My 'Boring' Uncle Portfolio Makes $200K a Year [Chills 260 ft Stocks.cafe]

·35 min·3 clips

Evan Koh built over $200,000 a year in passive income through REITs, banks, and options while living in Japan.

The episode begins with host Reggie introducing Evan Koh, founder of Stocks.cafe, at an event at Sofitel. Evan explains that Stocks.cafe started as a side project in 2015 to solve the lack of portfolio management tools in Singapore, now with 40,000-50,000 users and a few thousand paying customers. He shares his academic background: he received a PhD scholarship after polytechnic, worked on computational biology during the human genome project era, and moved to Japan for two years as part of his PhD because his wife wanted to live there. Evan stayed in Japan post-PhD, working first at two Japanese companies where he experienced rigid hierarchy, such as writing reports for minor infractions. He then switched to an American company in Tokyo, which offered better pay and benefits. He obtained Japanese PR through a points system based on his PhD and salary, allowing him to stay indefinitely and buy a house and car. In Japan, car ownership requires a designated parking spot, and mortgage rates were very low, around 0.45%. However, taxes were high, often exceeding 50% of income. During COVID, Evan and his wife decided to return to Singapore to establish a base, buying an HDB resale flat with a bank loan at 1.5% interest. His investment strategy focuses on dividends from REITs and banks, making up 70% of his portfolio, supplemented by options and tech stocks. He now generates passive income of over $200,000 annually from dividends, options, Stocks.cafe, and a gym in Japan. Evan has shifted his focus to fitness, participating in Hyrox races worldwide, which dictate his travel plans. He reflects that his success involved luck, such as finding good mentors and switching to an American company, and advises against staying in poor job situations. The episode concludes with Evan directing listeners to Stocks.cafe for further connection.

As heard by us

A passive-income episode that weighs portfolio headlines against taxes, housing and the cost of choosing where to live.

Evan Koh's portfolio opens on the big hook: more than $200,000 a year in passive income from REITs, banks, options and several income streams.

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Why you'd press play

Want to see what a $200,000-a-year passive-income portfolio looks like once Japan enters the spreadsheet?

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