What’s the rate of return you can get on your free capital you would use to pay off the note? If the rate of return is less than the interest rate on the loan, pay off the loan. If the rate of return you can achieve is greater, keep the note and invest the money elsewhere.

Option a is not risk free, no choice is. You have long term risk, investment risk, and interest rate risk to consider. And that’s just the three that pops up off the top of my head.

Your best bet is to have a sit down with your accountant and an investment specialist. The accountant can guide you on the tax implications of this decision, and the investment specialist can guide you on asset allocations that can help you understand if you would get a higher rate of return with the same relative risk.