MSc Finance

Psychologists working in the area of behavioural decision-making have evidenced the inadequacies of neoclassical economics. In this module you will study financial markets using models that are less narrow than those based on von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility theory and arbitrage assumptions.

Develop an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of different classes of derivative securities such as forwards and futures, swaps and options; the markets in which these securities are traded; their potential use as instruments for managing risk; methods for valuing these securities; and the application of these methods in other areas of finance.

You will learn to interpret financial statements in context and apply appropriate models and techniques for company valuation and related business issues. You will also gain an understanding of how accounting provides data for corporate finance analysis.

Explore the psychology of human judgement and decision making. This field provides the foundation for understanding the decision-making processes involved in financial markets. You will improve your own financial decision-making, judgements and predictions, and gain a broader understanding of decision-making throughout the finance industry, including strategic and managerial decision-making.

Gain an understanding of the need for financial risk management, the techniques to measure financial risks according to the regulatory framework, and the tools for the management of risk exposure. You will be introduced to quantitative methods of risk measurement and risk management.

Get to grips with the tools for the assessment and management of fixed income and credit risk.

Topics covered may include: 

• Bonds and Money-Market Instruments  

• Bond Prices and Yields  

• Term Structure of Interest Rates  

• Martingale Pricing  

• Continuous-Time Stochastic Processes  

• Affine Term Structure Models  

• Credit Risk Management  

• Structural and Intensity-Based Credit Risk Modelling  

• Credit Derivatives. 

Extend your knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts of international finance, with emphasis on the operation of the spot and forward foreign exchange markets. You will gain first-hand experience with forex markets via empirical data and trading contest, and develop your critical reasoning skills in the context of international financial risk management.

Explore today’s complex investment management environment and gain the insights needed to make well-informed decisions.

This module will cover a wide range of cutting edge research in Big Data Analytics, with a particular focus on the extensive value of data from the Internet, much of which is freely available if you have the skills to mine it.

This module involves learning to program in R, but no prior programming knowledge is required.

Module aims will include:

• Linking stock market movements to online data
• Measuring sentiment with online data
• Predicting consumer behaviour with online data
• Getting quicker measurements of key economic indicators with online data
• Measuring where people are and where they are going with mobile phone data and online data
• Predicting crime and epidemics
• Understanding social networks.

The module will also teach you the practical skills needed to work with online data.

You will learn:

• How to mine data on Google searches
• How to mine data on Wikipedia page views
• How to mine data on photographs uploaded to Flickr
• How to make data visualisations
• How to design and execute a small data science project of your own

As part of this, the module will teach you how to use R, an industry standard programming language for data analytics.

Explore the basic issues in mergers and acquisitions from a corporate finance point of view. The module will be based on the main research papers in the field.

Gain realistic experience of the responsibilities involved in managing money for clients and an introduction to practical investment management techniques.

Explore the theory and practice of banking in the 21st Century, specifically the facilitation role of banks as intermediaries between borrowers and lenders, and as providers of liquidity.