Financial Technology MSc

The module examines how the major financial markets operate and how financial instruments that are traded in these markets are priced. Specifically, the module covers markets for equities, debts, foreign exchange, and derivatives. It also covers the key theoretical models of modern finance, key market conventions, trading mechanisms, and the management of risk management using financial derivatives.

It also provides you with a knowledge and understanding of the key financial instruments such as money market instruments, bills and bonds, forwards, futures, swaps, and options. It equips you with the essential techniques applied in financial calculations.

The module covers important concepts in Python. These include:

1. data types
2. operators and expressions
3. conditional and unconditional loops
4. data structure
5. functions
6. exception handling
7. file handling

You will learn how to use Python to analyse data, design trading algorithms, back-test trading strategies, and construct portfolios. The module also covers estimation of econometric models and pricing derivatives using Monte Carlo simulations using Python.

The module provides you with a good understanding of econometrics tools covering topics such as statistical distribution theory, multiple regression analysis for cross-sectional data, time series analysis, panel data and qualitative response models with finance related applications.

The module covers important concepts of:

1. relational database design
2. data management and manipulation in Python
3. regression analysis (single, multiple, and logistic) 
4. decision trees
5. naïve Bayes and K-NN
6. clustering
7. dimensionality reduction
8. support vector machines (SVM)
9. introduction to deep learning and neural network

The module covers the following topics: 

1. Financial regulation and its role in the protection of consumers and markets
2. Financial regulation at the national and the international levels
3. Financial regulation specific to the FinTech industry
4. RegTech and how it can be used in the monitoring, reporting, and compliance of FinTech firms
5. How data are collected, managed, stored, and monetised by FinTech firms
6. Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
7. Cyber-crime and cyber-security

The module focuses on the following topics: 

1. The concept of open distributed ledger
2. Public and private, permission and permissionless ledgers
3. Hash functions and their use in creating a blockchain
4. Mining
5. Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies
6. Applications of the blockchain technology in the financial services industry

The module aims to allow you to synthesise, apply and extend the knowledge you have gained in the taught component of the programme. The investigation of a current research topic will help to develop your theoretical and practical understanding of current problems in your area, as well as your research and communication skills.

The Business Project requires students, working as groups, to undertake research in a topic which is relevant to business, management, marketing, finance, accounting, or information system. You must choose their research topic that is relevant to your named degree programme. The specific topic is subject to a formal approval process.

The module is intended for you to apply knowledge, concepts, skills, and techniques, acquired during the taught stage of your programme to real-world, business scenarios. You will be presented with real-word business problems for which you are required to review relevant literature, conduct research, analyse data, and formulate viable solutions.

This module covers:

• designing information systems: tools of the trade
• systems analysis and design
• interface design
• relational databases and SQL in practice
• alignment of IS development and business strategy
• technology, organisation and change

Lecture topics may include digital marketing definition and concept, digital marketing media, digital marketing communication strategy, digital advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, content marketing, e-commerce vs digital vs internet marketing.

Venture capital and private equity provide risk capital to firms at various stages of their life-cycle. This involves selecting early-stage and late-stage investment opportunities, due diligence, structuring deals, valuation, managing portfolio firms, and exit.

This module examines:

• exchange rates and FX markets
• FX market efficiency
• real exchange rate and purchasing power parity
• exchange rate determination
• exchange rate forecasting
• FX predictability: Statistical significance and economic value
• FX volatility strategies
• global equity analysis
• global performance evaluation

This module covers the following:

• International finance and globalisation
• Exchange rates regimes: to float or not to float?
• In search of an international monetary system
• Central banks and monetary policy
• Bank vs. market based economies
• Economics of bond markets and interest rates

The module will provide an introduction to the field of behavioural finance. In recent decades, the standard finance theory which is based on the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the rational choice model has been heavily criticised. Behavioural finance challenges these traditional theories and presents an alternative.

The behavioural finance approach is based on the ideas and findings from psychology and neuroeconomics and is applicable to a wide range of contexts such as investing, retirement saving behaviour and corporate finance

The module provides an introduction to modern econometric techniques for modelling financial data. It covers relatively advanced econometric techniques such as dynamic panel data modelling, generalised methods of moments, discrete choices models and modelling volatility via ARCH/GARCH models.