Overview
This master’s course aims to provide you with a comprehensive programme of global finance, providing you with the knowledge and professional skills to develop a career in investment banking, portfolio management, corporate finance or risk management. You will also have the opportunity to gain practical career-ready skills from using our Bloomberg Trading Floor, and S&P Capital IQ computer lab. This master's course is endorsed by both the CFA Institute and GARP, offering excellent preparation for an international career in finance, banking or risk management.
This course integrates both the CFA and FRM exam curricula into a single master’s programme, specialising in traditional financial analysis, portfolio management, alternative investment and financial risk-management. This programme is highly professionally relevant, producing well-equipped, career-ready graduates.
Studying full or part-time, you’ll cover the majority of the curriculum required to pass the rigorous professional finance exams which are most in demand from global financial institutions – namely certification with the CFA Institute or the Global Association of Risk Professionals Financial Risk Manager (FRM). If you wish to sit for these qualifications on graduation, you will need to register and complete the final exams with the relevant professional bodies.
Why Coventry University London?
We believe that there is no better place to learn about business than to study in the heart of one of the most successful business and financial centres in the world. Launched in 2010 and located in the City of London, we are minutes away from the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange, and are surrounded by several blue chip companies.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityHeart of the City
Minutes from the Bank of England and Stock ExchangeCourse information
This is a challenging, intensive and fast-paced course which demands a great deal from its students. It simulates the operational environment of the finance sector, helping you to build the skills you need to work strategically within it.
The MSc Global Finance course offers the opportunity to develop the knowledge required for entry-level positions with leading global banks and financial services and investment firms. Whether you’ve just completed your undergraduate studies or have been working for some time, it will prepare you to sit for CFA or FRM certification – both of which are recognised as gold standards in professional finance.
The course is taught by highly qualified tutors who have solid career experience in banking, asset management and portfolio management, and who maintain strong connections with industry and with the professional associations. Your learning will be very much practical and applied, with the opportunity to meet with industry through networking, guest lectures, field trips and either an internship with an employer or a consultancy project with a real client.
Course Specification
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Modules
In more detail...
This is an intensive, highly professionalised master’s programme designed to provide a career springboard into the world of financial services.
Accreditation
The course has been designed in line with the Level I and II syllabuses of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and the CFA Institute, which means you’ll have covered 70-80% of the knowledge required to pass their professional exams once you graduate. Your tutors will offer intensive workshops to help you prepare for those exams, and provide online access to innovative support from Wiley Finance.
Technology
You will develop high levels of proficiency with industry-standard technology for the financial services sector, particularly when working on our simulated trading floor. You’ll use Bloomberg terminals, S&P Capital IQ, STATA and TradeStation, plus financial simulation software such as Oxyor MarketTrader and Volcube for options pricing and risk management. You’ll learn to integrate these tools, and their outputs, into Excel. We are unusual in being able to offer a personal S&P Capital IQ login, which means you’ll have 24/7 access to the system from anywhere, including home.
London
Our campus is situated in the iconic Square Mile of the City of London, one of the most famous and busiest financial districts in the world – and we’re only a short distance from the UK’s second financial centre, soaring Canary Wharf. Your tutors will take full advantage of the many experiential opportunities in the area, including the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange, but you will also be encouraged to make the most of tours, museums, conferences and exhibitions.
Tutors
This programme is taught by highly qualified academics holding doctorates and/or professional
accreditation such as CFA and/or FRM. They have significant backgrounds in finance, working as chartered financial analysts, chartered accountants or financial risk managers for leading investment banks, asset-management firms, national overseas banks, private-equity firms and hedge funds. The course director is a visiting fellow at Cranfield School of Management.
Applied
Your learning will be very much applied, helping you to become workplace-ready when you graduate. You’ll benefit from guest lectures from high-profile figures in finance, and could participate in an international field trip to a global financial centre. You’ll have opportunities to visit leading banks, institutions, investment companies, technology firms and/or ratings agencies. Your final major project offers the chance to do an internship or a consultancy project for a business client.
- You will receive essential preparation for either CFA or FRM certification
- A portion of your learning will take place on our exciting simulated trading floor
- Tutors will illustrate your learning with their career experiences in the financial services sector
- You will study in the heart of London, in close proximity to the UK’s two leading financial districts
- Every aspect of your studies will be set within a global context, preparing you to work internationally
- You could choose to do a term’s work-experience internship or a live consultancy project with a real client
- There is the opportunity to participate in an overseas field trip to a global financial centre, which might include Wall Street in New York
- Your learning will include as many opportunities as possible for developing hands-on business skills, enabling you to be highly workplace-ready when you graduate.
Your main study themes are:
- Professionalism – You will learn to adhere to the highest levels of professional conduct, and to pass the exams of one of the world’s leading professional associations for finance or risk management
- Technology – You’ll explore the importance of electronic decision-support tools in the financial services sector, and use industry-standard software as part of your learning throughout your studies
- Ethics – Ever since the recent global economic crisis, the financial services sector has had to respond to increasing levels of scrutiny and to develop and enforce stringent codes of ethics
- Strategy – The course focuses on developing your strategic thinking – enabling you to make crucial decisions based on the best and latest information, and to professionally inform the decisions of others.
You will benefit from the highest standards of teaching here at our London campus, evidenced by the fact that Coventry University has been awarded ‘Gold’ in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework. Your tutors are all highly qualified and experienced, with strong career backgrounds in financial services.
Your learning will be applied and contextualised. Both within and beyond the classroom, you’ll enjoy many opportunities to mix with the world of business through field trips, tours, guest lectures and visits to companies and institutions in the UK and overseas. You’ll experience business networking and real work-experience and consultancy opportunities. Even in the classroom, you’ll focus on practical tasks such as case studies, report-writing, planning, presentations and debates.
In your second term, you’ll choose whether to follow either the CFA or FRM specialist pathway. This will help to prepare you for taking certification exams with the relevant professional body after graduating, if you so choose.
You’ll spend time working on our simulated trading floor, becoming proficient with some of the leading technology for the financial services sector – including Bloomberg terminals and S&P Capital IQ. You’ll use our online learning platform, and you could choose a ‘simulation’ option which uses software to guide you through a series of real-world financial problems.
Students are expected be highly motivated independent learners. You’ll be encouraged to make the most of all the opportunities afforded by London’s financial districts, including the City of London and Canary Wharf. You could take advantage of tours, museums, exhibitions and conferences. Since this is an intensive programme, a significant proportion of your time should be dedicated to personal study, a lifelong skill which will serve you well throughout your career.
Teaching methods include:<br> Lectures, seminars, textbooks, workshops, debates, case studies, consultancy projects, simulations, business plans, online collaborations.
Your performance will be assessed continually throughout the course. This helps to ensure that both you and your tutors understand your particular talents while recognising where you might need extra support.
Your assessments will be highly applied and practical, reflecting the kind of work you will undertake in the workplace. You’ll have opportunities to work on business case studies, software simulations, consultancy projects, group projects and debates, presentations, business reporting and even work-experience placements. Assessments will include the use of Excel and its many data analysis tools and integration interfaces.
The practical nature of these assessments means you will develop increasingly critical awareness of your own performance, and that of others – a vital career skill.
On successful completion, you should be able to:
- Respond appropriately to the need for the highest standards of ethical behaviour
- Understand the impact of the economic environment on companies and financial markets
- Explain the global financial markets: the institutions, the mechanisms, their performance, their mutual relationships with the wider economic landscape, and their regulatory frameworks
- Understand and analyse financial reports and statements
- Know how to measure and manage risk within financial markets
- Evaluate financial assets using the capital asset and other pricing models, whilst recognising their assumptions and limitations
- Measure, analyse and deliver shareholder value
- Value equity, fixed-income and financial-derivative investments
- Demonstrate your financial modelling skills and your proficiency with industry-standard financial platforms such as Bloomberg and S&P Capital IQ
- Use a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods/techniques while appreciating their strengths and limitations for providing information and evaluating options in an uncertain environment.
This course take a globalised approach to the curriculum, placing your learning in the context of international challenges, opportunities and regulatory frameworks. It will prepare you for working globally, whether overseas, or for a multi-national, or for a firm which trades internationally.
You will have the opportunity for an international field trip, and you could also arrange to do either a consultancy project or an internship (as part of your final major project) overseas. You will benefit from studying alongside a truly international cohort of students, learning from the perspectives they bring while developing your own ability to work cross-culturally.
Entry Requirements
Career prospects
This course will provide the skills you need to embark on a senior position in the global financial services industry, whether in banking, investment firms or corporates.
Graduates of this course have well-developed powers of analysis, clear perspectives on strategy and strategic thinking, and highly effective communication and research skills. These skills are in high demand around the world. You will have received essential preparation for either CFA or FRM certification, the gold-standard professional qualifications from the internationally recognised CFA Institute and Global Association of Risk Professionals, respectively.
You could choose to work in corporate business, for an institution, within government or a national bank, or for a specialist firm – or you could even become self-employed, perhaps as a consultant to such organisations.
Where our graduates work
Your career options will largely depend on the pathway you select on this programme:
- CFA offers a broad-based curriculum, opening up a wide range of career opportunities in financial analysis and investment. It will prepare you for a career in investment banking, where you might manage IPOs and mergers & acquisitions, or you might work in portfolio management (asset management, mutual funds or financial planning). Alternatively, you might go into equity research, or work as a financial analyst or strategist.
- FRM is a very much more specialist programme in financial risk assessment, suited for those who want to make a career with banks, insurance companies or rating agencies, for example. You might work as a risk manager, a credit risk analyst, a chief risk officer, or an asset liability manager.
Disclaimer
Graduate Immigration Route visa – Based on current information from the UK Government, students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
