Executive Banking & Finance Education in Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute:
Based in both Zurich and Geneva, Swiss Finance Institute is a private foundation created by Switzerland's banking and finance community in co-operation with leading Swiss universities to support and advance research and executive education in banking and finance. As one of the major European providers of advanced executive education in banking and finance and delivering world-class research, the institute offers a wide variety of high-quality international and national executive education programmes including an executive MBA programme in Asset and Wealth Management taught in English, additional executive programmes taught in English and German, a PhD programme in finance and more.

Executive Education Programmes in Banking & Finance:

Master Programme: 

* Dual Degree Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) in Asset and Wealth Management (in English):
Jointly offered by the Swiss Finance Institute, HEC Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA).

Degrees obtained:

- Executive MBA in Asset and Wealth Management – Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA).

- Executive MBA in Asset and Wealth Management – HEC Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).

Our dual degree programme in Asset and Wealth Management combines the strengths of three world-class research institutions: The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, the Swiss Finance Institute, and HEC Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne.

This interdisciplinary programme will achieve two key objectives: It will provide executives with the conceptual and practical tools and the in-depth financial and investment expertise required to compete at the highest levels of this industry. It will also equip participants with the managerial tools necessary to assume a leadership role, exploring how to best translate new ideas into practice in a knowledge-intensive industry. Mastery of both finance and business management is the hallmark of the successful executive in asset and wealth management.

Program overview:  This innovative dual degree program gives participants access to a range of top-flight academics and experienced practitioners. The modular structure of this program, where classroom units last for two weeks, allows professionals from around the world to participate without taking long periods away from work. This international mix of talented executives also builds a global network of contacts – invaluable assets in today's interconnected world.

Involving 12 weeks of classroom instruction spread over 20 months and two continents, participants will explore four interdisciplinary business themes. Speaker sessions, interactive lectures, case studies, group discussions and project work will challenge you and give you a more dynamic and complex understanding of the business of investment management. While classroom modules are two weeks long, some of the most important work in the program takes place between modules, when participants prepare for the next module and complete individual and web-enabled group assignments.

Three of the six sessions will be held at the Tepper School of Business in Pennsylvania, USA, and three will be held at the HEC Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

* Senior Management Programme in Banking (in English):
The Senior Management programme in Banking addresses the current radical changes in the finance industry and how to respond to them. The programme provides senior finance industry executives with an integrated view of the industry, discussing modern concepts and their practical application, while subjecting both to critical review.

Course Structure:  The programme is split into four 1-week blocks. Each block is held in a different financial center - Geneva, London, Madrid, and Bratislava - enabling participants to gain insights into different approaches to banking through interaction with senior managers from the different countries. Each block addresses two to three key topics, typically a specific business area such as commercial banking or asset management, plus an integrative topic such as competitive strategy or risk management.

As the participants themselves bring years of exposure to the finance industry, the Senior Management Programme in Banking assembles a unique wealth of industry insights into a single program. In addition, the modular structure of the programme ensures the development of a deep and lasting network among the participants, an important ingredient to facilitate the exchange of personal insights. The Swiss Finance Institute awards a certificate to those participants who complete the programme.

* Advanced Executive Programme (in German):
The Advanced Executive programme aims to help senior executives from financial and related sectors to strengthen their management competence, to broaden their factual knowledge and to promote critical integrated thinking with respect to the current dramatic trends in the financial industry.

Course Structure:  The AEP comprises 10 modules, each lasting two and a half days, from Thursday to Saturday, with one module per month. Prior to each module, the participants will deepen their factual knowledge by independent study using our documentation. When completing the course, participants will obtain a certificate.

* Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in Banking (in German):
The DAS in Banking combines solid knowledge and skills in management with practical know-how and insight into the functioning of the financial sector. Participants are taught how to interpret their own responsibilities as part of the financial system, and how these are to be handled in line with modern thinking.

Course Structure:  The programme will last a total of 6 weeks, plus 4 additional days spread over 21 months. Initially, there will be a “Kick-Off-Event” followed by a mandatory self-assessment on the participant’s knowledge of modern financial mathematics. The three course blocks, which last two weeks each, are thematically divided into modules. After every course block the participants have to take an exam on the corresponding contents. The participant's successful completion of the programme is confirmed by a “Diploma of Advanced Studies in Banking” of the University of Bern, Switzerland.

* Financial Asset Management and Engineering Programme (FAME):
The FAME Programme provides a unique experience in learning the modern practices of asset management and financial engineering. For four weeks, practitioners are challenged to apply advanced thinking to investing in real world situations. It is this intense focus on application which allows the FAME Programme to achieve its singular impact.

Students who successfully complete the 4-week FAME Programme, including all tests and the assigned project, are awarded the Diploma of Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the Swiss Finance Institute.

Management Retreat:

* International Private Banking & Wealth Management Retreat:
The retreat is an exclusive international platform for senior executives in private banking and wealth management. It helps to understand the strategic, organizational and personal challenges in the turbulent environment of modern private banking, to become familiar with best practices of leading institutions, and to build an international network of peers.

The retreat will be held at the enchanting "Grand Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau" in Interlaken in the Canton of Bern in west-central Switzerland. Interlaken is a well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland.

PhD Programme in Finance:
The Swiss Finance Institute PhD programme in Finance is targeted towards the pursuit of academic excellence. It aims at providing an intellectual environment and a curriculum comparable with the top PhD programs in Europe and North America. The PhD program operates at the three Swiss Finance Institute campuses in Geneva / Lausanne (Léman), Lugano and Zurich.

The curriculum comprises two phases: One preparatory year of intensive coursework followed by three years of advanced studies and research. The programme covers a wide range of subjects including Economics, Financial Economics, Corporate Finance, Mathematical Finance, and Econometrics. There is a clear focus on the mathematical foundations of Finance and all courses are taught by internationally renowned academics from Switzerland, Europe, and North America. The programme offers the ideal framework for successful and inspiring PhD studies in Finance.

Applicants should have a strong interest in research activities and the desire to pursue an academic career or to continue their career doing research in Finance within the public or private sector. The program is internationally oriented and aims at attracting the best students from Switzerland and abroad. Applicants need to have a Master of Science in Finance or Economics or a degree deemed to be equivalent by the Admission Committee. Additional prerequisite courses at the beginning of the PhD program might compensate for weaknesses in any of these areas. We strongly encourage applications from women.

* Private Banking – Cross Border Activities:
Half day country specific seminars for compliance officers and interested experts from banks. Workshops with the legal specialist who developed the Swiss Bankers Association Country Manual for France, Germany and Italy. The workshop has the objective to address specific challenges the participants are facing with regard to cross border private banking activities.