Oxford MFE Interview Questions

Oxford MSc MFE interview – Nature and Structure

The Oxford MSc Financial Economics (MFE) is a full-time nine-month program designed in consultation with leading financial recruiters. The program is for individuals who are interested in careers in investment banking, asset management, private equity, and management consultancy. The finance faculty at the Business School is one of the fastest-growing and most prestigious in Europe and they work closely alongside the most diverse and well-known groups of economists in the world. Admission to the program is through a comprehensive application, followed by a thorough interview. Mentioned below is a list of Oxford MFE interview questions that have been asked to applicants in previous years, to help potential MFE applicants better prepare for the exclusive interviews.

The MFE program features interactive classes, use of case studies, practitioner teaching, and proactive careers support. It also includes three days of training in ‘financial markets and institutions’ which takes place either in Oxford/London, New York, or Shanghai.

The MFE admission process focuses on the applicant’s understanding and logical reasoning in the field of Finance and Economics, among other factors. The same is also reflected in their interview processes.

What Are The Type  of Questions Asked?

Oxford MFE interview questions relate both to finance (stocks market, investment banking) and to behavioral areas. This is going to be a technical interview, and you should be preparing for it as such. Oxford MFE interviews are technical interviews, and they go deep into conceptual questions related to finance and economics.

Reach out to your network for any alumni that have applied in the past. These alumni can provide you with guidance on what to expect from the interviewers, what might be asked in the interview, and relevant materials to study. Expect to get basic questions on different aspects of finance, and-

1) The admission committee gives you a case study like the one below to judge optimal investment decision making ability

Warren has 100 dollars, and he makes an investment decision. We define a variable x to describe this decision: Warren invests x dollars in stocks, and keeps the remaining (100-x) dollars in cash.

Warren may get lucky in the stock market, in which case the value of his stocks triples. If he does not get lucky, however, the value of his stocks falls to zero. The probability of getting lucky is 1/2.

(1) What is Warren’s wealth if he gets lucky? What is his wealth if he doesn’t get lucky?

(2) Warren’s happiness is determined by wealth, and described by the equation

happiness=2 ln (wealth)

Write down the expected value of Warren’s happiness as a function of x.

(3) Which value of x should Warren choose to achieve the highest possible expected happiness?

(4) Suppose that instead of the equation above, Warren’s happiness is simply equal to his wealth:

happiness=wealth

Does your recommendation in (3) change?

(Went on for 10 min)

2) What do you plan on doing post graduation from MFE?

3) How will Oxford help you in achieving it?

4) Any questions for us?

Study relevant course materials, such as derivatives pricing and stochastic calculus. If you don’t have a background in finance, read up on basic concepts such as volatility and risk-neutral pricing. Look at news headlines regarding what’s going on in the financial markets to get an idea of current events that may come up during your interview.

GyanOne can help you prepare from both a personal and a technical interview perspective for the Oxford MFE. To work with us on the Oxford MFE Interview process and get detailed information on Oxford MFE interview preparation, reach out on +91 98998 31738 or [email protected].