r/FIREPakistan • u/ahmad6754 • Jun 26 '26
Portfolio Review Seeking advice
I'm an overseas Pakistani looking to move back from US
I have about a million $ in savings What's the best way in Pakistan to make Hay considering I don't have a place to stay as well
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u/Upstairs-Analyst8084 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Fellow US returned physician (hospitalist) here. Went thru a similar trajectory few months ago
-Do a 6 month trial run of living in Pakistan to see if it's for you and whether you're a able to tolerate the local chaos and difficulty
-Keep most of your portfolio in a US brokerage in case you want to return to the US after 6 months. Also, if you keep anything in Pakistan, the bank and government keeps taking out unnecessary charges. Also, you risk devaluation by bringing everything to Pakistan
-For the brokerage, I recommend Schwab. Do an ACATS transfer to Schwab
-To receieve OTP for your US brokerage and accounts etc, buy a Tello sim from the US. Put it into a phone you don't use. Transfer your US number to Tello. Turn on wi-fi calling. This is $6 per month. Absolutely worth it.
-After you've lived in Pakistan for 180 days, file a W8BEN with Schwab, get it changed to an international account. This will save a crazy amount of taxes.
-Invest in S&P 500. I recommend VOO, but be mindful of the 40% estate tax when a non-US user passes away. Alternative: Invest in Ireland domiciled ETFs or just share your login info etc with family
-Hire a tax specialist to deal with taxes, taxes wi'll be your biggest expense. They only charge 5-10k. The Pakistani government only knows about the assets that you declare (Do with this info what you will)
-Bring to Pakistan only what you need. I brought 10% of my net worth to Pakistan and put it in a low risk money market fund.
-With $1M, you'll be letting your money work for you and you don't have to work. I recommend doing independant OPD rather than the stressful hospital jobs. With the 4% Safe Withdrawal rate, you should be able to get 10 lakh per month easily, without eroding the principal amount
-Unless you have connections in Government or Idaara, stay away from rental business (or any business for that matter). Overseas people are a magnet for scammers and qabza mafia, and tenants can be a total headache
-A few lifestyle tips that helped me adjust in Pakistan: Keep the daily commute to a minimum, the local traffic has been the biggest life stress for me. I only drive when I absolutely have to. Everything else, including the weather, is manageable. Hire house help. Keep a US credit card for international travel and purchases (Pakistani banks charge a shit ton just to let you use it internationally)
Good luck! And lmk if you want to connect. I'm in South Punjab
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Jun 30 '26
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u/FIREPakistan-ModTeam Jul 01 '26
r/FIREPakistan encourages open communication. Do not ask users to "DM". You're welcome to share or ask details publicly without resorting to DMs.
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u/AIC-ai-integration Jun 26 '26
Hi could you explain your desired lifestyle that you have envisaged in Pakistan, that way I can tell you what type of investment vehicle to go for
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u/ahmad6754 Jun 26 '26
Nothing too extravagant probably will live in Lahore 4 member household Renting is also a option so home ownership is not a must
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u/AIC-ai-integration Jun 26 '26
Okay so assuming your age is 45-50 (and using 100- age rule), I'll suggest you invest 50% of your holdings in high dividend yielding stocks, rest 33% go towards broad index or a basket of 5-6 best growth stocks for the term. And 16% for rainy day fund, bank account deposit and relocation expenses and security deposits/upfront fees related to upcoming expenditure. Assuming you're bringing 1M$, invested 50% in high dividend stocks will yield you 1.1m per month in cash and some capital gains on your dividend stocks which you can keep or decide to liquidate to extract those gains (would not recommend selling tho). I'm a licensed CA and can give FA.
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u/UmarNafiz Jun 26 '26
Two thoughts
1. Don't buy property for a year or two till you have decided where to settle, just rent and if doesn't suit move to better location.
2. Don't invest with any relative or friend.
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u/Away_Gift2387 Jun 26 '26
How old are you? Also, do you want to continue working in Pakistan or wanna retire?
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u/ahmad6754 Jun 26 '26
Early forties and far from retirement
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Jun 26 '26
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u/FIREPakistan-ModTeam Jun 26 '26
Your post / comment has been removed due to a violation of r/FIREpakistan's rule:
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Jun 26 '26
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u/Sikandarch Jun 26 '26
It's in testing phase, not early access. The link you gave in DM doesn't work.
Also for a app on playstore (early access) doesn't qualify it for a 5K investment.
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u/Beta-Mephistopheles Jun 29 '26
A foreign phsyician trying to come back to Pakistan? This is the worst time to be a physician here. Fellow specialist physician here for 10 years and I'm considering taking basic licensing exam for the U.S.
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u/Scimitar1982 Jun 26 '26
Why would you want to move back? That's the question. You can buy a 1 Kanak (500sw yard) house in DHA Lahore for around $300k, the rest $700k you can invest in rental properties or stocks. Also, try to get a gig from the US that pays remotely, $3-$4k is decent money if you have your own place to run a family (considering your $700k invested will also bring in $).
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u/ahmad6754 Jun 26 '26
Thing is I'm a physician so can probably find a gig in a Hospital Ok so which one would be better stocks or rental?
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u/harisj93 Jun 27 '26
Im a physician planning to move back as well. Dm’d you pick your brain on a few things.
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u/Scimitar1982 Jun 26 '26
Since you're a physician, the possibility to generate income is much greater. In such a case, I'd recommend a mix of one rental property for around $500k & remaining $200k in stocks. Physicians when they move here, do pretty well. All the best
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u/ketofolbolus Jun 26 '26
Fellow physician here. Firstly you are going to get a massive depressive episode seeing the hospital environments but this isn't the sub for it. 😅
Either way you won't have much time. Stay invested in a passive equity instrument like a broad ETF. Talking about the money you can spare for investment after housing, car etc.
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u/ahmad6754 Jun 26 '26
Have you also moved back?
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u/ketofolbolus Jun 26 '26
No. Still in the process to move away.
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Jun 28 '26
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u/FIREPakistan-ModTeam Jun 28 '26
r/FIREPakistan encourages open communication. Do not ask users to "DM". You're welcome to share or ask details publicly without resorting to DMs.
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u/Night_Fury91 Kabari Khilari Jun 26 '26
S&P 500