Stay Tranquilo - From Venezuela to Miami: Anabella Murillo’s Immigration & Wealth Story

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

Buenos días, bonadillas! ☕🥐 Welcome back to Cafecito y Croquetas, brought to you by Stay Tranquilo and H&CO. Today we’re joined by Anabella Murillo—a Venezuela-born financial industry professional who shares an incredible story of resilience, reinvention, and building a life in the U.S. Anabella walks us through what Venezuela was like in the mid-2000s, how her family’s immigration journey unfolded, and what it really took to start over in Miami with “two suitcases and a dream.” From there, we get into the world she’s built over the last 18 years—working in the trust & estate / private wealth space and supporting ultra high net worth families with legacy planning, structure, and long-term strategy. This one is full of gems for anyone trying to level up financially and think ahead. In this episode we cover: Growing up in Venezuela + the realities of the early 2000s The immigration process + starting over in Miami Why she chose work over another degree during the 2008 financial crisis New York vs Miami vs San Francisco: what she learned in each city What “trusts” actually are (and why they matter for legacy + protection) The connection between money decisions and legal consequences Advice for the younger generation: being proactive, learning money early, and building the right circles Why Miami is still just getting started—and why it’s the “Magic City” If you enjoyed this conversation, drop a comment: What’s one money lesson you wish you learned earlier? 👇 👍 Like, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this one. 📌 Stay Tranquilo. #CafecitoYCroquetas #StayTranquilo #HCO #Miami #Venezuela #ImmigrantStory #WealthPlanning #TrustsAndEstates #FinancialLiteracy #LatinosInFinance   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning. Buenos days. Welcome back to another episode of Cafecito and Croqueta is brought to you by Stay Tranquilo and Achenco. Today, we are joined by Annabella Murillo. I don't know exactly your full story. So I want to definitely use today to be able to tell your story, talk about your experience in the space. But thank you so much for being here. Thank you Kat for making the introduction, as always. And thank you to our partners over at H&CO. So Anabella, please that Mike is yours. Tell us for us. where you're from, a little bit about yourself. Absolutely. Thank you so much, and thank you, Kat, also for connecting me with Andre and stay tranquillo here at a podcast. Well, so I was born and raised in Venezuela, so I grew up there, like normal, tropical, Caribbean girl, and I moved to the States about 18 years ago. So when I graduated at high school, then I went to law school there, and I just started working in the tax industry down in Venezuela. But in 2007, the situation got a little bit complicated, as we know, and my family decided to move to the states. So by 2008, I was already here in

Miami, starting probably like a new career, like something. I had no clue what I was going to do, but it turned out that I started in this, you know, tax, trust industry, financial industry, and I've been there for the past 18 years. That's amazing. And I definitely want to touch on that, right? Kind of your experience in that space, I feel like there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to that. But before that, I do want to kind of touch on that transition from Venezuela to the states. In 2007, 2008, obviously, like you mentioned, things already were transitioning, right? And now, obviously, a lot has happened in the last, you know, month or so, you know, specifically here between us and Venezuela and just globally the impact that that occurred. But tell me a little bit

about that time, right? What was Venezuela like in early mid-2000s? And how was that process of being able to even make it into the United States because now it's that much more difficult to get here. Yes, it was difficult, to be honest. My family had moved to the States back in 1999. So my dad decided he was coming back to the U.S., he was trained here in the U.S. My brothers were born here in the U.S. in the 70s, so they basically went back to Venezuela, and I was born in Venezuela. Okay. So my dad had the opportunity to come back, and by 1999, when Chavez got elected, he's like,

I'm not staying. So everyone's like, what? Like, I'm staying, and I stayed. Wow. You know, I thought that I was going to, like, you know, fight for my country, go to law school and all these dreams you have when you're a student and everything, right? So my dad moved to Miami in 1999, and my mom also moved to, first to Washington, D.C., also in 1999. One of my brothers moved to L.A., and then I stayed with my oldest brother in Caracas. Wow. Two years passed, and he moved to the U.S. as well, so I stayed by myself in Caracas. Well, I was still going to law school and working, and that's it.

just stay there. So for me was pretty, it was actually, it was the opposite of everyone there. First of all, my family was here, not there, which is not, you know, it's not common in Venezuela. I like to leave alone by yourself and have not, not your family not being there for you, right? So that was difficult and it was different, right? My entire family was here, so I used to come a lot like on, you know, holidays and whatever, right? Even weekends, if I could, but it was difficult because I was all alone by myself. I had a couple, you know, family members, like some uncles and aunts, but that's it. In the end, everybody came to Miami during that process. So my aunt came, my cousins came, my uncle came.

So I was literally the only one in Venezuela. Insane. I know. It's crazy. I just think about it. I'm like, why? So it was a process because things were getting a little bit more complicated by every day. So, you know, lack of food and milk and things that you were not able to found. And then kidnapping was, you know, something. And then I was living by myself, which made me more vulnerable. So it was a little bit complicated.

So by 2007, my dad called me. He's like, hey, you're going to have a green card soon. Because because I was under 21, he did all the process while I was living in Venezuela. He was living in Miami. And because he was a U.S. green card holder at the moment, because of my brothers that were born in the U.S. He's like, I already did this process for you, whether you're like it or not. I'm like, okay, cool, let's do it. So he called me one day. He's like, hey, I'm becoming a U.S. citizen. Now your situation is going to change because you're not the daughter of a U.S. Green country. you're the daughter of a U.S. citizen. So that changed all my process and that actually that went really fast. Back in the days, you know, the situation was not like today, of course. And I think it worked. I mean, we still had an embassy in Caracas by that time. Afterwards, it closed, right? But so I, my dad's like, hey, you're going to have green card anytime soon. So you have to sit down and think. What are you going to do? I'm like, okay. So I did all my process. You have to do like lab work. A lot of things you have to do to become a green card holder. And they gave me my package.

in the embassy and I just did my first entrance in 2007 as a U.S. rank out order to Miami. They take you to a little room. You have to sign some documents. It's like your first official stamp in Miami as a U.S. person. Wow. That's incredible. And I think something interesting, obviously, one, it's difficult that your whole family leaves, right? And obviously you made a personal choice to stay in that process. But I think that's the interesting part, right? Yeah. That's your home, right? It's not that easy to just say. it's not. I want to leave, right?

Obviously, you understand maybe the political climate and things are changing, right? Like you mentioned limited resources. Those are obviously telltale signs to say, you know, maybe I should get out, but it's not that easy because that is your home, right? Your friends are there. Obviously, at that point for you, your family is already out, but you still have that element of, like, being home. Like, we were just talking offline.

You belong there. Right. You know, that's where you were born. That's what you breathe, that what you smell. It's like that's where you're from. Absolutely. It's difficult. just to, I literally pack my two bags and just left.

Yeah. And I left my apartment, everything there. And I just like two bags and that's it. I remember all my friends from law school, like took me to the airport, like at 6 a.m. in the morning. We literally party all night and we just went straight to the airport. And I remember myself with my carry on, like my, you know, that's it. I'm like, wow.

Like this is my life in just two suitcases. And just like that. And just like that. It's like from one moment to the next. Yeah, it's not easy. I think it's not easy for who lives a country. but I also think it's not easy for who stays in the country. Oh, absolutely.

I mean, both are tough decisions. Yes. Both are very tough decisions, to be honest. And I think it helped that your father was willing to. I know, absolutely. That's like probably the only reason I just came because my entire family was here. And I was, you know, very alone. Like I had a lot of things happen and I couldn't call anyone.

It's like, you know, things happen. And then, okay, who am I going to call? So I was, I realized like, no, I have to go. I have to go where my families. I have to follow them in a way. And then I'll figure it out through the process because you don't have everything figured out at 25, 36 years old, right? No, absolutely. So, yeah, I mean, we're still very important things out, right?

Exactly. So it's like at 24, you're like, oh, whatever, you know, what I'm going to do. But, yeah, I mean, I thought it was like the best thing to do. I had an opportunity to be here. Of course, when I got here, financial crisis, as we know. And then, well, yes, everything went down there. But, yeah, so it was a tough decision, but I think it was the best one. For sure. Definitely. I think now when you look back, I'm sure it's easier to sit with yourself.

And now it's funny because now I'm probably the lucky one because I have my entire family here. And then the rest of the people that came, they don't necessarily have their entire family here. Right. So when I was back in Venezuela, I was not the lucky one. I had no family members. Now I'm here and I have my entire family member. So it's like, wow, it's weird. It's an immigration story that it's not common. At all. As we know.

My girlfriend's family is from Columbia pretty much her. whole mom's side of the family is still in Colombia. Awela, prima, aunts, everybody's still over there. And, you know, they've thought about what does that transition, but it's not that easy. It's like, what are they going to come to do, right? Because then it's like, they're already older, right?

They have established a life over there. And Colombia is a little bit different, obviously, than the political climate than Venezuela. You know, what happens there. But the reality is when you've built your life somewhere, You could see the vision of maybe it being the right decision to leave to a place like America, but it's not, it's easier said than done, right? And you don't really know because some people come here and then

unfortunately for whatever reason, they may struggle, right? And then they want to go back home because it's what's comfortable and it's what they know. So it's like almost like picking and choosing what do you really want to deal with and you never know what's going to happen. Yeah. I mean, you can have something in your mind like, okay, I'm going to do this or do that. And guess what? Everything will change. Absolutely. And I think that is the story. of like Latinos, right, and immigrants, they don't ever know really what they're going to do when they come here, but they just know that they have to leave.

I mean, I come from a similar situation with my grandparents from Cuba, right, and understanding, like, we don't have a life here anymore. As much as they didn't want to leave. I remember to the day my grandmother passed away, it was all about how much she loved Cuba and how Cuba was her home. Oh, that's fine. She wanted. She must be proud of you doing this.

Oh, of course. I hope so. I hope so. But I know how good their life was over there until eventually it wasn't. And you hear people to this day, right? Obviously there's a ton of Cubans. There's a ton of Venezuelans here in Miami, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, right? You got a little bit of everything.

But there's that common denominator that they left for a better life here in America. And we've seen the success of so many influential people now here, not only in Miami, but in the states that are immigrants, right? that came here leaving their whole life behind, probably had a very good life where they were, right? And then basically had to start a brand new life over here. Some people came with different situations, right? Because they maybe prepped ahead of time and were able to kind of almost soften the blow of that type of transition.

But reality is, and my grandfather was one of those people, he had to basically start a whole new life. Yes. But he figured it out. Yeah, it did. Yeah. Because that's what immigrants do. Exactly.

They figure it out. Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely. So you come into the States around 24, 25, right? Yeah, around. What was that thought process of what you were going to do? You were studying to become a lawyer. Yeah, so I graduated from law school down in Venezuela.

And I started a master in tax. It's two years that master, right? So in the mid of the master, I moved to the States. That was another. Oh, wow. Yeah, I'm like, okay, I have to do this, whatever, because you have a specific timing when you get the green card that you have to come into the States.

So I had to do it. Anyway, when you come here, you stay here for a while because they send you, like, your social security numbers and you have to be here to leave it, blah, blah, blah. So first shock is coming to the U.S. and moving into my father's house, being living by myself for the past, I don't know, eight years. I'm like, oh, okay, because I have to, here we go. So I had nothing, literally, like just my, you know, my brain, like, that's it. And you're my leg-a. And I'm my two my own maleta.

So anyway, I came here and I'm like, okay, what is it that I'm going to do? So I'm like, I'll just move with my dad. And that's what I did. So I moved with my dad. He's married. And I have a younger sister and brother. So they were kids at the moment. They were going to school here in Miami.

So I felt so weird because I'm like, okay, I've been living by myself. I've been all my life by myself for the past seven or eight years. And here I am back to zero at my dad's house with nothing. And, okay, how I'm going to start this? Because I was very grateful to be there, of course. because I had the opportunity to also connect with him and with the family. That was the great part of it, right? But on the other side, it's like, okay, I need to figure it out.

Like, I can't stay here forever. Like, they're helping me. That's fine, but I'm not going to stay here for years. Of course. It's a temporary. Exactly. It's like a temporary solution, right? Right.

But you have to start thinking, okay, now what? Now what? Now what? Thank God my two brothers were here, and they were very good at, like, advising me on what to do. Like, you should do this or you should do that, like, you know, look for a job. Or, anyway, they were like my financial counselors. at the moment, which I appreciate a lot.

And I had like a good, I knew what I was standing at, right? But I didn't know what to do. Right. So, so that was shocking for me. Coming back from Venezuela to a house with kids, a dog, and my dad. Completely different dynamic. And my dad, and then my dad's wife, it's not my mom. So it's like, it was difficult.

Absolutely. Everything was, all the process was very difficult. Yeah. And then from there, you said that your brothers gave you a lot of advice of what they do. So did you end up getting a master's here in the States? No, that was one of the things I started as soon as I came. So I'm like, okay, you know what?

I'm going to start the process. I have a very good friend. He advised me and he said, you know what? You can do an LLM in UF up in Gainesville. And then we'll figure it out from there. And you can, if you want to go to law school again, you can do a transfer from your LLM to your DG, whatever. That can take like three years, right?

And again, financial crisis, 2007, no credit, no nothing. Like, I had no clue, right? I'm new. So I do all the process to go to UF in Gainesville, and I got admitted to UF for an LLM. And that same week, somebody introduced me to someone in Miami

in the community of the trust and state community, and I ended up having, like, three interviews, and they offered me a job. Wow. So I'm like, okay, I'm like with my dad sitting down, I'm like, what should I do? Like, I have a job offer in the financial crisis. For having nothing to all of a sudden having options?

Exactly. And then I have the option to go back to school, do an LLM, which I had to request student loans and everything, of course, because I had no money. And my dad and I were like, so I asked my brother, I'm like, what should I do? And we're like, you know what? We're in the financial crisis. You should take the job. Because that was, I mean, if someone has money now through, you know, a job, it's like, you're lucky. Yeah.

So that's what I did. So I took the job offer. And I started working in a trust company, which is a global trust company. they offer different services in the financial industry, and that's what I did. So I started from zero there, giving support to a lot of Latin American clients. They needed someone with legal background and that could support them on Latin American clients mainly. So that's how it started, right? Like being the support of those directors there that were dealing with clients in Latin America,

all Latin America, all the countries in Latin America, including Venezuela. Yeah, wow. That's incredible. Yeah. Considering, I guess, do I go back to school? Do I get a job? You talked about financial crisis, all these things, right? And it's like you didn't even, like you mentioned before, you didn't even know where this was going to end up.

And all of a sudden, you're using something that you learned with your law, you know, with your law degree over in Venezuela. The logic. Yeah. The international component, right? Which you're very familiar with considering that you just did that. And already being able to apply a lot of what you've done. And I think also knowing, I guess, the right people, the right connections at the right time.

For sure. Because when I moved here, I was like, you know, I was coming from a big out-out firm, Erson Young. I just came with some reference, you know, under my arm. Like, well, I mean, this can give me some idea where to go. So I went ahead, different interviews. And some of my, you know, former bosses, and I connected me to people here in Miami.

And that was, I think, the good, you know, thing because they connect me to people here who are also Latinos and they're always, you know, doing the same thing as us, whatever. And that's how I got this interview. So I'm like, okay, I'll go. And then, yeah, that's how it happened. Amazing. And then when you worked there, how long were you with that company?

So for that company, worked for about almost eight years. So the first year, year and a half, I was supporting again all the directors on the Latin American market and then offering them the products the company, you know, had and like meeting with them and traveling to. By a year and a half, I got transferred to New York for a six-month assignment and I stayed for six months more and I ended up like a year and a little bit more in New York. So dealing with the office there and mainly just like doing all the business development for the company from New York. Amazing. That was tough. for a Latina coming from the Caribbean.

How was the cold? That was horrible. The cold was horrible. Like, horrible. Like, no, I literally had to come back to Miami, all of my senses. I was dying. All my friends had ever moved to New York.

I got sick. I'm like, I cannot do this. I know it sounds bad, but I mean, I suffered. They couldn't do it either. I mean, a lot of them lasted a year. They want to move to New York. I want to move to New York. They do one winter in New York and they're like, I need to come back.

Yeah, no, one winter. That's it. Yeah, that's it. That's it. Not more than that. I got sick. I had to come. come back to Miami, I don't know how many times.

I couldn't understand, like, how do people actually do this? Like, so many different type of clothes, like so many, you know, temperatures and weather. I'm like, no, this is too much. I can't. On the professional side, it was great. It is, amazing. You grew up, you know, I grew up a lot as a professional, meeting a lot of people, also understanding the industry I work with.

Like, it was a blessing to be there, right? At the same time, I was like, oh, I hate this city. But again, it's a love and hate relationship, too. Like people either you love New York or hate New York. Yeah. By the end of like probably the end of the year, it was like, I like it here. That's what I fell about New York too. And then I came back to my, I'm like, okay, game over. I'm not a person that could do the cold very well.

Like I like it to experience it because obviously we don't get it here. Exactly. Like today, it's so nice. You know, experience that. But to have to do that every day. Like, I mean, right now I think they're dealing with like two feet of snow. Can you imagine? No, yeah.

No, no, I can. We're here, windows down, cruising. Yeah, so nice, and the sunshine. Like, hello, the sun, everything's, yeah. Absolutely. So that was, so I came back from New York and I did Miami for another bit and then I moved to California. So I lived in San Francisco for a couple of years.

That was great. In San Francisco? Yes, in San Francisco. Doing the same thing, just business development for the company. I also travel once a week to San Diego. We had an office in San Diego, which was perfect because it was a perfect mix. Oh, my God. You know, I love San Francisco.

And then in the East Bay and then going to the city. and then going down to San Diego for a week a month was perfect, honestly. So it was great. It was a really good time. And then I came back to Miami. So for the past 10 years I've been in Miami. Wow. That's amazing.

And when you came back from Miami, what was that transition? Did you start a new job? I transitioned for a new job. Yeah. So I did a transition from this company that I spent years. I'm very grateful to because, you know, I met a lot of people there, a lot of mentors, great bosses. I mean, it was great.

And I transitioned. I switched jobs. and the new job was here in Miami. So we were ready to come back to Miami and like just, you know, define Miami as our new, I guess, headquarters, like homeplace. Like my family was here. So it just made sense to come back, you know?

And that's what we did. Like in 2015, yes, I came back. And I started a new job of a financial institution. And that's it. I had to travel a lot because I was doing Mexico, Colombia, Peru. I was doing like a lot of markets in Latin America. I had to travel a lot. So I was exhausted, but it was a pretty good, you know, pretty good job.

And I learned a lot of things in the trust and state industry. And it was fun too, you know, like traveling and doing all this thing. It's fun, but you get tired. So it's like, where's the balance here? Yeah, exactly. It's like you love going to see all these new places and the thrill of getting on the airplane, but there's something about coming back and being home. Yeah, exactly.

When you come back home, you're like, this is where I want to be. Yeah, 100%. I totally get that. So I think that's amazing, right? It's that path, right? Where you don't really know, but everything just kind of takes care of itself. You obviously did your part doing what you can control, right? Making all the right connections, networking, putting in the time, the energy into learning and bettering yourself.

It's exactly like you said. Right? But it led you to the path of who you became today. Absolutely. Which is incredible. I think a lot about that. Yeah. Wow.

You know, all those years unfolded up to here. Right. Like, I did a lot of things. It's hard to put it, it's hard to put it into perspective when you're always going through the motions, right? But now, you know, when you kind of look back at things, you look back and you're like, wow, look how much I've done. Look how much I've accomplished.

I didn't even think I would maybe even be doing this, right? And I think that happens to a lot of people, right? Where kind of just go through the motion of life. And then when you look back and reflect, you realize, like, wow, look what I did. Yeah, I mean, hard work pays off. that's what they say. It's true. It's true. It definitely does. So talk to me a little bit about what you're doing today. Yes, absolutely. So I still work for a global company. So there's two things we do at this big company. We're in 26 jurisdictions, in the U.S., we cover mainly the world in terms of

countries and cities where we are. But we do two main things. One, we have like a private client line or a private wealth line that we call, so we serve ultra-high net worth families and their family offices and advisors, and we set up trust structures for them. So we act as corporate trustees. We can act also as corporate service provider, depending on what the family needs, and we basically, you know, create those trust where the family puts their assets and they're protected. Now, there's different reasons why someone would need to do something like this. It could be tax reasons. It could be asset protection reasons. It could be legacy. It could be like a lot of things, right? So we work with, in partnership with, you know, tax attorneys, trust and estate attorneys from the

industry. They are the ones drafting the documents. We are the ones being appointed as trustees. And then we deal with the family on a daily basis. So that's one of the business lines that we do on this company. Then on the other business line is more like the institutional corporate business side where we offer services to corporate entities or financial firms or RIAs or those type of firms where we do fund administration. So we're not managers. We're not managing the fund. We're doing the administration of the fund since it's launch until, you know, it's liquidation or termination. And then because that connects to regulatory and compliance,

we can also support those, you know, institutions and clients on the regulatory and compliance part. So, for example, if you're launching an RIA, then you need to know about compliance. You need to have a compliance officer. You need to know you're going to be registered before the SEC. Like, there's a lot of things you need to know. So we offer that services to our clients too.

And then we also do a lot of outsource CFO, which it's now pretty, you know, it's getting pretty hot there. Absolutely. Yeah. So lots of. of, you know, outsource services to those firms that need basically everything. Right. And then middle office, which is, you know, helping all those clients,

putting all those capital calls and trade scenes and everything. And that's like the other business line. So I'm like, I work on both business lines. Like I work a lot with the private world team. That's my team. And I'm now also shifting a little bit on the, on the CFO middle office services. I could see kind of like that fractional CFO. Correct.

Correct. They call it that way. Yeah. It has evolved. Correct. I think a lot of businesses are taking that approach across every kind of like executive role. There's fraction of CMOs, CFOs, even CFOs, right? Kind of these people that, hey, we need you for 15, 20 hours a week to really kind of sit in the business, understand, and operate.

And it's valuable as a business to have someone like that, right? Because when you're the CEO or founder or whatever that may be as your title within the company, you have so many different. hats that you're wearing, right? And you got your hands a little bit of everywhere, but in that weird growth period as a company, you're going to need someone like, you know, that CFO to really be understanding the dynamics of the business, understanding, hey, these are growth opportunities, tax benefits that you might be missing, which I think a lot of people, not their fault, right, because they're just so stuck in every other aspect of the business, don't realize that. Well, that's interesting because that's what we say to clients is like, hey, you are the

investment mine. We don't do investments. right? We're not in that part of the job. So if you focus on your investments, we'll take care of the rest. We'll take care of everything. Everything that's, you know, back office, we'll take care of it. You just figure out your investment part. That's it. So for them, and it's actually a good model because they outsource a lot of work.

So instead of like hiring sometimes people, they basically outsource it. So for them, tax-wide's even better, right? So that's how it works. And then you have a lot of things to do and a lot of things to pay attention to. If you have a big fund, you're launching on, you know, $300, $400 million fund. and guess what, you need to wear a lot of hats, like you say. And it's like, okay, what do I do now? So we kind of support them on every single process since they want.

Oh, that's interesting. And a ton of value. I guess for the audience, right, and anyone that's kind of in similar situations, right, I think for the younger generation, right, we're maybe not at that stage yet, right? But how do we plan ahead to start thinking that way, right? We may not have assets for a trust yet, right? But we're looking to build that long-term future and be able to kind of set ourselves up for those levels of success down the line. What would kind of be your advice for someone?

Yeah, I would say that it's never too early, but it's always too late. Right. So it doesn't matter if you feel you're 21 or 22, right? It's like, oh, I'm too young. I don't have money, whatever. So first of all, educate yourself. Educate yourself on the financial matters, right? If you are buying a life insurance policy, what does that mean?

If you are putting money away on a, you know, I don't know, cash account or some sort of saving account, is it better to put it on a different type of account with a little bit of more, you know, you're going to get a little gain there. It doesn't matter. It's like 5% or whatever it is, right? Like, first of all, educate yourself because it's never too late. That's like to educate yourself, right? Two, be more proactive than reactive.

Like, you have to know what's happening out there. True. You need to go out there. You need to do the work. You need to meet people. in the industry, whatever industry you are in, right? And you just need to be proactive. Like, think and then act, you know, ask the questions, look for help, all those things. It doesn't matter. I mean, I know that people are like, no, I'm too young, I don't have money, I don't know,

like, it doesn't matter. You can start with one dollar investing if you want to start investing today, right? There's lots of places out there online that you can start investing. Just start, do something, and just get well informed before doing it. So that's something that I would say to the younger generation. And always make sure that it doesn't matter what you do financially, there's always going to be a consequence legally. So make sure that whatever decision you take financially, it doesn't matter what it is. There's always going to be a consequence legally speaking.

So always make that connection. So for me, financial and legal industries must be like connected hand by hand. Absolutely. Because everything happens together. And can you elaborate a little bit on that, right? Obviously, I understand the connection, right, where there's always going to be some sort of legal component, especially financially, but what exactly legally should people be prepared for? Yeah, let me say that very simple example. Let's say you open tomorrow investment account,

I don't know, infidelity, and this is not paid advertising, but I don't know, you go and you open an account and you start investing and you're like, you know, buying stocks, shares, whatever, right? ETFs, whatever it is. And you're the sole owner of the account, right? Something happens to you. It translates to the legal side, right? If you don't have like a specific paragraph authority, if you don't have, like, for example, will or testament. Like, what happens legally is that whoever is your family, you know, your heirs are going to be going through processes legally in the U.S. or in Miami, let's say. Right. So those are the things you always need to think, right? Same thing when your parents or someone in your family buys real estate. If that person is a U.S. person, then some rules apply.

If that person is a foreign person, let's say a Colombian from your girlfriend's family, come here, they buy a beautiful apartment in Brickle under their own names. Guess what? They have tax consequence if they pass away, even though they're not U.S. people. Interesting. Okay? So all those things you need to know that when you're making an investment, there's something legal connected to it.

Something's going to happen eventually. So make sure you connect the dots on that. And make sure that when you are doing the investment, make sure that there's, you know, you know exactly what's going to happen. If you, I don't know, falling sick, if you fall in any incapacity, that happens too, physical, mental incapacities, right? What happens? then if someone passes away, like the owner of the assets passes away.

Well, the Florida State has a solution for you, but maybe you don't want what the Florida State says, right? So you're like, okay, I'll do a will or I do a trust or what do I do. And then if you don't have a will, then your family has to go to probate. So that's court, that's hiring a lawyer. And it's a lot of money and it's legal. So everything you do, there's a legal consequence there. And then let's say that exact scenario, where do you all come into the fold in that process?

I'm in the middle, which is the funny thing, because I'm not the tax attorney or the trust in the state attorney drafting documents. But I'm not doing the investments because I'm not telling the client, hey, buy Apple as opposed to Amazon. I'm not doing that. But I work with all of those parties. And I'm in the middle making sure that whatever assets are in trust, they're well kept. As trustees, you have a few shy duty. Right. So first of all, we're regulated, right, by the division of banking.

And then you have a future duty to make sure that whatever you keep there, you're keeping it safe. And you're doing everything from the admin side. So you take care of that trust assets with your future duty, right? So even though I'm not telling that guy the advisor we're doing best, and I'm not telling the attorney what to draft, I work with them. So I see their work. And I work with the families.

And I bring the families and I say, okay, let's talk to your tax attorney. Let's talk to someone, I don't know, you're a financial advisor. And let's tell him this is the way we're going to do it. And I kind of like put together everything. so we're all on the same page. So you need to work with a very holistic team. Absolutely. Yeah.

Which is good, which is great. A person here, a person here, a person here, right? Where everybody's assisting you, right? It's a team effort at the end of the day. And it should be that way because whether you're operating a business, your life is a business as well, right? And it needs to be operated in the correct manner. And there's no such thing as you can do at all.

Right. That's not true. No, you have to find the right people. And that's why everyone's specialized in. something. Exactly. And that's a reason. You just go to a specialist, ask for help, pay for it, and have your solution. Absolutely. Absolutely. That's amazing. And I think that's something that I think the next generation is becoming more aware of and more conscious of, right, is understanding, I can only do so much. And what are the, what are the resources that I need to be able to,

you know, elevate my life to the next level, right? Financially, it's the same thing. Like if someone Hires a personal trainer, right, for their wellness, right? You need that coach for your finances and the future of your, of your well-being, right, across every single facet of your life. So I think it's interesting that this new generation is starting to become a little bit more conscious of that. Yeah. Right?

I look at my mom and my grandparents and those were not discussions that were being had. No, and it's actually studied. Like, those conversations were not held on a table. No, absolutely not. And that's why there's a lot of stats out there. that shows like why men are more confident than women in financial decisions and why women do not feel as confident as men on financial decisions. Now that's changing though.

Of course. But if you see back in the days, those were not conversations you had on the table. And I think, I mean, it makes sense in a way because imagine immigration families come into a country where they had nothing and they had to start from zero. Like, what are conversations are you going to have on a table where you're exhausted? Probably doing two, three jobs a day and trying to get a little bit of money to survive. Basically, yeah. Right?

That's what happened. That's the story of Miami, right? People coming from Cuba or other countries. So that's the story. So how are, you know, how are we doing that conversation? It's difficult, right? But that's above, thank God, right? So now, I mean, that's the other thing I think we need to be very proactive.

Again, parents have to have conversation with their children about money. This is not a taboo thing. You need to explain to them. This is what it is. This is something you need. This is you need to be aware. And this is how it happened. The wealth.

I mean, people, you know, we work with families that we work with generation four, generation five, sometimes even generation six. And it's just spectacular to see how that wealth has been, you know, from generation to generation. Those are families that have done it well. Exactly. And then, okay, what do you do? Right.

Right? And then trust are always involved, most likely, right? So you're like, okay, this is a good thing. So the good thing is that you have to be transparent, too, with the families too and with your kids. If you want to have a nice, you know, conversation, you have to be transparent. You have to tell your kids about money. You need to understand that they are learning too.

Yeah. And if you're not giving them the tools, it's the same thing with a new generation. Yeah. Like, how are they supposed to know? You don't know what you don't know. No, exactly. 100%. I mean, I look back and I'm like, wow, I wish I knew a lot more of this, you know, back then, right?

I did well for myself in college. I was also forced to grow up very early, right? I mean, I got, I was already working at 15, 16 years old, you know, making money. I started at 15. Like having to make money. And obviously my parents helped where, you know, where they could. But come 18, it was like, I was not getting anything. It was like, if I don't make money, I don't have anything, right?

So I had to figure that out. And I did well of making the money, right, especially for an 18 year old, still in college, but finding ways to be creative and find ways to make money. That I did well. And I think that's like the Latino. Yeah, yeah. I think it's a survival mall. You're like, I need to survive.

But one thing I didn't know how to do was save money. Nobody told you how. It's like, you make it. Great. No one told me that you got to make it and then save it as well. Exactly. It's not only making it, saving it, too, for rainy days, right? You're only setting yourself up for that much more success, right?

I mean, imagine even just putting 20% of my college income into a high-eo savings account at the time. Exactly. Or even investing it a little bit more aggressively like in an Apple or an Amazon, right? And saying. Back in the days. imagine. Can you imagine, right? Like, like those are, but no one's even having that. And then you look at a lot of these, you know, what they call old money, right? Especially here in Miami, because Miami is kind of one of these cities that has, has boomed. But those are families that just did

things right and well, at it. At the moment. They took advantage of the systems that were in place, right? They followed protocol. I said what you should be doing with your money. And they may have not been wealthy at the time, but now here they are. They are. You know, they've maybe owned their home since the, you know, since 60s, 70s, right? They took advantage of the interest rates back in the days, mortgage, right? Bought lands, invested their money, started businesses, and now they're the ones reaping the benefits of it. And those are the baby boomers that nowadays is the wealthiest generation in history in the U.S. Exactly. Because they started back in the days, like in the 60s, I guess, and they started making money. And now they're the wealthiest generation. Absolutely. And it's

impressive. It's really impressive because I think they start, they were like, the ones who started like the movement, I don't think they were ready enough to have conversation with their children, right? Exactly. But they started the movement and then probably a younger generation was like, okay, let's have this conversation with my kids. I think part of it too is they don't really understand yet what the benefits of it is, right? Now they're looking at what they did 20 years later and they're like, ah, okay, yeah, you need

to do this too, you know? Totally, totally. I think for us, like it's being able to now educate the next generation and, and preparing them. Obviously things change, right? You know, from generation and generation. So there's always a willing to adapt. But at the end of the day, a lot of the same systems are in place. Yes. And something to like younger generations now, they have more resources than we did. True. Which is something they need to take advantage of. And I think they do. Yes. Right. Also, I think they need to surround themselves with, you know, good circle of people or community. You know, surround yourself with a

circle or of people that you can go and have nice conversations, right? Like deep conversations. Like you can have conversations about money. You can have conversations about wealth. You can have conversations about everything and you're not going to feel like, oh, I'm left out. Exactly. You know, like look for those circles. For sure.

There's so many communities out there. So many, you would be surprised. Just Google and go. And, you know, you'll find people that are going to be in your same page that are also trying to learn, that are also looking to see like, how am I going to be investing? Even, you know, this guy should be educating us on Bitcoin and stuff, you know? Yeah.

We are like, like, we're like the Viejo Haki. That's like, you come here and tell me how I invests in BTC now. It's true, yeah. And I think that, you know, that whole cryptocurrency was one of those things that everyone was like, what is it? And who were the first to understand it? The younger generation, yeah? Because they were more in line with. Exactly.

They're like, oh, I could do everything right here. Exactly. And that was it for them. And they were digital since they were born. Yes. Our generations went in the transition from analog to digital. Yeah. So we are like in the middle.

And we get the digital things and we get the end. But we're not like pros like that. I see my brother. I'm like they're so, I mean, crazy. Yeah. Like he was working the digital era. Yeah, it's true. And it's different.

The internet wasn't even around that long ago. Like there was a point where dialogue was a thing and all these things were. And Skypey. And it's crazy to think about how much has evolved over the course of, you know, the last 15 years or so and how rapid it's changed and how continuously rapid it's going to change. like AI is now like the hottest conversation right now. And we've just like touched the surface of what that's going to look like. We don't even know what's down there.

We try. We're trying. In the corporate world, you try a little bit more because you need to understand. But again, they are the ones that know more than us. And that's that, you know,

when you talk about that hiring people and bringing in people of what they're good at, right? Yes. The young generation will be the ones to come in. Yes. Kind of lead this AI boom. Yet you need kind of more of that. what's the word of kind of the, you know, original ways of thinking, right?

And the more practical ways of applying some of this, right? And have perspective. And have perspective. And have that perspective, too. Like not be, you know, square-minded, like, be open-minded. Try to be like, I would love to have a 26-year-old guy giving me a class on Bitcoin. Like, why not? You know, like, tell me, tell me.

I invest in Bitcoin. I do. Yeah. But, I mean, I need more information. Like, what else should I be doing? Maybe I'm not doing the right thing. Maybe I'm not buying the right stable coin. You know what I mean?

Exactly. I think I do. I mean, maybe I'm missing something. I'm sure I'm missing something. So, okay, bring me that 25 year old guy and tell me what I have to do. Absolutely. So they need to also be aware that they are very knowledgeable on things we are not. Yeah.

You know, so just go out there and tell us what to do. Oh, yeah. Very true. It is a phenomenon that I think we all live in. Yeah. It's interesting to see how everybody plays a role in it. But something that you brought up that I thought was interesting that I wanted to ask you, right? You talked about kind of like how back in the day, you know,

females were not involved in a lot of these conversations. So for you, like now being one of Latina, but also Latino, you know, Latino, you know, female in the space, like what does that mean to you? Like how impactful is that to you? And how would you recommend, you know, someone that's in your space, Latina, that wants to get into something like this?

It means a lot. Yeah. It means a lot to me. I'm very proud of what I've done, to be honest, and of who I am here in this country. I had a lot of good, again, advice and, you know, family and friends around me that kind of guided me in the process. And I grew up with two brothers, three brothers. So that was good for me because they gave me perspective.

And they were like sitting down to me and saying, okay, you need to do this. This is the way you have to buy a car, not lease a car the first years, just buy it. Cheap, cheap car. So I drove a cheap car for years. But guess what? My insurance was 40 bucks. Right. And everyone was going into crazy, you know, very expensive leases.

Which is the Miami way of doing things. Which is the Miami. It's fine. I mean, that's fine. But my brother was like, don't do it. I'm like, and I follow his advice. You know, so in a way, I am who I am because I had those, you know, people guiding me through the process. So I feel proud that I heard them because you have to listen to. You also have to listen. If you need, if you want to, you know, do something or create something, look for help.

If you want to be better at something, ask for help. So that's what I did. So I'm proud. I'm happy with what I'm done, to be honest. And I want to be someone who also pays back to whoever is coming into this country and not understanding the process. Because it's not easy. It's difficult.

If you're coming from Latin American country, completely different. If you're coming from Europe, it could be in some way similar, right? In some ways, no. But it's just like I'm proud to be that person and I'm happy to sit down with whoever is lost in the process. to tell them, hey, this is a way you can do things. Just have perspective. Be patient, work hard, because it's going to, something good is going to happen to you. Like, always keep pushing, keep pushing, always.

Because if you stop, it's like game over. And it is what it is. And that's a U.S. crime, you know, that's what people. Right, which, yeah, I think there's something interesting in all of that, right, where it's like what America has been built off of, right, is this work ethic and, you know, being a capitalist country obviously provides a massive level of opportunity. but it's like it's just never-ending go-go-go-go-go. Exactly, right?

Because you hear about these countries like Europe, right? Yeah. You know, where it's maybe a more laxed way of living, right? But here we are. We have some of the most wealth in the world. Yes. Right? And that's because of the systems that are in place.

And I think you, at the end of the day here in America, you could pick and choose how you want to live. I agree. You know, you live your life. There is essentially no untapped opportunity here. The sky is the limit. Not even the limit. Yeah, exactly.

There is no limit. Now it doesn't know. There's no limit. We'll be in Mars next year. Exactly. You know. And I think that's the way, that's what makes America so special is the, is the amount of opportunity and the uncapped opportunity that is here.

But you also have that opportunity to say, hey, like, I am fine just making my salary, taking advantage of the 401ks and the benefits and the insurance policies that are in place for me and living a nice, modest lifestyle. That's fine. Because that exists too. Yeah. Where I think the disconnect is, is everybody thinks they have to go and be Jeff Bezos or they have to be Elon Musk, right?

Because that's what's, I guess, sexified. I don't know if that's a word, right? Right? But that's what, you know, that's what America is all about. It's like you can go be Jeff Bezos, which it is, right? You can. Yeah. But you also can go be the respectable guy that owns the car shop across the street.

Absolutely. You know, making a modest. And give jobs to a lot of people out there. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I don't think that that is spoken enough or highlighted or celebrated. That's a good point. Right. I think that's where maybe the disconnect is.

It's like America's great for the untapped opportunity. Yes. But you don't need to go for it if you want to, right? I think that that ambition is always going to take you further and further and keep you motivated. But also realize, hey, you can make a great modest salary, run a small family-owned business. Like you said, employee, maybe two, three people. And all of a sudden, you're taking advantage of what. what the systems are in place here.

I mean, good thing or good news is that you can choose. Exactly. Because you have the options. Exactly. And you have alternatives and you have opportunities. And like you said, on top opportunities out there. Maybe someone looks at something at you and, you know, you're good for this. And they come and say, hey, why not do this?

You know, you don't have to be the next job best. You don't have to be the next, you know, Ella Mosque or, I don't know, Facebook guy, whatever. You don't have to. Just be yourself. And that's something, too, as a Latina and as an immigrant, sometimes you don't know how to you know, act or react or like, okay, should I do this? Should I do that? And then a couple of, you know, not a long ago, I realized I have to be myself. Right. Like, that's where your magic is. Right. You have to be you. Because everyone else, like they say, is taken, right? But I mean,

it's like, everyone else is taken. So just be yourself. And that's like, that hit me like not long ago. I'm like, yes, I have to be me because guess what? It's somebody else. It's somebody else. Exactly. That's what makes you unique. Exactly. So just take advantage of it. Trust yourself. Do the process, do the work, but I mean, you know that you can choose and there's different opportunities for everyone. Absolutely. And there's on top opportunities, like you said. So I agree 100%. Yeah, no, absolutely. I have one last question for you. And it's kind of piggybacking off kind of both, right? We talked about the opportunities here in America and then, you know, kind of like this estate planning and kind of planning for, you know, the next generation. But in this process, right, cost of living

has also gone up in the United States. Right. So how have you seen it kind of evolved? when it comes into like estate planning and kind of like the next generation, knowing that cost of living is more expensive in the states. That's a good question because it depends on who do you ask, right? Like, you know, people like us, mortals, I guess, we fill it more. Because, you know, first time ever we felt inflation in Miami for the past, you know, four or five years after COVID. And then if you ask wealthy families, I mean, they might tell you they fill it too.

And that means they have to be a little bit more creative or maybe more proactive on investments because they want more money and they want, you know, more gains and return of investments. So they're like maybe looking for more opportunities on investing and maybe going into AI, you know, even going into all those new projects. So you kind of see that they diversify a lot, which is good, right? So they go, it's not only the financial world in terms of like public market, you know, stock exchange. It's also like the private equity world, right? like I want to invest in private equity. Like everybody knows it's different. Everyone knows it takes time.

It's different type of investment. But guess what? They're maybe doing it for their kids or maybe they're thinking of the legacy. Exactly, long-term opportunities. And then diversify on real estate and stuff. So I think it's an opportunity for wealthy people, to be honest. Like they start looking for new options, right? Because they know they have the money.

But they also know that it's less money. Like their mindset is different, right? So they're like, okay, I have the money. That's fine. but why am I losing money because of the inflation or because of this or because of that? So you have to take the money and invest it because if you don't do it, then you're losing money. Exactly. Just not doing anything, you're losing the money anyway because you got inflation, you know.

So that's one point. And then I feel that for us, I mean, mortals again, mortals, we have to be more aware of savings. You know, we have to find, we have to do our health checks in terms of financial health checks. You know, we have to sit down, do the work, maybe do like, a nice, I don't know, night date with your spouses and whatever and sit down and say, where can we save, what can we do, where can be in best, like those type of exercises. You know, they call it admin nights nowadays. It's like you sit down with a glass of wine or whatever, but you're having those conversations

and you're having those conversations. Conversations should be had at the end of the day. Whether things are going great, things are not going so great, finding it a way to make sure that you're holding yourself accountable. Because it's very easy to kind of, you know, and then all of a sudden, like you said, you got to be proactive, not reactive. Proactive all the way. And something I see about this, you know, well, millioners or billers, we know, they see opportunities where we don't see them. Right.

Which is amazing. So we are thinking about, I don't know, horrible things, whatever, right? financially speaking, these guys are like, you know, thinking about, okay, this is what I can do. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to bring someone. I'm going to do this. I'm going to mix it out. So that's how we have to think, too.

True. We have to like, you know, shift, shift the mindset, shift away. Absolutely. You know, where there's a problem, there's an opportunity. Exactly. Exactly. And instead of like being like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Like freaking out. Like this is too expensive.

Right. Yes, it is. It is. But guess what? It's still something about it. It's not just, you know, whine about it. Exactly. I mean, there's, you can choose, I guess.

Absolutely. You choose. Absolutely. No, amazing. That's incredible advice and insight into it. And then my last more fun question. Okay. You've been Sanford.

Fran, New York, obviously Venezuela. But what is it that makes Miami so special? Wow. The melting pot of Latin people. I mean, for me is, it reminds me a lot of Venezuela in a way. It's very tropical. Yes. Which I love.

I love the beach. I have to be close to La Playa because, you know, I love to go to the beach. I think Miami is unique because it's a city that is still growing. If you go to other cities in the U.S., they're already there. They've been there for 250 years, right? Miami's a really new city. There's so many things to do in here. So many opportunities that we haven't even seen, right?

And we're not even there yet. I love the tropical vibes about it. I love that we have the melting pot of Latinos, which is great. Sometimes I don't like it when I'm driving a 95, right? But when I'm here, I get it, right? We're cool, we're all the same. I love it, right?

Even though we come from different backgrounds. But we have that thing that... This is a connection. that other cultures don't have. And I love that, you know, Americans come here, gringoes come here, they're like, what is this? Like, this is not even the U.S. You know, they don't even feel they're in the U.S.,

which is funny. It is true. Everybody speaks Spanish. It's just like a different, you know, thing. I like that, too. It's so unique. And then it's like the U.S. Caribbean in Miami. Exactly.

It is unique. Yeah. I think it has its own like magic city, like they call it, right? And I think we haven't seen it all yet. No. No, I agree. I think COVID, I think, expedited the inevitable of what Miami was going ahead to and to your point, we're just touching the service of what Miami can be and will be.

Obviously, you have the international component to it from Latin America, Europe, the Caribbean, all that opportunity that's there. And then just all the influx of opportunity from the United States, right, being able to tap into the opportunities that will come from. But you know what's cool, seeing the evolution of a city where you live. Like, you know, try to think 20 years ago. Right. How was it? Oh, my God.

You wouldn't even recognize the city. Uh-huh. Let's say Brickle Avenue. Yeah. Oh, my God. I'm always astonished when I'm going down to 836 and I look towards downtown and I'm like, Exactly. I don't remember that many buildings being there. The skyline, right?

Yeah. I love that. I love the fact that I saw it 26 years ago. Especially like coming from like New York and then you go to Miami. You're like, oh, okay. I see what's happening. I love it because you see the city growing. Yeah.

Like you are actually seeing what's happening. Yeah. And I love that. You go to New York and everything's already there, which is cool, though. Right. But it's already there. I mean, the Brooklyn Bridge is already there. You never saw someone building the bridge, right?

You are seeing here people building the bridge. That is true. Right? That is very true. And I think that's cool. That is cool. Yeah. I think we could say that now, but when you're sitting on the traffic on 95, you're going to be like, I hate that bridge.

Why are they building that thing? Why are they doing construction every single? And a nice. Why have they been building in Palmetto? The year 2000. Exactly. No, you'll say it. But when it takes that too.

Exactly. It's the growing pains of a city. See. It's a growing pain. And I think once we get through it, we'll be like, holy cow, look what Miami's big up. I love that. That's what I love about it. That's awesome.

I'm enabella, thank you so much for taking the time. I really enjoyed this conversation. Me too. Thank you so much. And I know we were talking offline. Maybe we have a nighttime segment. Yes, we should do it with Tekeyes. Tequeno and Rhone.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you guys for turning in. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks to me.

love for being here. And as always, enjoy your cafe-cito. Enjoy your croquettas. And we'll see you on the next one.