Investment and Financial Risk Management MSc

Do you want a rewarding, exciting and challenging career? If so, this is the course to set you on the path to a wide variety of careers in investment, trading, financial analysis, fund management, banking, financial services, finance and financial consultancy.

It is aimed at students from a variety of academic backgrounds, including those who have not studied economics, finance or accountancy at bachelors level. Those who have studied statistics, mathematics, physics, engineering or other quantitative subjects will enjoy the programme.

What will you study?

The programme will provide you with the computer and research skills required by employers in this highly competitive sector. After an induction programme introducing you to the Business School and the expectations and ethos of the course, you will go on to:

• address the modern portfolio theory and its implications for the pricing of assets;
• develop a critical knowledge and understanding of the core theories and concepts in the field of corporate finance and investment and financial accounting; and
• examine in detail the key risks (credit, liquidity, interest rate and market risk) to which investment firms and banks are exposed, and their measurement and management techniques.

In the second term you will examine the key issues in investment banking and trading. You will have a dedicated Bloomberg trading room where different trading techniques will be applied in practice with real live data. You will also analyse and explore in detail the investment management, financial engineering, fixed income and securities, derivatives, financial management and/or the regulation and compliance of financial institutions.

The research methods and the research project will enable you to focus in depth on a specific area of investment and financial risk management. There will be also a programme of guest lecture from investment and financial risk management experts from the industry.

This course requires you to accumulate 180 credits. There are eight taught modules worth 15 credits each, plus a research project and dissertation worth 60 credits. The taught modules are delivered in two 15-week semesters, with the third semester given over to the research project and writing the dissertation. There are seven core modules, one elective taught module and the Research Methods and Dissertation module.

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Available modules

• Portfolio Analysis and Management

• Portfolio Analysis and Management

  The module provides an understanding of modern portfolio theory and its implications for the pricing of assets. It gives unified approach to asset pricing, asset management and risk management. It covers in detail:

  • the formulation and implementation of various active and passive investment strategies; as well as
  • the analysis and management of risks associated with particular strategies.

  Topics covered include portfolio diversification, optimal portfolio construction, expected utility theory, capital asset pricing model and arbitrage pricing theory with applications. Students use the dealing room and software packages to gain practical experience.

  
   
• Fixed Income and Securities

• Fixed Income and Securities

  The module provides a broad understanding of the nature of fixed income securities and how they can be used successfully by banks and other financial institutions.

  It starts by examining the nature of fixed income securities markets. Using this as the basis it goes on to look at:

  • the valuation and pricing methods available and the mathematics behind them;
  • the problems involved in managing a fixed income portfolio; and
  • term structure analysis and the use of derivative instruments in bond portfolio management.
  
   
• Financial Engineering

• Financial Engineering

  The module provides a broad understanding of the nature of derivative securities and how they can be used successfully by banks and other financial institutions.

  It starts by examining the nature of derivative securities. Using this as the basis it goes on to look at:

  • the valuation methods available and the mathematics behind derivatives valuation;
  • numerical schemes such as the binomial lattice to value derivative securities;
  • market calibration of alternative derivative models to illustrate how such models can be fitted to observed derivative prices; and
  • risk management, both in terms of market risk and credit risk. 
  
   
• Investment Banking

• Investment Banking

  The module aims to develop an advanced understanding of the theory and practice of investment banking.

  It will cover analysis of the main operations of investment banks, including the types of investment banks; strategies employed; private equity investments; debt and equity underwriting; mergers and acquisitions; securitisation; trading techniques; repos; investment management; clearance and settlement; Euromarkets; and emerging markets.

  It will provide you with the computer and research skills required by employers in this highly competitive sector. There will be also a programme of guest lecture from banking and financial services sector experts.

  
   
• Financial Risk Management

• Financial Risk Management

  The module develops a critical awareness of financial risk within financial institutions and in a wider context. It has a substantial quantitative component, but also provides intuition needed to understand the fundamental mathematics of bank financial risk management.

  It will begin with an analysis of financial institutions, and then build upon this foundation by:

  • analysing the measurement of key risks to which financial institutions are exposed – including a detailed analysis of credit, liquidity, interest rate and market risk;
  • considering management issues – including the role of capital; liability and liquidity management and product diversification; and
  • analysing the banks utilisation of the financial markets in risk management.

  It will cover the computer and research skills required by employers in this highly competitive sector. There will be also a programme of guest lecture from banking and financial services sector experts.

  
   
• Bank Operations and Strategy
• Financial Accounting

• Financial Accounting

  This module introduces you to financial accounting in a business context. It provides you with a mix of practical 'know how' and deeper theoretical underpinning. The module covers:

  • the principles for constructing the key financial statements;
  • how to produce financial statements from transaction records using double entry principles;
  • how to conduct an appraisal of the financial statements of entities; and
  • company financial statements and their regulation.

  The module uses an active-learning approach in the lectures with informal feedback through discussion and practice questions.

  
   
• Financial Services Regulation
• Financial Management
• Managing Operational Risk in Financial Institutions
• Research Methods and Dissertation
• Corporate Finance

• Corporate Finance

  This module aims to develop a critical knowledge and understanding of the core theories and concepts in the field of corporate finance and of the issues related to the corporate decision-making process and the application of corporate finance theories in real life.

  
   

This course is taught by staff from Kingston Business School.

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