Adding leverage increases your risk, but increased risk is the only way to possibly gain better returns.
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### USD margin loan
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The next level up is using some leverage. When you have stocks/equity, brokers will let you take a margin loan of at least 50% or more of your equity value. This gives you 1.5 leverage, at the cost of margin loan interest which is usually terrible at most brokerages. For example, Schwab will charge you 13% interest. If you cannot make more than 13% on the investments you do with leverage, you won't even break even. Interactive Brokers will give you a much better rate, for example 5%. This is an easier number to beat on return.
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When you have stocks/equity, brokers will let you take a margin loan of at least 50% or more of your equity value. This gives you 1.5 leverage, at the cost of margin loan interest, which is usually terrible at most brokerages. For example, Schwab will charge you 13% interest as of today. If you cannot make more than 13% on the investments you do with leverage, you won't even break even. Interactive Brokers will give you a much better rate, for example 5%. This is an easier number to beat on investment return.
### Forex margin loan (carry trade)
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But you can avoid taking a margin loan entirely by utilizing other methods. One such way is with forex (sometimes called carry trade). For example, your broker may have a much lower interest rate for another currency like CHF. Say that is 1.5%. You can take a CHF loan, convert that to USD, and use the funds to invest in US stocks. However, you must now beat both the 1.5% margin interest as well as any forex rate changes. For stable currencies like CHF, I've had good results for long periods of time. However, if there is a big drop in USD value to the foreign currency, your loan repayment can be much bigger than you expected.
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One way to reduce interest charges is using a forex margin loan (sometimes called carry trade). Your broker may have a much lower interest rate for borrowing in another currency like CHF. Say that is 1.5%. You can take a CHF loan, convert that to USD, and use the funds to invest in US stocks. However, you must now beat both the 1.5% margin interest as well as any forex rate changes. You also have to keep in mind the cost of conversion, which is more favorable to larger sums. For stable currencies like CHF, I've had good results for multi-year timeframes. However, if there is a big drop in USD value to the foreign currency, your loan repayment can be much bigger than you expected. Many people have done this with JPY due to its low interest rate.
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### Box spreads
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A box spread is another way to take a loan, except it is not from your broker, but from the option market participants. This essentially gives you the best borrowing rate that your broker will never beat, but you will need to trade options which can be quite complicated. [This blog post](https://thefinancebuff.com/short-box-spread-vs-margin-loan-fidelity.html) describes the process. I created [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSmY9HNzeAo) and [slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-CDrMKt7snfninR7kycAI7HIv2nGCyVBD-ozjVqwVUc/edit?slide=id.p#slide=id.p) going into the mechanics.
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[Boxtrades](https://www.boxtrades.com/) is a good site for figuring out the trade to enter. You can even combine this with a forex carry trade to take the loan in another currency with lower interest rate, but you will need to be able to trade options in non-US markets (e.g. SMI index on Swiss exchange).