M2 Finance | Financial risk and sustainable finance course

The energy transition will require the development of a wide range of new financial instruments and innovations, with profound implications for markets, investors, intermediaries and companies. The aim of this programme is to prepare the next generation of finance professionals for this massive change by training high-level specialists to manage risks and financial assets from a financial and extra-financial perspective. 

The programme provides students with the operational skills and expertise needed to occupy high-level positions in banks, companies, insurance companies and asset management. 

Courses are based on four themes: market finance, sustainable finance, quantitative techniques and programming. 

In response to the internationalisation of professional opportunities in finance, the Master's programme is taught entirely in English. 

By the end of the programme, students will have acquired the following key professional skills:

• Modelling and measuring financial risks,
• Managing financial risks,
• Building a financial strategy,
• Problematising an assignment in a professional context,
• Presenting in a professional context.

The international stream of this program has been awarded the " Diplôme en Partenariat International (DPI) " label. Partner universities for double degrees are Ca'Foscari University Venice, Université Catholique de Louvain, University of Tübingen and HEC-Liège. Students selected for these double degrees from the end of the first semester of Licence 3 go on exchange to one of these partner universities for M1 and M2 Financial Risk Management. By obtaining 60 credits in each of the two years of the Master's program, they are awarded two 120-credit Master's degrees (the one awarded by the partner university and the Master's degree in Financial Risk Management).

A partnership has been set up with the SFAF (Société Française des Analystes Financiers) for the "Financial Risk Management" course, complemented by the "Asset and Wealth Management" DESU. This M2 MRF + DESU "Gestion d'Actifs et de Fortune" partnership includes preparation for and passing of the AMF national professional certification, and enables students to take the CEFA (Certificat Européen d'Analyste Financier) and CIIA (Certified International Investment Analyst) international professional certifications, via equivalence and preferential conditions. This partnership also exists for the Master 2 in Wealth Management.

Examples of jobs on graduation:

• Financial risk analyst
• Asset manager
• Portfolio manager
• ESG/ISR analyst
• Head of CSR and SRI relations

Master 2 Finance Financial Risk Management (MRF) (60 credits)

Semester 3 M2 Finance Financial Risk Management (MRF) (30 credits)

• Numerical technics in finance (8 credits)
  • Financial software
  • Optimization methods in finance
  • Financial econometrics
• One of two tracks (22 credits):

Classic track (22 credits)

• Asset valuation and management (12 credits)
  • Numerical option pricing
  • Portfolio management and performance measure
  • Bond management and interest rate risk
  • Derivative financial products
  • Structured products and bonds
• Financial risk management (10 credits)
  • Risk management practices
  • Banking risk management
  • Financial risk measurement
  • Ethics and financial regulation

International stream (for non-French-speaking students) (22 credits)

• Valuation and asset management (12 credits)
  • International banking
  • Financial regulations
  • Numerical option pricing
  • Portfolio management and performance measure
  • Alternative management
• Financial risk management (10 credits)
  • Risk management practices
  • Banking risk management
  • Business ethics
  • Introduction to econometrics

Additional UE

Introduction to econometrics (0 credits)

Semester 4 M2 Finance Financial Risk Management (MRF) (30 credits)

• Advanced corporate finance (6 credits)
  • International corporate financial management
  • Financial analysis
  • Financial engineering

Option: 1 UE to be chosen from 2 (24 credits)

• UE for the professional track: (24 credits)
  • Research methodology
  • Advanced topics in finance
  • Minor thesis
  • Intership
• UE for the research stream: (24 credits)
  • Research methodology
  • Advanced topics in finance
  • Research thesis

Who can apply?

Candidates should have a solid grounding in economics, finance, statistics and financial mathematics. 

Admission is based on an application studied by a pedagogical committee, which checks that the student has sufficient knowledge of the fundamental tools of quantitative methods (statistics, econometrics), market and corporate finance, and economics, and that his/her level is compatible with the objectives of the course (an AB grade is recommended). 

Priority access is afforded to M1 students from the Finance Master's programme and students in the second year of the Magistère Ingénieur économiste in the AMSE department at the Faculty of Economics and Management of Aix-Marseille University. However, parallel entry to M2 may be considered for students who have completed 60 credits in a programme with a strong quantitative focus.

A minimum level of English is also required (B2 TOEIC).

How do I apply?

Apply at the time of admissions on the dedicated platform.

REGISTRATION REGIMES

• Initial training.

• Continuing education.

• Work-study training: classes are held every other week, so that students can alternate between two weeks..

TINTERNSHIPS AND SUPERVISED PROJECTS
Students are required to complete a 24-week working internship between the beginning of April and the end of September. Students on apprenticeship, with one week in the company and one week at the university, are on a full-time apprenticeship from the beginning of April to the end of September. An applied or research thesis will be produced to assess the student's ability to analyse, synthesise and think critically. The thesis will be presented at the oral defence at the end of the academic year.

TEACHING 
Most of the courses are given by both academics and professionals from the sector. The theoretical concepts are illustrated by case studies requiring students to solve concrete risk management problems, create risk management strategies and discuss the results.

TRAINING AND RESEARCH
This Master's is part of the AMSE University Research School (EUR), which includes nearly one hundred researchers from AMU, CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Médirranée and Sciences Po Aix.
The programme is designed to provide a balance between theoretical knowledge and operational skills. The teaching team is composed of research lecturers who are economists and managers performing research in the field of finance and professional lecturers who hold positions of responsibility in risk and asset management in major companies and financial institutions. Each course will pay particular attention to sustainable finance and climate risk. 

You can take this course as part of an international double-diploma program, where all courses are taught in English.