Does an MFE actually provide an edge in strategy development?

[Fede T]

Hi,

I've been working as a strategy analyst at a quantitative asset manager for four years now and I'm considering doing an MFE or another type of course to get new tools to apply to my work and open up new areas of research.

I'm worried, though, that these programs seem more focused on getting a job in finance than actually learning new tools with a real application (particularly in the alpha research side).

I'm interested in learning the opinions of actual practitioners on how useful these programs are in terms of becoming a better asset manager.

Thank you!
Federico

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Most MFE programs have students who have no work experience so the main objective is to place such students. If you have some relevant experience and have a good idea of what you need to learn, you should target programs that allow you to customize your course selection. Look for those who have up to date curriculum instead of those still teaching the same stuff like it's 2006.