Tepper School of Business, HEC Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute Launch Dual Degree Executive MBA Program in Asset and Wealth Management

PITTSBURGH, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University announced today that it will offer an innovative Executive MBA (EMBA) program in Asset and Wealth Management in conjunction with HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne and the Swiss Finance Institute. The internationally focused dual degree program is designed for private and institutional investment managers, private banking relationship managers and other investment professionals.

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Graduates of this new program will receive an Executive MBA Degree in Asset and Wealth Management from the Tepper School of Business and an Executive MBA Degree in Asset and Wealth Management from HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne.

"This program brings together two world-class research institutions and presents a unique opportunity for professionals working in the area of asset and wealth management," said Kenneth Dunn, dean, Tepper School of Business. "The faculty will include some of the world's premier finance professors, researchers and practitioners. Graduates of this program will have earned prestigious professional credentials of the highest level in this field."

The degree program has been designed toward meeting the requirements for multifaceted asset and wealth management professionals within the global marketplace, a need that has been highlighted by challenging economic conditions.

"Current economic conditions have made it clear that asset management professionals require a solid understanding of the principles of finance and investment as well as the application of fundamental models in order to make sound decisions," said Ilker Baybars, deputy dean and professor of operations management, Tepper School of Business. "This new dual-degree program will include a focus on the practical tools vital for professional wealth managers in providing their clients with the most reliable and profitable advice."

Burton Hollifield, Professor of Finance at the Tepper School of Business, underscored the importance of advanced credentials for asset and wealth managers today, given rapid evolution of financial markets and intensified client demands for credible portfolio management based on proven analytical techniques.

"This interdisciplinary master's degree program offered by the Tepper School of Business and its partners will achieve two key objectives," said Hollifield. "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 field. This program will also equip participants with the managerial tools necessary to assume a leadership role by exploring how to best translate new knowledge into practice in the information-intensive financial services industry."

The dual-degree program will be spread over 20 months and will involve six two-week classroom modules based alternately at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne. Expected to attract investment professionals from around the world, the inaugural class begins in May 2011.  Application materials and additional program information are available online at: www.awemba.org

About the Tepper School of Business: Founded in 1949, the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon (www.tepper.cmu.edu) is a pioneer in the field of management science and analytical decision making. The School's notable contributions to the intellectual community include seven Nobel laureates, a record that is unsurpassed by any business school worldwide. It is also ranked among the schools with the highest rate of academic citations in the fields of finance, operations research, organizational behavior and operations/production. The academic offerings of the Tepper School of Business include undergraduate studies in business and economics, graduate studies in business administration and financial engineering, and doctoral studies.

About the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI): Created in 2006 by the Swiss Banks, the Swiss Stock Exchange, six leading Swiss Universities and the Swiss Federal Government, the SFI (www.SwissFinanceInstitute.ch) is a unique undertaking merging the experience of a centuries old financial center with the innovative drive of a frontier research institution. Its goal is to change research and teaching landscape in areas relevant to banks and financial institutions. With 50 full time professors and over 100 PhD students, the Swiss Finance Institute represents the premier concentration of expertise in banking and finance across the European Continent.

About HEC Lausanne: For close to a century, excellence and consistency have been the watchwords of HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland (www.hec.unil.ch). Following in the footsteps of its renowned economists, Walras and Pareto, the faculty maintains its research and teaching in the field of business and economics at the very highest level. It was first place in Switzerland in the University of Texas at Dallas ranking and ninth in Europe. This ranking is based on the excellence of academic publications. The mission of HEC Lausanne is to train the managers of tomorrow, offering them programs based on high level research and the values of excellence, internationalism and professionalism. With its modern campus on the shores of Lake Geneva, HEC Lausanne is situated in a region at the heart of Europe.

SOURCE Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon