Grace Y. Lau, CFA, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, President
glau@pacwestfn.com
Education: Chartered Financial Analyst
Honor Graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School
MBA International Business & Finance, George Washington University
BS, Biology and Chemistry, University of Wisconsin
Investment Experience: Since 1976
Grace Y. Lau is the chief executive officer and co-founder of PacWest Financial Management Inc., a registered investment advisory firm specializing in managing assets for high net worth individuals and select institutions.
From 1996 to 1997, Grace was a Managing Director of Barclays International Private Banking, responsible for business development, asset management and lending in the Western Region of the United States. Prior to her affiliation with Barclays, she was the Director of Private Asset Management at First Interstate Capital Management, specializing in portfolio management of high net worth individuals. She was also a senior portfolio manager at Northern Trust of Arizona, an international rating officer at Standard and Poor’s and a fixed income analyst with Riggs National Bank. In her previous employments, Grace managed money market and government common trust funds, assets of pension funds, foundations and high net worth individuals, totaling over $1 billion. Asset classes included cash equivalents, stocks and various types of fixed income securities.
As an active member of the community, Grace has served as the Chairman of the City of Phoenix Deferred Compensation Board, the President of the Phoenix Chartered Financial Analysts Society, chairman of Himeji Sister City Commission, the Vice-Chairman of the Investment Advisory Council of the Arizona State Retirement System, and a trustee for the Arizona Educational Foundation. She is also the Founder and President of the Arizona Asian Parents Association. She is a current trustee of the Arizona Community Foundation and the City of Phoenix Firefighters #493 EB Trust Fund.
Carter A. Pearl, CFA, MBA
Senior Portfolio Manager, Research Analyst
cpearl@pacwestfn.com
Education: Chartered Financial Analyst
Financial Analysts Seminars- Northwestern University
MBA, Accounting & Finance, Arizona State University
BS, Finance, Arizona State University
Investment Experience: Since 1983
Carter A. Pearl, CFA is a portfolio manager and research analyst for PacWest Financial Management Inc., a registered investment advisory firm specializing in managing assets for high net worth individuals and select institutions. PacWest’s assets under management total more than $200 million. Many of Arizona’s leading estate planners and CPA’s refer their clients to PacWest and Pearl.
In a career spanning more than twenty- five years, Mr. Pearl has run his own firm, Pearl Capital Management, where he managed over $40 million in equity and fixed income accounts and also provided consulting services to one of Phoenix’ most successful entrepreneurs and merchant bankers. He also has provided independent company analysis for both valuation and operational purposes. Prior to Pearl Capital, he managed investment accounts at Peacock, Hislop, Staley & Given, where he also authored numerous research reports and assisted investment-banking operations. At First Interstate Trust Investments, Mr. Pearl served as Trust Portfolio Manager overseeing more than 300 accounts with combined assets in excess of $120 million and generating investment ideas for their equity portfolios of approximately $1 billion. He was elected to the Board of the Phoenix Society of Financial Analysts and has been a member of the CFA Institute since 1990.
Within the community, Mr. Pearl sits on the Finance and Investment Committee of the Catholic Community Foundation and the Investment Management Committee of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. He is the Treasurer of the Paradise Valley Estate Planning Group and is the Past President of the Serra Club, a group that supports religious vocations. Mr. Pearl enjoys spending time with his family and coaching his children’s sports teams. Church activities, exercise, reading and golf are enjoyable diversions for him.
Elliot C. Kauffman, CFA, MBA
Senior Portfolio Manager
ekauffman@pacwestfn.com
Education: Chartered Financial Analyst
Certified Public Accountant, 1992 – 1994
MBA, Finance–Investments, Drexel University
BS, Accounting & Finance, Trenton State College
Investment Experience: Since 1994
Elliot C. Kauffman is a portfolio manager and research analyst for PacWest.
With over 15 years of experiences in investment research and portfolio management, in his previous employments, Elliot was an investment analyst for Madison Scottsdale, an investment advisory firm specializing in equity and fixed income portfolios for insurance companies, an investment manager at Davidson Capital Management, an investment advisory firm specializing in equity investing for high net worth individuals, and an investment manager for Strategic Investment Services, an investment advisory firm specializing in global equity and fixed income investing for high net worth clients. Additionally, Elliot has traded financial futures and options as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) for qualified investors. Prior to the investment field, Elliot was an internal auditor for a Fortune 500 company, and a staff accountant for a large regional certified public accounting firm.
Elliot is a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the Phoenix Society of CFAs.
Daniel S. Flack, CFA, CFP®
Portfolio Manager, Financial Planner
dflack@pacwestfn.com
Education: Chartered Financial Analyst
Certified Financial Planner
BS, Systems Engineering, University of Arizona
Financial Experience: Since 2002
Daniel Flack joined PacWest Financial Management as a financial planner in August 2003.
Before PacWest, Dan worked as an industrial engineer at a Fortune 500 company for five years where he worked on projects to increase customer satisfaction and improve operational efficiencies. He attained the Six Sigma quality improvement certification during his time there. Dan brings the same customer focus, analytical thinking, attention to detail, and problem solving ability to his work at PacWest.
Dan’s passion is helping people with their finances and he has worked one-on-one with numerous individuals and families, assisting them in budgeting, financial planning, investing, and asset allocation. He is a member of the firm’s investment committee, which determines the overall strategy by which each client’s portfolio is managed. He is also a member of the CFA Institute and Phoenix CFA Society and is the treasurer for his church and regularly teaches a course on money management.
