Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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2020 - 2021 Programme

Profile


Advanced Master in Financial Risk Management

 Evening Programme   60 credits   1 year 
 European Qualifications Framework (EQF): Level 7 
 Internship: no   Final assignment: yes   Exchange Programmes: no


A sound financial management has always been critical to business success. The importance of this factor has further increased in recent years due to the increasing complexity and internationalisation of markets. Volatility in currency and capital markets, the search for cheap sources of capital, changes in regulation and tax laws affecting the financial world are some examples of this complexity.

Innovations related to financial products went along these changes. These financial products, which were hedging instruments, quickly became instruments used to take positions on stockmarket trends. The assessment of these assets value, and the risk associated with them, has become crucial to the survival of many players in the financial markets.

These developments have often found their origins in academic research. They also generated a need for training for individuals willing to pursue a career in finance as well as for executives already gravitating in the world of finance : bankers, insurers, consultants and financial officer of industrial firms.

This is why, in 1995, the Université Saint-Louis - Bruxelles has undertaken to create a post-graduate program in finance oriented towards the study of the management of financial risks. In order to avoid that this program remains an academic exercise detached from practical realities, Saint-Louis has associated several banks to this project. The proposed program is intended to be “applied”, while maintaining the characteristics of an academic intellectual rigor and curiosity.

With the goal of weaving together a range of financial market and risk management concepts to provide a big picture perspective, the programme is primarily aimed at individuals wishing to gain a broad-based understanding of the functioning of various financial instruments (with the exception of the equity markets) and their interconnection.
 
By providing a big picture perspective on the different functions within a financial institution, and thereby going beyond ‘silo’ perspectives, the programme aims to enable a person operating in one department to understand the problems of a colleague working in another. The programme offered here is not therefore designed to train specialists in a particular field, but generalists capable of understanding the consequences of their actions on their firm, and on the financial world in general.
 
The programme is principally aimed at individuals working (or eager to work) in the following areas:

  • In the trading room, in banking, in foreign exchange, in insurance or in the ‘corporate’ sector.
  • In a bank’s ‘corporate finance’ department.
  • In Account Management.
  • In Risk Management (Asset Liability Management, ALM).
  • In Finance & Audit Consulting.
  • In the finance departments of public institutions (such as central banks, national treasuries, etc.).

The courses are mainly in the evening for two to three nights a week. Some courses will also take place on Saturday morning.

Those who wish can take single courses (in this case, access to the courses is not subject to any condition of holding a university degree). The cost rises to € 200 per 15 hours with a maximum of three courses.

Structure

This 1 year programme is worth 60 credits. It is made up of 210 hours of taught courses as well as 90 additional hours devoted to the production of a dissertation. Courses in financial risk management are completed by more general courses designed to contextualise the courses in finance and thereby to enable students to better understand them.