LSE (Msc Risk and Stochastics) OR Imperial (Msc Finance)

Hello

I have an offer from LSE (Msc Risk and Stochastics) and Imperial (Msc Finance)

My question is: what is the most prestigious to get into Investment Banking Graduate Programs ?

Thanks

29 Comments
 

You need neither for IB.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
Best Response

He is not asking if he need it or not. If he is considering to get a MSs, it is probably because he was not able to land what he wanted straight after the BSc or he did not know at that time what he wanted... IMO, you will able to get interviews from both schools. If you are interested in Investment Banking (IBD), probably it will be easier to explain why you decided to attend a MSc in Finance program than a master which is focused on risk... I could be wrong here but I think the Risk one would be more useful if you were looking for more quant positions or risk things (credit, market risk, risk solutions, etc.)...

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 

They probably mean that you don't need a MSc to get into banking but a BSc is enough...

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 
cruel3a If you are interested in Investment Banking (IBD), probably it will be easier to explain why you decided to attend a MSc in Finance program than a master which is focused on risk...
I think so too.
 
choco06

No answer for:
which is the most prestigious please ?

I usually never answer questions with the word prestige in them but if you really want an answer, comparing LSE to Imperial is like comparing Wharton to MIT...it is pointless, some people prefer the latter and some the former.

 
choco06

No answer for:
which is the most prestigious please ?

Ok, trolling?

For technical and quant things Imperial (as MIT compared to Wharton). For business, by far LSE. I mean, if it was MSc Finance at LSE vs Imperial, LSE. If it was MSc in Insurance and Risk at LSE or Imperial, Imperial...

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 

Is there any particular reason why you applied for the MSc Risk program? You are trying to get a slot in an Investment Banking graduate program, hence the LSE MSc Finance or MSc Accounting & Finance would have been the better choice. I'm not sure about the MSc Risk program since I don't have any reliable placement information about it, but I could imagine that the LSE name will still open some doors for you. School names carry a lot of weight in the city. Otherwise, some may question why you applied for a Risk program given that you are interested in IB.

The Imperial MSc Finance places plenty of people in London Banking, just as the (usual) LSE programs like MScFin and A&F.

Maybe you should clarify what position you are aiming for? IBD? Markets? "IB Risk" (like the JPM program)?

 

When you apply to LSE for MSc they make you select 2 options. I have a feeling he got ding donged for the first and Risk is his second.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 

so Risk and Stochastics is not to good for IB this is is the conclusion ? I'm not aiming for risk positions but font office positions, thought that Risk and Stochastics is a quantitative degree and will help ...

 
choco06

i aim to work in front or as a quant

I think you have to sort a lot things out before choosing the School/degree. Front is broad and you should narrow it down. Also, do you want to work as a risk quant or trading related quant?

Snootchie Bootchies
 
choco06

Trading quant,
The thing is in IB graduate you do a lot of things, 6 months within every department and then When a desk want you to work for them they pick you !
It does'nt work like that ?

It depends on the bank and on the program but usually, you start with in a given department and on a given desk and you just stay there. There are some rotation programs (Unicredit has one I think), but it is not the norm. Sometimes in back office position you may find some rotation (i.e. at Barclays you may rotate on 3 different desks in 3 years within their Finance division).

Anyway, if you don't even know if you want to be in IBD or Markets it gets quite difficult to pick the best MSc. At this point, I'd go with the MSc in Finance at Imperial since it can work for both sides.

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 

Hi,

I think it depends which area in an investment bank you want to get into. If you want to do actual investment banking i.e. M&A, ECM etc. MSc Finance in Imperial would be better. I looked at the Course Structure, they also do Private Equity, M&A modules which you should be able to learn financial modelling more.

If you want to become a trader, or a Quant trader, or want to work in valuation risk and models (i.e. risks of your bank's products), or market risk. Doing MSc Risk and Stochastics in LSE is better because its more quant model base and if you work for these roles, most of the time you have to use option greeks.

So it really depends whether you want to work in IBD, trading, or back office from my view.
But at the end, doing a Master does not guarantee a job in IBank, there are many other factors affecting job hunt.

 

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