A master’s degree in Finance can open many avenues of employment and research. Your degree can be tailored to suit your preferences because it incorporates a large number of specialisations. If you’re looking to add uniqueness to your degree, a simple way to do so is to complete your thesis in the specific specialization that you want to pursue in the future.
Some upcoming areas of research in the field of finance have been discussed here. But they’re neither exhaustive nor exclusive of other aspects of finance. You can tailor your thesis to highlight your unique set of skills. Irrespective of what you choose to research, it is a good idea to look into whether a large volume of existing research is accessible. This can be a determining factor in your success because the studies of the past are guides, benchmarks, and advisors for the research of the future.
Contents
- Corporate Restructuring
- Personal Finance and Wealth Management
- Financial Technology
- Financial Markets in the aftermath of Covid-19
Corporate Restructuring
Students often restrict themselves to exploring mergers and acquisitions because they are the most popular form of corporate restructuring. However, if you only look beyond the obvious, corporate restructuring offers rich and diverse opportunities for further research. Since corporate restructuring is affected by the micro factors of the firm, industry, and country; there is an immense potential for continued research in the area. Some relevant ways in which corporate restructuring can be explored is by combining it with recent events in a country or industry’s financial markets.
- Firm value from corporate restructuring in USA – Comparing bankruptcies, and management buyouts to determine which is better for the shareholders.
- Has there been an increase in corporate restructuring activity within the UK in the aftermath of the pandemic lockdowns?
- Are certain corporate restructuring practices more popular in specific industries than others? A pan-industry exploration of the EU
- Do corporate restructuring activities of financially distressed companies differ significantly from those of profitable businesses?
- What are the economic implications of corporate breakups on the firm’s financial performance in the long-term?
- What are the common factors that can predict corporate restructuring activity? Are these factors equally significant across countries?
- What are the financial implications of privatizing public sector undertakings of India?
- Does a restructuring of the financial sector improve a country’s economic growth? A comparative analysis of Brazil, Ghana, and India.
Personal Finance and Wealth Management
One of the key components of a good thesis is its uniqueness and freshness. Your advisor is likely bored of the common perspectives adopted by students conducting a research project. Therefore, it is always a good idea to consider a topic from an alternative perspective. Personal finance and advancements in wealth management are more likely to be overlooked by students who focus more intently on research into market-based events. Personal finance and wealth management are rarely studied from the perspective of how it varies across traditional and Islamic financial perspectives. Changing your perspective will offer a unique insight into the field.
- How does finance literacy affect the investment decisions of consumers?
- Are the determinant factors affecting financial literacy common for developing and developed countries?
- How do personal finance practices vary across customers of conventional and Islamic banking firms?
- What offers better value to customers – traditional wealth management services or AI based wealth management software?
- How do Islamic wealth management strategies vary from conventional wealth management strategies?
- How have Covid-19 and global lockdowns affected the wealth management practices of HNIs?
Financial Technology
The world of finance has been rocked with several distinctive events in the last decade. In the last decade, there have been technological advancements in the finance industry that are at par with the introduction of credit and debit cards in the 1950s. Peer-to-peer lending, machine learning, and cryptocurrencies are some of the most disruptive technologies to have been incorporated into the world of finance. Why not study these if you’re looking for unexplored research ideas?
- What is the relationship between movements in cryptocurrencies and global financial market movements?
- What are the significant factors that drive cryptocurrency movements across markets?
- How can AI and machine learning influence trading activities in cryptocurrency markets?
- What is the financial impact of peer-to-peer lending and microfinance on the conventional loan industry?
- Can machine learning yield accurate price predictions for cryptocurrencies?
- Is it possible to improve the returns on responsible investment portfolios using machine learning and AI?
- How has machine learning and data analytics affected the financial sector of developing countries?
- How have digital wallets affected consumer behaviour and use of online bank transfers and credit cards?
- What are the factors that lead to the adoption and preference of mobile wallets over other forms of financial transactions?
- What is the impact of machine learning and data analytics on the prediction accuracy of loan default in peer-to-peer lending?
- In the world of data analytics and machine learning, are analyst reports and predictions still relevant and capable of driving market movement?
Financial Markets in the aftermath of Covid-19
Finally, it’s always interesting to see how one event can create a ripple effect throughout the complex global financial markets. In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, all areas of research can be revisited to determine how it was affected by the event. Just like the global financial crisis of 2007-08 allowed researchers to study the existing macrocosm of finance in relation to one specific event, the pandemic allows for the same exploration. You also have the benefit of exploring the world of finance in a relevant, recent manner, which is likely to make your study applicable to the real world.
- Is the economic implication of covid-19 on global financial markets comparable to the impact of the financial crisis of 2007-08?
- Is there a significant difference in how financial markets across the globe reacted to the announcement of first and subsequent lockdown announcements? An event study.
- How have the covid-19 lockdowns and safety measures affected tourism-based economies?
- What was the global impact of the issuance of stimulus cheques in the US during the covid-19 lockdowns?
- How has the global pandemic affected the global derivatives market?