M2 Economics | Quantitative Finance and Insurance Pathway

The training provides a comprehensive approach to financial and insurance markets. It provides both empirical and theoretical skills, allowing the modelling and detailed understanding of market mechanisms. The main objective is to provide the student with a number of theoretical and empirical tools enabling him/her to evolve in most of the professions in the finance and actuarial sector and to grasp the future challenges. This course is co-organized with Centrale Marseille, most of the specific courses are common to this course.

Main professional skills targeted at the end of M2 :

• Understanding the functioning of financial and insurance markets
• Apprehend and model situations to develop relevant strategies in the fields of finance and insurance
• Enhancing the value of a business or project for a transaction or financing purposes
• Valuing a financial security with a view to taking a position (purchase/sale)
• Know how to compare various investment strategies
• Knowing how to measure the performance of financial assets
• Knowing how to model risk behaviour
• Solving complex financial problems

This training has the label "Diploma in International Partnership (DPI)" (link to the system: https://www.univ-amu.fr/fr/public/les-diplomes-en-partenariat-internati… ). This label covers different types of collaboration between AMU and one or more foreign institutions with a view to either issuing a double or multiple diploma(s), or a joint diploma, or to relocating AMU training to a partner institution.

There are two tracks: classic track and Magistère track.

Master 2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (QFI) - Classic track (60 credits)

Semester 3 M2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (FQI) - Classic track (30 credits)

• Theory and financial markets (6 credits)
  • Models of finance
  • Portfolio management
• Economic and financial analysis (6 credits)
  • Corporate Finance I
  • Risk and Insurance Economics
• Mathematics and statistics for finance (6 credits)
  • Stochastic finance
  • Econometrics of Banking and Finance
• Quantitative techniques in finance and insurance (6 credits)
  • Big data and finance
  • Actuarial science I
• Economics of finance (6 credits)
  • Economics, finance and crises
  • Innovation and finance

Semester 4 M2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (FQI) - Classic track (30 credits)

• End-of-study internship with report and defence (24 credits)
• Elective teaching units (choose 2 out of 4) (6 credits)
  • Numerical methods for finance (project) (3 credits)
    • Numerical methods for finance (project)
  • Actuarial science II (3 credits)
    • Actuarial science II
  • Corporate Finance II (3 credits)
    • Corporate Finance II
  • Credit risk (3 credits)
    • Credit risk

Master 2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (FQI) - Magistère track (72 credits)

Semester 3 M2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (FQI) - Magistère track (36 credits)

• Theory and financial markets (6 credits)
  • Models of finance
  • Portfolio management
• Economic and financial analysis (6 credits)
  • Corporate Finance I
  • Risk and Insurance Economics
• Mathematics and statistics for finance (6 credits)
  • Stochastic finance
  • Econometrics of Banking and Finance
• Quantitative techniques in finance and insurance (6 credits)
  • Big data and finance
  • Actuarial science I
• End-of-study project (6 credits)
• Big data III (6 credits)
  • Big data tools (Hadoop, Hive, Spark)
  • Advanced machine learning

Semester 4 M2 Economics - Quantitative Finance and Insurance (FQI) - Magistère track (36 credits)

• End-of-study internship with report and defence (24 credits)
• Big data IV (6 credits)
  • Big data management with SAS
  • Hands-on project
• Elective teaching units (choose 2 out of 4) (6 credits)
  • Numerical methods for finance (project) (3 credits)
    • Numerical methods for finance (project)
  • Actuarial science II (3 credits)
    • Actuarial science II
  • Corporate Finance II (3 credits)
    • Corporate Finance II
  • Credit risk (3 credits)
    • Credit risk

- Syllabi of courses M2 FQA - classic track
- Syllabi of courses M2 FQA - Magistère ingénieur économiste track

Who can apply?

Good bases in microeconomics (especially contract theory), as well as in probability (conditional probabilities among others) and statistics (estimates, tests) are necessary.
Some notions in economics of uncertainty are recommended.

The M1 of the Master's Degree in Economics of the AMSE department of the Faculty of Economics and Management of Aix-Marseille University or the second year of the engineering program of Ecole Centrale de Marseille offer a privileged access to this course. Parallel entries in M2 can however be envisaged for students who have validated 60 credits at M1 Economics level in a course with a strong quantitative focus.

How to apply?

Apply at the time of admission on the dedicated platform.

At the end of the year, students complete an internship and write a Master's internship report. The aim of the report is to demonstrate the ability to mobilise the conceptual tools acquired to questions from the professional world. The student must therefore identify the question, implement the tools, and know how to communicate the results to both a professional and academic audience. Supervision is provided by an academic and an internship supervisor (a member of the company). The report is supported before a jury made up of the academic manager, the company tutor and two other persons recognized for their competence (including at least one academic).

Each course is evaluated by a written exam and/or by the realization of a file that may be presented during an oral defense. In order to limit the number of personal projects to be carried out by the student, the teachers propose transversal projects whenever possible.

This master is part of the University Research School (EUR) AMSE, which brings together nearly one hundred researchers from AMU, CNRS, EHESS, IRD and ECM. Teachers are selected on the basis of their expertise within these entities. The teaching team is also supplemented by professionals from the sector.

This training is available in :

• Initial training
• Continuing education
• Work-linked training
• Training under a professionalization contract

Professional opportunities

ROME codes :

• C1105: Actuarial Studies in Insurance
• C1202: Credit analysis and banking risks
• C1303: Portfolio Management in Financial Markets
• M1401: Conduct of Investigations
• M1404: Management and Investigation Management

Training specialties (NSF code) :

• 122b: Econometric models; Methods of economic analysis
• 313m: Finance, banking, insurance (not shown or other)
• 313n: Economic and financial studies