Hi, my name is Reid Kirchenbauer. I’ve been investing in real estate, stocks, and private equity in Asia for more than a decade.

Off the top of my head, I can quote you Cambodia apartment prices, help you open a brokerage account in Singapore from home, and give you tips about frontier market stocks in places like Vietnam.

How did I accomplish this before I was in my mid-20s? It’s a long story.

I was a child actor with roles in movies and around a dozen nationally-aired TV commercials while growing up in Los Angeles. The government keeps your money until you’re an adult in this situation… unless you invest it.

This led to my career, strangely enough. My spare time as a child was spent reading books, doing research online, and trading international stocks. I was more interested in how the Hang Seng Index closed than the normal fascinations of a teenager.

At the time, my fairly modest stock portfolio did well during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis because I shorted oil and mining companies. Then I turned 18, moved to Asia and never looked back.

I graduated with a finance degree from one of Southeast Asia’s top universities, learned two languages, closed several million dollars worth of real estate deals (whether personally or for my clients), and made countless international stock trades.

The comparatively small sum of money I made as an actor was multiplied by over ten times.

How? Well, I learned how to buy assets in Asia at low prices. I found people who were determined to sell quickly. They often just needed more liquidity.

One time, a bomb exploded down the street from the seller’s apartment… an alarming but temporary event. I bought the property which tripled in value a few years later.

Things are usually harder though. I spend a lot of time in frontier markets like Cambodia and Vietnam. You can make tons of profit in these places but they’re difficult. They often require an “on the ground” presence finding your own opportunities.

Either way, the returns from investing in real estate and stocks with fair valuations, in countries which are growing quickly, are no less than stellar.