B.Sc. in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science

(Jointly offered by Department of Statistics and Department of Finance)

• Programme Brochure

The B.Sc. in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science Programme (QFRM) is jointly administered by the Department of Finance and the Department of Statistics. It combines the strengths and features of two well-established and highly successful programmes from the respective departments: the Quantitative Finance programme and the Risk Management Science programme. QFRM is one of the top programmes among all quantitatively related programmes in Hong Kong in terms of admission credentials.

Highlights

QFRM provides state-of-the-art training in business and finance, risk management science, mathematics and statistics, and computing applications. Students are also required to take Faculty Package and Capstone.

Faculty Package and Capstone

• University Mathematics
• Economics for Business Studies I & II
• Banking and Finance Practicum
• Practicum

Quantitative Finance

• Financial Markets
• Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
• Financial Management / Financial Management: Foundations and Analysis
• Foundations in Financial Accounting / Introductory Financial Accounting
• Risk Management and Insurance
• Financial Data Analytics with Machine Learning

Risk Management Science

• Introduction to Risk Management
• Simulation Methods for Risk Management Science and Finance
• Statistical Modelling in Financial Markets
• Risk Management with Derivatives Concepts
• Stochastic Calculus for Finance and Risk

Financial Technologies and Computing

• Computer Principles and Programming(C / C++ / Java /Visual)
• Business Information Systems / Data Structures and Applications / Fundamentals in Information Systems
• Statistics Principles of Deep Learning with Business Applications

Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence

• Financial Data Analytics with Machine Learning
• Statistical Computing
• Statistical Principles of Deep Learning with Business Applications

Mathematics and Statistics

• Linear Algebra I
• Advanced Calculus I
• Basic Concepts in Statistics and Probability I & II
• Introduction to Stochastic Processes
• Applied Regression Analysis
• Multivariate Techniques with Business Applications
• Actuarial Science
• Time Series

Career Prospects

By offering comprehensive academic and professional training, QFRM aims to nurture competent finance and risk management professionals who can work in investment banking, corporate and commercial banking, consulting, accounting and financial services, as well as in general management. QFRM also enables students to build up a solid theoretical background for pursuing further study at the Master or Ph.D. levels.

The internship programme allows students to acquire on-the-job training with the participating companies. Internships provide valuable opportunities for students to gain exposure to the professional environment, outside the classroom. QFRM students on average completed three internships prior to graduation. Some examples of internship partners are:

AIA / Bain & Company / Bank of America Merrill Lynch / Bank of China / Bank of East Asia / Barclays Capital / BNP Paribas / CASH Algo / CFA Institute / Commerzbank / Credit Swisse / Ernst & Young / Eurex Frankfurt AG / Goldman Sachs / Hang Seng Bank / HSBC / HKEX / Hong Kong Monetary Authority / Jane Street / J.P. Morgan & Chase / Morgan Stanley / PWC / Royal Bank of Scotland / State Street Global Markets / Standard Chartered Bank / UBS Securities / Western Asset Management Company

Alumni Sharing

KWOK Fung Kiu

QFRM is the best programme for building practical knowledge combined with solid quantitative skills. Along with strong career support and cross-faculty benefits, I have made a number of long-lasting friends who are all ntelligent and supportive. Three of us, including me, joined JPMorgan as summer interns in its Risk Management division. By applying our classroom knowledge to reality, all of us have grown significantly, and I was lucky enough to secure a full-time position. Beyond my studies, I went on two exchanges: UC Berkeley in California and Sciences Po in France. By seizing these chances, I’ve left my footprints in over 20 countries. Isn’t it amazing?

HUI Ka Yee

QFRM is highly regarded in the banking and finance industry. The education and support that I received from QFRM helped me secure a summer internship in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Banking Supervision Department. This internship offered me the opportunity to learn more about the supervisory policies of HKMA and the Basel Standards, a global regulatory framework for banks. I also experienced the stress testing scenarios used by foreign regulators and IFRS9 (International Financial Reporting Standard 9) practices in the industry. QFRM provided me with quantitative training that enabled me to understand complex credit risk modelling. This deeper understanding of industry practices has surely helped me pave the way for my career in risk management.

HO Hoi Tung

It was one of the greatest moments of my life to stand on the podium and receive the silver medal for the bridge event at the Asian Games 2018. There were many media reports about our success, but few people realised how hard our journey was.

Ten teams competed in the Supermix series, including China, whose team consisted of 6 world champions; host country Indonesia, whose team comprised professional players; and rising stars Chinese Taipei, whose team consisted of recent Asia Cup Champions members. The qualifying round was a round-robin against all nine of the other teams. The top four teams entered the knockout stage. We did not have a great start and were in a slightly below-average position throughout the tournament. Believe it or not, with two rounds remaining, we were still in the seventh position, and even the reporters said only a miracle could get us into the knockout stage. Yet we did not give up and played extremely well in the last two rounds to score almost the maximum (37 out of 40 vp) to obtain fourth place by a margin of 0.2 vp. None of our Hong Kong bridge friends could believe it and congratulated us for our unbelievable performance.

In the semi-final, we played a 48-board match divided into three rounds against the number one seed, Chinese Taipei. Once again, we exhibited a very high team spirit at the table to maintain only a small margin, 58:66, behind the top-seeded team in the first two rounds. In the last round, we followed our coach’s advice “to fight to the end”. When our opponents were exhausted after a long match, we overcame the early deficit and gained the lead by 104:92 and won the match. I will never forget the moment when my captain and teammates ran over to us for a group hug. That moment felt like we had scored a last-minute penalty in the world cup and everyone was cheering for us.

Recently my friends have asked me why bridge should be listed as a sport in the Asian Games. I can now proudly tell them that bridge is no different from other sports – not only do you have to keep practising to improve, but your mentality, physical state, concentration and luck also contribute to your success. I would like everyone to appreciate the spirit of every athlete.