Master in Financial Markets and Risk Evaluation (FIRE)

• 1. Master in Financial markets and Risk Evaluation (FiRE) IAE Toulouse 2013/2014 E-brochure

2. A word from the director IAE Toulouse has a very ambitious goal: to promote excellence in research and to offer high level training in management combining up-to-date academic knowledge and practice of the business world. Research activity at IAE is sustained by a CNRS-affiliated research centre (CRM) and a PhD programme covering all field of business. Our programmes are designed to give students the opportunity to develop rigorous analytical skills, creativity and ability to exchange ideas. The Master in FInancial markets and Risk Evaluation is a remarkable example of our strategy. It is born from the collaboration between our finance department faculty and financial practitioners. Courses are challenging and thoughtful, and provide students with in-depth knowledge of the workings of financial markets, as well as relevant practical know-how. It is a unique opportunity to learn how to use financial models and why to use them. I hope that students and partners will experiment our values of a human-sized school that fosters thinking, open-mindedness, and mutual respect. Pr Catherine CASAMATTA Dean, IAE Toulouse 3. More than 50 years of humanism, excellence and innovation IAE Toulouse is a graduate school of management within the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole, a CNRS management research centre, and a doctoral school. IAE Toulouse has 24 professors, 13 assistant professors, 33 associate professors, 6 international visiting professors per year, 350 professional experts or managers and 51 administration assistants. The research activities of the school members span the main areas of management: accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, and strategic management. Over the past three years, the 43 permanent members of the research centre had 52 published or accepted papers in top economics and management journals. IAE Toulouse is: 350 managers in executive education programs 2500 students, including 400 international students 70 PhD students 89 nationalities represented on campus 34 training programs 18,000 alumni worldwide 2 student organizations 1 alumni association 80 partner universities 4. IAE Toulouse students (Exc. France) EUROPE26%NORTH AMERICA2%ASIA PACIFIC26%SOUTH AMERICA11%AFRICA35% 5. About IAE Toulouse Teaching style We use a variety of dynamic teaching methods to expand our critical thinking: lab experiments, case studies, individual and group projects, interactive and online materials, and guest lectures. Oral and written communication skills and team working are continuously used throughout our courses.IT facilities Students benefit from a dedicated trading room equipped with a trading platform (GL-Trade), as well as other software for the courses (SAS, SAP, Business Objects,).Students association The IAE students association was created in 1955. It aims to foster integration and inter-student relations at IAE. The association organizes parties, weekends away or longer trips. IAE students can also suggest other ideas to the association's board. Examples of 2013-2014 activities: integration party, ski weekend, carnival of Toulouse, Halloween party, 4L Trophy and a gala dinner. In 2012 they launched an Investment Society.Junior Consulting The IAE junior consultancy is a student-run think tank and management consultancy structure established by IAE students in 2007. On a non-profit basis, it allows companies and organisations to benefit from the IAE students' economics, managerial and financial expertise at advantageous rates. 6. The IAE Toulouse experience Downtown environment Located just a step from the Place du Capitole, the IAE Toulouse campus is an exciting environment with everything you need, making it easy for you to deal with everyday life while focusing on your studies: supermarket, cafes, restaurants, post office, launderette, banks, health centre It also offers plenty of rural possibilities: meadows, woods, lakes, mountains and sea surrounding us and yet just over an hour away from Toulouse by train.Arts Centre - tab The Arts Centre leads the UT1 Capitole Presidents initiative to make the arts a central feature of the University's academic mission. The Arts Centre is an academic unit that is home to the creative film screenings, lectures and readings, dance, music, theatre and visual arts programs. One of the main Arts Centre priorities is also to promote knowledge sharing through close collaborations with the academic staff of our University. The creation of these links between students & faculty must also reflect our campus' reputation for scientific excellence.Sports We have all-weather pitches supporting sports including football, rugby, tennis, climbing, swimming, martial arts...Improve your French There are several ways to improve your French: Free classes offered by Toulouse University (PRES) for exchange students "Language Resources Center" (CRL) at UT1: learning software programmes, tandem (conversation swop), conversation groups, etc. 7. FIRE programme: Ethics, rigor & excellence In-depth and intensive, the Master in FInancial markets and Risk Evaluation is fully run in English. Throughout the courses we stress the links between financial economics theories, quantitative skills and key finance activities. Finance is science, so quantitative skills are needed but finance is still business, so real-world relevance is crucial. Therefore we offer up-to-date fundamental topics like empirical finance, historical episodes, compliance or regulation. In the same manner, we call on top practitioners with relevant experience to teach, a great way to immerse the degree in undogmatic wisdom. They deliver 33% of the courses taught. Topics are chosen in the economics courses for their relevance to finance in close consultation with a panel of advisers from leading financial institutions (see the partnerships section). Career objectives are analyst, actuarial assistant, asset management, consulting, insurance, hedge funds, management consulting, private equity, research, risk management, sales, structuring, trading, wealth managementCourse duration:September to September Class: 6 months Internship: 6 monthsAssessment:Coursework/projects 47% Exams 53% 8. Your courses Asset pricing Valuation of financial assets and arbitrage Fixed income markets Pricing with asymmetric information Computational financeEconomics of insurance & financial markets Microeconomics of insurance Trading Design of structured products corporate and marketsInvestments and risk management Asset management Risk analysis Socially responsible investments & ethics Alternative investments and hedge funds Financial risk management Market risk managementQuantitative methods for insurance & financial markets Empirical finance Econometrics for finance VBA for finance Excel for finance Life insurance Non life insuranceInternship Practitioner lectures in finance & insurance Career development skills Internship 9. Practitioner lectures BECHTET Pascal, Head of sector, Crdit Agricole Nord Midi-Pyrnes (Toulouse) BERTET Christophe, Financial Manager, Socit Gnrale BRUNEAU Yannick, Asset manager, Cap Patrimonial (Castres) DELPECH Jean-Franois, head of equity research, ODDO Securities (Paris). DESOMBRE Grgoire, Consultant, SAP France. FONTANINI Gilles, Administrator and IT Business Intelligence Consultant Expert, Decision Network Gie (Toulouse). GIRATEAU Thomas, Development Director Corporate Branch, LCL (Toulouse). GODET Franck, Managing Partner, Co KG (Germany). JACQUIN Raphal, Coal Derivatives Trader, EDF Trading Markets Limited (London). LANTERNIER Damien, Asset Manager, Financire de l'Echiquier (Paris). LOURTIES Jean-Paul, Consultant in financing for small firms. NARDIN Patrick, Head of Financial Management, Crdit Mutuel Midi Atlantique (Toulouse). PETIT Raphal, Manager, Novasens. SKANTZOS Nikos, Senior Manager, Leader of Quantitative Analysis in Enterprise Risk services, Deloitte (Luxembourg). STRATFORD Christopher, international management consultant on intercultural change in mergers & acquisitions, ProDev Consultants (Toulouse). VASKMAN Valrie, Treasurer, Airbus (Toulouse). ZAOUATI Philippe, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NAM and Chief Executive Officer of Mirova, Natixis Asset Management (Paris). 10. A gateway to financial research Our master programme offers a 'research track to prepare students for the doctoral programme and PhD in Finance. Students who choose to follow the research track will take specific research-oriented courses. Specifically, the unit "Research methods in finance replaces certain practitioners courses. Moreover, students must write a short research thesis which may (but does not have to) form the starting point for a doctoral dissertation. Admission to the doctoral programme is then subject to excellent performance within the FIRE programme, possibly some additional coursework, the development of a promising research agenda, and the identification of an appropriate supervisor. 11. The teaching team The quality of an academic programme undoubtedly depends on the quality of the professors. The team teaching the FIRE programme is a mix of international researchers and international practitioners who are among the best in their field of expertise.International academic researchers Christophe BISIERE (IAE-TSE), Milo BIANCHI (IAE-TSE), Catherine CASAMATTA (IAETSE), Fany DECLERCK (IAE-TSE), Alexander GUEMBEL (IAE-TSE), Augustin LANDIER (TSE), Sophie MOINAS (IAE-TSE), Guillaume PLANTIN (IAE-TSE), Sbastien POUGET (IAETSE), Silvia ROSSETTO (IAE-TSE), Stphane VILLENEUVE (TSE) and Ekatarina VOLTCHKOVA (TSE).International professional finance experts are from: AHL (London), BNP Paribas (Paris), BNPP Fortis (Brussels), CA-CIB (London), Citigroup Global Markets Limited (London), Courrges Investment Solutions (Luxembourg), Deloitte LLP (Brussels), DNCA Finance (Paris), HSCB (Paris), IXO Private Equity (Toulouse), Natixis Asset Management (Paris), ODDO Securities (Paris), Socit Gnrale (Paris), Statoil (Norway). 12. Typical class (2013-2014) FEMALE STUDENTSNUMBER OF COUNTRIES26%9Number of students23 Previous educationFinance 70% Economics 30% Average age (range)24 (21-29)FRANCE ASIA AFRICA AMERICA61% 17% 13% 9%Average work experience3 months 13. Elsa LADUGUIE Current student of our FIRE programme Why did you apply to IAE Toulouse in general and why do you want to complete the FIRE programme in particular? I applied to IAE Toulouse because in my mind it is important to know how to lay bricks before becoming an architect. Thus, I wanted to gain an experience that was not only theoretical but also had ties with the professional world. That said I do not have regrets about any of the classes IAE offered me the opportunity to go to. In fact it's the quality of teaching that made me enrol into the FIRE programme. I liked the idea of joint teaching at the crossroads between the IAE and the TSE programmes. Through this approach I believe I will have an all-encompassing learning experience. You carried out a one-year internship at BNP Paribas Securities Services located in Paris, what were the strong points? This experience was fulfilling on many levels. Staying in the same workgroup for 16 months allowed me to understand the intricacies of the workplace in more depth than 6 months would have allowed. I sometimes had difficulties grasping some of the concrete aspects of the work, given my theoretical-oriented background, but getting over this difficulty allowed me to bridge the gap between these two worlds and get a more wholesome point of view of my professional future. On a more personal note, I also got to learn a lot about a whole new city, meeting new people on a day to day basis, helping me develop my capacity to adapt, all the while being a very rich human experience. Do you recommend this to future students? I definitely recommend this experience to future students. I feel that one gains more from an internship lasting more than six months, as it allows a better understanding of not only one job but also of the bigger goals of the company one is in. I would however warn them of the possible disappointment this internship might lead to when discovering the great gap between the vision one might have of the job and the reality of it. 14. Internships Courses take place from September to the end of March. Then students must write a professional thesis and carry out a 6-month internship in order to graduate. It is however important to stress that this professional experience may not be an internship per se. Our policy is that the best type of internship is a full-time job or a VIE! The following information on internships is based on the last 4 graduations (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012).Internships per region:Internships include:Paris Toulouse France - others Europe Asia AfricaAC and O Airbus Amundi Barcalys Bank BNP Paribas COFACE Crdit Agricole Exane Faurecia67% 18% 5% 4.5% 4.5% 1%Type of working contract:Internship CDD CDI VIE94% 4% 1% 1%Groupama HSBC Murex Natixis Pricewaterhouse Procapital Socit Gnrale Studio Canal 15. Internship sectors SECTOR OF EMPLOYMENTJOB FUNCTION 16. Internships Courses take place from September to the end of March. Then students must write a professional thesis and carry out a 6-month internship in order to graduate. It is however important to stress that this professional experience may not be an internship per se. Our policy is that the best type of internship is a full-time job or a VIE! The following information is based on the graduates from the 2012-2013 Master FIRE program.Internships per region:Internships include:Paris Asia Toulouse Europe AfricaAmundi Banco Santander S.A. BNP Paribas Securities Services CACEIS Bank France CUP Europe China Commercial Union Exane Derivatives KCM Audit & Conseil ShanDong Yin Di Investment Guarantee Co. Ltd Socit Gnrale Turgot AM Vietcombank Securities Limited Company69% 13% 6% 6% 6% 17. Internship sectors SECTOR OF EMPLOYMENTJOB FUNCTION6.25% 18.75%18.75%25%6.25% 18.75%18.75% 56.25%31.25%Financial analystTrading, sales & structuring Asset managementBrokerage/tradingInvestment bankingRisk managementNon financial firmAsset managementConsulting 18. Internships: additional information The following information is based on the graduates from the 2012-2013 Master FIRE program.Salary per month:Less than 500 43% Between 1,000- 1,500- Do you recommend the FIRE programme?57%Now that you are graduated: - Do you recommend the gap year?Yes75%- Are you satisfied by the teaching team?Yes100%Yes100%- Are the internships and courses complementary goods?Yes100%What are the strong points of the programme?High quality courses, practitioner courses, quantitative courses, VBA courses, multidisciplinary & team working. 19. Career success Master FIRE 201121 students Answers rate 87%86% of graduates seeking employment secured offers immediately after completion Despite the turmoil in the financial sector, the employment rate is about100% within 3 months of graduation.The average starting salary is reported at25,000 After 18 months alumni worked on average for 2 differentfirms and/or 2 different jobs Working language English 71%13% decide to pursue further education: Ecole des Ponts, EM Lyon, HEC, ISFA (Institute Actuarial & Financial Sciences), ISUP (Institute of Statistics)Employers in 2010 & 2011 are: Actense Airbus Altran Barclays CFG Group Coface Crdit Agricole Exane Lyxor Asset Management Mosaic Finance Murex Oddo Options PwC SCOR Socit Gnrale Towers Watson 20. Employment per regionPARIS72% TOULOUSE14%AFRICA14% 21. Sector of employment SECTOR OF EMPLOYMENTJOB FUNCTION14.30% 28.60% 50%50% 42.80%Non financial firmInvestment bankConsultingAuditor14.30%Trading, sales and structuringFinancial analyst 22. A few examples of student careers Associate director BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking Hungary Branch Brokerage business manager BNP Paribas London Coal derivatives trader EDF Trading London Commodity derivatives BNP Paribas New York City Front-office developer Oddo Options Hong Kong Front-office support proprietary trading ABS & CDO Natixis London Interest rate & derivatives trader - group ALM BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking Paris UCITS manager CFG Group - CasablancaNatural gas commodities portfolio managers Stavanger Area Norway Sugar & biofuel risk analyst Bunge - London Trade support associate Deutsche Bank London Trading analyst Socit Gnrale Americas Securities New York City Treasury market risk analyst Crdit Agricole Corporate and Investment Banking New York City Treasury - money market sales Crdit Agricole Corporate and Investment Banking Paris Trader assistant Socit Gnrale CIB Paris Treasury Sales Assistant Crdit Agricole - Paris 23. Career services Individual career counselling and coaching sessions facilitate project definition, target company search, and provide self-marketing counselling for students, including those from outside France. Personalized coaching During the FIRE programme you will follow some career development skills courses: CV writing, cover letter preparation, interview training, negotiation skills, cultural awareness, networking skills, using social media to aid your job search IAE organizes a Career Development Skills Day which provides students with support for their job research, interview preparation and career development planning. This day is part of the My IAE Pack which includes access to internships offers and companies contacts, meetings with professionals looking for interns, personalized coaching to help you build your professional career, etc. You also have the possibility to follow SUIO recruitment workshops. IAE Link Each year, IAE organizes a Recruitment Forum. This forum enables students to meet with recruiters from some of the largest and most prestigious banks and firms. IAE Toulouse also provides to student an historical record of past internships. Alumni network By joining the IAE Alumni Association, you will be part of a solid, active network of emotionally and intellectually 18,000 engaged alumni who support and further the IAE Toulouses vision and serve as ambassadors around the globe. 24. Alumni information NUMBER OF COUNTRIES IAE TOULOUSE ALUMNI18,000 MEMBERSMaster in Finance Alumni600 MEMBERS34 MORE THAN 300 JOB FUNCTIONS MAIN SECTOR OF EMPLOYMENT Services 42.3% Industry 14.6% Banking, finance & insurance 14.5% Administration 10.2% IT 6% ALUMNI SERVICES IAE Toulouse Alumni Association LinkedIn Network 25. Partnerships The finance department has developed a strong and clear focus on developing partnerships with company sponsored chairs. All these companies benefit from international visibility and networking opportunities. Our main partners are (click on the name to visit the website): Finance Durable and Investissement Responsible: Allianz Global Investors France, Association Franaise de la Gestion Financire, Axa Investment Managers, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Caisse des dpts, Amundi, Dexia Asset Management, Ecofi Investissements, Financire de Champlain, Fonds de Rserve pour les Retraites, Groupama Asset Management, HSBC Investments France, Institut d'Economie Industrielle, La Banque Postale Asset Management, La Compagnie Financire Edmond de Rothschild AM, Macif Gestion, Natixis Asset Management, UFG-Sarasin AM. Market Risk and Value Creation SCOR. The aim of the chair is to support the theoretical and applied research on Risk sharing mechanisms with the willingness to combine methodologies from financial economics, industrial organization and econometrics. 26. Partnerships Investment Banking and Financial Markets - Fdration des Banques Franaises (BNP Paribas, Calyon, Crdit Agricole AM, Paris Europlace Finance). The FBF IDEI research chair studies the investment banking and financial markets value chain. We are interested in the different steps of that chain, ranging from origination and security design, to issuance, trading and liquidity, and post-trading. We develop theoretical, empirical and experimental analyses of these topics, in close interaction with market participants and banks. The partnership brings together academics and practitioners to exchange ideas about investment banking and financial markets. Liquidity risk and Accounting Standards (Autorit des Normes Comptables & Caisse des Dpts). This chair stress the link between market microstructure, market failure, accounting standards & price discovery. Capital Market Dysfunctionalities: Paul Woolley Research Initiative. Banque de France 27. How to apply? We expect our applicants to be exceptional. We will look for evidence that you have a genuine passion for finance, and that you have the enthusiasm and motivation to make the most of your time with us. Requirements A good previous degree or equivalent in business & management, economics, engineering, finance, law, mathematics, science or social sciences. Official test score reports: GMAT or TAGE-MAGE A Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) or International English Language Test Scheme (IELTS): if English is not your native language or if you have not completed your undergraduate degree in an English speaking country. Your university academic transcripts. A 1,000 word personal statement. A resume. 28. Criteria for admission A good previous degree is required. The program is taught in English, so English skills are required. A good score at the TAGE-MAGE or GMAT will be sought but a high score does not guarantee a place and a lower score does not automatically disqualify an applicant.The ability of students to acquire analytical skills in theoritical and applied economics, enthousiasm and character of the applicant will also be assessed through, for short-listed candidates, the interview. A sound background in mathematical and statistical tools is advantageous but not a requirement. Students without such background will be expected to demonstrate a willingness and ability to learn them. A professional experience (internship or full-job) is a large advantageous. 29. Key figures NUMBER OF APPLICANTSNUMBER OF APPLICANTS PER PLACE502NATURE OF PREVIOUS DEGREEFEMALE APPLICANTS42% Droit2%Economie6%Management8%Finance84%0%20%40%60%80%100% 30. Graduate testimony #1 Can you give us a brief summary of your career so far and your current position? Justine: After the FIRE programme I did a Market Risk Analyst / Portfolio Analyst internship at RBS Luxembourg (I got this internship through one of the IAE lecturers) for 6 months. Then I moved to London where I started to work as a Risk Analyst for Newedge (mostly on margining and credit risk) a French Prime Broker, then after a couple of years I started a new role as Sugar Risk Analyst for Bunge (Agro Biz Trade House worldwide but focused on sugar and ethanol in London) I currently hold that position. Raphael: After finishing my master, I moved to the UK and got my first job as a market risk analyst for RWE Trading. The role was involving monitoring risk limits, elaborating risk reports and provide support in development of new businesses (capturing optionality in coal physical contracts). After 2 years, I changed job and move to EDF Trading to do market risk analysis in Coal and Freight in a Front Office environment. The role was different as my work was more focused on establishing plausible scenarii and associated PnL losses and exit strategies with traders. Since the beginning of this year, I moved to a more commercial role by joining the Coal derivatives desk as a junior trader. My current role involved providing hedging solutions to internal/external counterparties to EDF and proprietary trading.What are some important stages of your development? Justine: The most important step to me will always be the IAE internship. Thats what decided the path of my career as well as for that of most of my friends. Then I would say my current job which is also my second one, as at this stage you get to the point where you know what you want to do and what you are capable of and you start getting more significant responsibilities. Raphael: Education wise, I think the key was to move into the UK one academic year as an Erasmus student. It gave me the opportunity to chose my subject and to discover a new way to learn financial concepts. After this year spent abroad, I wanted a master which could brings me new skills and practical tools to evolve in an working environment. The FIRE programme in Toulouse was the perfect choice as the first year of the master is quite general and the second year gives you the opportunity to specialize in one area in particular. 31. Graduate testimony #1 Courses, conferences, meeting. What are the most significant memories of your year at IAE Toulouse? Justine: Mostly a degree that was easy to sell because (in the case of London) they quite like quantitative backgrounds and VBA classes are here a big +++++ I must say I do not use any of what I learnt in theory in my day to day job (in the sense no one would ever ask you to do a BS model in practice), but this helped me to have a very good understanding of financials markets mechanisms. Raphael: What I like the most at IAE Toulouse was the fact that teachers were also doing research. As a result, lectures were fascinating and really detailed. Nevertheless, the academic part of the formation was also combined by conferences given by professionals already running successful careers, giving a more practical/applied approach of the concepts learnt previously. The interactions with others students and the sense of belonging was also really strong, as the availability of the professors.If you could give advice to future students who wish to prepare for a career in finance, what would it be? Justine: To very carefully choose their final internship as this is what they will most likely end up doing for most of their career (at least the first few years). To get as much programming skills as possible. This really adds value and gives another dimension to their profile. And... when going for job interview to stop acting like they are passing an exam. As paper / theory knowledge is one thing but also need to show common / practical sense and understanding of business! So its good to know all the models but you need to show you understand how this translates businesswise! Raphael: I think if any advice it would be to be a careful about what internship to take and also not be afraid to move abroad. I guess also the key to work hard and try to find new way to do things and innovate as much as possible.Justine LAURREGUY (April 2012) Sugar Risk Analyst for Bunge, London Master FIRE 2007Raphael Jacquin (April 2012) Coal Derivatives Trader at EDF Trading, London Master FIRE 2007 32. Graduate testimony #2 Can you give us a brief summary of your career so far and your current position? Audrey: I carried out a 6 month internship with Socit Gnrale CIB to graduate. After this internship I was hired in the same department. My responsibilities included analyzing, producing and certifying trades on the FX market. I had to insure that the deals and market information converge and to check if the portfolio is correctly priced. We then published this result and linked it to the greek one. Next I took a position as a Corporate Credit Analyst still at SG CIB where I score European groups and prepare proposals to their credit requests. My working relationships are therefore senior bankers, frontoffice traders and risk managers. Financial products that I used cover everything from currencies rate to structured products. Ive chosen that job because it is at the intersection of financial markets and corporate finance. Yannick: I am currently working as a Market Risk Analyst on Treasury where I work closely with the Traders and the Risk Managers providing them analysis on the PnL and monitoring their Risk indicators (e.g. VaR, Greeks, Foreign Exchange exposure...). The main activity of the Treasury desk here in New York is to rise the liquidity for Credit Agricole in USD, CAD and MXN. I was previously in Paris at Credit Agricole CIB in the same position but on Debt and Credit Market during my senior year internship (finalizing my Master 2). 33. Graduate testimony #2 According to you, what are the strong points of the FIRE programme? Audrey: One strong point of the programme is that it covers a lot of topics and is very complete. We learned from corporate finance to programming, which is very useful to evolve professionally later on. In addition, the programme combines strong theoretical or mathematical courses with more practical topic, such as asset management. We also benefit from professionals who help us to link what we learn in class with the working environment. Another very strong point is that course on visual basic. This is extremely useful because we are often asked to spend a lot of time writing macros in Excel or Access! Having a strong foundation of computer skills is attractive for companies, and can be a way to prove your autonomy. The gap year is also very valuable! Yannick: The great quantity of group projects was a strong point as it prepares you to be ready for your internship. Having a deadline, working with others, using softwares (especially Excel) and presenting your work. The projects were all year long and on a lot of different topics, it teaches you how to adapt and change quickly from one subject to another. 34. Graduate testimony #2 For which reason did you choose IAE Toulouse and in particular FIRE program? Audrey: I chose this programme because its organized on a human scale and is competitive with private business schools because it has, in my opinion, a higher quality of instructors. I also chose the IAE for my M1 because I would be able to do internship each year and the programme is known by companies. Yannick: After my Master 1 in Econometrics at the University of Toulouse and my gap year working at Societe Generale Bank and Trust in Luxembourg, I wanted to get a degree that would not only specialize me in Market Finance but also bring me a good level of general knowledge in Finance. I also thought that the IAE would give me a good balance between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. My favorite course was the Structured Product taught by Johann Barchechath in which we simulated a Front Office with Traders Sales and Structurers. If you should give an advice to future students who wish to prepare for a career in finance, what would it be? Audrey: I would tell them to not pick and choose among the courses under the pretext of a pre-defined career agenda because market and corporate finance are closely related. You shouldnt disregard math or data based courses, which can seem daunting, because they are the base of any future career. I would also advice them to pick their end of studies work experience very well because a companies equate a good internship with academic success. And lastly, work on your English! Yannick: I would tell them to be willing to work all around the world. And by all around the world I mean not only the already well-known finance places but the new ones such as Sao Paulo or Dubai (or others). There will be a lot of opportunities to cease and, I think, this would make the difference to start a career. Audrey Salattes (April 2012) Analyst Credit Corporate - Middle Office PnL for Socit Gnrale CIB, Paris Master FIRE 2007Yannick BOUGARD (April 2012) Treasury Market Risk Analyst for Credit Agricole CIB, New York Master FIRE 2010 35. The finance department The finance department has 22 full-time professors from IAE Toulouse and TSE, including 7 international members, graduated from the worlds greatest universities. It belongs to the Top 5% Top Level Institutions (as of April 2012) of the Repec ranking and is ranked 24th on 145. The professors bring to the FIRE programme their teaching experience in well-known international programmes such as Georgia State University, HEC Paris, London Business School, New York University, Princeton University, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Oxford, and University of Warwick. Over the past three years, the permanent professors of the finance department have 40 published or accepted papers in the top-three finance journals and in top economics journals. The finance department members are working on some of the most taxing and tremendous problems facing the financial industry: banking, contract theory in continuous time, corporate finance, insurance, investment, market microstructure, psychology and experimental economics. The department runs a highly successful Ph.D. programme with a strong placement record and hosts visiting faculty members from leading US and European schools. It sponsors about 20 research seminars and workshops per year by leading US and European academics. 36. Interview You held a faculty position at the Sad Business School of Oxford University, why did you choose to join Toulouse? Toulouse offers an outstanding research environment, particularly for someone with an interest in financial economics, like myself. In addition I had spent some time as a visiting researcher in Toulouse in the past. That allowed me to get to know other researchers, notably the finance faculty at the IAE. I realized then that the working environment was very friendly and cooperative. Getting along well with your colleagues is very important. In deciding to come to Toulouse this was also an important factor. Can you tell us a little about your research activity? My research applies economic theory to a variety of finance problems. Recently, I have been working on the international contagion of financial crisis. Globalization has increased international capital mobility with potentially harmful consequences: hot money by international speculators sometimes flows out of a country very abruptly, pushing that country into a crisis. The outflow may be in response to a crisis elsewhere, effectively leading to contagion. Some well known economists (and many politicians) have argued that too much capital market integration is therefore a bad thing and barriers to capital flows should be erected so as to prevent contagion. In my recent research I show that this argument only tells one side of the story. The other side is that free capital flows can also sometimes prevent a crisis from occurring by allowing a country to import capital without which it might face a liquidity or credit crunch. The argument in favour of barriers to capital flows is therefore weaker than often made out to be. 37. Interview To what extent is education in France different from that of the UK? Universities in the UK tend to attract a larger number of foreign students so that the student mix is more international. This is probably partly due to the status English enjoys as an international language. But in part I think it is also due to the fact that UK universities have a strong interest in setting up high quality programmes that foreigners wish to enroll in, since these often generate fees that form an important source of income for universities. In terms of the course content and delivery, French education appears to emphasize more the formal / mathematical aspects of problem solving. Here French students tend to dominate the ones from the UK. On the other hand, students in the UK are expected to participate more actively in class discussions and explain concepts and how they can be used to solve problems. This can be pretty useful later in life, because students acquire a clearer understanding of when it is more or less appropriate to use specific analytical tools, or how to apply them in new contexts. Moreover, an ability to express oneself clearly is very important on the job. What advice would you give a student who wants to work in the world of finance? I think that in the transition from university to a job in finance, it is important to appreciate that one cannot and should not simply apply finance models like cooking recipes. Someone who learns to use finance models and concepts as a tool for reasoning and analysis will in my view come up with better solutions in practice. Alexander Guembel Professor of finance IAE Toulouse 38. Interview Can you tell us a little about your background? I studied at the IAE Toulouse where I obtained a Master and a PhD in Finance. After my PhD, I worked for three years as an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Robinson College of Business (Georgia State University) before coming back to Toulouse as a Professor. Last year, I was a Visiting Professor at Princeton University where I taught courses on investments and behavioural finance. I learned a lot from my various stays in the US but I was always keen to come back to Toulouse because of the wonderful atmosphere, both intellectual and personal, that surrounds the Finance Department at the IAE Toulouse. I have a lot of great colleagues/friends in here and it provides me with a great working environment. Can you tell us a little about your research activity? My research focuses on financial markets, using a multidisciplinary approach to understand what affects the value of financial assets. For example, I use experimental methodology in order to understand how psychology affects investment behaviour and performance. Recently, I have been interested in the psychology of speculation. Most of the students of the Master in Finance have participated in the bubble game that Sophie Moinas and I designed to understand the formation of speculative bubbles. I am also currently working on the financial history of the Mills of Toulouse. Those Mills are amazing because they were the earliest stockholding companies in the world. We have found stock prices of the Mills starting from 1372 (the year of creation of the Bazacle Mills Company) in the Haute-Garonne archives, and are analyzing how various types of risks (from wars to epidemics) affected the financial returns of the Mills over almost six centuries. 39. Interview Now more than ever, finance is a field which requires passion and commitment but also strong ethics and advanced technical skills, how do these important issues impact your trading and asset management courses? I try to ensure that passion and commitment are always present in my courses by offering students a mix between formal courses and more relaxed financial games and investment simulations. It is my belief that learning by playing is not only fun but also effective! I always strive to introduce advanced quantitative skills after students have had the chance to experience the concept during games and simulations. I also believe that the issue of ethics in financial markets is crucial not only to ensure proper functioning of financial markets but more generally so that finance can be at the service of society. I am in charge of a research centre named the Sustainable Finance and Responsible Investment Chair, joint with the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. The centre is sponsored by the major asset management companies in France. We study whether and how moral values affect investment behavior. If you could give advice to future students who wish to prepare for a career in finance, what would it be? Make sure you develop a technical skill (be it in mathematics, statistics, computer science, financial analysis or accounting) and follow your dreams! Sbastien POUGET Professor of finance IAE Toulouse 40. InternetFor more information: Website: http://www.iae-toulouse.fr/1-36994-Specialite-Finance-de-Marche.php Contact: [email protected]