How long is the MSc in Financial Markets?

One year full-time (two years part-time via online or distance). The MSc in Financial Markets schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones.

Can the MSc in Financial Markets be studied online?

Yes. The MSc in Financial Markets runs fully online, on-campus in London and by distance learning against the same dissertation or sponsor consulting project.

Is the MSc in Financial Markets recognised by UK employers?

Yes. The MSc in Financial Markets is aligned with CISI Diploma in Investment Compliance, CFA UK Level II reading and CFA UK ESG Certificate content.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in Financial Markets?

A UK 2:2 in a relevant discipline or three years' markets experience on portfolio route, GCSE English (grade 5), IELTS 6.5 for international applicants.

What does the MSc in Financial Markets cost?

Tuition varies by mode and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and bursary eligibility for the MSc in Financial Markets.

MSc in Financial Markets | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in Financial Markets at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a research-informed master's inside the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, written for senior analysts, associate PMs, wealth-management seniors and consulting seniors moving into City-facing markets roles. Across one year full-time (two years part-time online) it combines cross-asset analysis at CFA UK Level II depth with senior FCA conduct literacy, portfolio-construction rigour and a substantial dissertation supervised by a working senior practitioner.

Study runs on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or by distance learning from 2026. The programme closes with either a dissertation on a research question of the student's choice or a sponsor consulting project with a UK asset-management, brokerage or wealth-firm client. Both are defended in front of a working buy-side portfolio manager.

Key Features

Aligned with the CISI Diploma in Investment Compliance, CFA UK Level II reading and CFA UK Certificate in ESG Investing.
Three study modes — central London campus, fully online with UK / APAC calls, or distance learning.
Dissertation supervision from working senior practitioners — portfolio manager, sell-side analyst, City compliance officer.
Sponsor consulting project option with a UK asset-management, brokerage or wealth-firm client.
Executive-application coaching in the final term for City-facing roles.
Cross-asset simulation running a substantial mock book across the year.

What You Will Learn

The MSc is written around what a senior analyst or associate PM does — writing an investment thesis at buy-side depth, defending a portfolio call, running SMCR-compliant coverage, and producing publishable research. You will graduate able to write a defensible research paper and consult on a City-shape brief.

Advanced equity valuation and modelling.
Fixed income and credit at CFA UK Level II depth.
Derivatives — Greeks, structured products, hedging strategy.
Portfolio construction — factor, ESG, mean-variance, Black-Litterman.
Corporate finance and its interaction with markets at senior level.
Financial econometrics — time series, event studies, panel data.
FCA SMCR at senior level.
ESG investing at CFA UK Certificate depth.
Research methods and academic-practitioner writing.
Dissertation or sponsor consulting project.

Who This Course Is For

Senior analysts and associate PMs consolidating a City credential.
Wealth-management senior advisers taking on senior model-portfolio work.
Consulting seniors targeting a capital-markets practice group.
Compliance officers stepping into senior-manager or SMF track.
Career switchers with CFA candidate progress consolidating a UK degree credential.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically move into senior-analyst, associate-PM, sales-desk-lead, senior sell-side research and senior markets-compliance roles across UK banks, brokers, wealth firms, asset managers and consultancies. The master's supports applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Senior Markets Analyst
Associate Portfolio Manager
Sales Trader (senior)
Buy-Side Research Analyst (senior)
Sell-Side Research Analyst (senior)
Senior Markets Compliance Officer

The MSc in Financial Markets is the natural step toward the CFA UK Level III route and further doctoral study for research-oriented graduates.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline (finance, economics, mathematics, engineering), or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive professional markets experience may apply on a portfolio route — comfort with quantitative reasoning is expected because the master's is numerate.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants; international applicants meet the language rule below.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent (600 words) explaining research or applied interests, plus two references (one academic, one workplace or professional-body).

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Postgraduate cohorts run in small tutor-visible groups, are shaped by working senior practitioners (partner-level at a Big Four firm, Fellow-level at CIM or CIPD, CFA charter-holders in investment routes) and close with a substantial dissertation, sponsor consulting project or applied capstone defended in front of a working panel.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England, the West End and the major consulting, banking and multinational headquarters within a short tube ride of every classroom. LSIBM postgraduates attend a fortnightly senior-practitioner clinic and a structured executive-application coaching programme in the final term.

Apply for the MSc in Financial Markets

Step into the senior track with the MSc in Financial Markets. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with intake dates, dissertation supervisor allocation guidance and the current fee schedule. LSIBM postgraduates are supported by dedicated executive-application coaching in the final term.