Anybody using Saving Stream?

Turtle

Am considering putting some money into Saving Stream, probably starting with £100 (minimum you can do) then once I see it works how I think it does, increasing the amount.

The reviews I've seen look quite good, other than a few gripes about only really being about to correspond with them via email. Anyone got any experience with them they'd like to share?

Thanks in advance.

Flobberchops

No, but I'm with MoneyThing which seems to be very similar in the way they operate and the expected returns. I favoured MoneyThing because I think SavingStream has a minimum deposit and loan of £100, whereas MT has an initial deposit minimum of £100 which you can then spread around in increments of as little as £1 per loan - so basically it's easier for a small investor to diversify.

If you look on the P2P Independent Forum you can read plenty of discussion about MT, SS and other platforms. From what I've read people are saying overwhelmingly good things about SS.

Starting small and seeing how it goes is a good idea. That's how I started too - a word of warning, it's addictive.

frenchplonka

Flobberchops wrote: »

No, but I'm with MoneyThing which seems to be very similar in the way they operate and the expected returns. I favoured MoneyThing because I think SavingStream has a minimum deposit and loan of £100, whereas MT has an initial deposit minimum of £100 which you can then spread around in increments of as little as £1 per loan - so basically it's easier for a small investor to diversify.

If you look on the P2P Independent Forum you can read plenty of discussion about MT, SS and other platforms. From what I've read people are saying overwhelmingly good things about SS.

Starting small and seeing how it goes is a good idea. That's how I started too - a word of warning, it's addictive.

addictive in what sense

Flobberchops

frenchplonka wrote: »

addictive in what sense

Addictive in the sense that once you see your money invested and you start mentally totting up the expected returns, and factoring in compounding, it becomes very tempting to throw caution to the wind and invest a lot more than you initially earmarked, especially as new loans come up for offer. I've had to sit myself down and have a serious talk about *not* chucking in any more money this side of payday.

masonic

I've been using Saving Stream for about a year. It didn't take me very long to become fully invested across 20 or so loans and they allow you to set a prefunding target for upcoming loans, meaning it isn't 'fastest fingers first' to get a slice of the loan when it launches. The secondary market is also very good.

yorkie3

I'm using it and recommend it for more sophisticated investors. It is not a savings account so requires you to do a little due diligence with the properties you're lending on. Have a look at p2pindependent forums for lots of detailed information.

Turtle

Thanks for all your replies. I will take a look at the forum and go from there. Much appreciated!

Dan83

I've got an account but yet to take the plunge and invest, I prefare fun funding circle, rates can be a lot less or a lot more depending who you lend to.

I keep looking at the saving stream website and thinking should I?

mvarrier

I am a big fan. I had 30k invested accross multiple loans whilst saving up for moving house/renovations. I have managed to sell this down to 15k without any difficulty in order to release capital to pay for said renovations.
I have had no losses although I am fully aware of the risks. I tend to sell loans when they are coming towards term anyway in order to fund new loans that are coming up. As all the interest is paid in advance this is a slightly lower risk strategy.
One particular strength of SS is that unlike some P2P/P2B companies, their bussiness model means they have been profitable since the beginning. My due diligience leads me to believe that their 'platform risk' is quite low considering the returns on offer. The main concern will be a crash in the property market in general (which is always a real risk).

Turtle

mvarrier wrote: »

I am a big fan. I had 30k invested accross multiple loans whilst saving up for moving house/renovations. I have managed to sell this down to 15k without any difficulty in order to release capital to pay for said renovations.
I have had no losses although I am fully aware of the risks. I tend to sell loans when they are coming towards term anyway in order to fund new loans that are coming up. As all the interest is paid in advance this is a slightly lower risk strategy.
One particular strength of SS is that unlike some P2P/P2B companies, their bussiness model means they have been profitable since the beginning. My due diligience leads me to believe that their 'platform risk' is quite low considering the returns on offer. The main concern will be a crash in the property market in general (which is always a real risk).

Thank you. What do you mean by all interest is paid in advance? I thought they paid you 1% a month then at the end of the term you got your capital returned (hopefully! ) Is that not what happens?

masonic

Turtle wrote: »

Thank you. What do you mean by all interest is paid in advance? I thought they paid you 1% a month then at the end of the term you got your capital returned (hopefully! ) Is that not what happens?

That's what happens, but the borrower pays the interest to SS upfront.