News > 2009 > HEC Montréal, A Centre of Financial Expertise

HEC Montréal, A Centre of Financial Expertise

March 4, 2009

Ever since 1907, HEC Montréal has made a name for itself as the leading centre of research and education in finance in Quebec, with the largest number of finance professors in the province. That expertise is still clear today, and can be seen in the work of its research professors, its innovative study programs from the BBA to PhD levels, and the excellence of its faculty, whose expert views are sought on a daily basis by the media.

In recent months, with the credit and commercial paper crises, failing American banks, plunging international markets and the impact on our economy and our financial markets, there has never been a better time to call on the expertise of HEC Montréal professors.

Finance programs

Since it was founded, the School has prided itself on training quality candidates prepared to meet the financial and economic challenges of the business world. In fall 2008, there were some 200 BBA students, 170 at the Master’s level and a dozen PhD students enrolled in a finance option. They have access to one of the most modern trading rooms, with fully computerized workstations connected to Reuters and Reuters X-Cobra platforms and the Bloomberg terminal.

Graduate-level training in finance has been reorganized this year – the eight Master’s options in finance are now grouped together. Three of these options will be starting this fall (corporate finance, market finance, financial institutions). Beginning in September 2009, a new graduate diploma for financial professionals, aimed at finance undergraduates, will help to prepare students for the certification exams for the Chartered Financial Analyst© (CFA), Financial Risk Manager© (FRM) and Professional Risk Manager© (PRM) designations. These three qualifications are in high demand on the market and enjoy international recognition, for greater professional mobility.

Incomparable faculty

The School’s expertise is also evident in the work by its researchers in a dozen research chairs, study and research centres, laboratories and professorships. For just over a century now, HEC Montréal faculty members have been sharing their findings with organizations around the world. Research faculty also contribute to developing the School’s study programs, not only by innovating and adapting them to good practices, standards and regulations in the financial professions, but also by setting new standards for excellence, rigour and ethics.

This rigour in fact contributed to making HEC Montréal the first business school in North America to hold AMBA, AACSB International and EQUIS accreditations. Over the years, the School has been ranked in the BusinessWeek top 10 in 2004 and 2006, the Forbes top 20 in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and The Economist top 100 in 2006.

Lastly, it is not only through its exceptionally competent faculty and well-designed study programs that HEC Montréal demonstrates its expertise in the community. Year in, year out, dozens of its students come out on top in major interuniversity competitions. The most recent triumphs are the first place won by the Standard Life–HEC Montréal Fund at the 8th Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) Forum (with a 10.83% annual return, surpassing the benchmark index of 3.77%) and the first place won by Sophie McCormack in the CFA Montréal competition for the best master’s thesis.