Get to Know Melanie Leal Ramirez
If you were to ask those who know Melanie Leal Ramirez to describe her, the first words they would mention are motivated self-starter. Melanie takes challenges head-on and has relentless initiative to succeed in anything she does. A perfect example is that prior to joining the Tobias Financial Advisors team, and aside from her career in finance, Melanie owned a beachwear boutique she started from scratch, where she managed all aspects of the business from marketing and fashion shows to finances and inventory.
A first generation-American, Melanie grew up in a household where financial topics were not normally discussed. “I was never exposed to subjects related to financial planning. The difference was not so much in culture, but class as my parents came to the U.S. without much, and most of their time and effort had to go to providing for our family,” Melanie says. The drive to succeed she inherited from her parents led to her being awarded a scholarship to a prestigious private school in Fort Lauderdale, and it was there that her interest in finance was first piqued. In an economics and personal finance course during her senior year, her classmates – many of whom grew up in circumstances very different from hers – would discuss investment products and strategies as if they were common knowledge, which left Melanie curious to learn more. As the class progressed, she not only became more knowledgeable about finance, but she found out she was pretty good at it too! After realizing a career in finance could help people like her parents achieve goals such as financial freedom, she was hooked.
Melanie’s favorite part of her career as a Client Service Specialist at Tobias Financial Advisors is helping clients plan for their present and future financial security so they can live the life they want, which fills her with a strong sense of accomplishment. She also values the firm’s commitment to serving clients; “Doing right by the client and putting their interests first is extremely important to me and something that I value highly.”
Melanie is an essential member of the TFA team, always striving to provide top-notch service to clients and advisors alike, and her continued efforts to optimize everyday processes has proven invaluable to the team. She hopes to continue growing with TFA and developing tailored strategies for clients for generations to come.