News

William Paterson University Financial Planning Students Win First Place Award at National Conference in California

Students Michael Cerone, Giuseppe Roveccio, and Alex Vaccarella chalk up another big win for the University's financial planning program

Keeping up William Paterson University’s stellar reputation for taking top prize at financial planning competitions, three William Paterson seniors won the overall first place award at the FASTech Cup competition held at the 9^th Annual Technology Tools for Today Conference in Anaheim, California last week.

William Paterson team members Michael Cerone of Ringwood, Giuseppe Roveccio of Pompton Plains, and Alex Vaccarella of Kinnelon won top prize at the competition, earning a $5,000 scholarship for the University as well as a traveling cup (similar to hockey’s Stanley Cup) that will be passed to the next winning university.

As part of the competition, the students created a financial plan for a hypothetical client, created a website for a financial planning firm, and participated in a Quiz Bowl to demonstrate their financial planning knowledge. William Paterson’s team also won the Quiz Bowl competition, and each student received an iPad Air for taking first place.

William Paterson’s team competed with students from Clarion, San Diego State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Utah Valley, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Since 2009, students from William Paterson University’s financial planning program have garnered top awards in a number of national competitions.

In November 2013, William Paterson’s financial planning program was rated one of the top financial planning programs in the United States by Financial Planning Magazine for the third consecutive year.

Technology Tools for Today hosts two conferences annually to provide financial advisers and executives of financial institutions a place to learn about new technology offerings and the opportunity to shape future technological developments by speaking directly to industry leading and startup developers. This was their first competition, designed to encourage and highlight students’ planning and technology skills.