The competition, now in its second year, invites individuals or groups of up to three students to submit a scoped advice discussion paper in response to a hypothetical client case study.  The top five teams then took part in a Finals Day at AMP in Sydney yesterday.  

This year saw the number of submissions to the competition double, with a total of 57 compared to 24 last year.  The number of students that took part increased from 42 in 2011 to 112 in 2012. 

The winning team, which comprised Nathan Nicolaou and Andrew Cavaggion, was awarded the top prize by AMP Financial Services Managing Director Craig Meller at a reception at AMP last night.  

“The AMP University Challenge has taught me a lot about where financial planning is headed and how it is evolving. You get a real sense that the changes taking place are leading to a shift from financial planners being seen as service providers to becoming a fully recognised and embraced profession.  It’s an exciting time to be involved,” said Nathan Nicolaou, a member of the winning team. 

First prize was $5,000 cash for the winning team to share, along with registration to attend the AMP Planner Conference in Brisbane and a two-day internship with the Financial Review.  La Trobe University also received a $10,000 donation to put towards financial planning initiatives. 

Two separate teams from La Trobe University also won second and third prizes respectively, which were $2,500 and $1,000 cash. 

AMP Horizons Director Tim Steele congratulated the winning team, explaining that the response to the competition, now in its second year, has exceeded expectations. 

“The student response to the AMP University Challenge has been overwhelming with the uptake more than doubling in 2012.  Students across the country have really embraced this unique opportunity to find out first-hand what it’s like to be a financial planner,” Mr Steele said.  

“The students that took part in the inaugural AMP University Challenge last year set a high benchmark, but the 2012 finalists have certainly risen to the challenge. Our aspiration is that more university students will consider financial planning as an exciting and rewarding career path, having found out through experience the difference it can make in people’s lives,” Mr Steele added. 

Students from all the Australian mainland states took part, with Victorians accounting for 75% of overall submissions.  La Trobe University accounted for 57% of submissions as the Challenge is an integrated part of the curriculum and assessment for the final year subject forming the financial planning major.  Deakin University accounted for 11 per cent of submissions, followed by Australian National University (5%).  

The AMP University Challenge aims to enhance financial planning professional standards by increasing awareness of the profession amongst universities and students. It was supported by the Australian Financial Review, IFA Investor Daily and Money Management who generously donated some of the prizes. The competition was also championed by the Financial Planning Association and the Financial Planning Academics Forum. 

AMP Horizons recently launched another university initiative – partnering with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to provide eligible graduates of the Horizons Professional Year Program with the opportunity to gain academic credit towards a Graduate Diploma or Masters qualification in financial planning at the UNSW’s Australian School of Business (ASB).

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