MSc in High Frequency Finance and Trading

[amitsharma]

Hi just wanted to know what people's thought on the MSc in High Frequency Finance and Trading taught at Essex University?

Will it help you to move into high frqency trading? Or is the fact that it is from Essex Uni put recruiters and potential employers off?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Financial Engineering is a very specialized discipline but this track is just way narrowly focused for what I can tell.
MFE graduates can work in risk management, structuring, trading, etc but does it mean if you graduate from this program, you can only work in HFT? What happens if you can't?

Maybe it's just a trendy buzz word they throw in there to attract the newbie students???

A search on "Computational Finance + UK" in Google and many Internet search engines will find us amongst the top two entries.

This is false and it says all I need to know about their marketing.
CCFEA :: MSc in High Frequency Finance and Trading

 

[bigbadwolf]

This is an excerpt from their description of their MSc in mathematics and finance:

This course allows students to study finance which is a numerate subject and, since it involves, modelling and evaluating risk, asset pricing and price forecasting, amongst other things, mathematics is an indispensible tool for this study. In recent years, it has been one of the areas which high calibre mathematicians are in great demand. Financial agencies in the city and around the globe cannont get enough of them.

With the advent of powerful and yet economically accessible computing, individuals also have access to financial markets. Indeed, online trading has become a common activity. Many have realised that a certain amount of mathematics was necessary to be successful. There is undoubtedly a shortage of mathematicians, and an een greater one of those with knowledge of finance.

If you look at their spelling (e.g., "indispensible"), syntax, punctuation, and word choice, you wonder if they're to be taken seriously. Looks like another me-too money-making scam (though Essex is a known British university, unlike some of the fly-by-night operators who have recently been investigated by the British authorities).

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I was searching for what bbw posted and the link is here

Financial agencies in the city and around the globe cannont get enough of them.

May as well put up a picture of a cat with "I can has a cheez burger".

One of my biggest pet peeves is the way people don't "get" how important a website is to their business brand and perception. It's an after thought for most people and they probably will pay the price one way or another.

For a higher education institution to have that many errors on their website, it's just a disaster.

And what fly-by-night schools were you referring to?

 

[Connor]

Other UK universities I would shoot for first.

 

[bigbadwolf]

And what fly-by-night schools were you referring to?

There were some schools like "East London School of Business" (I think I've got the name wrong), which was in Walthamstow. And many others with similar names. They had essentially nothing other their name, some modest premises, and some adjunct "teachers." They were investigated by the British immigration authorities about six or seven months ago in connection with visa fraud -- third-world students were gaining admission to these august institutions of learning and getting student visas on this basis. Once in the UK, they were disappearing -- i.e., living and working illegally. As a consequence of these investigations, many of these rackets folded with alacrity.

To be fair, a lot of higher education is a racket. The universities of Essex and Hertfordshire are in essence selling credentials for cash (if you look at the U of Essex's MSc in computational finance, it seems they are just teaching and using Matlab over 12 months). There seems to be a slow yet inexorable convergence between bona fide universities that are whoring themselves for lucre and private fly-by-night scams. Or in another words, the dividing line has become blurred and it looks more like a spectrum now.

With regard to the US, there was a recent essay posted here which seems quite pertinent. But the phenomenon of the commercialisation of education is not confined to the US -- it's merely to be found in its most advanced and egregious form on American shores. It looks like the Germans are headed in the same direction, if this essay is any indicator.

 

[amitsharma]

Thanks for your replies guys.

Essentially I have been offered a place to study the MSc High Frequency Finance and Trading at Essex and the MSc Financial Computing at UCL.

I have traded for over 5 years, mostly UK Cash Equities at Van Der Moolen, when they were based in the UK. Since I have had no luck applying for various roles I feel that perhaps my skill set has become too narrow. I therefore thought I would try to use one of the MSc's to open up opportunities for me.

Do you think after attaining this MSc in High Frequency Finance and Trading that any of the high frequency trading firms would be interested in hiring me? Or do you think that ultimately as the institution is not highly regarded, it will actually work against me?

Would anyone recommend the MSc Financial Computing at UCL?

Thank you everyone for all your feedback. It's much appreciated.

 

[TraderJoe]

If you already have five years experience, the only degrees you should be targeting is the MFin program at London Business School or the MBA at LBS or INSEAD.

 

[bigbadwolf]

I have been offered a place to study the MSc High Frequency Finance and Trading at Essex and the MSc Financial Computing at UCL.
Would anyone recommend the MSc Financial Computing at UCL?

UCL is a ranking school, jostling with Imperial in university ratings. Oxbridge tend to get the first two spots, followed by Imperial, followed by UCL. UCL and Essex shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. Any of the London programs -- Imperial, City, LSE, UCL, King's -- will be okay.

 

[amitsharma]

Thanks traderjoe and bigbadwolf for your fedback.

I am actually hoping to sit my GMAT in the next month or so and on the basis of the result was intending on applying for an MBA at places such as LBS.

However, since I would be applying for the 2011 intake I thought that in the meantime perhaps a MSc in a more technical disciline may be a good idea, as it would increase my core skill set with programming knowledge, which I currently have none of!

More importantly, I actually have been offered a place to study the MSc at UCL, where as the MBA is still dependant on so many things...

What do you think? MSc at UCL a good idea, or should I just focus on doing an MBA?

 

[Connor]

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

You can always do a MBA or executive MBA later if you want to.