Federico Spinella studied on the MSc Finance at Cass Business School. In this video, Federico tells us about his practise of Muay Thai boxing taught him focus, attention to detail and patience, key skills he now uses in his role as a Credit Risk Consultant in the City.
Overview
Who is it for?
You are ambitious to succeed in the finance field, in a career that might encompass anything from hedge funds to investment banking. Your strong quantitative skills give you an ideal starting point as you begin to investigate the mechanisms that drive finance across different industries.
Your interest in finance is matched by your desire to establish yourself in this highly competitive marketplace where pressure and risk accompany job satisfaction and financial rewards.
Objectives
The master's in finance programme is your opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the area. You kick off with a term of foundation modules that cement your understanding of finance, corporate finance, accounting and econometrics.
You build on that core knowledge with a term where you tailor the course to your own subject preferences.
You can choose to specialise in either finance or corporate finance, or to remain broad to acquire an all-round, post-graduate qualification in finance.
Flexibility is built into the MSc Finance programme through a comprehensive choice of electives including a number of optional overseas electives in locations such as New York, Singapore & Dubai.
You’ll be based within a stone’s throw of the City of London, giving your studies a uniquely practical orientation with regular teaching from senior bankers and finance professionals and unparalleled opportunities for networking
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Structure
What will you learn
On the master's in Finance postgraduate degree you will:
- Acquire a comprehensive grasp of the principles and applications of finance
- Develop your range of technical and conceptual skills
- Gain broad experience of quantitative techniques
- Develop your understanding of a wide range of financial issues across all industry sectors
- Network with your peers and senior finance industry professionals in the City of London
- Gain a highly valuable international, multicultural perspective
- Acquire a flexible qualification suitable for a wide range of roles in global finance.
Induction weeks
All of our MSc courses start with two compulsory induction weeks which include relevant refresher courses, an introduction to the careers services and the annual careers fair.
Term 1
Core modules:
Corporate Finance and Valuation
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the field of corporate finance. This is achieved by familiarising you with the core theoretical principles and equipping you with the basic and most commonly used practical finance tools.
The material covered in this course is crucial for professional work in the area of corporate finance as well as for further study of more advanced or specialised corporate finance-related courses.
It is relevant for financial officers, economists, investment bankers, analysts and other decision makers.
Financial Reporting
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of the course is to provide you with an understanding of the principles and practices of accounting, the characteristics and limitations of accounting data. The course will make it possible for you to:
- Prepare and interpret financial statements
- Comment on accounting policies and to discuss its implication for the financial performance of the business
- Use accounting information to assess the financial situation of a company.
Research Methods for Finance Professionals
- 10 credits
- 3 x 3 hour lectures over the ten week term
- 52 hours self directed study over the ten week term
Strong research is a key element of development strategy for companies and institutions large and small.
This module aims to provide a grounding in financial research, particularly financial modelling and information gathering, which you will be able to use to support your learning on the rest of your course.
Statistics in Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
Finance theory often makes convenient assumptions that facilitate predictions. However, some of those assumptions may be questionable in practice.
A good grounding in Statistics will enable you to formulate and estimate econometric models that can be used to develop empirical tests for such assumptions. The development of empirical models that are coherent with stylised facts, in turn, indicates directions in which financial theory can be improved.
To facilitate efficient analysis of financial data, a variety of statistical methods are introduced as a necessary tool in today’s information-driven financial landscape.
Theory of Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this module is to provide you with 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
Core modules:
Asset Management
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the structure and functioning of the asset management industry and to develop the principles of portfolio theory relevant to professional fund managers.
Derivatives and Risk Management
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
This course examines derivatives, which are a key part of modern finance.
An understanding of how they are structured, priced and used to hedge financial risks is vital for those considering careers in equity, fixed income or currency portfolio management or trading.
Elective modules (two of the following):
Advanced Corporate Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of modern corporate finance so that the corporate manager, the investment banker and the financial analyst will have the conceptual foundations for making informed corporate assessments of key financial decisions. The course puts significant emphasis on the interactions between capital markets and the value of the underlying real assets.
Fixed Income
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The overwhelming majority of all financing is raised in the form of fixed income instruments.
Understanding such instruments is therefore key for all aspects of modern financial practice, whether they relate to fund raising, risk management or investment and speculation.
Starting from an assumption of minimal existing knowledge, the module provides a unified way to think about the theoretical and practical issues related to fixed income instruments.
It introduces some of the main fixed income instruments and explains their practical relevance to asset managers, treasurers, investment bankers, financial analysts, traders and other professionals who work in financial markets.
International Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
In recent years there has been a trend towards globalisation. That has impacted on all financial decisions and has necessitated the understanding of international financial markets.
Term 3
You may choose from the three following options in your final term.
- Option 1: Students can opt to write a 10,000 word business research project (40 credits) and take one specialist elective module (1 x 10 credits).
- Option 2: Students can take two core modules and three elective modules (5 x 10 credits).
- Option 3: Students can opt to write a 3,000-5,000 words Applied Research Project (20 credits) and take three specialist elective modules.
Core modules
Mergers and Acquisitions
This module aims to provide you with a detailed understanding of the strategic, regulatory, financial and organisational issues within mergers & acquisitions from an international perspective, but focussed on the UK. At the end of the module you should have the ability to form your own views about M&A and should be prepared to make your own creatively strategic and analytically supportable recommendations regarding potential M&A transactions
Trading and Market Microstructure
This module focuses on two key things (i) the mechanisms by which securities are traded in modern financial markets and the implications of trading mechanisms for the efficiency and liquidity of markets and (ii) the design of quantitative and algorithmic trading systems.
It touches on all major asset classes (equities, FX, bonds and derivatives) and examines both theoretical and practical trading scenarios. It aims to prepare you for work which would involve quantitative trading or trade quality evaluation or for graduate work in this area.
This module will be delivered in Paris in partnership with the University of Paris-Dauphine as a block module.
Projects
Business Research Project
It is important for aspiring professionals to demonstrate, on an individual basis, their ability to apply concepts and techniques they have learned in an in-depth study of a topic of their choice and to organise their findings in a report, all conducted within a given time limit.
To train you to undertake individual research and provide you with an opportunity to specialise in a contemporary business or finance topic related to your future career aspirations.
You are required to submit a project of approximately 10,000 words on any subject area covered in the rest of the Finance programme.
Typical projects can involve any of the following: extracting data from electronic databases or by hand; statistical analysis of large or small populations; interviews; case studies of an industry or a sector or of a business / finance issue in a particular country setting.
Applied Research Project
The aim of this module is to enable you to demonstrate how to integrate your learning in core and elective modules and then apply this to the formulation and completion of an applied research project.
You will be required to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that you have acquired throughout your MSc study.
You will undertake a short piece of applied research on a question of academic and/or practical relevance.
Guidelines will be provided in order to help you identify the research question. Based on your chosen topic, you must write a report of around 3,000–5,000 words that summarises and critically evaluates your method and your findings.
There might also be opportunities to carry out the project at partnering institutions abroad.
Electives offered in 2018
- Advanced Applied Equity Investment
- Advanced Company Valuation
- Ethics, Society and the Finance Sector
- Behavioural Finance
- Corporate Restructuring
- Credit Risk Management
- Foreign Exchange
- Hedge Funds
- Introduction to Python
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity Investment
- Technical Analysis and Trading Systems
- The Economics of Corporate Governance
- Visual Basic in Finance
International electives
Assessment methods
Assessment
We review all our courses regularly to keep them up-to-date on issues of both theory and practice.
To satisfy the requirements of the degree course students must complete:
- eight core courses (15 credits each) and two additional core modules plus three electives (10 credits each)
or
- three electives (10 credits each) and an Applied Research Project (20 credits)
or
- one elective (10 credits) and a Business Research Project (40 credits)
Assessment of modules on the MSc in Finance, in most cases, is by means of coursework and unseen examination.
Coursework may consist of standard essays, individual and group presentations, group reports, classwork, unseen tests and problem sets. Please note that any group work may include an element of peer assessment.
Term dates
Term dates 2020/21
In-Person ID Checks (all students must attend): Commences 14 September 2020
Compulsory Induction: 14 - 25 September 2020
Term I
28 September 2020 - 11 December 2020
Term I exams
04 January 2021 - 15 January 2021
Term II
18 January 2021 - 02 April 2021
Term II exams
19 April 2021 - 30 April 2021
Term III
03 May 2021 - 02 July 2021
Term III exams
05 July 2021 - 16 July 2021
Resit period
Students who are required to resit an examination or invigilated test will do so in the period:
09 - 27 August 2021
Submission deadline for Business Research Project or Applied Research Project
1 September 2021
Official Course End Date
30 September 2021
Timetables
Course timetables are normally available from July and can be accessed from our timetabling pages. These pages also provide timetables for the current academic year, though this information should be viewed as indicative and details may vary from year to year.
Please note that all academic timetables are subject to change.
Teaching staff
Course Director
Reader in Finance
The teaching staff on the MSc in Finance have many years of practical experience working in the financial services sector and are also active researchers in their fields
This knowledge and experience inform the highly interactive lectures that make up the MSc in Finance.
Module Leaders include:
Application
How to apply
Documents required for decision-making
- Transcript/interim transcript
- Current module list if still studying
- CV
- Personal statement (500-600 words)
Documents which may follow at a later date
- IELTS/GMAT result
- Confirmation of professional qualification examinations/exemptions/passes, if applicable
- Two references
- Work experience is not a requirement of this course
- For a successful application to receive an unconditional status all documents must be verified, so an original or certified copy of the degree transcript must be sent by post to Specialist Masters Programme Office, 106 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, UK
We cannot comment on individual eligibility before you apply and we can only process your application once it is fully complete, with all requested information received.
Individual Appointments
If you would like to visit us to discuss your application please do arrange an individual appointment.
Entry requirements
A UK upper second class degree or above, or the equivalent from an overseas institution.
Some level of previous study or evidence of skills in finance or quantitative methods is essential.
GMAT
Highly recommended.
A well-balanced score in the range of 600-800 will significantly strengthen your application.
English language requirements
If you have been studying in the UK for the last three years it is unlikely that you will have to take the test.
If you have studied a 2+2 degree with just two years in the UK you will be required to provide IELTS results and possibly to resit the tests to meet our requirements.
IELTS
The required IELTS level is an average of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in the writing section and no less than 6.0 in any other section.
Fees
Fees in each subsequent year of study for continuing students (where applicable) will be subject to an annual increase of 2%. We will confirm any change to the annual tuition fee for continuing students in writing prior to commencing each subsequent year of study (where applicable).
Deposit: £2,000 (paid within 1 month of receiving offer and non-refundable unless conditions of offer are not met)
First installment: Half fees less deposit (payable during on-line registration which should be completed at least 5 days before the in-person ID–checks.)
Second installment: Half fees (paid in January following start of course)
Career pathways
Class of 2018 profile
Graduates from the MSc in Finance programme secure positions in companies including:
- Business Analyst – Global Services – State Street
- Financial Analyst – Payments - Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Associate – Financial Advisory Services – Deloitte
- Product & Sales Management Analyst - Private Banking Middle East – Credit Suisse
- Finance Placement Analyst – Finance – Goldman Sachs
- Trainee Analyst - Private Equity Buyout – Ardian
- Graduate Analyst - Customer Banking Solution – Barclays
- M&A Intern – Corporate Finance – ING Bank
- Asset Management Tax intern – Asset Management – KPMG.
Where they are working now
- UK: 41%
- EU/ EEA: 20%
- North America 2%
- Africa and Middle East: 8%
- Asia: 30%
Industry post-master's
The remaining industries are made up from: Venture Capital / Private Equity (5%), Business Services (5%), Advisory / Boutqiue Firm (3%), Financial Services - Other (3%), Metals / Mining(3%), Commercial / Corporate Banking (2%), Hedge Funds / Other Investments (2%), Insurance (2%), Operations / Technology (2%), Risk (2%), Sales / Trading / Structuring (2%), Retail Banking (2%), Luxury Goods (2%), Governement Agency (2%), Property / Real Estate (2%), Technology - Start Up (2%) and Shipping (2%).
Data provided from alumni who completed the annual destination data survey 2017/18
Course information and statistics
Accreditation
Successfully obtaining the MSc allows exemption from the exams of CIMA and ACCA.
See accreditation details
CIMA
CIMA is the world’s leading, and largest, professional body of management accountants.
Students successfully completing the MSc in Finance will be awarded exemptions from the following modules:
- BA3: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
- F3: Financial Strategy
ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants.
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
CFA Programme Partner
Cass students on CFA partner courses have the option of taking some additional preparatory classes for the CFA exams. They also have access to CFA study materials (including an online Level 1 sample exam) and complimentary access to Financial Newsbrief, a daily investment brief by the CFA. In addition, there is the opportunity to take part in the CFA Global Investment Research Challenge.
Each year a number of CFA scholarships are available to Cass students, offering financial assistance with the CFA exam registration fees.
