PREPARATORY COURSES (not compulsory)
TERM 1
Probability theory provides the formal mathematical language to describe and analyze processes with an uncertain outcome. The number of claims (and the amount of damage) an insurance company has to handle, the gain of an asset within a quarter, the spread of a virus or the concentration of a pollutant are just a few real life examples of processes which – due to their complexity – cannot be described by some deterministic physical model. This is why we then use a “stochastic” approach: we a assign a probability, i.e. a measures of uncertainty, to the event of interest.
The objective of this course is to review some main concepts of modern probability theory. The student will be familiarized with probabilistic language and concepts. At the end of the course the students will have acquainted a solid knowledge which allows them to follow other courses in the master program which are founded on probabilistic formalism.
The course will review the evolution of the banking business model and articulate the seeds of the financial crisis. It will outline the role of the main actors in the financial industry, including banks and investment banks, assets managers, investment funds and fund managers, global and local custodians, as well as infrastructure companies.
It will describe key financial products, such as securities and derivatives, as well as specific products such as money market funds, repurchase agreements, credit default swaps, and covered bonds.
It will also cover the basics of the securitisation process.
It will provide a high level picture of the regulatory and supervisory evolution, which will be examined in greater details in other courses. It will furthermore detail some of the important governance regulation following the financial crisis and its relevance to risk management in the financial industry.
We will explain in detail the mathematical background necessary to give a basic understanding of this complex field. Though this will be a rigorous (mathematical precise) introduction to the topic, I will still lay emphasis on some good intuition. At the end of the course the fundamentals should be laid for using this theory in other courses (e.g. in financial mathematics) and be capable of acquiring deeper knowledge of the subject via further reading in self-study.
TERM 2
TERM 3
market and its theoretical foundations. Since the financial crisis from 2008 fixed income
markets drastically deviated from the text-book settings and we will discuss new models for this new paradigm. In this course the emphasis will lie on the quantitative methods (both stochastic calculus and financial econometrics) for valuation and risk-management of fixed income markets / products. Topics include 1) bonds and swaps portfolio management, 2) fixed income option pricing and risk-management, 3) inflation bonds and swaps. The course will involve (programming) assignments to get hands-on experience with the treated models.
TERM 4
Practical information: Summary
Starting date: September 2018
Deadline to apply:
Term 1, the deadline is September 3, 2018
Term 2, the deadline is early October, 2018
Term 3, the deadline is mid-January, 2019
Term 4, the deadline is late March, 2019- Location: Brussels
- Format: Afternoon (generally 2-9pm) or Saturday classes
- Language: English
Tuition:
Module of 2 courses: €3,500
Module of 3 courses: €5,000
Module of 4 courses: €6,000
Module of 5 or more courses: €1,000 per complementary course (special arrangements available for companies – contact us for details)
Upcoming events
“This programme provides students with a broad and relevant overview of different topics in quantitative finance, and it is very helpful for finding a job in Belgium.”
“The programme is comprehensive and goes deep in every subject. Consequently it is very demanding. But you are not alone. Teachers are always willing to push you forward and students help each other a lot.”
Keep me posted