Bachelor of Business with a specialisation in Banking & Finance |
The Banking & Finance (B&F) curriculum has recently undergone a major revamp to more closely align it to the requirements and needs of local and international employers, thus enhancing both the employability of our graduates and the range of careers that they can embark upon. To further improve the international recognition and structure of the B&F education plan, B&F has established a CFA Program Partnership with CFA Institute. The CFA Program sets a globally recognized standard for developing the skills, standards, competence, and integrity of financial analysts, portfolio managers, investment advisers, and other investment professionals worldwide. It is widely considered the investment profession’s most rigorous credentialing program. By establishing ourselves as a Partner, our B&F program gains certification that students (who take the appropriate electives) are exposed to at least 70% of the CFA Candidate Body of Knowledge, which includes concepts and principles that have been identified by investment professionals worldwide as essential to global good practice. This certification adds value to the B&F degree and makes our B&F graduates stronger job candidates in the competitive finance industry.
The core B&F curriculum provides a solid foundational training in all major areas of finance. In addition, the curriculum has 3 tracks which provide more targeted training and prepare students for a more specialized area of finance. The 3 tracks are constructed based on the different finance careers available to the B&F graduate. They serve as guides to students with respect to a specific career option rather than as mandatory subject combinations. Students in a specific track are still able to secure jobs more closely associated with another track.
The 3 tracks of the B&F specialization are: Asset Management Track, Wealth Management Track, and Corporate & Investment Banking Track.
Some of the jobs/functions that the curriculum of the 3 tracks prepare our B&F students for include:
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Asset Management Track
This track most closely follows the CFA Program Body of Knowledge. Students who choose to do the asset management track will gain knowledge of managing collective investment schemes to satisfy investment goals for the benefit of investors. This track prepares students for careers such as portfolio managers, fund managers, product development professionals, sales and marketing professionals, and research analysts. |
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Portfolio Managers, Fund Managers and Traders:
Fund managers manage the funds pooled from individual investors (unit trust funds) and funds provided by institutions while traders typically manage the proprietary funds of companies and financial institutions (funds of their employer companies). Typically, the funds would be divided into equity funds and bond funds or a mixture of both called balanced funds. Funds are also managed on a country, region and international basis and by industry. Nowadays, new types of funds like hedge funds, commodities funds, and fund-of-funds are growing in popularity and importance. Portfolio managers are more senior fund managers who make the asset allocation decisions for the large pool of funds they oversee e.g. proportion of funds invested in equities, bonds, alternative investments, and cash and other liquid assets. |
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Equity and Bonds Sales Professionals:
These professionals market and sell equities and bonds at the institutional and retail levels. As profit margins of plain vanilla products decline and customers’ sophistication increase, equities and bonds are often structured with some embedded options to suit the increasing sophistication and risk profile of customers. |
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Research Analysts:
Equity analysts analyze macro economic fundamentals and company-specific financial information and management plans to make stock recommendations (e.g. Buy, Strong Buy, Hold, Sell). Bond analysts analyze the credit ratings, credit risk of individual bonds and systemic risk of financial meltdown, and their impact on bond prices. Buy-side analysts work for unit trust managers, pension funds, hedge funds and trusts and make private recommendations to the fund managers in their companies. Sell-side analysts typically work for a brokerage firm and their reports/recommendations are made available to selected clients of their firms or may even be made available to the public. The reputation of a sell-side analyst can be greatly enhanced after a few well-known, important and correct recommendations as their recommendations are widely circulated. |
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Product Development and Management Specialists:
These specialists develop new products for the fund management house to suit the risk profile and increasing sophistication of customers as well as their need for diversification e.g. developing a new “climate fund”, and ensure that feeder funds comply with the regulations of the countries they are marketed in. |
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Product Controllers:
Product controllers are typically involved in P/L production, reporting, analysis and reconciliation of P/L with the front-office (trader) system. Other duties may include setting asset valuation policies and procedures. These professionals are increasingly needed for various lines of businesses e.g. Treasury, investment banks, consumer banks, and fund houses. |
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Financial Risk Managers, Asset/Liability Managers:
Risk managers are in-charge of monitoring and managing the financial risks faced by financial institutions and corporations. These risks include credit risk, market risk, operational risk and liquidity risk. Risk managers help in setting the risk management policies, monitoring compliance with risk guidelines and trading limits, and reporting any excess above approved limits to top management. Asset/Liability Managers monitor the asset/liability structure of the company (e.g. composition of asset/liability, their maturity and their interest rates) and monitor interest rate and liquidity risks arising from it. |
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Wealth Management Track |
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Wealth and Relationship Managers:
They help manage the wealth of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI: assets other than property more than US$ 50 million), Very High Net Worth individuals (VHNWI: assets of about US$ 5 – US$ 50 million), High Net Worth Individuals (assets typically more than US$ 1 million), wealthy individuals (assets typically more than US$150,000). Services offered by wealth managers include asset/fund management on discretionary or advisory basis, insurance products, brokerage, and various types of advice (tax planning, trust services, charitable and other philanthropic causes, inter-generational wealth transfer). High on the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is the amount of assets under management (AUM) that the wealth manager manages to garner from his clients and the profit margins on funds garnered. As the advice especially for the wealthier clients are rather specialized in nature, relationship managers often work hand-in-hand with Investment Advisors and/or Product Specialists.
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Investment Advisors / Product Specialist:
These professionals are technical experts in areas such as asset allocation, equities / bonds / foreign exchange / alternative investments advice, trust services and tax planning. The sophisticated ultra rich may prefer to talk directly with the Product Specialist who may then be also taking on the role of the Relationship Manager.
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Consumer or Retail Bankers:
These include professionals who cater to the deposit, loans, funds management and other financial needs of the retail customers at the branches. They also include the centralized sales/marketing, credit control professionals and products development specialists at the headquarters.
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Commercial Banking Careers:
These professionals handle the banking requirements of corporations. In some banks, the target clientele are the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) while in others, the target clientele would include SMEs and large corporations and these bankers would often then be classified as corporate bankers.
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Financial Planners / Consultants:
They provide financial advice to individuals in areas like insurance and retirement planning, investment, estate duty and wealth transfer. They may work for banks or independent financial advisory companies which market a spectrum of products from different fund managers and insurance providers or may be tied-financial planners who only distribute products from a specific company.
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Corporate & Investment Banking Track |
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Corporate Bankers:
Corporate bankers cater to the loan, trade financing deposit, funds management and other financial services required by small and big, local and multi-national corporations. A niche customer group is the Small and Medium Enterprises which is a rapidly growing segment. However, some banks may service such customers under the Consumer Bank.
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Investment Bankers:
Investment bankers handle the long-term capital requirements of companies and advise them on financing of huge capital projects and investments. They advise on IPOs and seasoned equity offerings, funding using debt versus equity, distribute huge placement of shares and bonds through their international network of clients and recommend the underwriting of new securities by their firms. Investment bankers also advise on the pricing, terms and financing of mergers and acquisitions, as well as advise on restructuring of existing corporations.
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Chief Financial Officers and Finance Managers:
CFOs are responsible for the capital budgeting and the capital structure of their firms. Important analyses/recommendations made by them include the choice and proportion of equity versus debt in financing capital projects, cost of funds, risk assessment and project evaluation, and dividend policy.
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Employers of our Graduates |
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Our B&F graduates are in high demand by local and multi-national companies, investment, commercial and consumer banks, renowned fund managers and other financial institutions.
The following is a snapshot of some of the companies and financial institutions that have employed our Banking and Finance graduates recently: |
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- ABN Amro N.V.
- Accenture Pte Ltd
- AIA
- Bank Of East Asia, Ltd
- The
Barclays Capital
- BNP Paribas
- BP Singapore Pte Ltd
- Calyon Bank
- Calyon Merchant Bank Asia Ltd
- Citibank N.A.
- Citigroup Private Bank
- Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
- Credit Industriel et Commercial(CIC)
- Credit Suisse (S) Limited
- DBS Bank
- Deloitte Vietnam
- Deutsche Asset Management (Asia) Ltd
- Deutsche Bank
- Ernst & Young
- Fin-Exis Advisory Pte Ltd
- General Electric
- Goldman Sachs
- Government of Singapore Investment Corporate Pte Ltd
- Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd
- Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation
- Housing & Development Board
- HSBC Insurance (S) Pte Ltd
- IFAST
- Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte Ltd
- ING Bank N.V.
- Ivory Capital Asia Pte Ltd
- Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd
- KPMG
- Lacrosse Global Fund Services (Asia) Pte Ltd
- Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg
- Lehman Brothers
- MAA Financial Planners Pte Ltd
- Malayan Banking Berhad
- Mercer
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- Merrill Lynch Global Services Pte Ltd
- MF Global Singapore Pte Ltd
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Education
- Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd
- Monetary Authority of Singapore
- Morgan Stanley Investment
- Management Company
- Nikko Asset Management Singapore Ltd
- NTUC Club
- OCBC Bank
- OCBC Securities
- Phillip Securities Pte Ltd
- Pivot Capital Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd
- PricewaterHouseCoopers
- Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Limited
- Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB)
- RBC Dexia Investor Services
- RCM Asia Pacific Ltd
- Republic of Singapore Navy
- Reliance
- RGM International Pte Ltd
- Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- Setclear Pte Ltd
- Singapore Airlines Ltd
- Singapore Armed Forces
- Singapore Exchange Ltd
- Singapore Tourism Board
- Standard Chartered Bank
- State Street Bank & Trust Co.
- The Bank of New York
- The Bank Of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ufj, Ltd.
- Singapore Branch
- The Norinchukin Bank
- The Northern Trust Co
- TT International Ltd
- UBS AG
- UOB Ltd
- Westcomb Financial Group Ltd
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Initial Careers of our B&F Graduates |
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Our fresh graduates have been employed in diverse fields and job functions. These include: |
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- Business Analyst
- Business Financial Manager
- Business Review Assistant Manager
- Business Solution Assistant Manager
- Business Strategy Officer
- Business Support Analyst
- Cash Securities Operations Analyst
- Client Relationship Analyst
- Collateral Management Analyst
- Complex Product Support
- Compliance Associate
- Confirmations Officer
- Credit Analyst
- Credit Controller
- Dealer (Securities Firm)
- Dealer Assistant
- Derivatives Analyst/Officer
- Equities Analyst
- FAS Consultant
- Finance Analyst
- Finance Executive
- Financial Consultant
- Financial PlannerFund Accountant
- Fund Management, Management Associate
- Group Audit Risk Management
- TraineeHIP Trade Processing Officer
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- HIP Treasury Bank Officer
- Industrial Relations Officer
- Investment Accountant
- Junior Dealer (Fund Management House)
- Market Risk Analyst/Officer
- Marketing Manger
- Merger and Acquisitions Advisory Analyst
- Mortgage Sale Manager
- Operations Analyst/Officer
- Performance Analyst
- Personal Banker
- Product Controller
- Product Support Officer
- Relationship Manager
- Research Analyst
- Risk Analyst
- Settlement Officer
- Structured Confirmations Analyst
- Tax Associate
- Treasury Compliance Analyst
- Treasury Dealer
- Treasury Officer
- Treasury Operations Associate
- Trustee Officer
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BANKING AND FINANCE (B&F) CURRICULUM |
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| Compulsory Core Courses |
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The balance of 3 prescribed electives can be chosen from any of the courses listed below if students are keen on a broad-based finance concentration. For students interested in developing their strength in a particular field of finance, they may choose their 3 electives from the recommended courses under one of the following tracks. |
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Track 1: Asset Management |
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This track trains the skill of a fund manager and trader. This track is the closest among the 3 tracks to the CFA syllabus.
The courses in this track are: |
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Track 2: Wealth Management |
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This track focuses on the foundational skills of a wealth manager and prepares the graduate for an entry position in wealth management.
The courses are: |
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Track 3: Corporate & Investment Banking |
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This track trains the students to deal with issues faced by finance managers in companies (capital budgeting, capital structure, mergers and acquisitions) and to offer advice and execution to be made by corporate and investment bankers with respect to such issues.
The courses in this track are: |
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These tracks only serve as guides for students with specific career tracks in mind. Students do not need to adhere to any particular track. They can choose from any B&F course to fulfill their 5 B&F PEs requirement. Only B&F students who are entirely following the Wealth Management track may use AA203 as part of the B&F PE fulfillment. Only B&F students who are entirely following the Corporate & Investment Banking track may use BL247 as part of the B&F PE fulfillment. |
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| Code |
Courses |
Asset Management |
Wealth Management |
Corporate & Investment Banking |
| AB102 |
Financial Management |
Compulsory |
| BF215 |
Investments 1 |
Compulsory |
| BF307 |
Derivatives |
Compulsory |
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Ethics Seminar |
Compulsory |
| Non Compulsory courses |
| BA219 |
Principles of Risk & Insurance |
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| BF212 |
Mathematical Methods for Finance |
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| BF214 |
Management of Financial Institution |
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| BF218 |
International Financial Management |
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| BF219 |
Equity Securities |
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| BF221 |
Wealth Planning |
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| BF308 |
Fixed Income Securities |
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| BF322 |
Advanced Corporate Finance |
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| BF323 |
Financial Risk Management |
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| BF324 |
Portfolio Management |
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| BF325 |
Financial Modeling |
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| BF326 |
Corporate Lending, Ethics & Relations |
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| BF327 |
Alternative Investments 2 |
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| BL247 |
Corporate Finance Law 3 |
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| AA203 |
Principles of Taxation 4 |
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| 1 Students who choose to take BF219, BF307 and BF308 need not take BF215. |
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| 2 Not available in academic year 2007/08. |
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| 3 BL247 qualifies to meet PE fulfillments only if the student chooses other PEs entirely from the Corporate & Investment Banking track. |
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| 4 AA203 qualifies to meet PE fulfillments only if the student chooses other PEs entirely from the Wealth Management track. |
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