Over 9 million US citizens living overseas. Even though they are now “expats” most still need sound financial advice that can maintain their income streams, manage their tax liabilities and address long-term care risks and legacy planning. Proper retirement and financial planning are even more necessary now with the complex and uncertain global geographical outlook, and the record debt and money printing occurring.

To keep up with this US diaspora, New Century Planning has gone international. New Century’s first step in this strategy was to form its first international division: New Century Planning of Ecuador. Ecuador has long been rated as one of the best retirement destinations and is home to over 20,000 US expats. Ecuador is the perfect size for New Century to test its various service offerings to meet the needs of an expat community, while at the same time looking for ways to serve the broader Ecuadorian community. In addition, Ecuador offers many potential investment opportunities that New Century can provide for its US clients.

“Before choosing Ecuador as our international first step,” explains Robert Ryerson, President of New Century, “we had been exploring the business opportunities there since 2015, making eight trips to the country. Already, this move is paying off. Not only do we have new expat clients, but also, we have a growing interest in our services from the broader Ecuadorian community. Also, we have discovered some attractive and potentially very profitable investment opportunities for our North American clients, including buying precious metals below spot prices, growing and exporting vanilla (world’s second most expensive spice), and seeing great prices for new beachfront condos. In addition, we have made many useful networking connections for the future within the expat and Ecuadoran business communities. We couldn’t be happier going international.”

“My mother tongue is Spanish,” adds New Century’s Vice president and Treasurer Louis Terrero, “and I have a great love for the people and culture of Latin America. We’re finding some of the services we offer our current clients translate easily to the needs of Ecuador. Expats and Ecuadorians alike need information on how to diversify and hedge their portfolios with precious metals, keeping up with new investment trends such as cryptocurrency, and of course, protecting themselves from identity theft—areas of expertise for us and our 35 years as certified financial professionals.”

New Century’s longer-term international goal is to follow US citizens relocating to Latin America, and to offer them the same professional advice they were used to receiving back home. They will also offer these same services to the citizens of each country. After Ecuador, plans are to open offices in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama.