Investment Analysis MSc/Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Certificate

www.accountingandfinance.stir.ac.uk

The MSc in Investment Analysis is the UK’s longest-established postgraduate-level programme in the field of investment management education. It is one of the very few Master’s degrees in the UK to have CFA® Institute Program Partner status and one of a select group of partner institutions worldwide. At least 70 percent of levels I, II and III of the CFA® syllabus are covered during the programme.

Programme Objectives

As a CFA® Institute ‘Program Partner’, the majority of the learning outcomes of the CFA® Programme are covered and so the programme is ideally suited to those who wish to become qualified as a CFA® charter-holder. The syllabus has a distinctly international orientation that reflects the increasingly globalised nature of financial markets and the investment management profession.

Such is the international reputation of the programme that students come from a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds and cultures, providing a unique opportunity for the development of worldwide contacts. The programme is unique among UK ‘Program Partners’ in having had a team of Stirling students competing in the UK final of the CFA® Institute’s prestigious Global Investment Research Challenge in both 2008 and 2009.

Entrance Requirements

At least a lower second class Honours degree in any discipline or equivalent professional qualifications or significant and relevant work experience. Students should be reasonably numerate.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5 in each skill) or TOEFL 550/213/79 (Paper/Computer/Internet). A first degree taught in English will satisfy this condition, as will satisfactory completion of an appropriate English language programme at the University’s Centre for English Language Teaching.

Funding

Two prestigious Karen Napier Scholarships are usually available each year, meeting programme fees and including a maintenance award. Postgraduate Student’s Allowance Scheme (PSAS) awards are available on a competitive basis to Home/ EU fee paying students.

For further information on possible sources of funding, visit: www.stir.ac.uk/postgrad/finance

Modes of Study

Full-time: 1 year

Programme Start Date

September

Programme Director

Dr Kevin Campbell

Teaching Staff

Dr Kevin Campbell

Mr Bill Collins

Dr Dipak Ghosh

Professor Alan Goodacre

Professor David Bell

Professor Gavin Little

Dr Isaac Tabner

Dr Ioannis Tsalavoutas

Professor Chris Veld

Dr Yulia Veld-Merkoulova

For more information, please see the Accounting & Finance Division staff list.

Accounting & Finance Division

The Accounting & Finance Division, part of Stirling Management School, has recently ranked tenth in the UK and third in Scotland for accounting research, according to a recent analysis of research output across 24 leading journals.

UK and Scotland Rating

• The Division is among the most successful departments of Accounting and Finance in the UK, recently ranking 16th (The Times Good University Guide 2008)
• Teaching provision within the Division has been assessed by the Scottish Funding Council and rated as highly satisfactory and was recently ranked in the top 20 in the UK (The Times Good University Guide, 2007).

Structure and Content

The Master’s programme is a one-year, full-time programme. Your programme begins with an initial taught component of two 15-week semesters, involving lectures, practical case study work and workshops, with a supervised dissertation in the final period.

In the Autumn semester you will take the following modules:

• Financial Reporting: Provides an appreciation of the underlying assumptions and limitations of accounting information. Measurement and reporting problems involved in financial accounting ‘solutions’ adopted by regulators are discussed.
• Corporate Finance: Provides an understanding of how corporations raise finance (debt and equity) and how they invest money (capital budgeting). This module also examines the major decision areas of corporate finance and how these affect the value of the firm.
• Economics for Business and Finance: Introduces students to economics as a discipline, assuming no prior knowledge of economics, and focusing on aspects most relevant to a career in finance.
• Quantitative Methods in Finance: Provides the statistical and computing skills necessary to fully understand modern banking and finance operations. Spreadsheets are used to manipulate statistical models and to estimate linear models.

In the Spring semester you will take the following modules:

• Financial Statement Analysis: Develops skills in the interpretation and use of financial statements, focusing on company valuation and identification of companies that may become insolvent. It includes a group project where students collaborate to write and present an investment analysis report on a UK quoted company.
• Derivatives: Focuses on the uses and the pricing of the key derivative instruments: options, futures, forwards and swaps.
• Investments and Portfolio Management: Focuses on the valuation of both equities and fixed-interest securities and the management of equity and fixed-interest portfolios.
• Law of Investment Regulation: The legal systems of the UK, USA and China are considered in relation to rules that directly impact on those working in the sector, such as enforcement of securities laws, insider dealing and market abuse. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct of the CFA® Institute are also covered.

Delivery and Assessment

Successful completion of the taught modules leads to the award of a Postgraduate Diploma. The Master’s degree is awarded on satisfactory completion of a dissertation, following the Diploma examinations. Dissertation topics range over all areas of relevance to investment analysis and allow completion of a case study or research topic dissertation.

Timetable and Reading Lists

Contact the Programme Administrator, Joanne Fairbrother, at accountingandfinance@stir.ac.uk for information.

Career Opportunities

Graduates have gone on to work across the world in both the buy side (fund management) and the sell side (stock brokering) of the industry. You are assisted in your job search by the University’s Career Development Centre.

Walter Scott Global Investment Management, the employer of a number of the programme’s graduates, sponsor a prize of £1,000 for the student with the best overall academic performance.

Research Opportunities

Our research is given cohesion through its organisation around several key areas in which we have particular research strengths. In accounting, these lie in financial reporting, auditing and accounting history. Our research activity in finance is mostly concentrated on empirical corporate finance. However, we are also active in research on investments and derivative securities and most of our research is policy-focused. We regularly host a wide range of research seminars and produce an ongoing series of working papers. Recent publications in accounting and finance journals include Critical Perspectives in Accounting, Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Journal of Future Markets, European Financial Management and Journal of Law & Society, Corporate Governance: An International Review, the British Accounting Review and British Tax Review.

For information on the Division’s research interests, visit: www.accountingandfinance.stir.ac.uk/research

Research Proposal

Research proposals, focusing on topics which fall into the areas of research expertise of current staff in the School, should include the following: executive summary, importance of the proposed research, prior relevant research and literature review, research questions and methodology, any limitations or particular requirements for the research.

The word limit for Accounting & Finance research proposals is 2,000 words.

RAE Rating

The UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed the quality of the work being done by our researchers. 85% of the University of Stirling’s research has been judged to be internationally excellent and internationally recognised, with the top 10% of that judged to be world class.

View the full outcomes of Stirling’s RAE performance

Use the online enquiry service to find out more or to request a prospectus.

If you are ready to apply you can fill out an online application form now.