FinTech and Financial Engineering

Futures, options, and disruptive innovation

The demand for professionals who have both quantitative skills and an understanding of the risk management environment in which decisions are made has never been higher. Get access to a wealth of career opportunities in this exciting field.

Overview

The global financial system is evolving. Develop your understanding of derivatives markets, emerging financial technologies, and how instruments such as futures and options can be used for risk management.

Topics covered

Learn about risk management from the perspective of a) a corporate treasurer who is interested in hedging his or her exposure to interest rates, exchange rates, commodity prices, and so on, b) a fund manager who wants to change the nature of his or her exposure to financial markets, and c) a financial institution that trades derivatives and is faced with an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

You will also learn how to price a wide range of derivatives instruments and explore the tools needed to successfully understand financial markets, evaluate new ideas, and assess conjectures about the future of finance.

"Stocks that enjoy big unexplained jumps in value do considerably worse in the long term."

- Hai Lu, an associate professor of accounting at Rotman, in an online article

Courses that support studies in FinTech and Financial Engineering

It is recommended that students choose electives that are broadly relevant to FinTech and Financial Engineering from the following courses:

Risk Modelling & Financial Trading Strategies
Options and Futures Markets
Advanced Derivatives
Financial Risk Management
Machine Learning and Financial Innovation
Security Analysis & Portfolio Management
Financial Institutions and Capital Markets
Analysis & Management of Fixed Income Securities
How Banks Work: Management in a New Technological Age

For detailed information on each elective course, please see our MBA electives guide.

Career paths for FinTech and Financial Engineering

Many banks have recruited large numbers of "quants" in recent years, but have not developed the managerial infrastructure to use those quants effectively. A deep understanding of FinTech and Financial Engineering will prepare you well to excel in this role. It will also give you the tools necessary to join groups concerned with structuring complex products that meet the needs of particular clients.

Opportunities for MBA graduates are being created to become involved in the sales and trading of derivatives products in new financial markets.

Regulators are requiring banks to use increasingly complex models to evaluate market risk, credit risk and operational risk. , necessitating key roles for understanding inthe development of a bank’s strategy for minimizing its regulatory capital requirements.

More generally, it is true that derivatives markets (particularly the over-the-counter derivatives markets) are becoming increasingly important to everyone who works in finance. Even if you do not plan to work in a risk management or derivatives function, you will find the courses recommended in this pathway useful.