Sustainable communities, regenerative agriculture, social justice, and alleviation of global poverty
Our job together is nothing short of transforming the global economic system. As your advisor I am committed to finding the most powerful and effective ways to both build wealth and create the kind of positive change we most want to see in the world.
I am a Certified Private Wealth Advisor® professional – a designation for advisors with specialized expertise in the financial planning and wealth management needs of high net worth investors across the life cycle of wealth: accumulation, preservation and distribution. The CPWA® is administered by the Investments and Wealth Institute® in conjunction with the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Services | Portfolio Management and Financial Planning ($5 million minimum)
Location | Hawaii & Oregon – Serving clients nationwide
Phone | 877-424-2140
I have been a licensed, fee only, Financial Advisor with Natural Investments since 2009, and became a partner in the firm in early 2017, and currently serve as a Trust Steward. A lifelong advocate for social change, I am driven by a passion for finding innovative approaches to bringing people and resources together to address social and environmental imperatives. Socially Responsible Investing can be a vital tool in the movement to create a sustainable future. As a Wealth Advisor at Natural Investments, I provide portfolio management and financial planning for a small group of high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions across the country that want to use their wealth as a tool to transform society and economic systems using humane, restorative, and ecological principles as the guide. I specialize in Regenerative Investing, which is investment that directly supports the regenerative capacity of communities and ecosystems. From microfinance to sustainable agriculture, worker-owned cooperatives to renewable energy, I love helping my mission-driven clients connect with investments that align with their deepest values and create positive change in the world. We will work together to build a strong, diversified portfolio that meets your unique set of financial and values-based goals. With specialized expertise in the often complex financial planning needs of high-net-worth investors, I also provide guidance and support in planning for trusts, charitable giving, estate transfers, tax management, and addressing family dynamics related to wealth.
My Team
To better assist my clients and our mission, I have built an in-house team to support and grow my efforts. Kulu Maphalala, my Junior Advisor and daughter, has brought her passion for social, political, and financial justice to my advising work. She works directly with clients at all stages of our advising process and manages the team’s public investing. Keahi Kaheiki is my Client Services Administrator and holds a Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ designation. She provides administrative support, works directly with clients, and manages the team’s investment process for private and community investments.
Keahi was born and raised in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii and has a long history of working in the community as an Office Administrator in the public schools system. Keahi was drawn to Natural Investments because of her deep commitment to social and environmental responsibility and a desire to make a greater impact in the world for future generations. She believes her work helps to facilitate greater access to ESG-minded investing. Since joining my team in 2021, Keahi has become an integral part of every aspect of my client relationships and office operations.
My Story
Born in southern Africa, I spent my early childhood in Swaziland and Botswana before moving to the United States when I was seven. I am a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands where, in 1991, I received a BA with High Honors in Fine Art and Ethnic Studies. The Johnston Center’s experientially based, alternative learning environment fostered a lifelong love for adventure, community, and exploration of the “roads less traveled.” During my undergraduate years, I spent an eye-opening six months in Nigeria with the School for International Training, where I undertook an in-depth study of the economic and lifestyle shifts felt by a traditional nomadic cattle herding culture as they transitioned to an agriculturally-based life. It was here I was first exposed to the promise of Permaculture, an approach to agricultural and social systems design that mimics natural ecosystem patterns. These principles, practical yet visionary, deeply impacted me and have informed my life’s work and decision making to this day. After college, I spent sixteen years in the non-profit sector as an independent consultant providing administrative, development, and program management services for socially driven organizations in Hawaii and Oregon. Based primarily in the rural and economically deprived community of East Hawaii, I was deeply engaged in bringing resources together to create more opportunity for at-risk youth and their families. I was also a co-founder and ten year member of an intentional community focused on alternative social systems based on cooperative parenting, shared economics, and sustainable agriculture. The community, centered on 40+ acres of fruit trees, pasture, and undeveloped forest, employs Permaculture principles and relies on solar power for energy. We launched a non-profit organization, Dragon’s Eye Learning Center, that has provided ongoing programming in the arts, alternative education, and sustainable agriculture from this farm-based site since 2001. After transitioning to the field of finance, I first served as the Business Manager for a private investment firm specializing in foreign currency trading, where I worked directly with high net-worth investors and developed and implemented fiscal tracking systems for the firm. An important aspect of my work included helping the firm establish a policy of committing a portion of profits for social good. Today, I maintain Natural Investments offices in Portland, Oregon and East Hawaii, as well as serve in an advisory capacity to Envest Microfinance Cooperative, a fund supporting microfinance institutions in developing countries.
I am also a board member at Iroquois Valley Farms, an organic farmland finance company. Malaika observing two of her pigs foraging in the undergrowthI live full-time on the Big Island of Hawaii, my home for over twenty years now, where my husband and I tend and enjoy our beloved rural, solar-powered, organic homestead. When I’m not in my office, you’ll often find me in my garden, hanging out with the farm animals, or camping on one of Hawaii’s beautiful beaches with friends and family. Please reach out by phone or email if you’d like to set up a free initial consultation. I look forward to learning about your situation and interests and seeing how I may be of service.