circle; nowadays, it’s great that both the live stream and the recording are available to everyone – at least usually.
17. Why do you invest, and moreover, why do you invest for your children?
Investing is an essential part of saving, although as Sirkka-Liisa Roine, the former CEO of the Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion, used to say: you should only invest disposable money. I invest for the children for the future and also so that they would understand the value of saving and investing, and perhaps in the future also become interested in the corporate world and the business behind shares.
18. What has investing and/or the “investment world” brought to your life?
Investing in the shares of the company I represent gives, in my opinion, an extra boost to IR work when you can relate to the investor specifically as an owner of this company. As a communicator, I have tried almost every genre, but IR is in a way the most rewarding of them because only information moves stock prices. You can see the success of a message in the stock price, and you constantly get insight from the investment community on how the message is received, what messages might still be missing, or if a message has even been misunderstood. For example, in PR, measuring and interpreting the reception of a message can be harder because you can never know how the reader has taken the matter. In addition to other professional development, the investment world has of course also given a lot of knowledge and understanding related to this stakeholder group; the ability to look at things through the eyes of an investor and, indeed, an owner oneself.
19. Can you give Alokas a tip on which company materials he should follow in particular in order to better understand the company as an investment target?
Like a delightfully large number of forum members do, I would also follow all of the company’s communication and its interpretations from other sources. Investor relations as a genre is not suitable for everything, and other formats and channels must be found for messages of different levels. I also feel that people are always interesting, but communication is too often faceless. It’s a shame that Finnish business leaders on average don’t want to step into the spotlight or produce content themselves for their own channels. This would be valuable for companies and investors.
20. What do you particularly want to thank the forum members for?
I have followed the discussion on the forums for a few years and both shared and especially received a lot of information and insights. I am truly impressed by how knowledgeable many are about individual companies’ matters, and how many professionals from various fields are among the commenters, bringing perspectives and facts to others. The discussion is also mostly always polite and constructive.
I have also received a lot of wonderful feedback from the forum both for the companies I represent and for myself personally, which is quite a rare treat for a communicator. Thanks, among others, to @KuHa and @Aili for your touching messages.
Thank you Emmi for the really nicely written and content-rich answers!
As I stated at the beginning of the interview, her answers and thoughts give you a lot to think about. I got food for thought regarding investing, but also working life and communication + many other things as well.
Hopefully, various companies and company representatives will read Emmi’s answers and learn from them. Anyway, while reading the answers, I got the feeling that Gofore is a good place to work, and I noticed the fact that there is a lot in common between Gofore & Inderes.
A different kind of interview this time, thanks and have a great weekend everyone!
It was a pleasure to read Emmi’s answers, and she was actually a requested interviewee, which I am not at all surprised by.
Emmi, @Mirko_Sampo_IR, @Harri_Sieppi, and many other company representatives have done a great job by engaging directly with the Forum. It’s a win-win situation; here are just a couple of examples of how you benefit: you strengthen people’s trust in your company and, in general, make your firm more familiar to investors. So, dear company representatives, it is worth engaging with the Forum if you trust your own company. You are very welcome here.
I still have a lot of work to do on my own communication skills, but perhaps I’ll gradually improve by following the example of the aforementioned individuals.
Let’s take care of our high-quality and friendly Forum together. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Next week, it’s the turn of a smart and composed analyst who has been praised for their activity on the Forum and for the realism with which they evaluate the companies they analyze.
Then, in the near future, we’ll feature a forum member who reminds me a bit of @anon38833097, though there are certainly differences between them—and they are also a high-quality contributor.
Additionally, questions have been sent to several interviewees, and they will respond when they have the time; however, a new interview will be posted for you to read every Friday.
Wishing everyone an exciting investment week ahead!
44. Olli Vilppo
Often Inderes analysts are appreciated for their independence; after all, they don’t really need to please anyone with their recommendations and analyses, nor do they need to boost the sales of investment products through their work. I believe independent analysis is reliable and realistic—and in my opinion, Olli Vilppo does this kind of analysis exceptionally well. I notice that many have an exceptionally high level of trust in what he does, and I believe his strengths include emotional control and looking at things objectively from many different angles, which helps produce high-quality analysis.
Olli has also received praise for how active he is among the community on the Forum, and I believe he is very good at getting a lot out of the Forum for his own work, for example, by reading various thoughts from different investors.
I appreciate the clarity, certain conciseness, and various good arguments in his materials that allow an investor like me to genuinely understand what it’s all about. He truly has a knack for focusing on the essentials and thus Olli knows how to leave unnecessary and minor side issues unaddressed, but on the other hand, I also notice how carefully he thinks things through, so nothing really gets left unnoticed.
Well then… time to go read the analytical analyst’s answers.
1. Tell us in thirty words who you are.
Olli Vilppo. On the other hand, a very analytical optimizer who often ponders expected values, but on the other hand, a relaxed hanger-on who appreciates the present moment. My educational background is M.Sc. (Tech.) in industrial management, and my family includes my wife and a 3-year-old daughter.
2. Tell us three things that forum members don’t know about you.
I spent a year as an exchange student in Italy, and it brought a lot of extra sociability to my personality, which activates especially when I start speaking Italian.
If I ever get stressed and nothing else helps, I can completely clear my head with 1.5 hours of Ashtanga yoga.
During my student days (10 years ago) I was extremely good at poker and thus Inderes’s toughest poker shark. Admittedly, out of the three tournaments held within the company over the last 6 years, I haven’t won a single one.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You are not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
All kinds of sports: football among team sports, and among individual sports, especially disciplines where you seemingly play against someone else, but the biggest struggle takes place between your own ears (tennis, golf). Also spending time in nature and cross-country skiing. I also really like reading interesting books.
4. What is a regular weekday like for you?
I usually wake up in the mornings at the same time our daughter decides it’s time to get up, which is between 6:00 and 8:00 AM. My wife takes care of dropping her off at daycare, and after a shared breakfast, I move to my home office to see if I need to write about any news that came into the morning report. After this, depending on my work calendar, I either head to the office or stay and work remotely. I get more work done when working remotely, and time isn’t wasted on a 40-minute commute (I cycle in the summer and take the tram in winter), but being remote is boring compared to coming to the office.
At 4:15 PM I need to be at the daycare near our home to pick up our child, which is always the best part of the day. After that, we usually hang out outside for a bit and go have dinner (sometimes my wife cooks, sometimes I do). In the evening, if nothing surprising is happening in the tracking portfolio anymore, I play more with the child, or if it’s my wife’s turn to take care of things, I take some me-time, with the goal of doing a little workout.
The child usually falls asleep around 9:00–10:00 PM, after which I might spend time with my wife if I have any energy left, or watch a bit of mindless TV. Then off to sleep around 10:30 PM.
5. How would you describe yourself as an investor?
Warren Buffett-like. I look for quality companies that have a clear competitive advantage, but the company’s valuation must not be too expensive considering the business dynamics. I want to thoroughly understand what I have bought, so that price fluctuations (other people’s perception of fair value) do not affect my mood.
I have also bought many of the companies I follow myself when the price has been right, because I know them like the back of my hand, whereas there is less time left to scour the rest of the investment universe, especially after having a child.
6. Could you tell us what your investment history is like?
During my student days, poker started generating good income, and I wanted to make that extra money yield a return. I started direct stock investments, if I recall correctly, in 2008 shortly before the financial crisis, and back then I bought Kesko. However, Kesko wasn’t quite the same quality company back then as it is today, and the stock price tanked during the financial crisis. I also bought Nokia around that time because it was supposed to be a strong company, but that didn’t go entirely smoothly either.
As a result of these mistakes, I decided that I needed to learn how to invest properly. I read a few different investment books, but they didn’t really steer my thinking in the right direction. It wasn’t until I got my hands on Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor that I got truly excited about investing, and whenever I read that book, Graham’s intelligence somehow stimulates my own brain as well. The book, last updated in the 70s, contains several fantastic, timeless concepts related to investing, such as the manic-depressive Mr. Market, the use of a margin of safety, and, say, the impact of interest rate levels on acceptable valuations.
I came to work for Inderes in 2017, and since then my understanding of investing has grown immensely, and I suppose it’s true that if you do something for over 10,000 hours, you usually get good at it, especially when working alongside the best in the field.
7. Do your trading restrictions bother you in particular?
Trading rules are important and clear, and it is a matter of honor for an analyst to make the conclusions of the analysis available to investors before being able to act oneself.I wouldn’t say that restrictions hinder investing very much, but they do affect my own investment strategy, and when making purchases, one must consider whether they are prepared to hold onto the stock for the long haul. Returns are usually hindered by that classic situation where a company with a lukewarm “accumulate” recommendation cannot be swapped for a better one for a couple of years, even if the case turns out not to be quite as good as originally thought.
8. What kind of portfolio do you currently have? How have you thought about your portfolio’s diversification?
Inderes is by far the biggest, KH Group the second biggest, Terveystalo and Puuilo the next biggest, followed by Google, QT, Harvia, HelloFresh, Admicom, Sampo, Valmet, Fortum, Match Group, Wärtsilä, Tokmanni, and Kamux.
I haven’t thought about diversification in any particular way, but of course, risk diversification is a goal and a smart move.
9. What is your stock-picking process step-by-step?
The company must have some clear competitive advantage or quality factor that gets me interested. I usually monitor interesting companies for a longer period, and then when the price has a sufficient margin of safety as estimated by me (i.e., sufficiently low valuation multiples), I try to strike.
That is why I like to accumulate cash always for these moments. I also usually try to build a DCF or look at it from Inderes’ reports if I’m putting any larger stakes in, as this takes the big picture into account best, even though it always requires making assumptions.
10. What kind of “cash philosophy” do you have? Do you try to collect a cash cushion at times to time the market, or do you do like me, where you hardly try to time the market at all, so your cash cushion is always quite small?
As I answered above, I generally accumulate a cash cushion when stocks seem too expensive, so I have ammunition when Mr. Market adopts a depressive mood regarding a stock. I don’t easily start selling unless the valuation is completely bubbly in my own eyes (e.g., I reduced my Match Group holding by half near the 2021 peak) or my original investment thesis went down the drain (e.g., Rapala most recently in the spring).
Having a cash cushion also guarantees an easier state of mind mentally. When prices drop, I’m glad to be able to buy good stocks even more affordably, but if they rise, I can enjoy the fact that the value of my current portfolio is increasing.
11. Tell us in thirty words per company what you think of these stocks:
Kesko has become a very high-quality managed company during Helander’s tenure, and money is no longer made in one place and wasted in another. The company features several market leaders with pricing power, such as Kespro, Onninen, K-Rauta, and the Grocery trade (a strong market number two). A good long-term investment, even though the current challenging market environment keeps profit growth at bay.
KH Group’s most important holding, KH-Koneet, is managed with high quality and has strong principal relationships and representations as well as a self-directed culture. At the current low share price, the investment thesis is that in addition to KH Koneet, the other companies (Indoor, NRG, HTJ, and cash) come almost as a bonus when the sum of the parts is unlocked.
Puuilo’s concept rocks regardless of the economic cycle, and stronger growth compared to main competitors and twice as good profitability are typical signs of a quality company. At least so far, I haven’t figured out what could go wrong in this defensive growth story.
Tokmanni is in an interesting situation after acquiring Dollarstore in Sweden. With this, the company gained much-needed growth leeway in a new market. However, the acquisition target itself was pricey, and time will tell if Mr. Tokmanni paid overprice for the first time in his life.
12. What information sources do you use in investing if Inderes cannot be mentioned? What company materials in particular would you recommend an ordinary investor to read?
The annual report and the IPO prospectus are at least good. I wrote an article about information retrieval for the Analysis School earlier, linked here: Tietolähteet ja taustatyö | Inderes: Osakeanalyysit, mallisalkku, osakevertailu & aamukatsaus
13. What is the hardest part of an analyst’s job? Does it stress you that your work is so visible in every way?
For me, the hardest part of an analyst’s job is balancing private life and working life while taking care of one’s own well-being. This is because sometimes unpredictable things happen (Russia’s invasion, pandemic, etc., profit warnings), and thus planning one’s own schedule is not entirely in one’s own hands. At the same time, our customer promise to investors is speed, and the analysis should be ready before the stock exchange opens. This unpredictability has been particularly challenging in recent years when combined with another unpredictable factor, namely a child’s colds, which during a couple of years of daycare have been so numerous that I’ve lost count.
Publicity naturally brings pressures too, but one gets used to it over years. If it were just my own money, I probably wouldn’t think about these investment targets anywhere near this much, and it would be easier to accept that if you know 90%, you already know enough. Now, since it is also the money of investors reading the analysis, I sometimes end up turning things over in my own head for too long, e.g., what could go wrong here.
14. How did you end up specifically following these companies (Kesko, KH Group, Pihlajalinna, Puuilo, Rapala, Terveystalo, and Tokmanni)? You perhaps don’t have the sexiest companies under coverage; does that bother/bore you?
I started at Inderes in 2017 as Sauli’s junior, and after about a year of learning the ropes very intensively in Juha’s and Sauli’s corner office, I was ready to take on my own companies to cover. My own companies were initially determined somewhat randomly based on which companies coverage was successfully sold to, and later on, more synergies have been sought in the portfolio.In 2018, Loudspring and Sievi came under my coverage. I also took over the coverage of Kesko, Verkkis, Rapala, and Aspo from Sauli. In 2019, Terveystalo and Silmäasema came under my coverage, with the latter being a very short-lived coverage due to Coronaria’s “hostile” tender offer, which ultimately went through.
In 2020, Pihlajalinna was transferred to me from Kajaani when Mehiläinen’s tender offer did not materialize, as there were good synergies with Terveystalo, and at the same time Loudspring was transferred to Luiro. In 2020, Musti also came under my coverage. In 2021, I took over Puuilo’s coverage, and in 2022, Tokmanni’s after Kajaani stopped covering it. Last autumn, I dropped the number of companies from ten to eight after Musti terminated its agreement and Sauli took Aspo back under his own coverage. This change was due to the realization that amidst the busy family years, I no longer had enough time to recover from work.
15. In what ways do you benefit from the Forum in your work, or do you benefit at all?
In my opinion, the Forum is a great place that has managed to maintain a positive atmosphere where investors help each other, which is why I also like hanging out there regularly myself.
First, the questions from forum members make me realize where I need to sharpen my communication if it seems that investors haven’t understood something correctly.
Second, there are sometimes good challenges, which makes me think about the investment case from a different angle.
Third, an analyst’s information retrieval has become immensely easier, because before we had the forum, the morning report team tried browsing various news portals to see if any news had come out that the company hadn’t announced. Nowadays, if there is an interesting piece of news in a newspaper, it is usually linked to the forum right in the morning by some investor.
16. You have to hand over your portfolio for five years to four forum members; who would you choose and why?
This is a difficult question; the most important thing for me in such an assignment is trust and skill. I don’t know the forum members behind the usernames very well, even though many usernames come to mind with whom it is rewarding to discuss. Analysts are also on the forum, so if I may mention them, I probably read the buy recommendations given by Juha and Antti the most carefully, as they also have a technical university background and their train of thought is the easiest for me to follow.
(@Juha_Kinnunen and @Antti_Viljakainen, I tagged you so you notice this, regards Alokas)
17. To be able to accumulate investment wealth, one must know how to save. Are you a hard saver, or do you have a high savings rate? And why or why not?
I have a relatively high savings rate because I try to avoid fixed expenses, and many of the hobbies I do are not expensive. However, I don’t try to save on everything; instead, I spend money on things that I see bringing clear value to myself, such as good ingredients for cooking, dining at a good restaurant, or a relaxing holiday.
18. What is the best part of working at Inderes? Is Inderes a good employer?
The best part is this amazing group of people, and it feels like everyone on the 9th floor is also my friend. I remember when I applied for the job, I didn’t really have friends who were interested in investing or at least understood it. Making friends like this was the biggest thing for me when I got the position.
Nowadays, some of my own friends are also very interested in investing, and it has been great to realize that our work at Inderes has played a big part in that.
19. How could Alokas learn to analyze a company more deeply? Do you have a couple of tips for that?
Based on the meme thread, I understand you do more transactions than research. This should clearly be the other way around. When you do good research and know what you have bought, you also won’t panic if the market crashes.
A method that might work is that for the rest of the year, you are only allowed to buy a maximum of 3 different companies, and once you have bought them, you are no longer allowed to buy new companies this year. This should work in such a way that you increase the proportion of research and decrease the number of transactions. You will no longer want to put money into an asset you don’t know well, because your money deserves only the best investment targets.
20. What do you especially want to thank the forum members for?
Thank you for being there to cheer us on and challenge us. Coming to the forum always reminds us who we are ultimately doing this work for.
Thanks for the content-rich answers!
Mr. Vilppo does meticulous work without getting too bogged down in trivia, genuinely seeing the forest for the trees. Olli’s tip is certainly suitable for everyone: “When you do good research and know what you have bought, you also won’t panic if the market crashes.” In other words, put effort into stock picking so you can sleep soundly at night, and remember patience… this is a marathon. Few regret having fought through a crash, but those who sold at the bottom and gave up probably do.
Thanks everyone and have a great weekend!
Olli has certainly received a lot of praise in private messages, both on WhatsApp and in the forum’s PMs. I even passed on some greetings to Olli. I think many analysts don’t even realize how many people appreciate their work – especially at times when their recommendations and target prices are being criticized.
Perhaps some investors and analysts are considered bearish, but in my opinion, for example, Bear Kinnunen, Rauli-Bear, or Realist-Olli are just neutral… not bears or bulls. I personally like the style of the Inderes analysts, which is characterized by a certain moderation, but it’s true that forecasts don’t always hit the mark. Even so, in these cases, the versatility of the analyses has been a great help. After all, they always include things like risks and opportunities, as well as the “pros and cons.”
In my view, continuous learning, openness, and a long-term approach ensure that things will likely turn out well in the long run.
Have a relaxed Friday evening and thanks for the excellent investment and economic discussions!
Next week we have a fellow lined up, about whom I actually mentioned to Kimi Heikkilä that this guy writes a bit like him, and I told the other one that you write in the same way as Kimi.
Then on August 11th, I’ll publish an interview with a certain duo. 
Later on, there will be, among others, a forum member with a large portfolio and an analyst.
Have a nice and relaxed Sunday everyone!
45. Lazyway
Lazyway somewhat reminds me of @anon38833097 (whom I interviewed a long time ago), meaning I view Lazyway as an investor who has so-called common sense; he doesn’t make things more complicated than they actually are… unlike we investors often tend to do when we get hung up on minor details instead of trying to see the forest for the trees. In my opinion, Lazyway is good at reading “numbers” as well as looking at investment targets from different perspectives, and I believe he is genuinely and critically able to monitor the risks and downsides of his own holdings, which is great because quite often we investors look at our own companies with excessive hopefulness, seeing mainly the pluses and opportunities.
We have discussed various companies as investment targets a lot with him. He is usually able to focus on the core matters in companies and never really says definitively that a certain thing is a specific way; instead, he clearly ponders and considers different scenarios. In my opinion, he is a realistic guy with appropriate humility regarding the unpredictability and challenges of the stock market.
I think Lazyway thinks versatilely and is involved in all sorts of things in life anyway, which I believe is positively reflected in his investment activities and the answers below.
1. Tell us in thirty words who you are.
I am a middle-aged man living in the capital region. For a living, I solve customers’ problems and needs. My free time is spent on hobbies, investing, and friends. I have a background of over a decade in stock investing. If I remember correctly, my first stock investment was in 2010 or 2011, and naturally, I chose a value stock named…
Nokia. 
2. Tell us three things that forum members don’t know about you.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have? You are not allowed to mention anything related to investing.
Exercise in various forms. I have played different ball sports and in addition done general fitness training. I like sauna bathing. The deepest essence of human beings and things also interests me, which I have tried to delve into by reading, among other things. Nature trips, outdoorsy activities, spending time at the cabin. I occasionally participate in discussion groups where people talk about some interesting topic. Ever since my youth, information technology has also been among my interests. Every now and then it’s fun to try a new hobby, for example through a community education center course.
4. What is a normal weekday like for you?
My weekday typically consists of workday routines either working remotely or on-site at the workplace. I spend my free time investing, on hobbies, and with friends.
5. Could you describe what kind of an investor you are?
I want to build a portfolio that has opportunities in both bull and bear markets. Diversification is important to me. This has also meant alternative investments alongside stocks. I have had real estate investments, but now you can get pretty good returns from interest rates as well. Usually, I keep enough cash so that I can act if an attractive buying opportunity presents itself. I am rarely over 100% invested.
So far, I have achieved the best returns from growth companies whose valuation at the time of purchase has been moderate. The combination of value and growth is attractive if the company’s business model is convincing and understandable to me.
I will mention a few investors that come to mind who have inspired my own process and whose actions I follow:
Jarkko Aho
Verneri Pulkkinen
W. Buffett
Many others could be mentioned, but these came to mind first. The above-mentioned individuals share at least perseverance, patience, and discipline. I value these traits.
6. Could you share what kind of investment history you have?
I have a background of over a decade in stock investing. If I remember correctly, my first stock investment was in 2010 or 2011. My first investment was in the region of a couple of thousand, and from there the portfolio grew first to 10,000 euros. I put the savings left over from my salary into investments. Little by little the portfolio grew. Reaching a 6-figure portfolio value took a long time. It has included all sorts of things, both positive and negative investments. I do not consider a losing investment a real mistake if the investment was backed by fairly sensible reasoning and awareness of risks, but rather a necessary event as part of investing. The only way to avoid losing stock investments would be to stay away from stocks.
The first years of investing I was quite a cautious investor and kept a high cash weighting. Times had been grim, and I thought the stock market would crash again at some point, allowing me to buy cheaper stocks. As the years went by, I realized that in a rising stock market, money sitting in an account for a long time comes with a high price tag as it misses out on rising prices and dividends. I revised my investment plan and learned to navigate the current better. I also put cash to work in alternative investments.
During the corona years, hype came into small-cap, hydrogen, and tech companies. After watching the frenzy for a while, I deviated from my typical investment style and also bought these “maybe profitable, maybe someday” companies into the portfolio alongside the stagnant ones. The returns on many stocks were staggering. I managed to exit some at the right time, but not quite all of them. A few stocks with a marginal weighting have remained in my portfolio from those days, which will probably end up being cleaned out at some point when the interest rate environment becomes slightly more favorable for growth companies. I don’t miss those times very much; it was quite a madhouse after all. But it left me with some lessons learned as well.7. What does your portfolio look like currently? What are your three largest holdings and why?
Roughly in order of size:
Capman
Boreo
Investor
Oma SP
Titanium
Christian Berner Tech Trade
Fortum
KH Group
FairFax Financial Holdings
Relais Group
Tietoevry
Lundbergs
Stockmann
Viafin Service
In addition, smaller holdings in Efecte, Embracer, Fodelia, Serviceware, Sitowise, Thunderful Group, Solteq, Voxtur, and Ishares Global Clean Energy ETF. Fund holdings include Pyn Elite and Seligson.
The portfolio features several capital-allocating investment companies and serial acquirers. The goal is a relatively stable, long-term portfolio with a low turnover rate. As core investments, I try to select companies whose business model and historical track record provide the prerequisites for double-digit capital returns.
8. If you were forced to sell three stocks from your portfolio, which ones would they be and why?
I don’t want to sell my largest holdings right now. Especially the Helsinki Stock Exchange is currently down, and I am in a buying rather than selling mood. Out of the smaller ones, I could sell Serviceware, Thunderful, and Solteq, for example.
9. What is your stock-picking process step-by-step?
Nowadays, my primary targets of interest are companies whose business model is based on capital allocation and a growth strategy spanning multiple years. Basic quality, mature companies are also interesting when the valuation is attractive. For example, machinery companies (KCR, Cargotec, Valmet, Wärtsilä) can be like this when the market gets nervous. Fortum is a fairly recent portfolio newcomer that also met these criteria in my opinion, as the company will focus on the Nordics going forward. A higher-risk company also fits into the portfolio, but not many at the same time. I nowadays often skip turnaround companies, even though Stockmann can be found in my portfolio.
The process usually goes so that with a new company, I first familiarize myself with the information produced by the analyst. If the company is really interesting and I am considering buying the stock, I weigh the business model, risks/opportunities, past track record and outlook, valuation multiples, and the margin of safety relative to my own return requirement. I like to keep things relatively simple, and my favorite metrics are P/B, P/E, ROE, top- and bottom-line growth rates in previous years and quarters. The company’s indebtedness also matters.
I also have a watchlist of companies that I am already familiar with. With them, it’s more about monitoring whether someone ever drifts to an interesting buying level. With foreign companies, information needs to be sought more independently and deeper, which often requires more work. Many of the portfolio’s foreign stocks are from Stockholm. You can also find some discussion about these on the Inderes forum, which is a treasure trove for quickly accessing information and ideas.
I sell if an investment no longer fulfills the original investment thesis, the risk-return ratio no longer seems attractive, or I no longer understand the company’s situation. Especially in highly cyclical companies, sooner or later I have sold the stocks when the undervaluation created during a weaker market has unwound. In that sense, they have been longer trades from which dividends are collected while waiting for better times.
10. Mention your biggest strength as an investor and also tell your biggest area for development as an investor.
The biggest strength might be grasping the big picture, creating a process that suits oneself, and perseverance. I know how to build an investment portfolio relative to my own risk tolerance, which in my opinion has the prerequisites to do reasonably well in different market weather conditions. I have some kind of plan for bull and bear markets that I can execute.
One area for development is keeping an investment journal more systematically. Literacy in income statements and accounting could be more practiced, as for some companies these are quite convoluted. The geographical diversification of the portfolio is not very impressive. There could be a couple more investment targets from North America in the portfolio.
11. Analyze these three companies in 30 words per company.
-Orthex
The stock market journey started nicely, there was demand for products, and the growth story sparked interest. However, inflation stuck to raw material prices, and profitability deteriorated rapidly. I owned the stock for about a year and exited when the challenges looked like they would drag on. Orthex is not on my watchlist now, and I don’t know how the company has fared this year. I rarely return to a stock that I have misjudged once.
-Titanium
Good short- and medium-term visibility and predictability. In the long term, an aging population supports the Care Real Estate Fund. The Baltic Real Estate fund has had a good start, and it is becoming another significant pillar. Involved since the IPO.
-Voxtur
A technology company operating in the US market that aims to reform real estate sector trading with its services. Rapidly rising interest rates have paralyzed sector activity. The company should push into the black during 2023H2. Time will tell if new customer relationships materialize as strengthening revenue and better profitability, as the CEO has painted. Currently a very high-risk stock.
12. What are your most important sources of information in investing, if Inderes or this Forum cannot be mentioned?
Companies’ interim reports. In addition, I follow Sijoitustieto.fi and Traders Club. Investing-related literature. Marketscreener.com has consensus target prices and forecasts for stocks. Redeye.se sometimes for following certain Swedish stocks.
**13. What have been the most difficult times in your investment history and why? What did you learn from these times?**In 2016, I lagged behind the index by ~10%. That forced me to take a deep dive into why several investments went sideways and what I could do better. The past year and a half has also been tougher because I had a heavy weighting in small-cap companies, whose valuations took a major correction in 2022. The vast majority of my investments have been on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, which has continued to linger near its 2022 lows. At least the lesson learned is that investing involves ups and downs, and you can learn from poorly performing investments. It takes resilience and patience.
14. What would today’s Lazyway say to the 2019 Lazyway?
Give a list: buy these stocks, don’t buy these stocks. 
15. How do you follow macroeconomic trends? Do you try to time the market?
Traders Club is an excellent program that goes over macro. I also browse the “Pörssin suunta” (Direction of the Stock Market) thread. Not much beyond that. I don’t try to time the market, but I prepare myself on some level for all kinds of stock market developments.
16. How do you handle your emotions in investing? Do you study and/or practice investment psychology in some way?
Following investments and investment forums is easily addictive. When necessary, I take distance from the hustle by looking at my portfolio less often. I spend less time on investment forums. I do other things. Hobbies are also an important counterbalance to both work and investing.
In my opinion, investment literature can at least to some extent teach the necessary attitude. Seligson’s investment reviews also emphasize patience and looking past the noise in a nice way. You can pick up these mental tips as crumbs here and there.
17. What kind of concrete goals do you have in investing? How have you enjoyed the wealth gained from investing?
From the beginning, the goal has been to increase financial freedom in life. I have enjoyed being able to plan the future more versatilely when I also receive income from investing. The salary from a day job is no longer so decisive.
18. What two things would you like to teach new investors and why?
Stock investing can be done in many ways. A suitable style can be found for everyone.
If you have a passion, read a foundational book as a base, e.g., Seppo Saario’s Miten sijoitan pörssiosakkeisiin (How to Invest in Stock Exchange Shares). Follow more experienced investors and get a feel for what kind of investing feels most natural to you. Perhaps value investing or growth companies, etc. Another good book, which in turn focuses on index funds and their benefits, is Marko Erola’s Paras Sijoitus (The Best Investment).
If investment theories don’t interest you, just getting a share of the stock market’s return with little effort, you can buy a whole-world index fund, for example, once a month or once a year. That is a really good option. You can ask for recommendations on a suitable fund and service provider on the Inderes forum.
19. How could Alokas become a better analyst of companies?
Everyone is their own kind of person and walks their own path. For me, learning has come through reading, following advanced investors, and investing. It has been useful to examine which investments went well, which didn’t, and to think about the reasons behind them. It has also helped when at some point I recognized what kind of investor I am and what works best for me. In my opinion, it’s worth building your activities around your own strengths, and it’s good to follow successful investors whose investment style resonates with your own thinking.
Alokas seems to have found a good balance in his own investing and has intensely lived and breathed the stock market for the past few years, constantly learning more, so the gentleman’s username doesn’t really do him justice in that sense anymore.
There is probably endless to learn as an investor, and in light of the results, one could always invest better. We are all in the same boat in that respect, but on the other hand, I know how to be satisfied with where I am now as an investor. There are many other interesting things in life that I want to invest my time in. When I do this my own way and on my own terms, there is time for other things too. In any case, as long as you invest, you learn more every year.
20. Who do you especially want to thank from the forum?
Thanks to everyone for the good discussion and sharing of information, which has helped me tremendously in understanding investment targets and finding new ones. Without this community, my investing would certainly look quite different and be a lonelier puzzle to figure out. 
Have a great rest of the summer, regards, Lazyway
Thanks for the answers, Lazyway!
I believe many forum members can relate to Lazyway’s down-to-earth answers, from which most of us investors are able to take away thoughts and lessons for our own investment activities. It feels like we often overcomplicate things, and furthermore, we investors often get too caught up in small details – sometimes it’s good to back up a bit and look at the big picture and otherwise examine the more essential things.
By appropriately reading widely and following openly, you can go far, as long as you also strive to think logically with common sense and be patient, like Lazyway.
Thanks and have a nice weekend! 
Glad you asked me for an interview, @Sijoittaja-alokas. And thank you for your kind words
If anyone ever happens to be interested in chatting about a certain investment, for example, or just exchanging thoughts, you can always send me a private message as well.
Yeah, if you’re looking for a good conversation partner regarding investments, for instance, I highly recommend Lazyway. 
Fortunately, he clearly states if he doesn’t know something, but he also clearly knows how to identify his own strengths. I’ve received a lot of excellent food for thought from him regarding various investment targets, and I appreciate that he truly knows how to look at his own holdings critically.
Lazyway is long-term oriented and knows how to look far ahead, but it’s also great how quickly he’s ready to change his mind if the facts support it. Personally, I’m unfortunately too slow in my moves in certain situations, and it has backfired; this is partly because I’ve looked at my own holdings through rose-colored glasses. Correspondingly, I’ve also rushed when I should have been slow-moving.
It’s very educational to discuss things with such an open and balanced investor. Unfortunately, you can’t really have very deep conversations about investing with me because my level of expertise is what it is, but I do know how to listen and I can challenge things a bit, which is easier than finding solutions and facts anyway.
Next Friday, I’ll be interviewing two people simultaneously who produce interesting investment-related content. 
There’s no more specific information yet regarding the interviews for the following weeks, and it partly depends on the pace at which the answers come in, but there are interviews with all kinds of investors coming up across the board.
As I’ve mentioned, some have politely declined for good reasons, and there are many potential interviewees (=endless), so someone’s “personal favorite” might only appear in an interview in a couple of years, for example, because the pace is once a week.
Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!
