GP grads Neal, Pfaff qualify for nationals with finance team

Sean Neal and Miles Pfaff, Garfield-Palouse High School grads who are now seniors at WSU, were members of a first-place WSU finance team which competed Feb. 21 in Spokane against four other universities in a business report and presentation event.

The CFA Research Institute Challenge required teams to complete a detailed report and 10-minute presentation on a selected company and communicate their findings. This year’s company was Sterling Savings Bank and teams were required to look at Sterling’s business structure, financial records, and risks to create a buy/sell recommendation based on their valuation.

Gene Lai, chair of the finance department at Washington State, is the team adviser and other team members include Paige Blaser, Patrick Kelly, and Eric Meyers.

Other teams in the competition included Gonzaga and Whitworth, both of which included MBA students, and two Montana universities. Neal and Pfaff will now proceed to the national competition in New York City in early April to compete against teams from around the country.