To help you best prepare for your MSc, we have identified some pre-reading materials which will give you a head start on your programme.

The following are the taught courses and the recommended textbooks which you may find helpful to read in advance. Which edition you read is not critical. Please note the required textbooks will be confirmed by the course lecturers in advance of each course. The following list is only for guidance and is not the final list of required textbooks. Therefore, you are not required to purchase any of these books at this stage.

We especially encourage students who need to refresh their statistics or accounting to re-familiarise themselves with these subjects.

Compulsory Courses

Semester 1

Financial Markets & Investment (CMSE11170)

  • Bodie, Zvi, Kane, Alex, and Marcus, Alan J. (2017). Investments and Portfolio Management (11th edition, older editions are acceptable too). McGraw-Hill International Student Edition. ISBN: 978-1-260-08339-2.

Statistics for Finance (CMSE11086)

  • Lind, Douglas A., Marchal, William G. and Wathen, Samuel A. (2012). Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics (15th edition). McGraw Hill.
  • Wooldridge, J. (2015). Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (6th edition), Thomson.
  • Wooldridge, J. (2013). Introduction to Econometrics: Europe, Middle East and Africa Edition. Cengage Learning.

Corporate Finance (CMSE11172)

  • Brealey, R.A., Myers, S.C. & Allen, F. (2017). Principles of Corporate Finance (12th edition). McGraw-Hill.
    • Earlier editions are very similar.
  • Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2017). Corporate Finance. Pearson.

Financial Statement Analysis (CMSE11338)

  • O'Regan, Philip. Financial Information Analysis (2nd edition). Routledge, ISBN: 9780415695855.

Semester 2

Quantitative Research Methods in Finance (CMSE11463)

  • Wooldridge, Jeffrey. (2013). Introduction to Econometrics: Europe, Middle East and Africa Edition. Cengage Learning. This book is relevant for the first part of the course.
  • Additional articles will be listed on Learn as the course progresses (research articles are relevant for the second part of the course).

Option Courses

Investment Management (CMSE11409)

  • Maginn, Tuttle, Pinto, and McLeavey. (2007). Managing Investment Portfolios: A Dynamic Process. CFA Institute and Wiley. ISBN: 0470080140.

Behavioural Finance (CMSE11408)

Indicative Reading List

Required:

  • Nofsinger, J. (2014). The Psychology of Investing (5th edition, international edition). Pearson. ISBN: 0133382877.
  • Shefrin, H. (2007). Behavioural Corporate Finance (1st edition). McGraw Hill. ISBN: 0072848650.

Recommended:

  • Ackert, L. and Deaves, R. (2010). Behavioural Finance: Psychology, Decision Making, and Markets (1st edition). South-Western. ISBN: 0538752866.
  • Baker, K. and Nofsinger, J. (2010). Behavioural Finance: Investors, Corporations, and Markets. John Wiley. ISBN: 9780470499115.
  • Forbes, W. (2009). Behavioural Finance (1st edition). John Wiley. ISBN: 9780470028049.
  • Montier, J. (2010). Behavioural Finance. John Wiley. ISBN: 9780470844876.

Equity Valuation (CMSE11470)

  • Palepu, K.G., Healy, P.M., and Peek, E. (2016). Business Analysis & Valuation: IFRS Edition. Thomson South-Western.
  • Additional material including academic papers, analyst reports, and financial press will be made available during the course.
  • Equity Valuation Reading List (University Login Required)

Corporate Governance (CMSE11482)

Indicative Reading List

  • Mallin, Christine A. (2010). Corporate Governance (3rd edition). Oxford University Press.

Research in Corporate Finance (CMSE11472)

Most readings in this programme are journal papers available in the Library and online via the electronic journal service DiscoverEd, through which students can download full text copies of papers.

A full list of readings will be provided separately. The course is not based on a particular text but reference is made to the following texts where possible. Do not worry too much about obtaining the most up-to-date edition; they do not change much from one edition to the next.

These text cover similar ground and are very good, but there are other good texts.

  • Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2014). Corporate Finance. Pearson.
  • Brealey, R.A., Myers, S.C. and Allen, F. (2017). Principles of Corporate Finance. McGraw-Hill.

Another useful resource is the website of Aswath Damodaran. He writes papers on specific aspects of corporate finance, aimed at students and practitioners.