When responsibility outgrows Excel: How Idman Foundation gained a trusted overview of its investments

The challenge

For the CEO of Idmanin Säätiö, investment reporting is more than an administrative task. The reports form the basis for discussions with the investment committee and the board and ultimately for decisions about how the foundation’s capital is managed.

For years, those reports were built in Excel.

Data was gathered from multiple sources, prices were updated manually, and reports were continuously reconciled to ensure consistency.

“It didn’t take the whole day, but it was constant manual input. And at the same time, you always knew the risk of errors was increasing,” says Ilkka Kaakkolammi, CEO of Idmanin Säätiö.

The challenge was not only the workload. It was the uncertainty. When numbers were updated at different times or something was missed, the reliability of the entire report could be questioned. For an organization responsible for managing long-term capital, that risk mattered.

Why Jay?

The foundation evaluated also other systems on the market. They appeared powerful but were also complex, consultant-driven, and difficult to justify from a pricing perspective.

"We weren’t looking for a large transformation project. We needed clarity and independence,” Ilkka explains.

Jay stood out for its simplicity and logic. The opportunity to test the system independently proved decisive.

"The demo access was crucial. If you can understand the system in half a day, you know it works."

The interface was clear, the structure supported real portfolio work, and the foundation could operate the system independently without ongoing consulting support.

"This could not have been sold on paper alone."‍

The solution

Jay provided a structured platform where the foundation could manage and analyze its entire portfolio in one place.

Today, the system supports reporting, position-level analysis, bond portfolio oversight, unified pricing data, and consistent comparison of asset managers. Private investments and asset allocation are now integrated into the same overview.

‍“For the first time, I can actually see the full picture. I no longer have to wonder whether the numbers are from the same point in time,” says Ilkka.”‍

The outcome

Manual work has decreased, reporting is more reliable, and the foundation now has greater confidence in the numbers presented to the investment committee and board.

Instead of assembling data from multiple sources, the focus can now be on understanding and discussing the portfolio.

Looking ahead

Jay now forms a central part of the foundation’s investment oversight and reporting.

As the portfolio continues to evolve, the foundation sees Jay as a long-term partner supporting transparency, consistency, and better-informed decision-making.

When asked if they’d recommend Jay Solutions

‍“In software, you usually get either a good product or good customer service. If the product is good, the service is often poor - and if the service is good, the product isn’t. You seem to be an exception - you have boths ,” says Ilkka Kaakkolammi.‍

About

Idmanin Säätiö is a Finnish foundation based in Tampere. The foundation supports society by awarding grants while managing its capital responsibly over the long term.

To ensure the long-term impact of its work, Idmanin Säätiö manages a diversified investment portfolio including listed equities, fixed income investments, real estate, and private investments.
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For more information visit: www.idmaninsaatio.fi

Assets covered

Liquid and illiquid

Portfolio size

EUR 80 million

Number of users

1

Geography

Finland