Thanks ff, so there is the evidence to support that investing in shares can beat the guaranteed return of paying down a mortgage. It shows that there is room to have riskier assets in a portfolio vs just following the approach of paying down debt. The case is only stronger for this given spot mortgage rates now are as much as half the average of the last 20 years as pointed out by
@Sarenco, whilst the S&P 500 has posted (unadjusted) double digit returns over the last 5 years.
I certainly would not have been in as strong a personal financial position if I had not invested in the Stock market (mostly ETFs) outside of a pension in my younger days.
@Cardano93 made a good point regarding inflation, and
@Brendan Burgess referenced those in their 20s that are unlikely to have a mortgage. Well it is for them the future is bleak if they don't utilize equity markets. Ireland needs to fundamentally overhaul taxation of investments, and align to the likes of UK and USA were wealth creation through investing is much more accessible.