Peer-to-peer lending sites: MSE guide discussion

Albermarle

Nardge said:

Good afternoon,

As of today Lending Crowd  Works are closing to retail investors too.

This leaves Assetz Capital and Lending Crowd as the two remaining Business Loan companies open to the general public.

Thankfully Property Loan peer-to-peer companies aren't going the same way!

Best Wishes 

Correction above .

I would also say that although Lending Crowd is open,  you can not buy new or secondary market loans until further notice , so they are effectively closed to retail investors , but this may be temporary or maybe not .

Also a lot  of Assetz Capital's loans are property related in some way. 

Nardge

Aceace and Albermarle

• Admittedly I ought to have specified with "with which I'm invested"
• ABLrate, Qardus, and RebuildingSociety are much smaller firms?
• Points about Lending Crowd and Assetz Capital I left out for the sake of brevity,
  though with hindsight and for greater factual accuracy, I shouldn't have done!

I've edited the original post to what I'd intended, namely "Lending Works"

Best Wishes

Albermarle

Unlike Zopa and Ratesetter, Lending Works investors will have to wait for the loan book to run down to get all their money back, which could take years.
Luckily I turned off the reinvestment button with them three years ago , so my holding is 10% of what it once was.

where_are_we

Over the last 5 years I have invested small amounts (less than 5% of our wealth) in IFISA`s requiring a minimal input. I have been running down my Assetz Capital position by withdrawing cash as the Great British Business Account 2 (target rate 6.25%) winds down. However, I recently decided to reinvest the cash released from the GBBA2 in the 90 day Access Account (target rate 4.1%), thus keeping in the IFISA wrapper. My amount of "uninvested funds not earning interest" for the AA has been increasing because - "New investment is currently queued to invest in to AA’s due to the accounts being over-funded."  I assume there is a case of "too much money chasing too few loans". How long will this carry on and should I withdraw funds queued to invest.

Albermarle

 I assume there is a case of "too much money chasing too few loans". Correct How long will this carry on - nobody knows , although loan origination on the platform seems to be slowly increasing

and should I withdraw funds queued to invest.

That is up to you . If you think the platform has managed the best they could through the Covid crisis and have confidence in them , then probably best to be patient .

If you think it is a bit of a mess that might drag on for ages, especially  now with Omicron and you think the money would be working for you better elsewhere , then pull out.

masonic

Their IFISA is flexible, so there is no reason to keep cash on the platform earning nothing.

Aceace

masonic said:

Their IFISA is flexible, so there is no reason to keep cash on the platform earning nothing.

I certainly wouldn't recommend it, but one reason to keep them on the platform is that removing them would lose one's place in the Access Account queue. 

The AC AA accounts look like poor value at the moment when compared to the likes of Loanpad (other property secured platforms are available). 

The AC 90 day account currently pays 4.1%, but there's currently an unknown cash drag while funds are queued to enter. Interest and capital payments are not reinvested. 65 of the 339 loans listed on AC are currently in default (I have no idea how to determine how many were eligible for the Access Accounts before they defaulted). Access to these "access" accounts have proved extremely troublesome throughout covid.

The Loanpad 60 day notice account pays 4.0%, but there's no cash drag. Interest and capital can be reinvested. None of the 121 loans are currently in default. Loanpad has maintained full access to its accounts throughout covid. 

Disclosure: I'm an equity investor in both platforms. 

Nardge

Good morning Forumites!

Seems like this thread has been dormant for years!

Just checking in to see who's still here, and who remains in PeerToPeer lending?

As for me, I've for a number of years been with:

•  CapitalRise
•  CrowdProperty
•  Loanpad
•  Kuflink
•  Proplend

As I've new capital to invest, I'm looking to diversify my portfolio further.
Ideally this'll be with non property-oriented firms. I'm currently aware of:

• Lendwise
• Unbolted
• Lande
• Assetz Exchange

I'll read '4th Way' to learn more on these.
I'll also be seeing which other non property-oriented firms receive favourable reviews there. 

With Kind Regards 

masonic

I have dipped in and out of a few of the platforms you mentioned to make use of bad debt relief, as I am still awaiting final outcomes from legacy failed platforms. I'm still awaiting an answer from the FCA Complaints Scheme to my complaint about their negligence in regulating the sector in those years. I'm still awaiting the final outcome of various borrower litigation that is tying up some of my funds. The past decade has certainly been a learning experience!

Albermarle

Of the four platforms I invested in, only one is still active. 
The other three all closed to retail investors and my exposure (now < £10K) is reducing each month as loans are repaid. Luckily I dodged the Lendy, Collateral etc bullets.
The only active one is Triodos crowdfunding, but the flow of new opportunities is non existent recently so have transferred most of spare cash just sitting there out.
Otherwise lost interest and sticking with regular investments.