Computational Finance - MSc

The MSc in Computational Finance will introduce students to the computational methods that are widely used by practitioners and financial institutions in today's markets. This will provide students with a solid foundation not only in traditional quantitative methods and financial instruments, but also scientific computing, numerical methods, high-performance computing, distributed ledgers, big-data analytics, and agent-based modelling. These techniques will be used to understand financial markets from a post-crisis perspective which incorporates findings from the study of financial markets at high-frequency time scales, modern approaches to understanding systematic risk and financial contagion, and disruptive technologies such as distributed-ledgers and crypto-currencies. The programme is highly practical, and students will have the opportunity to apply their learning to real-world data and case studies in hands-on laboratory sessions.

Key benefits

• An understanding of modern financial technology (FinTech) including electronic trading and distributed-ledger technology.
• Practical hands-on techniques for working with and analysing financial data, which draw on modern developments in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data technology.
• The opportunity to understand the practical aspects of quantitative finance and FinTech from Industry experts located in the heart of one of the World’s financial centres.

Description

Computational Finance studies problems of optimal investment, risk management and trade execution from a computational perspective. As with any engineering discipline, computational finance analyses a given problem by first building a model for it and then examining the model. In computational finance, however, our model is typically analysed by running computer programs, rather than solving mathematical equations. In addition to standard computational methods such as Monte-Carlo option pricing, you will also learn more advanced modelling techniques such as agent-based modelling, in which the model itself takes the form of a computer program.

The programme will provide a foundation in the core skills required for successful risk management and optimal investment by giving a grounding in the key quantitative methods used in finance, including computer programming, numerical methods, scientific computing, numerical optimisation, and an overview of the financial markets. You can then go on to study more advanced topics, including the market micro-structure of modern electronic exchanges, high-frequency finance, distributed-ledger technology and agent-based modelling.

Career prospects

Students are expected to go in to careers such as Investment Banking, Hedge Funds and Regulatory Bodies.  

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Visit the Computational Finance - MSc page on the King’s College London website for more details!