SARA RAJO-MILLER

If you recruit a young person with great people skills and drive – and trust and believe in her wholeheartedly – the sky’s the limit. Such is the case with Sara Rajo-Miller, director with Miracle Mile Advisors, who joined the firm as an intern in 2012. Since that time, she has built up a $1 billion book of business. Rajo-Miller, who grew up in Mexico, Europe and Israel, innately understands how to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds, a strong advantage for a financial adviser. She has focused in part on Spanish-speaking clients and on millennials like herself.

How did the firm bolster her success? “They treated me like a senior adviser from day one,” she said. “As an analyst, I was allowed to interact directly with the clients right away, participating in meetings and doing quarterly reviews with them.”

Having these direct connections enabled Rajo-Miller to quickly build a strong referral network of professional service providers because she had clients to refer to them. The firm’s demographics are an asset, she said, adding “Raising young employees up has helped grow the practice, especially with multigenerational wealthy families who like a firm with a multigenerational team.”

— Deborah Nason