With one month left until the 9 September deadline for entries, the AMP University Challenge is set to be a fierce competition with 119 teams – 171 participants in total – already registered to take part.
The AMP University Challenge is an Australian-first financial planning competition open to students from Australia’s 38 universities who want to gain practical professional experience.*
AMP Director of Horizons Academy Tim Steele said he was delighted with students’ response to the competition so far.
“It’s great to see the AMP University Challenge has been so well received by students in its inaugural year. It’s a strong sign that students are interested in finding out what it’s like to be a financial planner and the benefits financial advice can provide to clients.
“We’re looking forward to seeing more registrations and the actual submissions as, ultimately, we’re hoping to find the next generation of financial planners,” Mr Steele said.
So far, universities from all Australian mainland states have had students register. The University of Melbourne has the largest number of student registrations at present with 54 students registered. The University of Western Sydney has the second highest number with 17 registrations, followed by Griffith University (Queensland) and Monash University (Victoria), both with 15 registrations.
The competition opened on 25 July. Individuals or groups of up to three students are asked to respond to a hypothetical client case study by preparing a short scoped advice discussion paper by 9 September. The top five teams will be notified on 30 September and will be invited to attend a finals event in Sydney on 19 October. This will involve a technical quiz and live client role play presentation, judged by a panel of industry experts and financial planners.
First prize for the AMP University Challenge is a $5,000 AMP bank account for the winning team, along with:
- A $10,000 grant for the winning team’s university to put towards financial planning programs
- Free student attendance to the 2011 FPA National Conference for each team member
- Free FPA student membership status for one year for each team member
- Registration to attend the 2012 AMP Planner Conference for each team member.
Second and third prizes are $2,500 and $1,000 AMP Bank Accounts along with free FPA student membership for a year. The competition is supported by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and Financial Planning Academics Forum2. It aims to enhance financial planning professional standards by increasing awareness of the profession with universities and students.
To find out more or enter the AMP University Challenge, please visit www.universitychallenge.com.au
*Students that enter must not already be Authorised Representatives of financial planning practices.