How a mortgage transforms your investment portfolio
They turn retail savers into hedge-fund managers

As financial decisions go, borrowing several times your annual earnings to buy a risky asset is a pretty big one. Yet for many people, taking out a mortgage to buy a house is something of a no-brainer. It generally involves less agonising than, say, how much to save for retirement, or how to split your pot between cash, stocks and bonds.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Betting the house”
Finance & economics
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From the May 3rd 2025 edition
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