stevio
Member of DD Central
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Post by stevio on Nov 12, 2016 8:18:34 GMT
I think we all appreciate the chance to diversify, but there have been a few 'issues' randomly dotted around on various threads and I thought it would be good to see if we all share the same feelings and feed these back to Collateral so they can know if they are doing a great job or if there are areas that need improvement. collateral have been fairly responsive on other threads, so I hope they can actively participate here
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archie
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Post by archie on Nov 12, 2016 8:26:46 GMT
I'm currently keeping funds steady as Collateral is still a relatively new platform. I trim down investments as they near maturity but retain what's left with renewal ticked.
I may increase funds in the future when more loans have matured and the picture is clearer.
I invest here to give diversity away from property.
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stevio
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Post by stevio on Nov 12, 2016 8:35:52 GMT
I'll start. I'm currently keeping funds steady, although I would like to invest more for the diversity. However to feel confident in the platform I would like to see:
1) VALUATIONS i) who provides these (the borrower?)? ii) if provided by a reputable appraiser, could details of who the valuer is be given?
2) BORROWERS i) who are they? we have no details. Is this Collateral? For small loans, we can accept small private borrower, but loans are stretching into £1000's and other sites are not concerned about detailing the borrower, why are Collateral? ii) are all the jeweler loans to the same person/company? iii) who are the new borrowers on non-pawn loans? (there is next to no information on the business, yet we are relying on the success of the business to support the interest payments)
3) SECURITY i) where is the asset kept during the loan? ii) what sort of charge do you have over the security? iii) please identify the borrower so we can check a charge has been made?
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Post by moneymagnet on Nov 12, 2016 9:01:22 GMT
I'm currently keeping funds steady as Collateral is still a relatively new platform. I trim down investments as they near maturity but retain what's left with renewal ticked. I may increase funds in the future when more loans have matured and the picture is clearer. I invest here to give diversity away from property. Pretty much the same with me. I have a very small percentage of my total P2P funds in Collateral and won't consider putting more in until the platform has been around longer. I rotate funds around, pulling out of loans as they near maturity, reinvesting in loans with longer time to run. I would like to see the "Pipeline Loans" page working so I have more of an idea what I am bidding on. I like the fact that Gordon participates on this forum. I also like that I can sell easily on the SM.
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Post by bonfemme on Nov 12, 2016 9:08:27 GMT
I've sold up and withdrawn everything I had invested. Like Stevio, I'm not at all comfortable about the lack of information on valuations, security and borrowers. A few months ago Collateral were giving instant responses to all questions asked, but since some of the questions became more probing, they don't seem so forthcoming. I'd love it if these doubts could be assuaged as I was really happy when they launched. I had intended to move a sizeable proportion of my P2P investment funds into the platform.
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n
Member of DD Central
Yet another Nick
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Post by n on Nov 12, 2016 10:50:08 GMT
I'm currently keeping funds steady as Collateral is still a relatively new platform. I trim down investments as they near maturity but retain what's left with renewal ticked. I may increase funds in the future when more loans have matured and the picture is clearer. I invest here to give diversity away from property. Me too. If/when I am fully confident I plan to double my current investment here provided jewellery is still the main course.
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nush
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Post by nush on Nov 12, 2016 11:23:13 GMT
I am gradually increasing funds here, but that is because I only started a few months ago. I particularly want non property loans as like others, I am looking for diversification. Despite increasing funds, I share all the concerns delineated above; If I was offered similar loans on MT I would take them in preference. I do like the SM at par. I have about 5-10% of my p2p lending here. same apart from my overall %age
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upland
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Post by upland on Nov 12, 2016 12:03:44 GMT
I have a small holding here and I intend to watch what happens. I use the website and read these boards to try to see how I can make it work for me but it is small beer at present. I am waiting for a few more completed loans to be done and track records to emerge.
Its a good source of non - property loans but I do have concerns about valuations. Property like it or hate it is very roughly able to be valued easily by all. Probably the same for vehicles. Sparkly stuff , art ,and others I dont know much about so whether its worth £5K or £199.99 (ebay) I cannot tell. I dont know much about these arrangements to settle the loan if it defaults etc. To me they are just promises with little substance as yet. I would like to see more 'believable' information about the item that in some way I would have a comeback if it were not so.
A pipeline of loans would be good as one would have a bit more time to evaluate them. I am a bit concerned by the way the sparkly pictures of loans fly off the shelves by investors like mackerel feeding. It does strike me as a bit of a frenzy and something I should avoid. The same thing happens in equity markets.
I always felt with p2p that the real money was in building a successful business and eventually selling it on to the big boys (Ben and Jerry...). Stinging a few investors probably would not be worth it. I feel by now that firms like FS and MT dont have screaming investors wanting their money back. Their repute and ability to keep it all going for what in p2p terms are geological times (over two years) is a big safeguard for me. It can all go horribly wrong though , someone runs out of cash , and the promises about the state of the book are perhaps not as good as hoped leading to expensive insolvency practitioners... Diversity is a good idea in platform and loans , whether you lost money in loans or shares its not much different.
Gordon has a good and helpful style and its a credit. I do notice that some of the representatives of the companies on these boards are good at answering the right questions but less so the challenging ones. I like the representatives that speak plainly and robustly , there are some and it helps me trust their offer.
I have been investing for most of my life and I have been stuffed by real experts. Remember even the banks can fail.
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 12, 2016 12:22:03 GMT
Slowly drip feeding amounts in - aiming to reach ~5% of total P2P lending and will then hold steady for a while whilst we see how the platform matures and handles repayments, defaults etc. I am mostly interested, like others, in diversifying to other assets (especially jewellery, coins, etc) away from property (I have enough of that on other platforms but would move from some of those property loans to this one if it was the right offer (security, valuation etc)). I also have the same concerns as listed above and would like to see those addressed. Eventually I'd like to think I'd be able to increase my lending here to ~20% of my total P2P lending as I like a lot about this platform, but I'm not ready to do that yet.
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Post by loanstar on Nov 12, 2016 12:38:25 GMT
Keeping funds invested, but not increasing. Started investing when platform was very new. Some of the oldest loans will mature soon. The platform and my holding will remain small until they become more professional.
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kaya
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Post by kaya on Nov 12, 2016 15:14:25 GMT
hoy said You know what, I don't live too far from Manchester (I'm sure there are others). Why don't we go there and look at their "secure storage" and check that our assets are secure?
Excellent idea hoy . Would collateral Rep like to arrange an open day for investors, and show us where our security is stored? (p.s. how do you tag Collateral Rep?)
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Post by buttchopf23 on Nov 12, 2016 15:40:01 GMT
That's a great idea, although I could not participate. But I could write a post on my blog covering the investor's day according the investors experiences.
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Post by buttchopf23 on Nov 12, 2016 15:54:44 GMT
Sure we would need help, or someone from the visitors could write a guest post on my blog. We will see how this one goes on
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Post by collateral on Nov 12, 2016 15:57:22 GMT
Apologies for not coming back to everyone on this thread sooner. There is only myself and Gordon that has access on behalf of Collateral on this forum and Gordon is away in Scotland this weekend at a family celebration and I, unfortunately am dealing with the bereavement of a very close friend today and will have his funeral arrangements etc to arrange over the coming days.
We will provide a full overview of how the business works and answers to all questions raised within the next couple of days.
Best regards,
Peter
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Post by polonius on Nov 12, 2016 16:25:28 GMT
You know what, I don't live too far from Manchester (I'm sure there are others). Why don't we go there and look at their "secure storage" and check that our assets are secure? I also live close to Manchester. I think this is a great idea - count me in! Peter, sorry to hear about your loss.
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