The MSc Finance and Investments Advanced (MSc FI-A) programme is no longer being offered by Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).
The MSc FI-A was a highly selective, 16-month programme combing advanced courses, enhanced career preparation, an internship, high-profile external lecturers, intensive contact with corporate partner companies and a study trip. MSc FI-A students consisted of a relatively small and ambitious group of talented individuals, admitted to the programme based on previous study results (GPA), motivation (assessed in interviews) and extra-curricular activities. The MSc FI-A programme was offered by RSM up to the class of 2019.
Looking for an alternative programme? RSM offers the MSc Finance and Investments programme which can be combined with a selective MSc Finance & Investments Honours Class.
This programme is offered by Erasmus University Rotterdam. For more information about the legal structure of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, visit this page.
The MSc Finance & Investments Advanced is a 60+30 EC programme with a duration of 16 months. It consists of 60 EC towards the degree plus 30 EC of additional components: advanced courses, enhanced career preparation, an internship, high-profile external lecturers, intensive contact with corporate partner companies and study trips.
The Advanced programme is offered by an outstanding department with a world-class reputation in research. Teachers and professors are a dynamic and international group of ambitious academics and dedicated educators. The programme builds on the strong foundations of the existing 12-month core programme, the MSc Finance & Investments, delivered by the same department. However, the Advanced programme goes beyond the scope of its shorter core programme to prepare you even further for your career in finance.
Talented students who are willing to put in extra effort and welcome the chance to be really challenged will greatly benefit from choosing this extended programme: it will give a clear competitive advantage in the job market. They are part of an international class of like-minded individuals: talented and motivated students with a desire to become the best in their chosen profession.
Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of advanced finance topics such as existing financing techniques but also new financial developments like crowd funding and FinTech. They learn to distil the value of finance, but also to critically assess the functioning of the financial system through courses on sustainability and ethics. The programme has strong focus on finance practice, which complements the advanced theoretical knowledge that students will learn. Many courses contain hands-on, action-oriented elements such as case-based teaching. In the Living Management seminar students work on six cases from real companies.
FI-A participants experience close involvement of corporates, providing case studies, guest lectures, internships and recruitment and they are prepared for a quick start in their first job with career training, personal leadership development, interpersonal skills and personal coaching;
The Finance & Investments Advanced (FI-A) programme was offered by RSM up to the class of 2019.
View all core courses below:
This course provides insight in the working of the financial system, both financial markets and institutions. Topics include financial integration, financial innovation and new developments like FinTech. The causes of the Great Financial Crisis are also analysed. Drawing the lessons from the crisis, the course deals with key policy areas for the financial sector: financial supervision, financial stability, and competition policy.
Review the course guide for more details.
This course it taught by Prof. D. Schoenmaker.
This course covers advanced principles of modern corporate finance. Students will learn to apply advanced corporate finance tools and techniques to practical situations. The course relies heavily on case studies prepared by students. Topics include valuation basics and capital budgeting techniques, payout policy and capital structure, financial and real option applications, project finance, international risk and cross-border valuation, and raising external equity finance. As such, this course is designed as a follow on to core courses in finance.
Review the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by H. Wagner.
The course takes the user perspective of financial statements (investment analyst, portfolio manager, business analyst) as she interprets financial reports, analyses performance, prepares forecasts and applies valuation techniques. The course has a practical emphasis with many examples from industries such as Retail (Tesco), Luxury (LVMH), Autos (Tesla) and Mining (Glencore and Xstrata).
Review the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by H. Haanappel.
The course introduces students to (financial) risk management, both from a business as well as a regulatory perspective. Students will be familiarized with techniques to measure and manage market risk, credit risk, operational risk, and liquidity risk. Students will also learn how risk models can be used in strategic decision making. The material will be illustrated with cases and guest lectures.
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This course is taught by Dr D. Bongaerts.
The course goals are to study financial decision-making by investors and the determinants of stock and fixed income market prices. We will develop a critical understanding of key theories of asset pricing and portfolio allocation, review the latest empirical evidence, and discuss and discover the implications for real-world investing.
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This course is taught by Prof. M. van Dijk.
In this course students will develop both theoretical and practical insights to perform (corporate) valuations. Starting with discussing core valuation theory, this course analyses a variety of valuation models such as Discounted Cash Flow, Multiples, Residual Income, Leveraged Buyouts analysis and applies them to real life companies. More complex valuation topics like the impact of M&A deal structuring on valuation, and the valuation of distressed assets and start-ups are also covered. Several guest speakers are invited from investment banks, consultancy firms, and private equity.
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This course is taught by H. Haanappel.
This course builds the practical skills and strategies you need in order to remain true to your values in the face of workplace challenges, and the ability to analyse and address your firm’s impacts on stakeholders including employees, customers, neighbouring communities, and the natural environment, whether as executive or investor.
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This course is taught by A. Newton.
The objective of Personal and Career Development, is for students to identify their personality traits and values and based on these set and attain personal and career goals. The personal and career development journey begins with personal reflection, before moving on to developing leadership skills and knowledge of the financial job market, functions, companies and industries. Once the students have targeted their desired roles and sectors, they will intensively start working on preparing their internship and job applications.
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This course is taught by V. Gacic.
View all courses below.
Many billions of dollars are invested worldwide through professional asset managers. Investment funds offered by these asset managers play an essential role in enabling individuals to invest in financial markets, for example in order to build assets for their retirement or for future educational or health care expenditures. This elective analyses the asset management industry, and addresses questions like: What is the value of active management? Are fund managers worth their fees? Do they outperform the market? How do you evaluate fund performance? What are “alpha” and “smart beta”? Do fund managers have “hot hands”? What makes hedge funds different from mutual funds? How do fund families operate? How do investors allocate their money to these funds? Is money smart? What is the role of marketing? What incentives does a fund manager have? What is survival bias? Do hedge funds charge fancy fees for dull results? What is factor investing and is it worth the effort?
View the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by Prof. Dr M.J.C.M. Verbeek & Dr J.J. Hazenberg.
Recent turbulence in financial markets, changing investor demographics and increased sophistication of investment banks has led to an explosive growth in derivatives and customized investment products: Structured Products. This course examines how simple derivative products can be used to develop such products and will consider techniques for pricing and risk evaluation. The aim is to learn how derivatives and structured products can be constructed and used as alternative investments.
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This course is taught by R.G. Tompkins.
This course will take the students on a journey through a series of investment cases that have carefully been selected in cooperation with several leading financial institutions. The case-based setup of the course will optimally facilitate the students’ learning experiences by requiring them to use empirical finance theory in real-life applications.
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This course is taught by Dr J.J. Huij & G.S. Kyosev.
Banks have undergone tremendous changes in recent decades: the new regulatory landscape, financial innovation and technological changes all had a profound impact on their environment. This course introduces students to how commercial and investment banks conduct business in a modern financial system and the challenges that arise for both the management and the regulation of banks.
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This course is taught by Prof. Dr W.B. Wagner.
Treasury management is a continuously developing area of expertise in today’s international financial markets. From a corporate perspective the objective of the treasury function is not only to manage the different financial risks but also to create (shareholder) value. The objective of this course is to present the different areas of treasury management like corporate financing, risk management and cash management. Furthermore the functioning of the international capital and derivatives markets are discussed. Due to among others new regulation like Basel III and the Capital Markets Union (CMU), new funding instruments are established. This course combines theoretical frameworks with practical experience and case studies.
View the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by A.M.W. van Tol.
The aim of the course is to present the theory and practice of the financing of entrepreneurial firms. Special attention will be devoted to understanding the motivations of the different players involved (mainly investors and entrepreneurs) and how to reconcile their interests through proper deal structuring. Next to more traditional sources of entrepreneurial finance such as business angel and venture, the course also offers a special focus on different forms of crowdfunding, which involves raising funds through the Internet, and how entrepreneurial finance is currently affected by digitalization.
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This course is taught by A. Schwienbacher.
The Living Management Seminar aims at bringing together state-of-the-art academic and practical knowledge in finance. It covers various advanced topics, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate social responsibility. The lecturer will provide students with an academic introduction and the expert from the corporate partner assigns a case study to the groups. Afterwards, students will work in groups on the case study (group assignments). Students will present and discuss their solution of the case with the lecturer and the corporate experts.
Review the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by Prof. Dr P.G.J. Roosenboom, Dr. M.M.J.E. Cosemans, Prof. Dr D. Schoenmaker and Prof. Dr F.P. Schlingemann.
This course provides insight in the sustainability challenges and the link to finance. The challenge is to move from the current short-termism (e.g. quarterly reporting) to long term thinking and to stress the role of finance professional as steward. From the investor side, the course discusses the academic evidence on social responsible investing. From the corporate side, the course analyses changes in business models and integrated reporting. As climate change is a long run phenomenon, the use of scenario analysis is explained.
Review the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by Prof. Dr D. Schoenmaker.
RSM supports every student through the process of researching and writing their MSc master thesis. The Research Skills course is the first stage of your preparation. You will learn the skills needed to work with data, conduct an empirical analysis, and write an academic paper, all of which are essential skills. You will conclude the course by writing your thesis proposal, as an important step on the way to successful completion of your master thesis.
Review the course guide for more details.
This course is taught by Dr M. Cosemans.
An internship enhances your practical skills and provides excellent preparation for your first job, so it has become an important part of the MSc F & I Advanced curriculum. It can be in the form of a regular internship, a traineeship, or training on the job, and you can choose to work for corporate organisations, financial firms or supervisory agencies. You can integrate your internship with the thesis, running parallel to the thesis trajectory, for example, or you can do it after you have written your thesis.
The minimum requirement is 6 full weeks, or the part-time equivalent, and you will be supervised by a company supervisor and an academic supervisor. There are no ready-made internships nor placements. The internships are individual and therefore enormously variable, and it is up to you to secure a place. Through the Career Development Programme you will learn how to prepare a suitable application and the Career Development Manager will help you further during the individual coaching sessions. You will also have plenty of chances to connect with the companies where you could do your internship, as the Career Development Programme comprises of many activities with our Corporate Partners and RSM Alumni.
The master thesis is an opportunity to demonstrate your depth of knowledge and thinking abilities. Many students have used their master thesis as a springboard to launch a career in a subject that is of great personal interest. You can combine your thesis with your internship as a way of adding practical depth to your thesis, or as a way to access company data that might otherwise be unobtainable.
