JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317 
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 10, 2018 13:54:18 GMT
I began to invest in P2P platforms 5 years ago and have now looked at the overall results through my Quicken Finance reports which I have used for many years.
My full results are like this. I began with £15000 available cash, earning nothing even in deposit accounts, aren't banks incredibly mean for ripping off their customers? After 2 years I put in another £30000 after selling a motorhome but removed the same amount to buy a small boat in England last year, I now have £95000 invested having earned £31000 in interest and paying French tax of 11000€. These figures do not include the outrageous Bondora profit figures which I have ignored and only counted reality.
I have lost interest in most British Platforms and have liquidated most of my investments leaving just the following amounts which will probably be recovered to some extent and be withdrawn when possible.
Funding secure £1893 Lendy £3143 Thincats £455 Moneything £780
Otherwise I am now only invested with the Assetz GBBA with currently £11780, some being in Manual loans I have held for years including the Diamond Loan which I originally chose on Thincats and reinvested in when it moved to Assetz.
I had £8500 invested at Collateral before it was taken down by the FCA By the time the receivers finally finish with that there may or may not be anything left to repay my money there.
All the rest is invested with various European P2P businesses and has been where most of the profit has been made. Several I have left and withdrawn from after they ceased to give me a genuine return of 14%. I am extremely glad the FCA are unable to interfere with those. My largest is Mintos, which seems to have become the biggest loan issuer in Europe now after only 3 years from a standing start. They have just reached a total of 1 billion in loans funded on the platform. There I have earned 11278€ since being one of the first 100 investors there in January 2015 when it started an I introduced Martins Shultz the founder to this forum where he still posts today. I currently have 673€ in default there but these were all mortgage loans which are being recovered. One platform sent me a new ipad for filling in a short survey and I was lucky in the draw, they also pay me 14% on all loans and no defaults as always bought back with full interest to the date the buyback takes place. Maybe some UK Platforms could offer a possible reward for answering their surveys too.
I don't expect to be so profitable in future as inevitably available interest rates are being gradually eroded as more folk take it up.
The reason for the larger amount now invested is simply given in 2 words, compound interest. With a good interest rate it is amazing how it adds up.
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aju
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Post by aju on Sept 10, 2018 14:31:32 GMT
Well done James, he who dares wins I guess is the rule here, I can safely say I have not as yet lost on the deal as well, mind you it's sometimes a close run thing especially lately.
I am lucky to be in a good position being retired since 2007 but still not old enough as yet to get the SP. I've got a bit more than 2 more years to wait for that one. I am fortunate to have a good provision so my simple needs are fulfilled on P2P at the moment just being on Zopa. I have made some great gains on there but probably nothing higher than 5% in the last 2/3 years sadly.
My main aim has been to ensure that inflation tax is not hitting us too badly, with the 4-5% on Zopa at present this is being adequately achieved.
It's good to see others are winning on P2P but I fear that it's still sometimes very much like dealing in the share markets with winners and losers. Thankfully we are not on the losing side as yet but I guess it's more because I did not wade into the Plus side any more than 20% of my total P2P lending and had been investing some 6 years before it arrived. (Chasing the high numbers is not always what it is cracked up to be according others across this platform)
I will say that all my investment efforts are being challenged daily by Mrs Aju's instinct for spending money but to be honest I'm not expecting to live forever so I take a rather philosophical approach to spending these days. I would say our spending levels pale into insignificance if I compare ourselves to some people we have met along the way.
Interestingly our interest so far this year has been seriously challenged by the amounts we have been able to garner by complaining to companies who have made some momentous mistakes lately. Well worth the time spent writing letters of complaint this year I feel.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Sept 10, 2018 15:32:21 GMT
My full results are like this. I began with £15000 available cash, earning nothing even in deposit accounts, aren't banks incredibly mean for ripping off their customers? After 2 years I put in another £30000 after selling a motorhome but removed the same amount to buy a small boat in England last year, I now have £95000 invested having earned £31000 in interest and paying French tax of 11000€. ....they ceased to give me a genuine return of 14%. I am extremely glad the FCA are unable to interfere with those. I think I must have misunderstood your post. Are all these numbers GBP apart from the tax? These returns look like an annualised IRR of about 38%, even with the boost of measuring in GBP whilst investing in EUR during Brexit, I'd be surprised at that, especially when you say your return is 14% on some platforms. You have invested a net £15k. earned £31k, but have a total of £95k?
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JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 10, 2018 16:19:51 GMT
You have invested a net £15k. earned £31k, but have a total of £95k? Of course you are absolutely right, what I should have said was that I just invested any spare money I didn't spend from income as I went along. Your figure is correct and I did wonder how I had ended up with quite so much but our needs are simple at 80 years, so we don't dash about trying to enjoy wasteful spending, not my way.
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aju
Member of DD Central
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Post by aju on Sept 10, 2018 16:29:28 GMT
You have invested a net £15k. earned £31k, but have a total of £95k? I reckon James' small boat is a bit rocky today  If you can let me in on your secret investment strategy I'm up for that kind of return...
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JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 893
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 10, 2018 17:49:17 GMT
If you can let me in on your secret investment strategy I'm up for that kind of return... Whatever I know began with Claus Lehman who is known here as Wiseclerk. After I began P2P investing he asked me to write something for his website, completely out of date now but still there. Follow him for good reviews, he is the expert. The only thing is not to get involved with Bondora and that is from one who knows. I am selling the little boat as we got it to escape the summer heat here in Carcassonne. It was a disaster and the 'wonderful' NHS nearly killed me. We booked and flew home the same day and I had a violent allergic reaction to the antibiotic I was given so am just beginning to recover after no sleep for weeks and miserable since 5th August. Now going to buy something at a ski resort high in the Pyrenees where we can go in Summer for cool. old age problem.
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bigfoot12
Member of DD Central
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Post by bigfoot12 on Sept 10, 2018 18:06:51 GMT
My guess is that you could rent something very cheaply in a ski resort if you wanted it only for the summer.
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JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 10, 2018 18:18:23 GMT
My guess is that you could rent something very cheaply in a ski resort if you wanted it only for the summer. Prefer to buy it and go whenever there is what they call a canicule i.e. dog days starting, only 2hrs down the autoroute from home and stay until it gets cooler.
Nearly 40°C then here and we are stuck indoors. Even hotter then on our sailboat in Spain but that's another story.
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bigfoot12
Member of DD Central
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Post by bigfoot12 on Sept 10, 2018 19:58:36 GMT
...to buy a small boat in England last year... Now going to buy something at a ski resort... ...we don't dash about trying to enjoy wasteful spending, not my way. mmm
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JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 893
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 12, 2018 7:02:48 GMT
...to buy a small boat in England last year... Now going to buy something at a ski resort... ...we don't dash about trying to enjoy wasteful spending, not my way. mmm Imean we don't go to Grand Prix at crazy cost,thanks Bernie, or eat in restaurants over £10, only went to one grand Prix at Aintree won by Brooks and Moss like this.
I will get my money back on the narrowboat as I had many before and know what to buy, so cost me nothing.
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cwah
Member of DD Central
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Post by cwah on Sept 16, 2018 11:18:26 GMT
I had too many default. Not making money  |
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zlb
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Post by zlb on Sept 20, 2018 18:58:42 GMT
JamesFrance interested to know what Mintos etc can operate like if no FCA. Is that really what makes them more successful? Interested to understand.
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JamesFrance
Member of DD Central
Port Grimaud 1974
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 893
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Post by JamesFrance on Sept 21, 2018 6:05:53 GMT
JamesFrance interested to know what Mintos etc can operate like if no FCA. Is that really what makes them more successful? Interested to understand. It's just that they are not subject to UK FCA regulation, being mainly based in the Baltic States where regulation does not come with all the back covering history of the British system, but is really being developed to benefit the public. Just consider the PPI fiasco which has enriched lawyers and no doubt is one of the reasons banks offer such insignificant interest rates to savers while charging enormous rates to credit card customers and other borrowers. Only the customer ultimately pays for this sort of protection really only there to benefit politicians and civil servants.
But you should not take any notice of me as I am not qualified in any way to advise anyone and am probably biased against the FCA because as I see it they prevented an orderly unwinding of the Collateral loans which would have been much better for investors than the expensive process currently dragging on with no information on progress at all.
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Post by GentlemansFamilyFinances on Sept 21, 2018 10:10:48 GMT
For me, I've been investing with P2P for 12 years now. IRR is just over 12% after taxes- but I may have some future bad debt from Thincats to bring that down. That means that £1000 then is now about £4000.  It's be a good journey all said and I'm still investing and active- but returns are down compared to the early good (and bad) years! |
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ozboy
Member of DD Central
Mine's a Large One! (Snigger, snigger .......)
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Post by ozboy on Sept 21, 2018 11:10:37 GMT
For me, I've been investing with P2P for 12 years now.IRR is just over 12% after taxes- but I may have some future bad debt from Thincats to bring that down. That means that £1000 then is now about £4000. It's be a good journey all said and I'm still investing and active- but returns are down compared to the early good (and bad) years! Has P2P been in existence for twelve years? Blimey, I am ageing fast, and P2P investing is accelerating it. 
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It's be a good journey all said and I'm still investing and active- but returns are down compared to the early good (and bad) years!
