MSc Actuarial Science

This class provides an introduction to the basic principles of financial decision taking and the theory of finance. It will develop the basic principles of valuation, the nature of risk and uncertainty, and the relationship between risk and returns. While the analysis will be developed in the context of corporate finance, looking at companies’ decisions on the investments in assets and how these investments will be funded and the nature of the markets in which they take place, it will also consider the principles underlying financial reasoning that can be applied on a more general basis.

Find out more in the class outline for Principles of Finance.

The course and thus this introductory class is aimed at graduates who have not previously studied statistics at university level. The class will provide the foundation elements of probability and statistics that are required for the more advanced classes studied later on.

The aim of this class is to equip you with the essential technical knowledge in probability and statistics required for the Semester 2 classes which then apply these ideas.

You’ll learn about key macroeconomic variables and how changes in GDP, unemployment and inflation can impact on day-to-day policy and business decisions. You'll also study objectives and challenges in the design of macroeconomic policies by central banks and government’s finance departments and gain an understanding of how policies impact on the macroeconomic environment.

This class will introduce you to some key concepts and principles of economics, focusing particularly on consumer theory and the theory of the firm. You’ll be shown how these concepts and theories are applied to the analysis of a range of contemporary real world issues.

The aim of the class is to provide you with an understanding of the main ideas of behavioural finance. A particular emphasis is placed on understanding the roles of non-rational actions and the development of new financial models that incorporate these ideas.

You'll engage with up to date research and develop a critical view of existing and new finance theories and models. It aims to introduce you to the rapidly evolving area of behavioural finance. You'll develop an understanding of behavioural finance and an appreciation of its possible implications and applications.

This class introduces you to behavioural finance and provides you with an understanding of the main flaws of 'traditional' finance theory from a behavioural finance viewpoint. It will allow you to develop the ability to discuss issues arising from violations of the rationality assumption and will enable you to evaluate new theoretical models based on research in psychology.

The course will allow you to appreciate the role of new developments in finance and their possible implications for established views of the functioning of financial markets.

Find out more in the class outline for Behavioural Finance.

The aim of this class is to develop an appreciation of the investment characteristics of different types of securities, particularly bonds and shares, and to develop an understanding of how such securities are valued. This class will build on the analysis developed in the first semester class, Principles of Finance. It will consider the determination of interest rates, the valuation of bonds, the management of bond portfolios, and the valuation of equities.

Find out more in the class outline for Security Analysis.

The aim of this class is to examine the Markowitz (1952) approach to optimal portfolio selection. The class explores issues relating to optimal portfolio choice and issues in practical fund management.

Find out more in the class outline for Portfolio Theory & Management.

This is a core class for the MSc in International Banking & Finance. The aim is to develop further the analysis of risk introduced in the core finance class and to introduce you to some additional risk management techniques employed in practice.

It provides an overall view of risk management, but will focus on the application of the analysis within the context of the banking sector. The class employs some of the basic principles of financial analysis to consider the application of risk analysis. It explores issues relating to risk management in the banking sector, with a particular focus on the regulatory requirements stemming from the Basel Accord.

Find out more in the class outline for Risk Management for Banks.

You'll be exposed to a number of diverse topics in econometrics that can be used to model real financial data, with an emphasis on the analysis of financial time series. The statistical software R is introduced for financial modelling.

The class aims to expose you to a number of diverse topics in stochastic processes that can be used to model real systems, with an emphasis on the valuation of financial derivatives. In additional to theoretical analysis, appropriate computational algorithms using R are introduced.

Quantitative Business Analysis runs over one semester but in two parts. The first part provides an introduction to the basic theory and application of statistical modelling. Topics covered included data analysis, probability theory, distributions and moments, estimation and hypothesis testing.

The second part focuses mainly on two areas - regression modelling and multivariate analysis. While key background theory will be presented, the emphasis is on the generation and interpretation of output from commercially available software.

Background reading for Quantitative Business Analysis

This module will explore the entire process of structuring a risk problem, from modelling it to communicating recommendations, both theoretically and in practice.

Risk management is linked with decision analysis in so far as we explore decision making under uncertainty and it has links with quantitative business analysis as we explore the use of statistics in understanding risk. However, the topic has some unique attributes such as risk communication and the role that experts play in risk assessment.