The top 15 Masters in Finance courses for breaking into investment banking in the UK

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I find it very interesting and should help anyone looking for the best/right program to get a FO job at an investment bank (in the UK/Europe).

Full detail.

 

This is funny because a lot of people on the Finance masters course at LSE completed a FO internship in their third year so already have offers. The investigation should really be who DOESNT have an offer and lands it while/after completing the MSc no? (note a lot of them actually are in S&T not IBD)

 

Call this ranking bullshit. HEC behind Bocconi? Why is Saïd so behind? Cambridge? LSE first?

[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]
 
sanjose04:
Where's LBS?

I don't think that LBS has a pre-experience program, besides the MiM? I would assume that all programs are pre-experience.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

i think bocconi is accurate. there are so many italians from that uni mincing around the city

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

One thing to note about LSE: there is also MSc Accounting and Finance, which has been in existence longer than MSc Finance. Older LSE alums in the City probably completed Msc Accounting and Finance back in the days, when MSc Finance didn't existed. Although nowadays, MSc Finance is slightly harder to get in than MSc Accounting and Finance, in terms of the admission ratio.

 

Love the table formatting. Might indicate how much time has gone into this "research".

 
Disjoint:
My ranking: UK 1) LSE 2) Imperial 3) Cass

Europe 1) HEC 2) Bocconi 3) ESCP

You can forget about the rest. All that matters is the companies that bother coming on campus, not how strong the program is...

I think Warwick is in the same rank with Cass, why didn't you include it in the list?

 
Disjoint:
My ranking: UK 1) LSE 2) Imperial 3) Cass

Europe 1) HEC 2) Bocconi 3) ESCP

You can forget about the rest. All that matters is the companies that bother coming on campus, not how strong the program is...

For the UK, I am unsure that you can just leave out Oxbridge. As for Europe, I would strongly assume, that SSE places far better than ESCP.

In general, I agree with what a lot of you have said regarding the validity of the ranking, as they obviously left out a few that place tremendously well. Overall though, with the exception of a few schools, the ranking reflects my experience in London pretty well.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 
above_and_beyond:
Disjoint:
My ranking: UK 1) LSE 2) Imperial 3) Cass

Europe 1) HEC 2) Bocconi 3) ESCP

You can forget about the rest. All that matters is the companies that bother coming on campus, not how strong the program is...

Oxbridge dude..

For undergrad. I am only talking about masters here. Someone asked why I left out some schools - that's because I used to be heavily involved with my BBs recruiting, and we never EVER went to the other schools mentioned. Somebody was slagging Bocconi, we were flying off FO staff bi-yearly there to recruit. It's an amazing school.

 
Disjoint:
above_and_beyond:
Disjoint:
My ranking: UK 1) LSE 2) Imperial 3) Cass

Europe 1) HEC 2) Bocconi 3) ESCP

You can forget about the rest. All that matters is the companies that bother coming on campus, not how strong the program is...

Oxbridge dude..

For undergrad. I am only talking about masters here. Someone asked why I left out some schools - that's because I used to be heavily involved with my BBs recruiting, and we never EVER went to the other schools mentioned. Somebody was slagging Bocconi, we were flying off FO staff bi-yearly there to recruit. It's an amazing school.

For Masters, Oxbridge also has great recruiting, don't you think? MPhil Finance, MPhil Real Estate Finance at Cambridge and the MSc Financial Economics at Oxford are heavily recruited? Maybe your experience is different with this?

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Sorry to interfere. I am an italian 27 years old engineer with 3 yrs work exp. in industry. Finance has always been my secret dream and I am now able (money...) to join MSc in Finance at Bocconi next year In your opinion, provided that I will graduate in time (2 years )with very high grades, will I have any chance of getting an FO role in IB, considering my future age at graduation will be 30 years and my "career-changer" semblance? Will I get at least an interview, coming from Bocconi? Will have any chance of landing an asset management role after graduation (not necessarily in IB)?

Given I have work experience, I should forget MSc in Finance and go for an MBA?

Thank you in Advance

 
Best Response
GoodPaul:

Sorry to interfere.
I am an italian 27 years old engineer with 3 yrs work exp. in industry.
Finance has always been my secret dream and I am now able (money...) to join MSc in Finance at Bocconi next year
In your opinion, provided that I will graduate in time (2 years )with very high grades, will I have any chance of getting an FO role in IB, considering my future age at graduation will be 30 years and my "career-changer" semblance? Will I get at least an interview, coming from Bocconi? Will have any chance of landing an asset management role after graduation (not necessarily in IB)?

Given I have work experience, I should forget MSc in Finance and go for an MBA?

Thank you in Advance

That is a very interesting question. Given that you are essentially a career changer, you should probably go for an MBA and then try to join a bank as an Associate so that you don't have to go through all the Analyst stuff and be 33 before you ever make Associate. Then again, if money is still an issue, an MBA may not be feasible on the cost side. Given your age concerns a shorter MBA (INSEAD) comes to mind.

In general, your age shouldn't be a factor in recruiting though. People may ask themselves what your motivation behind all this is but if you have a good answer, you shouldn't worry too much.

Have you applied to Bocconi yet? What's your GMAT?

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 
GoodBread:
The guys laughing at Bocconi have no clue what they're talking about. HEC does seem low though, particularly considering they are tied with Grenoble which seems patently ridiculous.

Wow I didn't realize HEC and Grenoble were tied ... haha

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 
f4tality:
rankings are always kind of ridiculous, but this one seems to be the only one that makes sense to me: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/10/25/world/asia/25iht-sreduceme…

The one above seems just plain wrong.

I agree, it's a very interesting ranking. I am surprised by some of the university's good reputation, but it looks valid.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

I call bullshit on this ranking

warwick no4... HEC no 8...? the dullest student in HEC will get a job before the smartest student in warwick (all things being equal)

 
monkeyDD:
I call bullshit on this ranking

warwick no4... HEC no 8...? the dullest student in HEC will get a job before the smartest student in warwick (all things being equal)

i'm calling bullshit on you. warwick has pretty good stats these days laz moelis etc.. are full of 'em
"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

I also think an MBA will be better since it is designed for career changer. The MSc in Finance at Bocconi, albeit a very good feeder for London based investment banks, it is designed for people with no previous working experience. Also, the on campus recruting at Bocconi is very limited for their MSc programs. I believe you should look at MBA program and I think that an MBA also from SDA will give your more benefits that a MSc in Finance from the same university.

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 
cruel3a:

I believe you should look at MBA program and I think that an MBA also from SDA will give your more benefits that a MSc in Finance from the same university.

True, SDA isn't a bad option either, especially considering that its pretty cheap. I would still recommend going for a more internationally recognized MBA program. Bocconi is well known for its MSc programs, but its MBA isn't as strong as some may wish.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Thanks everybody for the replies Matrick and Cruel3a

Are any of you from Italy and working in Italy? As far as I can understand, MBA from SDA in Italy is not recognised as a university degree MSc and is not very strong (it's a very different situation from USA for istance and in Italy with this MBA perhaps you will have hard times landing a job in finance), whereas some friends of mine have done MSc Finance at Bocconi and have now very good job! Outside of Italy SDA Bocconi is the situation the same? Any experience to share? Thank you once again!

 

Scrivimi pure in Italiano in PM.

MBA and MSc are very different things, especially in Italy. The fact is that, usually, people go to Bocconi to do their MSc after their BSc and the course is design to help people to get their FIRST job. An MBA is made for people who wants to change their career or boost it. Therefore, since you already have 3 yrs of engineering working experience it would be a pity, IMO, to waste those years and start back with an undergraduate degree (since in Italy the MSc, or Laurea Specialistica, is essentially, an undergraduate degree). On the other hand, the MBA will give you the opportunity to leverage on those years and try to get a position as associate (in banking, etc.) or as a consultant in top consulting firms and avoind an entry level position.

Of course, you have to look carefully at the placement statistics of SDA Bocconi MBA and should, if you think you have the profile to be ammited, also look at some other MBA programs which have a better placement (e.g. INSEAD, IMD, IE which are 1 yr MBA program in Europe).

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

To Cruel3a. Not sure i will ever get enough bananas to have the possibility to send PM. Can i contact you using the contact form? By the way I do not know how to do it.... Thank you very much

 

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

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