Clive Moyo admits he found it daunting competing against the best students in the country at last year’s AMP University Challenge Finals.

The TAFE NSW student was carrying the hopes of his teachers and fellow students. It was the first time a team from TAFE had been selected for the Finals, held at AMP’s headquarters in Sydney.

While Clive’s team was not the eventual winner – they placed fourth - the experience was pivotal for his career and led to him landing a role in the AMP Customer Engagement Team.

“I have always wanted to be a financial planner but the experience made me really want to work at AMP,” says Clive, who graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Finance, majoring in financial planning.

“It was a really collaborative and supportive environment. The people I met were very encouraging.”

With Semester 2 of the 2018 University Challenge opening this week, Clive is encouraging any tertiary student with an interest in finance or financial advice to give the competition a go.

The Challenge is the ultimate contest for those with career ambitions in financial advice and financial services.

Competitors receive a hypothetical client case study, for which they will have to devise a financial plan to impress the judges.

The teams or individuals with the best responses will be chosen to compete at Finals Day in October.

Finalists will be flown in from around the country for an intense day of technical quizzes, role playing and public speaking. First prize includes $5,000.

Clive’s advice for competitors is to understand that there is never one perfect answer and to work as a team.

“You need to use your team to workshop different strategies for the client,” Clive explains.

“Everything comes down to what the client is able to realistically do in their circumstances and whether the advice is in their best interests.

“It could be that what’s best for the client is to delay one of their goals, so you’ve got to show that you’ve considered different strategies and what the risks are of each one.”

Now in its eighth year, the AMP University Challenge is a key pillar of AMP’s strategy to support high standards of education and professionalism in financial advice.

The competition is open to all full or part time Australian tertiary students. Enter at www.ampuniversitychallenge.com.au.