Course description
The world of finance, with its innumerable career opportunities and continuous demand for sharper, brighter and more adaptable employees, is an attractive choice for many top-calibre graduates with good numerical skills. Companies are now looking for a combination of high-level interpersonal skills, in-depth knowledge and analytical skills to enable them to succeed in this rapidly changing and ever-more complex environment. It is with this in mind that the MSc in Finance has been developed.
The course fully integrates theory and practice. Top-rated academic teaching from the Cass Business School provides a broad theoretical knowledge base, while a strong practical orientation is delivered by professionals from major firms in the City of London. It provides students with:
* a thorough and comprehensive grasp of the principles and applications of finance together with enduring technical and conceptual skills
* a broad-ranging experience of quantitative techniques relevant to finance
* a focus on financial issues in all industry sectors
* excellent opportunities to make contacts within the City of London
* a genuinely international, multicultural perspective with a global focus
* a highly flexible qualification suitable for a wide range of career openings in the financial sector.
Course Content - Ahead of the game
We review all our courses regularly to keep them up-to-date on issues of both theory and practice. Consequently, there may be some change to the detailed content of the modules and occasionally to module titles.
To satisfy the requirements of the degree programme students must complete:
* five double core courses
and
* five electives
or
* two electives and a Business Research Project
Induction Weeks The MSc in Finance course starts with two compulsory induction weeks, focused on:
* an introduction to careers in finance and the opportunity to speak to representatives from over 75 companies during a number of different industry specific fairs.
* a refresher course of basic financial mathematics, statistics, computing and electronic databases
* Terms 1 and 2
Five core modules (60 hours each)
Asset Management
Provides a fundamental understanding of the structure and functioning of capital markets, the principles of investment decisions under risk and the optimal allocation among asset classes. The second part focuses on specific fund management issues related to applied asset pricing, active and passive management, tactical asset allocation, investment style, the impact of transaction costs, portfolio performance measurement and behavioural finance.
Corporate Finance
Provides a thorough understanding of the key decisions companies are expected to make. Broadly speaking these are: investment decision, financing decision and dividend decision. These decisions are expected to lead to the maximisation of the wealth of the shareholders, but in practice a number of complications occur. The course provides a thorough understanding of the factors affecting these decisions. In particular, it assesses the different ways of valuing companies, estimating the cost of capital, forecasting cash flows, raising capital through private equity firms, initial and seasoned equity offerings, chosing between debt and equity, paying dividends, taking over other companies and restructuring assets and liabilities. The course also deals with the interaction between corporate and capital markets and the agency conflicts between managers and shareholders.
International Financial Reporting and Analysis
Provides an understanding of the nature of, and assumptions implicit in, the preparation of financial statements and their interpretation. More specifically, enables students to appreciate the methods, rules and assumptions underlying the preparation of published financial statements and to appraise the role of financial accounting data in the measurement of management performance through time and across companies. The second part highlights the key differences in international accounting practices and examines the links between accounting information and stock price behaviour.
International Financial Management
Provides an in-depth understanding of the operations of the international monetary system and the functioning of foreign exchange markets and associated derivative products, as well as the theory and practice of financial management in international business with particular emphasis on the management of foreign exchange risk.
Statistics in Finance
Provides detailed coverage of statistical theory and its applications in finance practice. Topics covered include: multivariate regression, volatility tests, ARCH and time-series models, and co-integration. Makes extensive use of e-views software for application of these techniques.
Term 3
Five electives from the list below (18 hours each)
OR
Two electives and Business Research project
Electives
You may choose from a wide variety of electives. For example:
* Islamic Finance
* Advanced Financial Analysis
* Corporate Restructuring
* Credit Risk
* Entrepreneurial Finance
* Financial Futures
* Fixed Income Securities and Derivatives
* Forecasting Financial Markets
* Mergers and Acquisitions
* Options
* Project Finance
* Raising Equity Capital
* Risk Management
* Security Analysis
Research Methods Module
This compulsory module trains students to undertake independent research either in the context of a single organisation or by using third-party sources. It provides the necessary tools and skills to initiate, research and write up a business project and includes training in research methodology, availability of data sources, project writing, time-management and presentation skills. These skills will be invaluable to students in their future career whether or not they choose to complete a project.
