VCU Business Students Finish 3rd in National Financial Planning Competition

By Tom Gresham

Students from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business finished in third place in the Financial Planning Challenge, a national competition for college financial planning students held in San Diego in September, earning $1,000 in scholarship funding for VCU.

The students were members of the VCU chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Team members included Soraya Harris, president of VCU’s FPA chapter; Joseph Stemmle, vice president; and LaTasha Evans, public relations director. John McFarland, who teaches financial planning at VCU, served as the team’s faculty adviser.

“The students did a great job throughout the competition,” McFarland said. “I think everyone was surprised that a first-time competitor placed so well, and the VCU team was the talk of the conference.  Now that we know how this works, we’re really looking forward to next year and plan to keep VCU’s name in financial planning’s national spotlight.”

In the competition’s first phase, teams from across the United States prepared complete financial plans for two hypothetical clients. Judges reviewed the plans and then selected nine top teams to invite to San Diego for the final two phases of the challenge. This year marked the first time that VCU had entered the competition.

The Financial Planning Challenge is designed for undergraduate degree programs registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards or related fields of study. Teams compete in three phases: a written financial planning case study, an oral financial planning case study presentation and a Jeopardy-style financial planning knowledge test. The VCU team received especially high scores in the oral presentation phase of the challenge.

Stemmle said the students received great feedback from judges and others at the event, picking up business cards and tips on internships and graduate school opportunities.

“It was a great opportunity for us to be in a national spotlight and to help the VCU program,” Stemmle said.

The Financial Planning Challenge is held in conjunction with FPA Experience, the annual conference of the financial planning community. Sponsors of the competition included the Financial Planning Association, the Academy of Financial Services, Ameriprise Financial and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.