Understanding modern financial economics, which includes asset pricing, risk management, monetary policy and financial regulations for pursuing careers at, for example, banks, capital funds and finance ministries.
The spectacular growth of international capital markets is creating great opportunities. But, as the latest financial crisis has shown, this also entails major challenges for financial decision-makers and regulators of financial markets. The academic Master’s specialisation in Financial Economics is ideal for students who want to understand the workings of global financial markets, from asset pricing and risk management to monetary policy and financial regulation. It provides you with the necessary knowledge and skills set for careers in not just banks, investment funds, and financial exchanges, but also finance ministries or other governmental or non-governmental bodies of financial market oversight.
See the website
http://www.ru.nl/masters/fe Why study Financial Economics at Radboud University?
- You will be part of a new generation of finance professionals, who not only understand traditional approaches in financial economics but who can also integrate modern behavioural and institutional aspects. This gives you a good understanding of the highly volatile behaviour of financial markets, including bubbles, crashes and crises.
- Besides offering a sound theoretical foundation, there is also plenty of attention for applying these concepts to real-world situations.
- You will be trained to think independently and critically about the way in which financial economics can be applied in your professional field and you will develop skills that will make a difference in the highly competitive global labour market.
- The specialisation pays special attention to global aspects of corporate finance, preparing students for an international career.
- Our lecturers are active in academic and applied research which allows them to incorporate the latest academic developments and applied issues. This will also enable you to actively participate in academic research in your Master’s programme.
- Professors and students interact in small groups, thus strengthening the academic atmosphere.
- Radboud University offers ‘Economics Plus’. Traditional economic models and business approaches are expanded with relevant knowledge from related disciplines such as psychology, teaching more in-depth knowledge that can be applied in today’s globalised world.
Ground breaking ideas
One of the most important aspects of this specialisation is to fully understand how financial markets work and what the possible implications are of measures taken to regulate them. How are asset prices of stocks, bonds, derivatives and other financial assets determined? How do markets deal with financial risk and how can we manage it? You are challenged to go further than simply understanding the concepts and to think creatively about ground breaking ideas of how to regulate constantly developing financial markets and new financial instruments. It’s about trying to get financial markets to work more efficiently, without exuberant bubbles and catastrophic crashes, and in support of a prospering world economy.
Career prospects
Employers are increasingly looking for a new generation of financial professionals, who understand more than the traditional concepts in financial economics and who can integrate this knowledge with institutional and behavioural insights to tackle a wide variety of problems. This Master’s specialisation will provide you with in-depth knowledge in asset pricing, risk management, monetary policy and financial regulations as well as behavioural finance. With this specialisation you will get the best possible understanding of how financial markets work and how to use your analytical skills to deal with today’s problems in financial markets.
Job positions
Our graduates have the necessary knowledge and skills to work for commercial banks, investment banks, and various types of stand-alone investment funds, as well as financial exchanges. Furthermore, careers in finance ministries or other governmental or non-governmental bodies of financial market oversight, such as central banks, the IMF and the World Bank, are also well within your reach. Due to our international approach, and by choosing the relevant electives, this Master’s can also prepare you for financial careers in multinational enterprises or large national companies.
Our approach to this field
The Master’s specialisation in Financial Economics primarily looks at financial markets, their behaviour, their regulation, and monetary policies. In this specialization we take a bird’s eye view and investigate global financial markets as a whole, for example, stock markets, commodity markets or derivative markets. But we also analyse the different classes of market participants, for example, banks, insurances, pension funds, activist investors and hedge funds. There are many topics that will be studied including bubbles and crashes in financial markets, exchange rate policies between countries and how they affect economic growth. But also measures that a government can take to minimise the risks that banks take, or financial innovations and how they can help to improve economic growth.
- Much more than traditional financial economics
We want to educate a new generation of finance professionals; ones who not only understand traditional financial economics, but can also work with modern institutional and behavioural insights. Financial markets are internationally integrated and often truly global. That is why at Radboud University, we also teach students how to be aware of the different institutional, cultural and psychological aspects in various financial markets. At Radboud University, we also know that psychological biases and emotions play a role in financial decisions. Therefore, a good understanding of financial economics includes knowledge about behavioural finance. Behavioural finance is a modern field in finance that uses psychology-based theories to explain financial decisions of individuals and how these can influence financial markets and create anomalies.
- Other specialisations of Economics
This specialisation looks at Finance from a market perspective and how financial markets can be regulated takes a broad view on markets. If you are more interested in Finance from a firm’s perspective and at its positioning within financial markets, we suggest you take a look at our Master's in Corporate Finance and Control. And for those wanting to know more about the trade relations between countries should take a look at our specialisation in International Economics and Business.
See the website
http://www.ru.nl/masters/fe
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