Anything similar to Funding circle previous model

kremmen

I have had an email from Funding circle about bad debts recovered and it reminded me of the fun I had with small investments ( I understand why this may not be massively profitable)

I was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar.

I enjoyed playing the game with small businesses even when they didn't always do well.

eskbanker

https://p2pindependentforum.com/ is perhaps a suitable venue to discuss that, or are you looking for something more like Crowdcube?

Albermarle

kremmen said:

I have had an email from Funding circle about bad debts recovered and it reminded me of the fun I had with small investments ( I understand why this may not be massively profitable)

I was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar.

I enjoyed playing the game with small businesses even when they didn't always do well.

Lending Crowd were a smaller version of FC, but they also shut to new retail investments during Covid and are now mainly funnelling institutional money to lenders. The existing retail investments are in run off mode.

Johnjdc

LoanPad feels like the main survivor? But I agree this is risky saving, rather than investing.

Malthusian

Johnjdc said:

LoanPad feels like the main survivor? But I agree this is risky saving, rather than investing.

That's a contradiction in terms. If you put money in something it's either saving (safe) or investing (risky).

Did you mean to write "risky gambling"?

allegro120

kremmen said:

I have had an email from Funding circle about bad debts recovered and it reminded me of the fun I had with small investments ( I understand why this may not be massively profitable)

I was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar.

I enjoyed playing the game with small businesses even when they didn't always do well.

RebuildingSociety and Qardus are the only two of the type that are still functioning, but the loan flow is very slow on both platforms.

Johnjdc

Malthusian said:

Johnjdc said:

LoanPad feels like the main survivor? But I agree this is risky saving, rather than investing.

That's a contradiction in terms. If you put money in something it's either saving (safe) or investing (risky).

Did you mean to write "risky gambling"?

No, I meant to write risky saving, and did. If we were being pedantic I'd say it's lending and doesn't quite fall under either category.

I certainly wouldn't call someone whose only foray beyond bank accounts was a bit of P2P lending an "investor".

Would you argue that someone with £100k in a single bank is "gambling"? I'd probably reserve the term gambling, even colloquially, for AIM shares, large (relative to net worth) purchases of other single named shares, crypto, derivatives, maybe SEIS, and actual betting.

Malthusian

Johnjdc said:

I certainly wouldn't call someone whose only foray beyond bank accounts was a bit of P2P lending an "investor".

Well, they are. Lending money is an investment.

Would you argue that someone with £100k in a single bank is "gambling"? 

I'd call it saving £85,000 and investing £15,000, although a very bad investment. It's effectively a capital-at-risk loan to the bank.

At least with gambling there's the potental for a payout. Investing more than the FSCS limit in a bank effectively gives you zero payout, over and above what you would earn by putting it in another bank with FSCS protection. 

I'd probably reserve the term gambling, even colloquially, for AIM shares, large (relative to net worth) purchases of other single named shares, crypto, derivatives, maybe SEIS, and actual betting.

Positive expected return = investing.

Negative expected return = gambling. 

"Expected return" is a statistical term; if someone offers you a 38-to-1 payout for guessing a roulette number correctly it would be an investment, because if you bet on that enough times you would make money. As it's a 35-to-1 payout you will lose money.

AIM shares, other individual shares, derviatives, SEIS are in theory investing - although the variance of outcome may be so wide that it's difficult to tell. At the dodgier end of the penny share market (drilling for oil in Surrey, magic early-stage technology) the prospect of a return may be so unlikely that it becomes gambling. 

Crypto tokens, other zero sum money games and traditional betting = gambling.

Johnjdc

So in a country with no compensation scheme, there would be no such thing as saving, other than perhaps by putting cash in your mattress, is your argument?

Malthusian

Johnjdc said:

So in a country with no compensation scheme, there would be no such thing as saving, other than perhaps by putting cash in your mattress, is your argument?

These are relative terms in the English language used within the context of a modern Western economy.

Within the context of somebody living in that country without access to safer alternatives, it would be "saving", because their priority is security rather than growth. (If the distinction even exists in the local language to the extent it does in the UK, which it probably doesn't.)

If a UK investor put money in a foreign bank with no depositor insurance it would be an investment (the same kind of mistake as putting money over the FSCS limit in a UK bank).

jabbawocky22

Kuflink seems to be fairly similar. I haven't used them yet as an investment, but have signed up there and had a look.