This is one of those areas the Australian government has done ok in. Mandatory superannuation retirement funds. 11% (?) of all pay goes into this fund to be invested. Thus you can pay off the house and have an investment fund at the same time.

You can withdraw from your fund if you have a hardship but it is generally considered best to not touch it.

I have a house and a brokerage account that’s worth a few times my what my house is (it’s rather modest). Nothing is stopping an American from doing both other than their own priorities (and I’ve neglected areas that other people find important - I rarely travel and drive a beater car for instance; to each their own).

Pretty much. While it is mandated here, there is nothing stopping others form doing the same.

On my end it is just a manner of optics. The money being put aside, I never see week to week thus it just seems like an added bonus even though it is really just a part of the pay cycle.

We have private tax-advantaged plans that work essentially like that, but they are totally optional. Interestingly the only system that is mandatory is our “Social Security” - you are obligated to pay in but the money is pooled; you get something akin to shares in the system, but it only entitles you to a specific payout after a certain age; your contributions are not privately owned.

Unusually for these types of discussions, it seems like the US system is more socialized than the alternative in your country.

But can’t those all go to zero overnight, leaving you with nothing? The same could happen with a home, but that’s what insurance is for. So I guess the gamble is between a natural or fire disaster or our financial system collapsing.

If the stock market all goes to zero overnight assuming you're working with indexes or reasonably balanced portfolio then we're all so fucked it won't matter whether you have a house or not.

No they cannot anymore than a house? Unless you purport that Intel truly does not own those giant facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon. Which, you can also have with a house if title falls through.