u/DiegoRiviera

Hey everyone, 26 years old based in Toronto. I know borrowing to invest isn’t a new concept at all — I just want to share exactly what I’m doing and get honest feedback from people who know more than me or have done something similar.
My Situation
• Total net worth ~$416k CAD
• Margin account: $147,534 (already invested)
• TFSA: $72,854
• FHSA: $36,506
• HYSA: $33,070
• Crypto: $112,674
• Currently Wealthsimple Premium, hitting Generation (~$500k) soon
The Plan
Wealthsimple is giving me $154k of available margin at 4.45% CAD. I’m deploying it all at once into XEQT and holding forever. I never plan to pay back the principal. The ~$556/month interest gets automatically added to my debt — I never write a cheque or make a manual payment.
The math is simple — borrow at 4.45% (dropping to 3.95% at Generation), XEQT historically returns 10-12% annually, keep the difference and let compounding do the rest.
Why XEQT
XEQT holds ~9,000 stocks globally, costs only 0.20%, and its worst ever drop was 29.74% during COVID 2020 — recovering in about 8 months. The global diversification is a big reason I chose it specifically. My entire portfolio is already 100% equities — TFSA, FHSA, margin account, and ~20% in BTC — so XEQT fits naturally. It’s also basically what I already own, so deploying margin into it just scales up what I’m already doing.
The Margin Call Math
• Existing portfolio: $147,534
• New margin: $154,000
• Total position: ~$297,534
For a margin call to happen my portfolio needs to drop to ~$216,000 — roughly a 27% drop on the entire position. XEQT’s worst ever crash was 29.74%. Only a once-in-a-generation event would actually threaten me.
Why It Gets Safer Every Year
Every year the market goes up, my portfolio grows but my debt stays roughly the same — so the drop needed to margin call me gets larger every year. I plan to add ~$15k of new margin annually, specifically calculated to keep my safety buffer locked at ~30% of the total position forever. Year 1 is my most dangerous window. After that it gets safer every single year.
When I Hit Generation
Rate drops from 4.45% to 3.95% automatically — no action needed. ~$750/year saved on $154k+, growing as I add margin over time.
My Plan Going Forward
Deploy full $154k into XEQT immediately, add ~$15k of margin annually to keep the 30% buffer intact, never pay back the principal, and let both the debt and portfolio grow forever. The portfolio grows much faster than the debt.
My Main Concerns
Year 1 is my most vulnerable window. Liquid cash is ~$41k — enough for emergencies but not huge. The real stress test would be a job loss and a market crash at the same time.

Am I missing something? Am I disregarding any risks I haven’t thought of? If you’ve done something similar and can share what worked, what didn’t, or anything you wish you knew before starting — I’d love to hear it. Any tips on how to do this better are more than welcome.
Thanks 🙏​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I’m 26 with ~$400K invested. I’ve been DCA’ing since I was 21 — always boring, always consistent, always into something like XEQT. Broad market global ETF, set and forget, never touched anything crazy. That’s been me for 5 years.
Until Monday.
I’m throwing $309K in margin at TQQQ at ~$38.95 CAD with an automatic sell set around $49.05. The goal is to net ~$80K profit — which would put me just under halfway to $1M, my biggest milestone.
But it’s not just the money. That $80K flips me from Wealthsimple Premium to Generation — their top tier. Better perks, better features, and my margin rate drops from 4.45% to 3.95%.
And before someone asks — “why do you want a better margin rate if you said you’re done gambling?” — fair question. After this I still plan to use margin for long term investing. Boring, responsible, slow leverage on my normal positions. Not gambling. The better rate genuinely matters for that. I just don’t want to be doing anything like THIS ever again.
My reasoning for the actual trade? Absolutely nothing. Zero. TQQQ has been running like crazy and I’m hoping it doesn’t stop before my sell triggers.
This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this. And if it works, I made a promise to God it’ll be the last. Back to XEQT and DCA forever. If it doesn’t — I might be completely wiped out. I know that. I’m 26 and I’m doing it anyway because I’m tired of the slow road when the goal feels this close.

WISH ME GOOD LUCK 😭😭😭