Application

Helena Lindvall, 860309-3900

Address: Körsbärsvägen 4C/049
114 23 Stockholm, Sweden
E-mail: 21053@student.hhs.se
Phone: +46733360506

Stockholm 10 December 2009

Dear Committee and Mr Qviberg,

The intention of this letter is to confirm my sincere interest in the Hagströmer & Qviberg Scholarship
in Finance. I am currently in my last year of a MSc in Economics and Business with a specialization
in Finance at Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). In the spring 2010 I intend to pursue my studies
within Finance at the SSE partner school Corvinus University in Budapest, Hungary. I am positive that
my semester abroad will be a compliment to my previous studies at SSE in several aspects and that my
academic as well as practical knowledge within Finance will improve throughout the spring.

Within the field of Finance I will participate in the courses Financial Market Risk Management and
Financial Derivatives. The former course emphasizes the importance of global risk management,
practical use of financial instruments in risk management, and the role of accounting and regulation in
risk management. The latter aims to give an overview of the function of international financial
markets, introduce how multinational corporations handle risk exposure with financial instruments and
how financial derivatives can be priced in practice. Both these courses offer highly relevant
knowledge for anyone who has a career within the financial sector in mind. Risk management,
regulation and the handling of complex financial instruments have attracted extensive attention
throughout the current financial crisis and it has become ever more important to be aware of and
understand the problems surrounding these issues even if not working with them directly.

In addition to the pure financial courses I will study Decision Making and Negotiation Strategies,
Entrepreneurship and Corporate Environmental Management. I am confident that the skills that I
expect to gain from these courses will be valuable and serve as a complement to my financial skills.
To have the ability to successfully make decisions and negotiate is essential when dealing with both
private and corporate clients in the financial sector. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset is
beneficial independent on future career path since it could lead to a wider and more constructive
approach when faced with potential problems. Finally, environmental management has called for
attention the past years and for a corporation to achieve sustainable development, not only the
management, but every nearby agent needs to be concerned. Therefore I consider extending my
knowledge about corporate environmental issues to be highly relevant.

Personally, I have a strong academic record combined with working experience from the financial
sector. Last summer, as I worked for Royal Bank of Scotland, I had a colleague who focused on
corporate clients in Eastern Europe. Getting an insight into those projects inspired me and I have ever
since had an increased interest for less developed financial markets of Central and Eastern Europe. As
these markets grow they will indeed have an impact on the established European financial centre
network. This is a phenomenon that I find fascinating and an interaction process that I would like to
understand better. To gain this understanding I wish to exploit the opportunity to visit some of the
main cities and potential future financial centres of Central and Eastern Europe during my stay in
Budapest. Receiving the Hagströmer & Qviberg Scholarship in Finance would certainly be an honour
but above all it would extend my economic capacity and possibility to gain experience and familiarity
with Central and Eastern Europe. I am confident that my selection of courses, my previous financial
experience and my ambition to learn about emerging financial markets make me an eligible and
appropriate candidate for the scholarship. Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Helena Lindvall