What is the MSc Investment and Wealth Management degree?
The MSc Investment and Wealth Management builds on your existing knowledge of finance, economics or business to prepare you for a career in investment, wealth management and finance.
Investment and wealth management focus on how money and assets are invested, managed and protected over time. You'll explore how portfolios are managed, how investments are valued and how risk and investor behaviour can influence financial decisions.
Why this course
Develop your understanding of investment and wealth management while exploring the financial decisions made by individuals, investors and organisations.
You'll examine how corporations approach funding, capital structure and investment decisions, alongside behavioural finance, financial planning and fixed-income markets.
You'll combine financial theory with practical application and can choose from optional modules to tailor your studies towards your interests and career aspirations.
Who should apply
Those with existing knowledge of finance, economics or business
Those interested in careers in investment, wealth management or the wider finance sector
Analytical thinkers interested in portfolio management and financial markets
Those interested in understanding how behaviour and psychology influence financial decisions
What you'll learn
Portfolio management: Explore how investment portfolios are constructed, diversified and managed
Fixed-income securities: Develop your understanding of fixed-income markets and financial instruments
Behavioural finance: Understand how psychological factors can influence investors and financial decision-making
Corporate finance: Explore funding, capital structure and investment decisions within organisations
Financial derivatives: Develop your understanding of derivatives and their role within financial markets
Your learning experience
Investment analysis: Develop your ability to evaluate investments and understand financial markets
Risk management: Explore how portfolios can be diversified and exposure to financial risk managed
Financial decision-making: Consider both financial and behavioural factors when evaluating investment decisions
Theory and practice: Apply your understanding of investment and finance to practical financial situations
Flexible study: Choose from optional modules to tailor your studies towards your interests and aspirations
The MSc Investment and Wealth Management covers more than 70% of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program Candidate Body of Knowledge, helping to prepare you for the CFA exams.
Careers and outcomes
The MSc Investment and Wealth Management provides a foundation for careers in finance and investment management, including areas such as:
Investment management
Wealth management
Financial analysis
Portfolio management
Corporate finance
Employers of Investment and Wealth Management graduates
Graduates have progressed to organisations including:
They can help you find work experience, internships, placements and voluntary opportunities, as well as providing access to employer talks on campus.
We also work closely with the Essex Startups team to support students looking to develop their own business ideas.
Professional accreditation
Recognised by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA).
Why we're great.
Our Bloomberg Financial Market Labs gives you access to the data and analytical tools found in financial institutions across the City of London.
We cover more than 70% of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Programme Candidate Body of Knowledge making you well placed to sit your professional exams when you graduate.
You'll be taught by our expert finance researchers, who work alongside the financial industry, regulators and policy-makers.
“For anyone interested in a career in finance or investment, I highly recommend this degree. Be ready to learn a lot, work hard and have fun while at it. Trust me, there is so much to learn if you are willing. I'm currently working as an investment analyst at SFS Capital Nigeria and I particularly enjoyed modules in portfolio management, fixed income securities and modern banking. These modules prepared me for my CFA level 1 exams.”
Faith Oreoluwa Odekunle, MSc Finance and Investment
Course content
Course structure
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists. Please be aware that we are planning changes to our first year to make it more relevant to your chosen course.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption such as COVID-19, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.
Components and modules explained
Components
Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.
Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.
Status
What this means
Core
You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory
You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.
Modules
Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.
In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.
Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code. For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:
HR
100
4
FY
The department or school the module will be taught by.
In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.
Your dissertation is the culmination of your Masters programme, where you apply the knowledge gained on your course to produce a 10,000 word independent piece of work. You generate an original idea, analyse literature and current knowledge and produce a coherent argument that shows your ability to relate theory to practice. Your dissertation will help you develop vital skills for the workplace, as well as the ability to analyse real problems through an academic lens. You're assigned a supervisor for the duration of your project.
This module offers you a standard introduction of the field of corporate finance at postgraduate level. You consider the classical areas of Modigliani-Miller irrelevance, Taxes and capital structure, Trade-off theory and Pecking order theory of capital structure, before exploring the more modern areas, which are essentially based on contract theory.
Understand the process of portfolio management. You cover the main concepts such as efficient diversification, managing risk exposures, and the valuation of financial assets that are at the core of managing investment portfolios, and pay special attention to the practicalities of the implementation of these concepts.
Behavioural finance rejects crucial tenets of mainstream finance such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on the basis that agents are less than fully rational, and that arbitrage fails to eliminate mispricing. Instead it identifies market anomalies or regularities such as holiday effects that are at odds with the EMH. You learn to use ideas from cognitive psychology, such as overconfidence, and aspects of imperfect arbitrage to explain these.
This module equips you with the econometric tools and necessary experience to conduct empirical research in finance. You review statistical and basic econometric models and learn to apply econometric techniques in finance by considering topics such as (G)ARCH models, unit roots and cointegration.
Discover the concepts and tools that are useful to asset managers who want to use fixed income securities for investing, market-making or speculating. You first study fixed income markets and instruments, before going on to explore basic concepts of bond portfolio management and investigating the quantitative tools used to value bonds and manage bonds' portfolios.
Master the pricing of financial derivatives and their use for hedging financial risks. You study the basics of futures and options, analyse the Black-Scholes and binomial option pricing models, and consider various numerical techniques for pricing financial derivatives. Futures and options are then utilised in the context of hedging financial risks, and you are introduced to the concept of volatility trading and the treatment of volatility as an asset class.
This module covers topics in mathematics that are required in Masters-level finance courses at the University of Essex. You focus on the basics of linear algebra, differential calculus including optimisation and dynamics.
Build the academic, research and professional skills needed to succeed at postgraduate level and beyond. This module supports your transition to master’s study by developing independent learning, research and critical thinking skills, alongside ethical and effective use of AI as a learning tool. You’ll also enhance your employability and professional practice, gaining the confidence and capabilities required for graduate-level roles and advanced academic work.
Tailor the content of your course to more closely fit your interests and aspirations
Optional modules will enable you to gain in-depth specialisation and understanding across several banking and finance topics
Courses focus on practical applications and links with industry
Our postgraduate students can attend conferences and seminars on campus and beyond
Assessment
Regular assessment is by coursework, presentations, case studies, group work, tests and examinations
Dissertation
You will undertake an individually supervised research project that involves the in-depth study of a specific finance problem or issue
Entry requirements
UK entry requirements
A 2:2 degree, or international equivalent, in one of the following subjects (with no module requirements):
Accounting
Actuarial Science
Business
Commerce
Computer Science
Data Analysis
Economics
Engineering
Mathematics
Natural Science
Statistics
We will also consider applicants who hold a CFA Institute Programme Level One, Two or Three (pass or above).
Applicants from any other background will be considered on a case by case basis, where they have at least one year relevant work experience in the field of economics, finance, banking, investment, financial engineering, risk management, entrepreneurship, accounting or quantitative analysis (please include your CV with your application).
International & EU entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
Sorry, the entry requirements for the country that you have selected are not available here. Please contact our Graduate Admissions team at pgquery@essex.ac.uk to request the entry requirements for this country.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
We hold Open Days for all our applicants throughout the year. Our Colchester Campus events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex, and give you the chance to:
tour our campus and accommodation
find out answers to your questions about our courses, student finance, graduate employability, student support and more
meet our students and staff
If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing tours@essex.ac.uk and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.
We aim to respond to applications within two weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.
For information on our deadline to apply for this course, please see our ‘how to apply' information.
Visit Colchester Campus
Set within 200 acres of award-winning parkland - Wivenhoe Park and located two miles from the historic city centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded development. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360-degree virtual tour allows you to explore our University from the comfort of your home. Check out our Colchester virtual tour to see accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.
At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications. The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and
Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
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