I’m not a financial advisor; nothing I write in Superpowers for Good should be considered investment advice. You should seek appropriate counsel before making investment decisions.
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Devin: What do you see as your superpower?
Angela: I have the ability to create healing spaces for both investors and my colleagues here at Revalue and elsewhere around the industry.
In a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, called Ypsilanti, Angela Barbash, the CEO of Revalue, a registered investment advisory firm, is quietly helping hundreds of investors take the journey from Wall Street to Main Street–with their money. A decade in business now, the waiting list to join her client is as long as her current roster of clients.
Angela describes the practice this way:
Some people come to us, and they're excited about taking it all out of Wall Street, and they are trying to figure out how to do that effectively and efficiently. Some people come to us, and it's the first time they've ever heard that they can do this.
We are their gateway into this whole world. We can take them by the hand and take them step by step through the process of what this even looks like and how it is like or unlike other investments that they may have experienced in the past.
I think what's particularly unique about the work that we do is not only are we helping them learn and grow as investors and figure out what that path looks like, but we wrap the whole thing in financial planning work, giving them the confidence to take those actions so that they know how this piece relates to other goals that they have.
A critical part of her success is Angela’s ability to create healing spaces for her clients and colleagues.
Learn more about her superpower below the AI Episode Summary.
AI Episode Summary
Angela Barbash is the founder and CEO of Revalue, a registered investment advisory firm that focuses on helping investors of all income levels invest in crowdfunding and local investment strategies.
Revalue works to educate investors and guide them through the process of divesting from Wall Street and investing in Main Street.
They provide education through an intro to community investing course that helps investors understand the terminology and concepts involved in local investing.
Revalue also offers financial planning and personal guidance to help investors determine how much they can invest and how to diversify their investments.
They categorize community investments into community equity, real estate, CDFI notes, community fixed income, and personal loans.
Revalue primarily focuses on community funds but also allows clients to submit research requests for investments in their local area.
Angela's superpowers are creating healing spaces for investors and colleagues and being willing to go out on a limb and lead change in the industry.
She creates healing spaces by being vulnerable, sharing her own story, and allowing clients to express their pain and experiences.
Angela emphasizes that creating a healing space starts with having empathy for ourselves and engaging in practices that promote self-healing and self-reflection.
To learn more about Revalue and connect with Angela, visit the Revalue Investing website. They are not active on social media.
How to Develop Creation of Healing Spaces As a Superpower
Angela shared with us how she sees her ability to create healing spaces has allowed her to accomplish her work:
It is not uncommon for me to experience and, therefore, other people on our team here at Revalue to experience this because they've learned from my work or learned the ways that I've done things. It's not uncommon for us to experience an initial meeting with a potential client.
This is a half-hour call where that person breaks down in tears halfway through the call. I think that this is such a stark example of the power that healing spaces can give to someone else who is just thirsty for a space where they can come in and be themselves and be acknowledged for how this whole economic system has harmed them and harmed others that they love.
So, that's an example of how–it's hard to convey–how I do that. But coming to the table with vulnerability, being willing to share my own story of economic struggle and my family's backstories of poverty and things like that, being willing to share those things and level setting with somebody right when they walk in the door is powerful and not a lot of people do that.
So that's one outcome I can point to. Often, those people then become our clients to the degree that we are now closed for new business because we have almost 200 people in our community, our client community at this point. So, we're doing measured growth to make sure that the community doesn't outgrow our ability to serve them.
It is hard to imagine a level of success in a financial planning firm that requires people to wait for access. That is a surprising level of growth potential for any industry.
Angela offers some tips for creating healing spaces. Fundamentally, she says you have to seek healing yourself so that you can be in a position to feel genuine empathy for others’ pain to help them heal, too.
By following Angela’s example and insights, you can make creating a healing space a skill. With practice, you may be able to develop a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Guest Profile
Angela Barbash (she/her):
CEO, Revalue
About Revalue: Revalue is a home for people passionate about cultivating an abundance mindset in service of community resilience and future generations. We are financial navigators, connecting people to their purpose by crafting values-aligned financial plans and creative educational programming in partnership with those we serve. We are redefining wealth, for good.
Website: revalueinvesting.com
Twitter Handle: We have opted out of social media
Biographical Information: Angela is a mom, anthropologist, entrepreneur, and an unabashed challenger of the status quo. She has dedicated 20 years in service as a values-driven investment advisor in the Metro Detroit region, including founding Revalue as a values-driven investment firm in 2013, and was one of the first to obtain the Chartered Sustainable Responsible Impact Investing Counselor (CSRIC) designation in the U.S. Angela has contributed countless hours to field building, public education, and infrastructure development to help build a more empathetic finance industry. You will often find her educating on the topics of financial resiliency, community capital, and conscious business management.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/angelabarbash
She Guides People on the Journey From Wall Street to Main Street