Finance and Investment MSc module details

Block 1: Finance, Investments, and Financial Management

This module introduces students to the concepts and theories of finance and investment that underlie the techniques which are offered as aids for the understanding, evaluation and resolution of financial managers’ problems. The module covers derivatives (e.g., futures, forwards, options and swaps) and alternative investments (e.g., real estate, private equity, hedge funds and commodities), and lays some essential backgrounds which will be further developed at a later stage of the degree programme.

Block 2: Risk Management and Financial Institutions

The module explains all aspects of financial risk and financial institution regulation, helping students better understand the financial markets and their potential dangers. Students will learn the different types of risk, how and where they appear in different types of institutions, and how the regulatory structure of each institution affects risk management practices.

Block 3: Applied Asset Management

This module provides a broad understanding of the skills needed to turn clients' investment objectives into trading strategies. It is designed to prepare participants for roles in investment firms, regulators, and clients.

Guidance on the links between finance theory and trading will be part of the programme of study. Students will manage a simulated sub-portfolio on behalf of a client. During the module, they will report to, and make trading recommendations on behalf of, their client. These reports and recommendations will be in response to real-time daily news, and in response to changes in the client's investment objectives. Participants will need to apply their knowledge of finance theory, and portfolio management, in this changing situation. The module emulates many aspects of a trading floor and participants will learn how to analyse the impact of trading strategies on risk, return, and transaction costs. Students will gain an understanding of hedging, and how to manage client cash flows.

Block 4: FinTech, Green Finance and Investment

First, the module examines the latest developments in financial technology, relating such developments to core functions and processes in the sector such as principles of financial intermediation, regulations. Students will critically assess developments such as cryptocurrencies and evaluate the implications of differing technological approaches. In considering the wider implications for society of new technologies (such as privacy concerns) students will develop a critical view of the future prospects for the implementation, benefits and drawbacks of what is often referred to as “Fintech” and associated topics such as Insuretech and Regtech.

Second, the module introduces students to the topic of green finance and its potential contribution to a sustainable economy in the context of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Specifically, the module supports students in understanding how climate and other environmental risks create potential financial risks in banking and capital markets and analyses the role of financial actors in driving and potentially mitigating these risks. Students will be exposed to both traditional and alternative risk management approaches and investment theory frameworks used to process and quantify these risks, as well as a range of case studies on the role and impact of institutional investors, banks, financial supervisory authorities and governments in aligning financial markets with climate and environmental goals.

Block 5 & 6: Dissertation

The dissertation is the culmination of the Masters programme and will draw on the students’ learning over the course of the Programme. The dissertation is studied independently with the assistance of a supervisor and is a chance for the student to academically pursue an area of Finance or Investment of particular interest. Dissertations can take a range of formats such as empirical research or a systematic review.

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Block 5 & 6: Applied Research Project

The applied research project will integrate the student’s academic knowledge with their analytical skills to rigorously investigate a real-world problem or issue in finance or investment, which will be provided to them. The project can focus on a case study, an institutional problem or a broader policy issue.