Mailbag, incl: Can borrowing for shares close the gap to property? June 21, 2026

**Scott Philips** (0:10)
Welcome to Motley Fool Money, yes, it's Sunday again, yes, it's special, yes, it's a mailbag, yes, of course. The man of straw, the bloke of hay, the something, something, something, the man who invented Australia's premier online investment club and has taken it to unparalleled heights such that there weren't enough zeros in the recent AFR rich list to include his entry.
He is of course, Andrew Ram Page. Mr. Page, how are you?

**Paul Compton** (0:37)
I'm good, mate, how are you?

**Scott Philips** (0:38)
You know, I can't watch you in counter, I suppose.

**Andrew Ram** (0:41)
Well, that's right, you know.

**Scott Philips** (0:43)
Too big, it's too big.

**Andrew Ram** (0:45)
You know, and sometimes it just becomes irrelevant after a point, so.

**Scott Philips** (0:49)
What is money?
You've ascended to a new transcendental plane, I see. I am curious, you know, I'm low through the mention this, but it occurred to me, so I'm just that stupid. In a new future world, where Bitcoin is pseudonymous, as you said, but not anonymous, how are we going to know how much money people have actually got? The rich list may simply be, you know, when your Bitcoins go to the moon, how are we going to know whether you're one, two or three in the list?

**Andrew Ram** (1:19)
Um, I'm cool if I'm not on, can I just say for the record?
God, these lists are a wank. Am I allowed to say that word? They just are. They just are.
But yeah, I mean, yes, yes, to answer you. I know you weren't serious, but I will answer it seriously. Of course, of course you'll be able to tell. Okay. Not everything lives outside the system. I mean, there's all kinds of manners. Ask some of the people on the list, right? As to how you hide some of your wealth. The more things change, the more they say the same is probably the big takeaway.

**Scott Philips** (1:55)
Kerry Packer famously had gold bars in a safe in his office. So yes, money has always been in various forms in various places and sometimes easier to track than at other times.

**Andrew Ram** (2:04)
Yeah, ask your teenage kids. You know, they're using in-game currency right now, right? It's everywhere.

**Scott Philips** (2:12)
All right, let's get on with the podcast.

**Paul Compton** (2:14)
Let's move past, you started that, by the way.

**Scott Philips** (2:17)
I know, I know.

**Paul Compton** (2:17)
What are you doing, man? What are you going?

**Scott Philips** (2:20)
Well, it occurred to me, and listen, if nothing else, this podcast is a stream of consciousness. Let's be honest. And by the way, if you missed Friday's episode, literally the entire podcast was a stream of consciousness. It started with, I bought an EV and ended 90 minutes later with, well, I guess it's too late to start the agenda then.

**Paul Compton** (2:36)
Too late.

**Scott Philips** (2:38)
Oh, it's a funny story. All right, let's get into the podcast then. We got a question from Hayden who says, Dear Scott and Ram, I'm a long time listener and a first time question. Well, welcome. Thank you.
First time caller is lost on the current generation, isn't it really? Remember the first time caller? Love the pod, says Hayden. The banter, the rants, and the occasional discussion related to investing. Yeah, fair. Again, reference Friday's episode.
We managed to make Friday investing-ish all the way through, but it was-

**Andrew Ram** (3:09)
It was investing adjacent, as I would like to say.

**Scott Philips** (3:12)
Investing adjacent. I love it. It was, yes, we identified it as investing, whether it was or not. For context, says Hayden, I'm 29 Bastard, I know. Hayden, come on, don't be so harsh on yourself. I get to call you a bastard, you don't, and you are a bastard. I'm a passive stock investor, a passive index investor, sorry, and a sat stacker in brackets, if you know, you know.
I don't know, what's satellites?
Sat, and a relatively fresh, Ask the cool kids. Ask the cool kids. And I'm a relatively fresh homeowner. Hello, mortgage stress. My question today is regarding borrowing to invest via a product called NAB Equity Builder. The thing I keep coming back to is this. It seems obvious that leverage is the main reason residential property has been such a powerful wealth creation tool over the long term, and widely accepted as a barbecue discussion, yes. At first glance, NAB Equity Builder looks like a relatively high interest rate product. But when you compare it to current residential investment property loan rates, it's not that wildly different. He says roughly six and a half to 7% for mortgages, and around 7.75% for Equity Builder at the time of writing.