He joined the company in 1997 and stayed for many years. But by 2008, it was a rocky time to be involved in finance. The global recession struck and financial centres across the globe were threatened with ruin.
So when word reached him of the idea to launch two new programmes at Imperial, MSc Investment & Wealth Management and MSc Finance & Accounting, he knew finance degrees needed to be redesigned.
"They had to be redesigned in light of the financial crisis,” he told BusinessBecause. “An awful lot happened and of course they needed to be updated to take that into account. Graduates need to learn from our past mistakes.”
After 17 years with UBS, it is fitting that Prof James will become the first Director of both MSc programmes. He has a wealth of knowledge to share with budding financiers.
“I have the chance to pass some of that experience on,” he said. “One of the motivations behind these two courses was the need to bring in various types of asset management study to the curriculum.
“The programmes bring wealth management into the picture; we look at hedge funds, bonds, private equity strategy and as well as looking at the big asset allocation questions. It will produce all-round financial wizards.”
If graduates will become wizards, then Imperial is fast becoming the Hogwarts of finance-focused business school degrees. It is something of a leader in the field and the new MSc programmes will do well to sement its’ place on the global stage.
Last month BusinessBecause reported that leading financial experts, Professor Franklin Allen and Professor Douglas Gale, agreed to leave top US universities to head Imperial's new Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis.
The centre was launched after one of the largest (£20.1M) donations in business school history, from Brevan Howard, the world’s third largest hedge fund that was co-founded by an Imperial alumnus.
“Imperial is set to become one of the best for finance,” Prof James said. “The new financial centre was a massive step for us and some of its researchers will be teaching on the new MSc programmes.”
Over 12-months, around 80 new students will enter each programme with an expected average age of 23. The MSc in Investment & Wealth Management is geared towards careers in investment, private equity and asset management, and will give students access to some of the leading global asset management firms.
The MSc in Finance & Accounting is designed for recent graduates from business backgrounds looking to move into the finance industry.
It will propel graduates into careers in management consultancies, investment banks and big corporate finance departments.
“There has been a phenomenal demand for our MSc in Finance & Accounting,” Prof James said. “We are trying to give them the core, fundamental skills required for careers in capital markets, professional services, investment banks and even management consultancies.
“It is very dedicated to careers and graduates should be in very high demand by employers.”
Several business schools have in recent years launched finance-specific MSc courses and it remains a staple career choice among MBA graduates alike. But what separates Imperial’s programmes from other leading UK-based b-schools is modernity.
“We have a modern aspect. We look at wealth management and how to manage money over a lifecycle,” Prof James said.
“The whole process of money management is getting competitive and things are often overlooked. We will teach students to understand the industry and how it will evolve over time.”
Imperial has close ties with the City of London and prominent speakers at top London-based firms will form part of the new MSc programmes. There will also be alumni speakers, faculty research speakers and private equity speakers.
Prof James agrees that networking is essential to launching a career after graduation and Imperial will give you “masses of exposure” to the finance industry.
Stefano Bianchi, an accountant at Mazars, a top-ten UK audit firm, said that the MSc in Finance & Accounting will “prepare students for success in a wide range of job opportunities within the City of London and beyond”.
With such a young average age (23) predicted for the initial cohort, Prof James says that undergraduate credentials will be paramount in the application process. Quantitative skills will be important, as will a short amount of experience in a financial institution.
Both MSc programmes have a strong career focus and the 12 month time-frame could be a quick route to one of the most popular functions among b-school graduates.
Prof James says that you won’t just be well suited to finance careers, but management roles too.
“Understanding the industry is absolutely critical to secure jobs and we hope that students will not only be great investment professionals, but also be able to take that step into management as their career progresses,” he added.
“We will provide them with that knowledge and they should be perfectly skilled for both careers.”
Applications for 2014-15 are open now and the deadline for first admissions to both MSc programmes is 21 January 2014.
There are other finance-specific MSc programmes out there, but Imperial has gone a step further.
Coupled with their new Brevan Howard Centre, Imperial is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of finance.
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