Most of the time, we spot a rather good correlation between a student’s academic results and their reading frequency of the FT.
Head of MSc Financial Markets & Investments, SKEMA Business School
Maintaining an international outlook
Leading international business school SKEMA was founded in 2009 with the merger of two French schools, ESC Lille and CERAM Business School. Ranked 25th globally in the Financial Times top business schools (2015), it has over 7,200 students and six campuses worldwide.
Head of MSc Financial Markets and Investments, Amaury Goguel, believes that a key to success in the market finance workplace is learning to interpret events and developing a deep understanding of global markets.
He is keen to embed these goals in his classes from the outset. “We start the year by quoting Richard Yamarone’s comment that ‘investing without understanding the economy is like planning a beach trip without checking the forecast’.”
Proven tool to boost performance
To help students achieve these goals, Amaury Goguel encourages regular reading and monitoring of global financial news through the Financial Times, which which is likely to lead to better results.
Among the top 20 FT readers (those with the highest reading frequency), 75% are ranked in the first half of the cohort based on their global full year average. Conversely, 35% of students with the lowest FT reading frequency were ranked in the last quarter of the cohort. (*based on SKEMA’s official empirical data and analysis from student reading and performance over the quarters).
Reading the FT more frequently indicates that it might lead to better academic performance. As well as developing the global perspective that’s vital in today’s environment, they get a real insight into how their course principles work in the context of business realities, in a range of economies and markets. This not only helps them succeed academically, but also gives them an edge in the employment market.
Using the FT as part of a Professional Subscription on a daily basis during my MSc year at SKEMA has proved to be very powerful. It provides you with everything you need to acquire a good culture of both the financial markets and the key forces which shape the daily news. It gives me more granularity regarding financial assets and market deals, something definitely helpful when coming to an interview.
SKEMA Business School Student
Flexible, customised access
Another benefit of the school’s Professional Subscription is the flexibility of access, which is conducive to regular FT reading as recommended by staff. The students, most of whom belong to the millennial generation, value being able to access the FT on any device – as they travel to the school, in class, at home and during internships..
Professors and SKEMA managers can also set up tailored email alerts for students. By customising their individual needs and area of interest, it’s an effortless way to stay on top of relevant news and information as it’s published. An FT Professional Subscription has given SKEMA powerful financial intelligence that puts staff on the front foot in terms of practical teaching and improves the commercial awareness of students. SKEMA results also indicate that it might lead to better results. By adopting the habit of reading the FT, students develop a strong understanding of global markets and are well placed to succeed in the market.
Key FT content and tools used
With an FT Professional Subscription, students and faculty have direct access to the FT's award-winning content and suite of learning tools.
Interactive charts
Amaury Goguel describes the interactive charts as “a tremendously powerful tool. When I’m teaching a course on airlines for instance, I show the chart about EasyJet stock evolution. At each noteworthy point of the chart, I can select the associated FT articles released at that period. In order to work on a better interpretation of markets, there is nothing better than being able to see, ex-post, how a stock has evolved with a fitted article released meanwhile.“
Lex
The Lex Column is a market-moving business and finance column, providing impartial analysis and expert comment of corporate and market activity, helping investors to spot risks and opportunities and to make better decisions. SKEMA finds it useful for its “clear explanation, quality analysis and associated articles, which are widely used within the classroom and online.”
Global macro-maps
“The global macro-maps give us a snapshot of all worldwide market indices and currencies. There isn’t a faster way to get a view of world markets power relationships.” Professor Amaury Goguel, Head of MSc Financial Markets & Investments, SKEMA Business School
Lexicon
“The global macro-maps give us a snapshot of all worldwide market indices and currencies. There isn’t a faster way to get a view of world markets power relationships.” Professor Amaury Goguel, Head of MSc Financial Markets & Investments, SKEMA Business School
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