Our Origins
This nine-month, quantitatively intense program for early-career professionals was developed by the late David Swensen ’80 PhD, Yale’s former chief investments officer and the pioneer of the “Yale Model” of institutional investing, and Tobias Moskowitz, the Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Professor of Finance and a principal at AQR Capital Management. With long careers in ethical investing, the two colleagues saw the need for an asset management program that combines the best of academic theory and practice. They drew on the perspectives and expertise of top finance scholars and leading investment managers to create a truly unique program.
Curriculum Overview
The Yale SOM Master’s in Asset Management curriculum contains three major components: coursework, a practical experience requirement, and the colloquium.
Coursework
Yale SOM faculty will challenge and instruct you in the classroom.
Classes are divided into a core curriculum and elective classes.
Most core courses are taught by SOM finance faculty who are pursuing cutting edge research across a wide variety of topics. Most electives are taught by leading investment managers who navigate real-life market conditions and challenges in their day jobs. Students also have access to the MBA electives offered at SOM and courses available across the university.
Because of Yale’s in-house expertise, external connections to industry, and access to the broader university, we’re in a position to offer a uniquely extensive slate of courses developed specifically for the program, including offerings focused on alternative asset classes, behavioral finance, ESG investing, the legal and regulatory landscape, machine learning, quantitative investing, venture capital, and private equity.
Yale is a very flexible place where you can take electives across different schools. It just makes you a more well-rounded person. I was able to explore some of my interests, like the intersection of finance and art, more deeply. Overall, I gained a lot more perspective as I re-entered the workforce.
Sample Schedule
Students will take a variety of required fundamental subjects and elective classes, most of which were developed specifically for the asset management program. This is an example of how your journey through the Master’s in Asset Management program could look.
| Fall 1 (7 weeks) | Fall 2 (7 weeks) | Spring 1 (7 weeks) | Spring 2 (7 weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Quantitative Investing | Quantitative Investing (continued) | Machine Learning | Behavioral Finance |
| Asset Pricing Theory | Business Ethics | ||
| Statistical Foundations | Financial Econometrics | ||
| Colloquium | Colloquium (continued) | Colloquium (continued) | Colloquium (continued) |
| Practical Experience Requirement | Practical Experience (continued) | ||
| Electives (choose 1+) | Electives (choose 1+) | Electives (choose 3+) | Electives (choose 3+) |
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** Selected SOM / Yale electives (approximately 50 in total)
Mgt 523 Monetary Policy
Mgt 540 Personal Finance
Mgt 541 Corporate Finance
Mgt 548 Real Estate Finance
Mgt 628 Central Banking
Mgt 649 World Financial History
Mgt 683 Renewable Energy Project Finance
Mgt 806 Private Equity: Value Creation
Mgt 811 Taxes, Business, and Strategy
Mgt 812 Financial Statement Analysis
Mgt 842 Financing Green Technologies
Mgt 843 Digitalization of Money
Mgt 848 History of Financial Market Fraud
Mgt 871 Financial Reporting
Mgt 890 Global Financial Crisis
Mgt 897 Entrepreneurial Finance
Mgt 947 Capital Markets
Mgt 948 Security Analysis and Valuation
Econ 251 Financial Theory
Econ 252 Financial Markets
Econ 350 Mathematical Economics
In addition, students may substitute a suitable graduate course in Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics, or Statistics & Data Science with prior approval from the faculty director.
Practical experience
You’ll get the chance to put your new skills to the test.
Students also complete a practical experience requirement of a minimum of 40 hours in the spring semester, which provides the opportunity to begin a pivot into the industry. The practical experience requirement can be fulfilled in a variety of ways, including interning with an asset management firm, assisting an SOM professor with relevant research, or participating in an investment-focused case competition. Asset Management students will have access to the Yale SOM Career Development Office internship database, which offers both virtual and in-person opportunities.
Students on Yale’s visa sponsorship must abide by the employment regulations of their visa type, including any limitations on hours per week. At this time, international students are eligible for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) if completing an internship or project at external organizations.
Colloquium
You’ll hear directly from industry leaders.
A highlight of the program is the Colloquium in Asset Management, a speaker series that brings leading executives, investors, and practitioners to campus for candid discussions about the industry. The Colloquium gives you unparalleled access to industry leaders across a range of relevant fields, who visit Yale to speak exclusively to students in this program.
Recent Colloquium speakers include:
Nicole Arnaboldi
Oak Hill Capital
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Arnaboldi is a partner at Oak Hill Capital and a board member at NextEra Energy, Manulife Financial Corporation, Commonfund, and Merit Hill Capital. Her background includes building a leading global alternative investment business and making direct investments in a variety of industries, including financial services, business services, technology, and retail.
Cliff Asness
AQR Capital Management
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Asness is the co-founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer at AQR Capital Management. Prior to co-founding the firm, he was a managing director and director of quantitative research for the asset management division of Goldman Sachs.
Mark Carhart
Kepos Capital
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Carhart is the chief investment officer of the New York-based quantitative hedge fund Kepos Capital. He recently started the Carbon Evolution Fund, which trades securities such as California carbon allowances and derivatives tied to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and European Union Allowances for emissions.
Nick Kirchner
Citadel
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Kirchner is a desk strategist at Citadel.
Bob Litterman
Kepos Capital
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Litterman is a founding partner of Kepos Capital, a global asset management firm, and the chairman the firm’s risk committee. Prior to joining Kepos Capital in 2010, Litterman enjoyed a 23-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he served in research, risk management, investment, and thought leadership roles. He oversaw the Quantitative Investment Strategies Group in the firm’s asset management division.
Osman Nalbantoglu
Bridgewater Associates
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Nalbantoglu joined Bridgewater Associates in 2008 as the senior manager for account management. He currently serves on the firm's management and operations committee, with particular oversight of account management and trading functions. Responsible for day-to-day portfolio implementation, Nalbantoglu ensures that portfolio construction and trade execution is aligned with the firm’s investment principles. Prior to joining Bridgewater, Osman was a partner with McKinsey and Company, where he led the firm’s North American corporate and investment banking practice. Osman received a PhD in corporate finance from Harvard University and a BA in mathematics and economics from Yale University.
Mamak Shahbazi
Board Member at Commonfund
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Shabazi is a seasoned investment executive with a 35-year track record of raising assets, building and managing high-performance marketing and client service teams, developing business, maintaining key client and consultant relationships, and overseeing impressive growth and return on investment.
Paula Volent
Rockefeller University
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Volent joined Rockefeller as chief investment officer after two decades overseeing the endowment of Bowdoin College, which grew from $465 million to $1.8 billion during her tenure. She previously worked in the Yale Investments Office under the leadership of former chief investment officer David Swensen, starting as an intern while a student at Yale SOM.
Xinchen Wang
Yale Investments Office
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Wang is the director of the Yale Investments Office. She joined the office in 2009 and focuses on the university endowment’s developed equities and emerging equities portfolios. Wang graduated from Yale College in 2009 with a BA in economics and mathematics.
STEM Classification
Our STEM-eligible Master’s in Asset Management degree will train future generations of asset managers to find data-driven solutions to real-world problems, while maintaining high ethical and moral standards in the exercise of their fiduciary responsibility.
As a STEM designated degree program, the Master’s in Asset Management program qualifies for the 24-month STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension.
Enrollment in a STEM field is the first qualification in a series of eligibility criteria for the STEM OPT extension. Further information about eligibility and requirements for the extension is available on the Department of Homeland Security website and through Yale’s Office of International Students and Scholars.
