Course description
Course overview
This degree has been designed in response to the demands of employers for analysts and managers with a solid grounding in investment and financial risk management, which in turn is the result of recent innovation in worldwide financial markets. Graduates are therefore well placed to enter careers in a wide variety of finance and investment fields, including portfolio management, investment analysis, corporate treasury, research, trading in financial markets and corporate finance.
The City of London, where Cass Business School is located, is the leading international centre for finance and investment.
Study abroad and business placement options are available to deepen your understanding of the subjects taught, to enable you to develop an international orientation, and to enhance your career prospects.
Course content
The first year covers fundamental disciplines including economics, financial accounting, law, quantitative methods, and an introduction to financial markets and institutions. Business courses and French, German or Spanish for Business are available as electives.
In the second year, specialised compulsory subjects include corporate risk management and mathematical finance. Other compulsory modules include investment markets, security analysis, principles of finance and business statistics. The wide range of electives includes company valuation, risk analysis and modelling, personal finance, decision analysis, life assurance and pensions, real estate valuation and forecasting.
The final year covers equity investment, fixed income portfolio management, derivative trading and hedging, financial engineering and asset-liability management. Electives include forecasting, advanced corporate finance, advanced financial economics, continuous stochastic modelling and corporate finance. You will also undertake a dissertation – a 10,000-word, research-based piece of independent work – on an aspect of your studies of particular interest
Teaching and assessment
Teaching methods include lectures, seminars and personal tutorials. You will also spend a significant amount of time in personal study. Assessment is by coursework and examinations, and in the final year you complete an individual project. The second and final years count towards the final degree classification in the ratio 35:65, and examinations comprise 70 per cent of the overall mark.
