LSE Finance VS Chicago Financial Mathematics

[gautierLyon]

Hello,

I know that this question has already been asked but I am completely lost and I don't know what to think.

I want to work in investment banking and then in private equity but I don't know where yet maybe London, New York...

I got offers from UChiacgo Financial Math and LSE Finance but I don't know what is the best choice. I can see in rankings in QS in finance that LSE is really strong but I can aso see that Uchicago graduates have really strong jobs upon graduation.

I don't know how to make my choice and make the right decision.

Thank you for you help

 

[rivoltP]

If you want to work in investment banking, go to LSE. LSE is one of the best schools in the banking world. The only question is where are you from? If you are a US citizen and wish to work in investment banking in the US, then LSE might not be your best choice. (It doesn't really make sense to go to the UK for education and find jobs in the US at the same time). If you are an international student and you don't really care about where to work, then LSE. Either way, not Uchicago Finmath because the program is designed for quants.

 

[gautierLyon]

Yes but quants can still work in the investment banking field. I saw that many graduates from Uchicago join companies such as GS, JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley.
I am French and Swiss but I have no idea whether I want to work in London or in the us.

 

[basedpeanut]

Yes but quants can still work in the investment banking field. I saw that many graduates from Uchicago join companies such as GS, JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley.
I am French and Swiss but I have no idea whether I want to work in London or in the us.

I think he was referring to investment banking as in IBD (M&A, ECM, DCM). Of course quants can work at an Investment Bank (JPM, GS, CS, Citi, etc), however they’d do it in a quantitative role such as Quant Research, Strats, or even Middle Office Analytics. The LSE MS Finance has good IB placements, while a financial mathematics program is more suited for a quantitative position.

 

[rivoltP]

Yes but quants can still work in the investment banking field. I saw that many graduates from Uchicago join companies such as GS, JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley.
I am French and Swiss but I have no idea whether I want to work in London or in the us.

That's right. Working in an investment bank doesn't mean you are doing banking. Doing quant jobs in a bank doesn't add much value to your resume nor gives you too many transferable skills if you wish to go to Private Equity simply because you are considering fundamentally different things. Quants care about the performance of your portfolio, PE guys care about the growth prospect of a certain firm.