How long is the MSc in Investment Management?

One year full-time, or two years part-time via online and distance routes. The MSc in Investment Management schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones so distance learners stay synchronous.

Can the MSc in Investment Management be studied online?

Yes. The MSc in Investment Management runs on-campus in central London, fully online and by distance learning, assessed against the same dissertation and sponsor consulting project.

Is the MSc in Investment Management recognised by UK employers?

Yes. The MSc in Investment Management is reviewed against the CFA UK IMC, CFA Level I CBOK and CISI Level 7 pathway, so UK asset managers and wealth firms recognise the credential.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in Investment Management?

A UK 2:2 honours in a relevant discipline, GCSE English at grade 5/C, and IELTS 6.5 for international applicants. Portfolio route available for candidates with three years of investment experience.

What does the MSc in Investment Management cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and scholarship eligibility for the MSc in Investment Management.

MSc in Investment Management | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in Investment Management at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a research-informed postgraduate degree for people building senior UK buy-side careers — portfolio managers, senior analysts, fund selectors, wealth advisers, and career switchers from sell-side research, accountancy or economics into asset management. Delivered inside the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, the MSc deepens portfolio construction, factor investing, fixed income, derivatives, ESG integration and quantitative methods. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside the FCA Consumer Duty, the ongoing SONIA transition and the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, so classroom debates and case work track the questions UK employers are asking this year rather than last decade’s textbook.

You will complete a sponsor consulting project on a live UK-facing investment question, sit CFA UK IMC and early CFA Level I-equivalent papers, and produce a dissertation supervised by a CFA-charterholder practitioner defended in front of a working panel. Curriculum is reviewed against the CFA UK IMC, CFA Level I CBOK and CISI Level 7 Chartered Wealth Manager pathway. Across the one year full-time, you sit alongside a small tutor-visible cohort, work through applied case studies drawn from London-facing employers, and close with an assessment mix that mirrors the situations working practitioners actually face on the job. The MSc in Investment Management runs on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning, so applicants pick the study pattern that fits the rest of their working week.

Key Features

Level pitched at UK Master's degree standard with tutor-visible small cohorts and a single intake schedule.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning.
Bloomberg terminal familiarisation sessions in the London campus lab.
Structured CFA UK IMC study support with mock papers marked against the current CBOK.
Assessment blend — written test, mock portfolio note, viva and a short stock pitch, rather than a single long dissertation at Certificate and Diploma levels.
Structured over one year full-time (two years part-time via online / distance routes), with fortnightly practitioner clinics and defined assessment milestones.
Sponsor consulting project and dissertation defended in front of a working practitioner panel.
Careers support covering CV clinics, mock interviews and warm introductions through fortnightly practitioner sessions.
Cohort networking across a single intake schedule, with London evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse and relevant professional-body chapters.

What You Will Learn

The MSc is written for people whose next role sits in a leadership meeting or a working committee. You will graduate able to build a strategy paper, defend a dissertation in front of a senior panel, and step into an executive-track role with the credential a UK employer recognises.

UK and global asset classes — equities, gilts, corporate bonds, funds, ETFs, commodities and cash.
How the London Stock Exchange, AIM and the wider UK primary and secondary markets operate.
Reading a company report — revenue, operating profit, cash flow, dividends and capital allocation.
Fund structures — OEICs, unit trusts, investment trusts, UCITS and alternative investment funds.
Portfolio construction — mean-variance, risk parity, liability-driven investing and glidepath design.
Factor investing and quantitative equity — value, quality, momentum and low-volatility tilts.
Fixed income at practitioner level — curve strategies, credit spreads and structured products.
Derivatives and hedging — futures, options and swaps within a UK regulatory context.
Performance attribution — Brinson, factor attribution and risk-adjusted measures.
ESG integration and the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements labelling regime.
The FCA rulebook for retail clients — suitability, appropriateness, best execution and Consumer Duty.
Client onboarding, KYC and anti-money-laundering fundamentals.
Ethics and the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

Who This Course Is For

The MSc in Investment Management is designed for a mix of new entrants and working professionals. The five audience segments below are the ones we most often see on the Master's degree intake list, and the tutor team tailors examples so every segment is visible in the classroom.

UK buy-side analysts stepping up to portfolio-manager candidacy.
Wealth managers moving into fund-selection or investment-committee roles.
Sell-side research or trading professionals switching to the buy-side.
Career switchers from accountancy, economics or actuarial into asset management.
International applicants preparing a UK-facing CV for senior London investment roles.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically step into senior-specialist, manager and director-track roles across UK employers. The MSc strengthens applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Portfolio Manager (junior)
Senior Investment Analyst
Wealth Manager
Fund Analyst / Selector
Multi-Asset Strategist
Investment Adviser (senior)
Head of Research (boutique)
Investment Director-track Analyst

The MSc in Investment Management is a natural runway toward CFA UK Fellow-track membership and CFA Levels II–III preparation. Graduates leave with a portfolio of applied work, a written credential UK employers recognise, and enough classroom rehearsal of the discipline-specific conversations that a first interview panel or a promotion window feels familiar rather than intimidating. The LSIBM careers office also runs an alumni-referral programme and structured warm introductions in the closing term, so applicants leave with a working London network rather than only a certificate.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline — finance, economics, accounting, mathematics — or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive investment experience may apply on a portfolio route; a short numerical assessment may be set.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants.
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 Investment Management

Step into the senior track with the MSc in Investment Management. 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.