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Ethan Farar, left, and Austin Kunzler pose in this undated photo at Utah State University.

Emmy Bell, UVU Communications

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Ethan Farar, far left, Austin Kunzler, center, and financial planning professor Luke Dean pose in this undated photo at Utah State University.

Emmy Bell, UVU Communications

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Financial planning is key to future success, and Utah Valley University business students were among the best at it. Student teams from the UVU business school’s personal financial planning program won first and third place at the 2023 International Association of Registered Financial Consultants National Financial Plan Case Study Competition. Ethan Farar and Austin Kunzler won first place and Josh Bell and Layton Adler earned third place.

“The IARFC planning competition provides a great opportunity to practice real-life scenarios and receive feedback from professionals who care,” Farar said.

The competition is rigorous and tests students on principles of financial planning, wealth management and personal finance. Participants also have to submit a case study, with the winner’s study being published in the Journal of Personal Finance.

Farar and Kunzler also received a monetary prize and could choose between a year-long membership with the company or Registered Financial Associate designation. They expressed their gratitude for the opportunities the competition provides to use their skills, develop them and network with current professionals.

“Over the past six months, we put in a lot of time and effort into developing tailored solutions for our mock clients,” Farar said. “It has been a major learning and growing experience for me, and I’m excited to bring the same passion and care to my future clients.”

UVU financial planning students also won the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education Knowledge Bowl and the 2022 Financial Planning Challenge, hosted by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Ameriprise Financial and the Financial Planning Association.

UVU business school professor Luke Dean shared his appreciation for how the competition helps students learn more about financial planning and to grow as professionals.

“I feel the competition adds a challenging component to Financial Planning Program by providing students an opportunity to address real-world client case scenarios,” Dean said. “The competition is a huge value added to our curriculum as well as our students’ knowledge and experience base. Many thanks to the competition sponsors and the association for facilitating this annual event.”