The programme aims to produce graduates who can:

1. Explain the structure and operation of global financial markets.
2. Analyse financial and economic information.
3. Evaluate equities, bonds and other financial instruments.
4. Apply corporate finance principles.
5. Construct and manage investment portfolios.
6. Apply asset-allocation techniques.
7. Assess investment and portfolio risk.
8. Analyse alternative investments.
9. Develop wealth-management strategies.
10. Conduct financial and investment research.
11. Apply quantitative methods and financial modelling.
12. Use financial technology and data analytics.
13. Understand ESG and sustainable investment principles.
14. Apply professional ethics in investment and wealth management.
15. Communicate investment recommendations effectively.
16. Apply financial knowledge to individual, institutional and corporate investment decisions.

3.1 Standard Academic Entry

Applicants should normally possess:

• A recognised senior secondary/high-school qualification.
• A qualification that provides eligibility for undergraduate university admission in the applicant’s country.
• A satisfactory background in mathematics or another quantitative subject is recommended.
• Adequate English-language proficiency.

The exact admission requirements should be established according to the institution’s accreditation and national regulatory framework.

3.2 International Qualifications

Applicants may be considered with equivalent qualifications including:

• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• GCE A-Levels
• US High School Diploma
• Canadian Secondary School Diploma
• Australian Senior Secondary Certificate
• European secondary-school qualifications
• National secondary-school certificates
• Recognised foundation programmes
• Other qualifications recognised for university admission

3.3 Diploma Holders

Applicants holding relevant diplomas may be considered for credit transfer or advanced standing, subject to curriculum equivalence.

Relevant qualifications include:

• Diploma in Finance
• Diploma in Investment
• Diploma in Banking
• Diploma in Accounting
• Diploma in Business Administration
• Diploma in Economics
• Diploma in Financial Management

3.4 Mature-Age Entry

Applicants without the standard academic qualification may be considered through:

• Mature-age admission
• Recognition of Prior Learning
• Relevant professional experience
• Entrance assessment
• Interview

subject to applicable institutional and regulatory requirements.

3.5 English Language

Applicants whose previous education was not conducted in English may be required to provide evidence of English-language proficiency through an institutionally accepted qualification or test.

The recommended structure is 24 ECTS compulsory + 6 ECTS optional per semester.

Students therefore graduate with a strong common finance foundation while being able to develop a specialist profile.

SEMESTER 1

Foundations of Finance, Economics and Investment

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

Key content

Principles of Finance

• Role of financial management
• Financial decision-making
• Time value of money
• Risk and return
• Financial institutions
• Financial markets
• Sources of finance

Principles of Economics

• Microeconomics
• Macroeconomics
• Market structures
• Inflation
• Interest rates
• Economic growth
• Monetary and fiscal policy

Financial Accounting

• Financial statements
• Accounting principles
• Balance sheets
• Income statements
• Cash flows
• Financial ratios

Quantitative Methods

• Algebra
• Financial mathematics
• Probability
• Descriptive statistics
• Interest calculations
• Present and future values

SEMESTER 2

Financial Markets and Financial Analysis

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

Key content

Financial Markets and Institutions

• Money markets
• Capital markets
• Equity markets
• Bond markets
• Foreign-exchange markets
• Financial intermediaries
• Investment institutions

Financial Statement Analysis

• Profitability
• Liquidity
• Solvency
• Efficiency
• Cash-flow analysis
• Credit analysis
• Investment analysis

Corporate Finance I

• Capital budgeting
• Cost of capital
• Capital structure
• Working capital
• Dividend policy
• Corporate financing

SEMESTER 3

Investment Analysis and Securities

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

Key content

Equity Investments

• Equity markets
• Fundamental analysis
• Technical analysis
• Equity valuation
• Dividend discount models
• Relative valuation
• Company analysis

Fixed Income

• Bond markets
• Bond pricing
• Yield curves
• Duration
• Convexity
• Credit risk
• Fixed-income portfolio management

Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory

• Risk and return
• Diversification
• Efficient frontier
• CAPM
• Factor models
• Portfolio optimisation
• Investment objectives

Business Valuation

• Discounted cash flow
• Comparable-company analysis
• Enterprise value
• Equity value
• M&A valuation

These areas deliberately reflect the investment competencies covered by the IBSF curriculum, including quantitative methods, financial statement analysis, corporate finance, equities, fixed income and portfolio construction.

SEMESTER 4

Portfolio Management, Risk and Derivatives

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

Key content

Portfolio Management

• Investment policy statements
• Strategic asset allocation
• Tactical asset allocation
• Portfolio construction
• Portfolio rebalancing
• Investment constraints
• Performance measurement

Investment Risk Management

• Market risk
• Credit risk
• Liquidity risk
• Operational risk
• Currency risk
• Interest-rate risk
• Value at Risk
• Scenario analysis

Derivatives

• Futures
• Forwards
• Options
• Swaps
• Hedging
• Derivative valuation
• Risk management

International Finance

• Foreign exchange
• Exchange-rate systems
• Currency risk
• International capital flows
• Cross-border investment

SEMESTER 5

Alternative Investments, Wealth and Asset Management

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

Key content

Alternative Investments

• Private equity
• Venture capital
• Hedge funds
• Real estate
• Infrastructure
• Commodities
• Private credit
• Alternative investment strategies

Private Wealth Management

• Wealth planning
• Client profiling
• Risk profiling
• Asset allocation
• Tax considerations
• Estate planning
• Family-office structures
• High-net-worth clients

Advanced Portfolio Management

• Institutional portfolios
• Liability-driven investment
• Portfolio optimisation
• Portfolio constraints
• Manager selection
• Portfolio implementation

Performance Measurement

• Investment returns
• Risk-adjusted returns
• Benchmarking
• Attribution analysis
• Performance appraisal
• GIPS concepts

The inclusion of private wealth, asset allocation, institutional portfolios, manager selection, alternative investments and performance measurement reflects the current investment-management body of knowledge used by IBSF.

SEMESTER 6

Strategic Investment Management, Professional Practice and Research

Compulsory Modules — 24 ECTS

Optional Modules — Choose ONE

Semester Total: 30 ECTS

The internship should provide students with practical exposure to the investment and financial-services industry.

Potential host organisations include:

• Commercial banks
• Investment banks
• Asset-management companies
• Pension funds
• Sovereign wealth funds
• Insurance companies
• Stock exchanges
• Securities firms
• Private-equity firms
• Venture-capital firms
• Wealth-management firms
• Family offices
• Central banks
• Financial regulators
• FinTech companies
• Treasury departments
• Development-finance institutions

The use of internships and other experiential learning is consistent with international business-education standards, which identify internships, consulting projects and similar activities as high-impact learning experiences.

Each student completes an independent research project in finance, investment or wealth management.

Suggested research areas

• Portfolio diversification
• Investment performance
• Pension fund investment
• Sovereign wealth funds
• Private equity
• Venture capital
• ESG investing
• Financial inclusion
• Digital wealth management
• AI in investment management
• Behavioural finance
• Cryptocurrency and digital assets
• Investment risk management
• Financial market efficiency
• Wealth management
• Family-office management
• Real estate investment
• Infrastructure investment
• FinTech and asset management

Upon successful completion, graduates should be able to:

Financial Knowledge

• Explain the operation of domestic and global financial markets.
• Analyse financial institutions and investment vehicles.
• Understand economic and financial relationships.
• Apply corporate finance principles.

Investment Analysis

• Analyse equities and fixed-income securities.
• Value financial assets.
• Evaluate alternative investments.
• Analyse investment opportunities.
• Conduct fundamental financial research.

Portfolio Management

• Develop investment policy statements.
• Determine strategic asset allocations.
• Construct diversified portfolios.
• Measure portfolio performance.
• Evaluate portfolio risk.
• Recommend portfolio rebalancing strategies.

Wealth Management

• Conduct client risk profiling.
• Develop wealth-management strategies.
• Design investment solutions for individuals and families.
• Analyse tax and estate-planning considerations.
• Understand private banking and family-office structures.

Quantitative and Digital Skills

Graduates should be able to use:

• Excel
• Financial modelling
• Statistical software
• Financial databases
• Data analytics
• Data visualisation
• Investment analytics
• AI-assisted financial analysis

The programme should progressively incorporate quantitative methods, financial analytics and emerging technologies. The IBSF’s current body of knowledge explicitly includes areas such as AI/machine learning, big-data analysis, time-series analysis, back-testing and simulation.

Professional and Ethical Skills

Students should demonstrate:

• Professional integrity
• Ethical decision-making
• Client confidentiality
• Conflict-of-interest awareness
• Investment suitability
• Responsible investment practice
• Professional communication

Ethics should be integrated throughout the programme rather than treated only as a final-year subject. IBSF places ethical and professional standards throughout its investment curriculum because of their role in maintaining confidence and integrity in financial markets.

The programme should use an applied investment-management learning model combining theory, analysis and practical decision-making.

Teaching methods

• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Investment case studies
• Securities analysis
• Portfolio simulations
• Trading simulations
• Financial modelling
• Bloomberg/financial-database exercises where available
• Group investment projects
• Investment committee simulations
• Client-advisory simulations
• Research projects
• Guest lectures
• Industry seminars
• Internship
• Digital learning

Practical components

Students should progressively develop an Investment Portfolio, documenting:

1. Investment objectives
2. Risk profile
3. Asset allocation
4. Security selection
5. Portfolio construction
6. Portfolio monitoring
7. Rebalancing
8. Performance evaluation
9. Investment recommendations

This provides a direct bridge between academic learning and professional investment practice.

Assessment should test both technical knowledge and practical investment competence.

Recommended assessment framework

Assessment activities

Students may be assessed through:

• Written examinations
• Quantitative problem-solving
• Equity research reports
• Fixed-income analysis
• Investment recommendations
• Portfolio construction
• Investment simulations
• Financial modelling
• Risk analysis
• Wealth-management case studies
• Client presentations
• Research papers
• Internship reports
• Dissertation

The programme should maintain a formal Assurance of Learning process to determine whether students are actually achieving the programme’s intended competencies and to feed assessment results back into curriculum improvement. This is consistent with AACSB’s outcomes-focused approach to business education.

The programme provides preparation for careers across investment management, asset management, wealth management, financial markets, banking, corporate finance and institutional investment.

Investment Management

Graduates may pursue roles such as:

• Investment Analyst
• Equity Analyst
• Fixed-Income Analyst
• Research Analyst
• Portfolio Analyst
• Investment Officer
• Asset Management Associate

Portfolio Management

• Portfolio Analyst
• Junior Portfolio Manager
• Asset Allocation Analyst
• Performance Analyst
• Investment Risk Analyst
• Portfolio Operations Officer

Wealth Management

• Wealth Management Associate
• Private Banking Associate
• Financial Planning Associate
• Investment Adviser
• Client Portfolio Associate
• Family-Office Analyst

Financial Markets

• Securities Analyst
• Capital Markets Analyst
• Treasury Analyst
• Foreign Exchange Analyst
• Market Risk Analyst
• Trading Operations Analyst

Alternative Investments

• Private Equity Analyst
• Venture Capital Analyst
• Real Estate Investment Analyst
• Infrastructure Investment Analyst
• Alternative Investment Analyst

Institutional Investment

Graduates can work in:

• Pension funds
• Insurance companies
• Sovereign wealth funds
• Endowment funds
• Foundations
• Development-finance institutions
• Government investment agencies

Banking

• Corporate Finance Analyst
• Credit Analyst
• Treasury Officer
• Investment Banking Analyst
• Corporate Banking Officer

FinTech

• FinTech Analyst
• Digital Investment Analyst
• Financial Data Analyst
• Investment Technology Analyst
• Digital Wealth Management Associate

For IBSF, the optional modules can be organised into six specialist pathways.

PATHWAY 1 — INVESTMENT & PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Focus on:

• Equity Investments
• Fixed Income
• Portfolio Management
• Asset Allocation
• Investment Performance
• Advanced Portfolio Management

Career orientation: Investment Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Asset Manager.

PATHWAY 2 — PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Focus on:

• Wealth Planning
• Private Banking
• Portfolio Management
• Estate Planning
• Tax considerations
• Family-office management

Career orientation: Wealth Manager, Private Banking Associate, Financial Adviser.

PATHWAY 3 — PRIVATE EQUITY & ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

Focus on:

• Private Equity
• Venture Capital
• Real Estate
• Infrastructure
• Private Credit
• Alternative Investment Strategies

Career orientation: Private Equity Analyst, Venture Capital Analyst, Alternative Investment Analyst.

PATHWAY 4 — PENSION & INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT

Focus on:

• Pension Fund Investment
• Asset-Liability Management
• Institutional Portfolio Management
• Sovereign Wealth Funds
• Insurance Investments
• Performance Measurement

Career orientation: Pension Investment Analyst, Institutional Investment Officer, Asset Allocation Analyst.

PATHWAY 5 — SUSTAINABLE & ISLAMIC INVESTMENT

Focus on:

• ESG Investing
• Sustainable Finance
• Islamic Investment
• Ethical Investment
• Green Investment
• Social Investment

Career orientation: ESG Analyst, Sustainable Investment Analyst, Islamic Investment Officer.

PATHWAY 6 — FINANCIAL ANALYTICS & INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGY

Focus on:

• Financial Econometrics
• Financial Modelling
• AI in Investment
• Big Data
• FinTech
• Investment Analytics

Career orientation: Financial Data Analyst, Quantitative Analyst, FinTech Analyst, Investment Technology Specialist.

Degree Award: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Finance, Investment & Wealth Management
Duration: 3 Years
Structure: 6 Semesters
Total Academic Load: 180 ECTS
Indicative U.S. Equivalent: Approximately 120 semester credits, subject to formal institutional/credential evaluation
Mode of Study: Face-to-Face | Blended | Online
Language: English
Level: Undergraduate / First Cycle

The programme is structured as a three-year, 180-ECTS bachelor’s degree, consistent with the European first-cycle framework, under which 60 ECTS represents a typical full year of study and bachelor’s degrees commonly carry 180 or 240 ECTS.

The curriculum is deliberately aligned with internationally relevant investment and finance competencies, including quantitative methods, economics, financial statement analysis, corporate finance, equities, fixed income, derivatives, alternative investments, portfolio construction, wealth planning, ethics and risk management. These areas correspond closely with the current IBSF investment body of knowledge.

It also incorporates global business education principles around technology, internationalisation, experiential learning, professional competencies and systematic assessment of learning outcomes.