161031-university-challenge

Team MDM – L to R: Daniel Petrov, Megan Cull and Mitchell Bogdanov. Photo by Matt Fatches

A team representing Deakin University has beaten a high-quality field of finalists in the 2016 AMP University Challenge to claim first place and a prize of $5000, plus textbooks, magazine subscriptions and a student membership each of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Megan Cull, Daniel Petrov and Mitchell Bogdanov, playing as Team MDM, pipped another team from Deakin University and teams from the University of Sydney, Monash University and the University of Wollongong.

This year’s challenge attracted more than 680 entrants, who were whittled down through a series of assignments and tests to 181 individuals in 85 teams, before five teams were selected to take part in the full-day final at AMP’s headquarters in Sydney on Friday last week.

The finalists participated in a test of knowledge, modelled on the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show format; role-played the presentation of a statement of advice (SoA) in a client meeting; presented a paper requiring them to imagine it was 2021 and to look back and analyse the factors that had led to the penetration of financial planning rising from 20 per cent of the adult population to 80 per cent; and took part in professional development and training sessions with coaches appointed to them by AMP.

The performance of the teams in the client meeting and speech presentation was assessed by a panel led by Griffith University Professor of Finance Dr Mark Brimble and comprised of FPA chief executive Dante De Gori; Aspire Wealth Creation principal and wealth coach Lisa Barber; and Wealth Partners Financial Advisers principal and financial adviser Andrew Heaven.

Unusual situation

Brimble said the challenge presented students with an unusual situation “in terms of the pressure and the stress that we see on you, but you’ve acquitted yourselves very well”.

“We hope you take a lot from it – maybe not now, but certainly as you reflect later tonight and over the next few weeks,” he said.

Brimble said the winning team achieved the highest score in the role-play and displayed “an amazing amount of enthusiasm and energy in that particular part of the session – although it was detected by the judges that the student in question had been prepared very well by her father, who is also a financial planner”.

AMP’s head of education and capability development, Rod Edge, said the aim of the challenge was to test how the students apply skills and knowledge in unfamiliar situations.

“At 9.45am this morning I stood here and I reflect [now] on what we were chatting about,” Edge said.

“It was about being open to challenge, being open to [being] stretched, and using this experience as a first stage – or one of many stages – in your professional career. Certainly sitting as an observer I was very impressed.”

Feedback was direct

Edge acknowledged that feedback received by participants during the day was honest, and usually quite direct.

“Someone said to me feedback is a gift, but not all gifts come in neat packages,” Edge said.

“So I hope you’ve all deciphered the gift you’ve been given over the course of the day and you use that appropriately.”

AMP’s director of channel services, Michael Paff, said that over the course of the company’s six-year association with the challenge the number of students entering has increased each year “and the quality of the candidates continues to grow”.

“The only way to grow is to stretch, and I’m sure you’ve done that today,” Paff said.

2016 AMP University Challenge results

1. Team MDM

Deakin University
Megan Cull; Daniel Petrov; Mitchell Bogdanov
Coach: Eddie Curto, planner development coach, AMP

2. Abercrombie Financial

University of Sydney
Willkie Tan; Jack Dillon; Jason Ye
Coach: Tania Browne, advice experience consultant, AMP

3. Team Erika

University of Wollongong
Erika Wright
Coach: Gavin Morgan, planner development coach, AMP

4. R&C Wealth Management

Deakin University
Ruslan Temniuk; Zhaopeng Lin; Gavin Dyson
Coach: Vanessa Vu, planner development coach, AMP

5. Step Up

Monash University
Minming Chen; Denis Mytcak
Coach: Clint Adams, planner development coach, AMP

 

 

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