The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), the Academy of Financial Services, Ameriprise Financial and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) are pleased to host the 2011 Financial Planning Challenge. The Financial Planning Challenge has been created to support the next generation of financial planners by: engaging students and program directors in the financial planning community; raising awareness of career opportunities; and encouraging learning and networking in the financial planning profession. This year's Financial Planning Challenge will illustrate potential avenues for satisfying the oral and written components of the CFP Board Financial Plan Development Course requirement to both students and faculty.
This distinctive competition is designed exclusively for undergraduate degree programs registered with the CFP Board of Standards, or related fields of study. In this challenge, teams compete to advance through three phases:
- Financial Planning Case Study (Written)
- Financial Planning Case Study Presentation (Oral)
- "How Do You Know Challenge", a trivia-style financial planning knowledge contest
In the first phase of the competition all student teams will be given profiles for two hypothetical clients and must prepare a complete financial plan.
After the first phase is judged and awarded, the top nine teams will advance to the next phases of the competition to be held in conjunction with FPA Experience 2011 in San Diego, California from September 14-17, 2011. All teams must orally present their case studies to a panel of judges and participate in the "How Do You Know Challenge."
The top three winning teams will receive the following amounts of scholarship money for their school:
- 1st Place Team: $10,000
- 2nd Place Team: $5,000
- 3rd Place Team: $1,000
Additionally, the first place team will receive the Career Coach Award which will provide each team member a complimentary one-hour career coaching session from a financial planning expert.
Judges will be selected by each Presenting organization and will be assessing student teams from both the in-person and virtual venues, demonstrating the CFP Board Financial Plan Development Course requirement.
Additional Information and Resources
Top nine teams advancing to Phases 2 and 3 in San Diego:
- Fort Hays
- University of Georgia
- Kansas State
- Metro State College of Denver
- Missouri
- Texas Tech
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- William Paterson A
- William Paterson B
