Participants in the university student category say competing has been a valuable learning experience
One of the golden rules of financial planning is that you are never too young to start and the high standard of entries in the SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2007, university student category, shows that many young people in Hong Kong have already taken the principle to heart.
The competition invited teams of three or four to pit their wits against their peers and come up with a comprehensive written financial plan for a 'typical' family based on circumstances outlined in a carefully chosen case study.
Those who have made it to the second round next month will present their recommendations before a panel of judges and can hope to win prizes, including a HK$6,000 scholarship, and the chance to gain work experience with a top financial institution.
To be eligible, entrants had to be full-time undergraduates in the first or second year of finance or business-related courses in Hong Kong. And while the contest was primarily designed to give students a chance to understand the full financial planning process, it also allowed them to learn more about organisation and teamwork, to improve their communication skills, and to develop greater self-confidence.
Confirming this, Li Yangmiao, who is now a second-year student in the business and economics faculty at the University of Hong Kong, said her team had many reasons for competing. The most important was being able to put into practice some of the theories learned in the classroom.