The ICMA Centre at the Henley Business School is launching an exciting new MSc in Finance and Financial Technology (FinTech). The first student intake will be in September 2019! FinTech products and services have transformed large sections of the finance industry, leading to new payment systems, financial planning tools, saving and investment platforms (for instance peer-to-peer lending solutions, crowdfunding, robo-advisory services and price-comparison web sites), algorithmic trading strategies and AI-based risk management tools (see EY Survey, 2017 and World Fintech Report 2018).

FinTech is used by both startups and large financial institutions. The sector is branching out into more specialised sub-sectors, such as, PropTech where technology is used to make real estate transactions more efficient; RegTech, which addresses regulatory and compliance challenges within the financial services sector (2018 is the year of GDPR, PSD2 and MiFIDII); InsurTech, that leads to ultra-customized insurance policies, social insurance, and uses new streams of data from internet-enabled devices to dynamically price premiums according to observed customers’ behaviour.

The aim of our new programme is to prepare graduates for a career in the rapidly expanding FinTech sector. Through our course, students will gain a deep understanding of digital banking and payment systems, Python programming and finance applications of machine learning solutions. Business opportunities generated by “big data” in finance and insurance, along with emerging technologies including blockchain, and the popular cryptocurrencies, will be explored in detail. Through trading simulations, students will learn about securities, futures and options and algorithmic trading. The curriculum also covers FinTech regulation and the challenges posed by data protection and cyber security.

The UK is well-positioned to lead global FinTech innovations and the UK Government is fully committed to supporting this ambition. Key ingredients for the development of the FinTech industry are: talent, capital, a welcoming regulatory environment and demand for FinTech services. We are particularly interested in the first ingredient, talent or human capital. FinTech firms need not only technical expertise (engineers, software developers and coders) but also experts in finance and financial services as well as entrepreneurs. We believe this new programme will address the need for professionals who understand the finance industry as well as the underpinnings of its recent and profound technological transformation.

Read more about the MSc in Finance and Financial Technology programme here. Find out more about Dr Alfonso Dufour's research.

View Profile Find out more about Dr Simone Varotto's research.

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