The US Chapter of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC®), has completed the 2022 National Financial Plan Competition recently held in Cincinnati, OH. Congratulations to Andrew Mathis and Sarah Chamberlain from Utah Valley University who have emerged as the First Place team.
The complete judging results:
- First Place: Andrew Mathis and Sarah Chamberlain
- Second Place: Brooke Gibson and Max Gledhill
- Third Place: Sam Jensen and Jakob Wagner
For over a decade, the IARFC has continued to invest in this nationwide event – thus supporting the future of the Financial Services industry. The Plan Competition prepares undergraduate students in a financial services curriculum for the real world of financial consulting by asking them to transform fictional family data into a reality based financial plan. The competition follows three stages: an initial scrutiny by professional consultants to reduce down the plan entries to 6 Semi-Finalists; a Semi-Finals stage that identifies the top three Finalists; and the Finals where the top teams present in person to the IARFC US Chapter Board Members for judging.
All the above teams this year were from the Utah Valley University Financial Planning Program. Professor Luke Dean, Ph.D., RFC® weighs in on the importance of his students participating in the process: “The Competition challenges my students to develop different skill sets…creating a financial plan, presenting it, and defending how and why they came up with the recommendations. It is also an opportunity for these undergrads to network with experienced consultants in the industry. The IARFC professionals are the kind of people that UVU wants influencing their students.”
The results were announced and awards distributed at the Thursday evening banquet dinner by representatives of Corporate Sponsors Barry Dayley, MRFC® of Money Concepts International and Robert Laraia, RFC® of Northstar Wealth Partners. Dayley who is on the IARFC Board of Trustees gave the keynote presentation that included savvy advice for the student’s upcoming careers. Most importantly he emphasized the impact they can have on the financial security of the people they serve.
Brad Maples Sr., MRFC®, the President of the US Chapter offered his thoughts. “Congratulations to Andrew and Sarah on taking top honors in the Plan Competition. It is a great accomplishment and one to be cherished. Hard work has made all the teams a winner – now and in their future endeavors.”
The US Chapter is appreciative of their Corporate Sponsors and the Individual Donors who invested in this year’s Competition. Their investment continues to support the philosophy of Loren Dunton, the “Father of Financial Planning”, that the role of a financial professional is indeed a very noble calling.
Complete information on the IARFC 2022 US Chapter National Financial Plan Competition can be found at https://www.iarfc.org/events/nfpc. The 2023 event is in the planning stages with the Chapter reaching out to educators and sponsors in the near future.
