Target MS programs for buyside/prop trading in the UK

qwerty_mbb

Thanks for responding.
For context, I'll be switching countries if I join a program in the UK. I'm already a few years out of undergrad and I work as a quant in a bank. My plan is to do a 4 month pre Masters intern in a boutique quant investing fund before the masters. I've shifted my focus from the US to the UK since the latter now has better employment immigration policies.I understand that the MSc MathFin curriculum might actually be more relevant for banks but not for the work that quant HFs do, but I'm not sure what other options I have to get my foot in the door. Would love to get some ideas or other routes for this. Thanks! 

Your background is good. I have seen a few people get in to these funds out of undergrad (or at least MSci, the integrated masters) so it's definitely possible. Structured recruiting for them is generally rare and it seems to be more of a case of turning up at campus presentations or networking outside of campus. The Oxford FinMath looks pretty useful - and if you don't break HF recruitment it will likely position you better for other finance roles than another solely STEM degree. Some other options:

MSc Mathematics and Finance, Imperial - To me it looks a little more mathematically rigorous than Oxford's? Imperial also has their Institute of Quantitative Finance where there will likely be interesting research opportunities (and potentially placement/referrals from the professors there). 

MSc Financial Mathematics, LSE - Like a lot of LSE masters, it's very, very competitive to get in (3.5% acceptance rate). I've actually heard quite good things about the LSE Maths Department, but I'd fear that it will play second fiddle in placements to Cambridge and Imperial. Have a search on LinkedIN for what alumni have gone on to do. I'm guessing that it's more likely to lead to a similar role to the one that you have now than HFs.  

MSc Mathematical Finance, Warwick - Warwick, despite being virtually unknown outside of the UK, is top tier for maths and generally places very well for finance (full target, but probably the lowest of the six full targets). Might be worth a look, although being out of London will harm you for informal networking. 

MSc Financial Mathematics, UCL - Worth applying for, but Imperial > UCL by far for anything mathsy in a London university. Would probably be an uphill struggle to place at a HF from it. 

I can't find any course at Cambridge which matches what you're looking for, unfortunately. To me, Oxford and Imperial are going to be your best bets. I've heard good things about the Princeton and MIT courses. To be honest, they're likely more competitive to get into than the UK ones. That said, I'm not sure they'd be actually what you need for HFs - whilst mathematically rigorous, they're still more finance focused than the courses above. 

With regards to your specific question about chances, it's really not my area so unfortunately I can't be of much use. The few people I do know in this space are highly intelligent, generally graduated in the top 5% of their class, and are more "maths" people than "finance" people to be honest. I think you've got a reasonable chance, but it's probably not the degree that will make or break you here. Instead, it's likely going to be your grades and most importantly, networking - which yes, goes against the standard "structured" and relatively meritocratic recruiting of other London finance roles. There are some exceptions to this though. D.E. Shaw, for example, have online applications and have been doing several on-campus/on-Zoom sessions at COWI (Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial, probably a useful term for you to be aware of as it's basically the top four maths institutions in the UK).