Overview

The MSc in Finance is now closed to new applications.

If any places become available in August we may reopen the course for a limited period.

A Masters in Finance from Cass has the potential to open up global career opportunities for flexible high-calibre students. That's because Cass is among the world's most respected business schools, meeting the needs of employers with a unique blend of theory and practice.

Our proximity to the London's financial district, enhances the practical, real world nature of the educational experience at Cass. Indeed, you will often be exposed to regular instruction and advice from City of London professionals.

This gives you: 

  • A comprehensive grasp of the principles and applications of finance 
  • Technical and conceptual skills 
  • Broad experience of quantitative techniques
  • A focus on financial issues in all industry sectors
  • City of London contacts
  • An international, multicultural perspective
  • A flexible qualification suitable for a wide range of roles.

You also have the option of some preparatory classes for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams and some exemptions from a several of practitioners bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountantc (CIMA), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI).

The course accepts around 90 students a year, usually drawn from at least 35 nationalities. The international dimension of the course is enhanced by the backgrounds of the permanent and visiting academic faculty.

This international dimension, and Cass's close links to City of London institutions, opens up outstanding networking and career opportunities.

I chose to study the MSc in Finance at Cass because of the reputation of the School and its location which offer a great perspective.'
Maxim Shemetov, MSc in Finance

Maxim describes more of his experiences at Cass....

 

See more alumni profiles and student video diaries

Information Sessions

Find out more about the MSc in Finance at one of our regular Information Sessions:

  • On campus session: 18 April 2012 at 12.30

Book your place

Individual appointments

If you would like to arrange an individual appointment to discuss this programme please email sue.andrews.1@city.ac.uk

Course content

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:

eight core courses

and

five electives

or

one elective and a Business Research Project

Induction Weeks The MSc in Finance course starts with two compulsory induction weeks, including:

  • An introduction to the Cass Careers offering with a focus on key skills and attributes that employers are looking for.  The annual MSc Careers Fair at this time also provides the opportunity to meet over 60 companies who are recruiting across many sectors including finance, energy, insurance, real estate, shipping, strategic management and internal auditing.
  • a refresher course of basic financial mathematics, statistics, computing and electronic databases

Term 1

Four core modules (30 hours each)

Corporate Finance and Valuation

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, choosing 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.

Financial Reporting

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.

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.

Theory of Finance

This module will make it possible for participants to acquire an understanding of the principal objectives of asset management and the linkages between financial risk and portfolio return. Students will develop an understanding of the structure and functioning of capital markets, an appreciation of the valuation methods for securities and to introduce the principles of portfolio theory.

Term 2

Four core modules (30 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.

Derivatives & Risk Management

Although journalists might have you believe otherwise, derivative contracts are essential for the smooth operation of financial markets.  However, because they have the potential to increase the volatility of financial markets, it is equally essential that students have an in depth understanding of how they work, how they are priced and how they are traded.  In this course students will develop in depth knowledge of forwards, futures and swaps and their application in the management of risks. The course covers a full range of the most important options and futures contracts including those traded on: stock indices, commodities and credit instruments.  It has also been designed to complement the Fixed Income module that focuses on focuses fixed income derivatives.

And two of the following:

Corporate Finance and Restructuring

The market value of a firm depends on the effective utilisation of current and future assets, the funding of such assets and its interaction with capital markets. This module provides an in depth analysis of the theory and international practice of capital structure and dividend policies, mergers and acquisitions and short-term financing issues. The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of modern corporate finance so that the corporate manager, the treasurer, the investment banker, the financial analyst and the accountant will have the conceptual foundations for making intelligent assessments of key financial decisions. The course puts significant emphasis on the interactions between international capital markets and the value of the underlying real assets.

M & A / Private Equity

This course provides students with a thorough grounding in the economics and finance of M&A.  It addresses the motivations behind M&A activity and the mechanisms used by firms to execute corporate deals.  The course then moves on to analyse the private equity industry, which is inextricably linked with M&A activity.  Students will also learn how private equity performs as an asset class and why institutional investors are turning to it as they seek to enhance the returns on multi-asset class portfolios.   Overall this  is a unique course that will introduce students to the most exciting areas of corporate activity. 

International Finance

This course provides the student with an integrated view of international financial markets and the management of multinational firms. Students will study the markets for foreign exchange, currency forwards, options, swaps and international equities, studying how they operate and how the instruments traded in these markets are valued.

Fixed Income

The aim of this module is to introduce students to all the tools necessary to enable them to understand the problems involved in managing a fixed income portfolio. The focus of this module is on fixed income security markets, pricing and uses for portfolio management or for hedging interest rate risk. It will also cover term structure analysis and the use of fixed income derivative instruments in bond portfolio management.


Term 3

Five electives (18 hours each)

OR

One elective and a 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.

Accreditations

Cass Business School is among the global elite of business schools that hold the gold standard of 'triple-crown' accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). We are consistently ranked amongst the best business schools and programmes in the world which, coupled with an established 40-year reputation for excellence in research and business education, enables us to attract some of the best academics, students and businesses worldwide into our exclusive Cass network.

CFA programme partner 

The CFA the global association of investment professionals, recognises the rigour and the relevance of the MSc in Finance and has awarded this programme partner status. The CFA is the essential qualification for those wishing to pursue a career in the finance sector and the CFA recognises the MSc in Finance as strong preparation for their professional exams.

You also have the option of some additional preparatory classes for the CFA exams.

CIMA

Students successfully completing the MSc in Finance will be awarded exemptions from the following modules:

  • C2: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
  • C3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics
  • P9: Management Accounting Financial Strategy

ACCA

Students successfully completing the MSc in Finance will be awarded exemptions from the following modules:

  • F1: Accountant in Business
  • F2: Management Accounting
  • F3: Financial Accounting
  • F7: Financial Reporting
  • F9: Financial Management

CISI Centre of Excellence

Cass Business School is one of a select group of UK universities to be designated a Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Centre of Excellence. The CISI designation means that Cass graduates who complete the MSc in Finance will also be eligible for the award of the CISI Diploma without having to take any of the CISI exams.

MSc Research Project

Students have the option of studying five specialised electives in term three to give them a breadth of subject matter. Alternatively if students would like to study one particular area of interest in depth they have the option of taking one elective and completing a Business Research Project, which in some cases may be completed in partnership with a sponsoring organisation.

The Project will be of approximately 8,000 words. This offers an opportunity to specialise in a contemporary finance topic related to students' future careers. The Project should be based on independent research either in the context of a single organisation or using third-party sources.

Students are encouraged from the start of the course to think about a topic for their Project. A member of academic staff supervises the project, and the student may choose whom they would like to work with. The Project must be submitted by the end of August. Company sponsored projects are encouraged and a number of such projects may be available.

Many students use this opportunity to complete a project in conjunction with an organisation they might want to work for. This gets their foot in the door and can lead to permanent employment post programme, whilst earning course credit.

Some recent projects:

  • Board of Directors & Firm Value Market Reaction to the Appointment of Executive & Non-executive directors
  • Comparison of Implied & Historical Volatilities in the Currency Markets
  • Corporate Finance Distress & Debt Restructuring: An examination of high yield bond issuers
  • Did The 1990's US Banking Consolidations Create Value?
  • Exploring the Interaction Between Earning Quality & Accounting Standards
  • Performance Measurement - The role of EVA
  • Private Equity Valuation Model
  • What are the determinants of returns in emerging markets
  • Why do firms buy back their shares? An Analysis of Share Repurchase Announcements by UK firms

Entry requirements

English Requirements

Every year we welcome students from around 100 different nations to study with us here at Cass. It is essential that all students have an excellent command of English in order to participate fully in the collaborative learning process. We therefore require all students who have not previously studied in English to sit an IELTS or TOEFL exam. If you are not a native English speaker but have studied or are studying in English at degree level, please submit a copy of your most recent English language test along with your application.

IELTS

The required IELTS level is an average of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing.

TOEFL

For TOEFL we require 107 (Internet Based Test)

Our TOEFL code is 7650, department code 02

We do not offer a pre-sessional English class as an alternative to achieving these scores. Any pre-sessional course should be viewed as a way of settling into living and studying in the UK and not as a way of topping up an IELTS or TOEFL score.

Other qualifications

To be accepted on to the Cass MSc in Finance you will need a good Bachelors degree. This usually means a UK 2.1 or above, or the equivalent from an overseas institution. Some level of previous study in finance or quantitative methods is preferred.

Applicants will need to submit two references, one of which MUST be an academic reference. No work experience is required, but please provide details of relevant experience that might enhance your profile.

GMAT

All candidates applying to start in September 2012 must take the GMAT for this course.

We look for a well balanced average score in the range of 600-800. GMAT should be submitted with your application, however, applications may be reviewed whilst waiting for the GMAT report. Please note that we can temporarily accept the "test taker" unofficial copy of your score if your official report is not available yet, but you will need to submit your official score should you be accepted. Please send us a paper copy of your GMAT test so we can verify this online as we no longer receive paper copies by post.  You will need to add the MSc programme at Cass Business School to your list of institutions who can access your score results online.

GMAT scores are valid for five years. Further information about GMAT, registration, fees and testing sites is available from www.gmat.com

Our GMAT code is 2C2-R0-84

Tuition fees and term dates

Tuition fees 2012/13

£22,500 Currency Converter

Term dates 2012/13

Compulsory Induction Period
17 September 2012 - 28 September 2012

Please note that these dates are provisional and are subject to change. Contact the MSc office before making any travel arrangements.

Term I
1 October 2012 - 7 December 2012
Term I exams
14 January 2013 - 25 January 2013

Term II
28 January 2013 - 5 April 2013
Term II exams
29 April 2013 - 10 May 2013

Term III
13 May 2013 - 28 June 2013
Term III Assessments
25 June 2013 - 12 July 2013

Business Research Project submission deadline
2 September 2013

Official Course End Date
30 September 2013

Career opportunities

Graduates from the MSc in Finance move into a diverse range of financial sector careers: investment banking, securities sales and trading, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private banking, credit products, financial and credit risk management and consultancy.

MSc in Finance Employability

Our Graduate Destination Survey of last year's MSc in Finance cohort shows that 82% of graduates are now either in work (77%) or not job seeking as they are in further study, military service etc. (5%)*

Some examples of where graduates from the 2009/10 MSc in Finance are working are:

  • Barclays Capital - Credit Derivatives - High Grade Credit Trader 
  • Philips Electronics - Strategic Finance Holding - Trainee for Finance & Accounting
  • UBS - M&A - Analyst
  • Towers Watson - Investment Consulting, Strategy - Investment Analyst
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch - Investment Banking - Analyst
*Based on 2011 survey respondents

Cass Careers Service