Funding Circle

sn1994

Hi

Has anyone used Funding Circle? How did it fare up in the end? From what I've been reading, it's good if you spread your investments well and the return can be around 5%.

I know every investment can go up and down, and I'm not asking about that, I'm more curious if people have experience with FC in particular and can comment on how well vetted borrowers are etc

Sam

paddytt

Hi Sam

I've been using FC for over anyear now, and my max investment was £3,000, invested in £1,000 lumps. Currently I am withdrawing 75% of that to pay for a holiday.

My annualised return (after losses) is currently just over 10%, equal to £257.69.

If you know how to work the system, you can make good money. Set you rate high, be patient and sell for a profit.

Good luck

paddy

shadowspy24

I've taken the plunge and joined last week and put in a grand and used the autobid feature and set my interest rate to about 8% (6% after fees and losses). Will post feedback of how it goes!

Broken_Biscuits

I don't use fc, mostly because it appears to take a fair bit of effort to get solid returns. Most say you should stay clear of the much easier autobid system.

if you are prepared to put a bit of research in to each loan then ive read it can be very rewarding.

you suggest you only want 5% returns.
there are other p2p sites that are are a lot less hassle that will give these sorts of returns. + of course a few bank accounts and monthly savers that will get you 5% more too with a lot less risk.

mvarrier

I do use this site. I've tended to stick to the property development loans with 2% cashback and minimum 8% annual interest. It is tricky (currently) to sell these on in the secondary market but the are secured against property (still need to do your due diligence). So far it's early days with this type of loan and so I can't tell you the record on bad debts.
Saving stream.co.uk is simpler and gives a better rate for similar loans and I use this more. If you do use FC avoid autobid and do register with the p2p independent forum.

Jonbvn

I have used FC for several years.

My comments are as follows:

1. I strongly suggest you do not use autobid.
2. You can make quite good returns if you are prepared to invest the time and effort by undertaking suitable due diligence of borrowers and using the secondary market.
3. For the sort of returns you require there a a few simpler p2p platforms available.

Wilkins

I have been in FC from the start and get a return of about 6.5%. In my experience you will get less if you use autobid because of increased default rates. In other words, it pays to vet applications yourself using a few simple rules.


Overall, I am very pleased with FC and it occupies a useful niche on the risk/reward spectrum.

PatrickO_3

Jonbvn wrote: »

I have used FC for several years.

My comments are as follows:

1. I strongly suggest you do not use autobid.
2. You can make quite good returns if you are prepared to invest the time and effort by undertaking suitable due diligence of borrowers and using the secondary market.
3. For the sort of returns you require there a a few simpler p2p platforms available.

I have been using Fundingcircle for a couple of years, and would agree with everything Jonbvn says.

8-10% return is achievable with a bit of effort.

sn1994

Thanks for the replies -- it's been helpful. Looking around showed me many people were stung by the Autobid feature. I don't want to use that, I wanted to know about FC's potential as an investment platform.

I am happy to research and put the effort in, I am not looking at using the Autobid solution (I don't trust any automated investment).

Unfortunately cash ISAs and banks offering 5% are not an option as I have used all my ISA allowance and the banks only offer a high percentage on the first few thousand in a current account.

I've not yet invested, but I've been looking at loan requests vs loan parts and had a few queries.

It looks like a Loan Request is a more long-term investment, and I can (if I can find a buyer), later sell it off in Loan Parts to someone else in Funding Circle? Am I correct in thinking that Loan Requests offer a higher ROI than Loan Parts? If I do not need access to the money for some time, am I better off using Loan Requests feature? Lastly: why do people sell of their remaining Loan Parts ,is it because they suspect the investment may go sour or do they want access to their money?

Sam

arbster

sn1994 wrote: »

It looks like a Loan Request is a more long-term investment, and I can (if I can find a buyer), later sell it off in Loan Parts to someone else in Funding Circle? Am I correct in thinking that Loan Requests offer a higher ROI than Loan Parts? If I do not need access to the money for some time, am I better off using Loan Requests feature? Lastly: why do people sell of their remaining Loan Parts ,is it because they suspect the investment may go sour or do they want access to their money?

Loan Parts are just a natural side-product of a Loan Request. Basically, every bid on a new Loan Request creates a new Loan Part. The ROI is broadly the same - if you buy a Loan Part offering 10% on £20 you'll get exactly the same as if you bid on a new bid at the same rate.

As for the reasons people sell their Loan Parts, it varies. They might have inside information, in which can you could be buying a dud. However, I think more often it'll just be someone that needs access to the money.

Keith1985

I've been using Funding Circle on and off for about a year. I currently have £1k invested and all lent out, and am getting a gross yield of 9.1%. It is possible to get higher (gross) returns than that, but I prefer to stick to lower risk options. The property development loans sometimes have a cashback offer (up to 2%) so I take advantage of these when I can.


To date (touch wood), I have not had a single bad debt.


I echo the comments of people above me regarding autobid, take the time to some a bit of proper research yourself and you will likely see better results.