Course description
Programme content
A generalist programme in a specialised field
Our Masters in Finance is designed as a generalist programme in a specialised field. The core courses provide a solid grounding in the essentials of finance, and our wide range of electives allow you to tailor the degree to your objectives. For the Masters in Finance degree you are required to complete a minimum of ten course units; three core courses, a team project and six elective courses.
The core courses are compulsory, and will be taken by everyone. The elective courses are selected from a varied portfolio, and will reflect your individual choices and interests. You are required to complete ten courses in total - the three core courses, the team project which is equivalent to one core course, and six elective courses (although you have the option of taking up to eight elective courses).
Concentrations
Some participants choose to specialise in a particular area of finance and achieve this through choosing an appropriate cluster of electives, and reinforcing this through a team project that helps them explore their chosen area in even greater depth.
London Business School offers concentrations in:
-Corporate finance
-Investment management
-Quantitative finance
Concentrations are awarded to participants who complete at least three electives in the chosen field. For each concentration there is a mandatory practical module taught by a leading practitioner.
Core courses
The three core courses provide in-depth coverage of the key concepts and topics with which every finance professional should be familiar.
Team project
Participants must complete a substantial team project equivalent to one course unit. The project allows participants to apply concepts from the core courses to a real life "case study". This typically involves an analysis of an event, decision or transaction, and focuses on one of a number of themes.
Elective courses
Participants select six to eight electives from an ever-changing portfolio of around thirty courses. The elective courses allow participants to learn more about areas of particular interest and relevance to their current job or future career and, if they wish, to concentrate in either corporate finance, investment management or quantitative finance.
Dissertation option
Participants may substitute a dissertation in place of two elective courses. The dissertation is a substantial piece of applied research which is conducted under the supervision of a member of faculty. It must involve original analysis and demonstrate close links with material covered in both the core and elective courses.
Preparatory Modules
The Preparatory Accounting Module (for which there is an additional charge) is compulsory for participants with a limited background in accounting. The course will introduce you to the jargon, help you develop an understanding of the principles involved in the preparation of financial statements, and provide an introduction to financial reporting and its interpretation. This course runs directly prior to the start of the MiF programme for full-time participants and in the term prior to the Accounting core course for part-time participants.
After you have accepted our offer of a place on the MiF, we will ask you to complete a short test to help us to decide whether you are required to take this module, There is no additional charge fo this test. Qualified accountants may be exempted from a limited number of the more basic sessions of the Accounting core course.
People with limited prior knowledge of statistics will be required to attend the Preparatory Statistics and Regression Module (for which there is also an additional charge). For the full-time Masters in Finance programme, this course will take place immediately before the formal start of the programme (in early September). For part-time participants the module will be held in early January (during the Christmas vacation). The module involves eight half-day sessions, and the content covered includes:
-summarising data
-graphical representation
-probability models
-commonly occurring types of distribution
-sampling methods and design
-estimation and hypothesis testing
-correlation and regression
-introduction to multivariate analysis
-simple time-series analysis including serial correlation, random walks and trends.
Term times
London Business School follows the customary UK academic terms:
Autumn (September to December)
Spring (January to March)
Summer (April to June).
The three core (compulsory) courses will provide you with in-depth coverage of the key concepts and topics with which every finance professional should be familiar. They also serve as a firm foundation for the following elective courses and team project that make up the Masters in Finance. Full-time students take all the core courses in their first (ie, Autumn) term, and part-time students undertake them in their first academic year. The core courses cover the following areas:
Investments
Corporate Finance
Accounting
Investments
-present value
-valuation of fixed income securities
-basic statistics with a focus on stock returns
-portfolio theory
-state-price approach to valuation
-the Capital Asset Pricing Model and regressions to estimate betas
-the valuation of stocks
-hedging and multi-factor models
-efficient markets, rational expectations, anomalies and behavioural finance
-active portfolio management
-performance evaluation
-forwards, futures and options
-derivatives usage and risk management.
Corporate Finance
-overview of corporate finance
-performance measurement and financial forecasting
-sustainable growth
-capital structure
-financial distress
-pecking order and market timing
-dividends
-net present value
-company valuation
-valuation methods (multiples, FCF, WACC, APV, comparables).
Accounting
-introduction to financial analysis
-pro forma financial statements
-financial ratios
-capital structure and asset structure ratios
-common size statements
-the analysis of cash flow
-revenue and expense recognition
-earnings management
-accounting fraud
-accounting and economic income
-implications for GAAP
-recognition and valuation of tangible assets
-recognition and valuation of intangible assets
-asset impairments
-accounting for inventory
-accounting return on capital, economic return and IRR
-cash flow and financial modelling
-EVA and economic profit
-EP versus DCF valuation
-accounting for bonds
-leases and off-balance sheet accounting
-pensions and post-retirement benefits
-taxation of corporate income, and deferred taxes
-accounting for shareholders' equity
-accounting for employee stock options
-investments in marketable securities, fair valuation
-consolidation and equity accounting.
In practice, however, you should view this as a continuous period of education as the breaks between terms will be taken up with essential consolidation and preparation, or work on your individual project.
Electives
Participants select between six and eight electives from a portfolio of approximately thirty courses. The electives build on the solid foundations established by the core courses and allow participants to focus on areas of particular interest and relevance to their current job or future career.
An opportunity to specialise
Some participants may choose to specialise in a particular area of finance. Concentrations are awarded in corporate finance, investment management and quantitative finance to participants who complete at least three electives in the chosen field. For each concentration there is a mandatory practical module taught by a leading practitioner.
-Advanced Corporate Finance
-Advanced Financial Analysis and Financial Modelling
-Behavioural Finance
-Credit Risk
-Dissertation Option
-Emerging Markets
-Energy: Markets, Models and Strategies
-Equity Investment Management
-European Financial Markets
-Financial Analysis of Mergers and Complex Restructurings
-Financial Engineering and Risk Management
-Financing the Entrepreneurial Business
-Fixed Income Securities
-Global Capital Markets and Currencies
-Hedge Funds
-International Finance
-Investment Management Programme
-Mergers, MBOs and other Corporate Reorganisations
-Options and Futures
-PhD Seminars in Financial Economics I, II and III
-Project Finance
-Securities Analysis and Financial Modelling
-Strategy for MiFs
-Time Series Analysis, Market Models and Forecasting
-Topics in Assessment Management
-Trading and Financial Market Structure
-Using Better Measurement to Improve Performance
-Venture Capital and Private Equity
-World Economy: Problems and Prospect
