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Post by biscuitbri on Feb 5, 2018 21:27:06 GMT
Anyone invested in/have any experience of Downing Crowd It seems to have been launched by an established investment company, they offer bonds over 1 year plus with medium rates of interest.
As some of the older platforms seem to be following FC, L etc into more dangerous (for us) areas, I am moving my small, but hard earned pittance into similar "safer" schemes such as Landbay, Wisealpha and so am interested in similar opportunities.
Thanks
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bugs4me
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Post by bugs4me on Feb 5, 2018 21:59:03 GMT
Anyone invested in/have any experience of Downing Crowd It seems to have been launched by an established investment company, they offer bonds over 1 year plus with medium rates of interest. As some of the older platforms seem to be following FC, L etc into more dangerous (for us) areas, I am moving my small, but hard earned pittance into similar "safer" schemes such as Landbay, Wisealpha and so am interested in similar opportunities. Thanks Have you carried out any DD on them?
Just asking out of curiosity.
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liso
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Post by liso on Feb 5, 2018 22:07:48 GMT
They do appear to be one of the "safer" companies. They report no losses, and their parent company has been around a long time.
I invested in their earlier bonds. The bonds performed as expected but I did not re-invest when they repaid. The interest rates had fallen on the investments being offered at that time and, together with the management fees that Downing charged, I could get almost the same return from a FSCS protected bank account.
If you are considering investing, it is probably worth checking what their fees are currently. AFAIK, the rate of return currently advertised for the bonds does not take account of Downing's fees, so your actual return will be less.
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Post by biscuitbri on Feb 5, 2018 22:31:06 GMT
Thanks liso,
Yes parent company looks solid enough, all returns on time etc.
Will have a closer look on the fees - could not see anything on the FAQ's so may contact them. You are right with lower rates the fees can make a real difference on returns.
Hopefully they may pick up on this thread and take the opportunity to join the discussion
Thanks
Brian
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rick24
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Post by rick24 on Feb 6, 2018 11:18:42 GMT
I have invested in several bonds, which have repaid. The advertised return is after fees. It is stated in each offer document. One reason for investing was that they are backed by an established wealth manager. However, I do find the interest rate on the low side so I only have a token investment there at the moment. I wasn't too keen on the recent diversified property bond offering: lowish rate and a bit opaque.
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p2pclive
Blockchain specialist
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Post by p2pclive on Feb 6, 2018 11:43:47 GMT
Downing Crowd? More like Down And Out Crowd
I wouldn't go near them with a blockchain!  |
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ton27
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Post by ton27 on Feb 6, 2018 13:49:21 GMT
I have invested previously in some of their VCTs, where returns, many of them property related were on the low side compared with most of my other VCTs.
Since mid-2017, as part of a diversified portfolio, I have invested in most of their loans - rates are averaging 5.6% - but still too early to assess overall performance as most of the bonds have yet to mature.
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Post by biscuitbri on Feb 6, 2018 13:56:25 GMT
Downing Crowd? More like Down And Out Crowd
I wouldn't go near them with a blockchain! You obviously have had a bad experience with them - could you let us know more please.
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amphoria
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Post by amphoria on Feb 6, 2018 14:35:58 GMT
To give another point of view. I have invested in two of their limited life VCTs. One returned 163% of the investment after tax relief when fully repaid. The other has returned 118% to date and the remaining net asset value is about 30p/share.
I have also invested in their P2P bond offerings in 2016, so all but one (a 2 year loan) have now repaid in full. They were mostly operational solar and wind sites. The XIRR achieved to date is 5.25%. I stopped investing in 2017 as I felt that the interest rates were low with the same level of risk.
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p2pclive
Blockchain specialist
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Post by p2pclive on Feb 6, 2018 22:42:34 GMT
Downing Crowd? More like Down And Out Crowd
I wouldn't go near them with a blockchain! You obviously have had a bad experience with them - could you let us know more please. No experience with them, they just seem a bit creepy, you know what I mean? 
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pikestaff
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Post by pikestaff on Feb 7, 2018 8:57:59 GMT
Downing are a long-standing investment house with a reputation to protect. I have in the past invested in a number of their planned exit VCTs which have done well enough. Not spectacularly, but they are in line to do what they said on the tin.
I've been in Downing Crowd from the start and have a substantial amount with them (a similar amount to my AC and RS investments, but less than I have on TC). The quality of documentation is good and I think the rates are OK for the risk. Most (not all) of the bonds relate to seasoned, operational assets, which is not the case generally with p2p. Where that's not so the LTVs are relatively low.
The main disadvantages are (1) no SM, so no liquidity (not an issue for me), and (2) there are not many bonds in which to invest. Also it's not possible to set up automatic withdrawals. However, they email you whenever a payment is made and it's easy enough to withdraw when that happens.
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Post by biscuitbri on Feb 9, 2018 16:16:29 GMT
Thanks for your experiences and very useful advice
Thanks again
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michaelc
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Say No To T.D.S.
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Post by michaelc on Feb 10, 2018 15:40:33 GMT
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p2pclive
Blockchain specialist
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Post by p2pclive on Feb 13, 2018 14:48:49 GMT
Oh dear, that's not a good sign for Downing Crowd! They won't be seeing profits this side of Halloween! Oh dear oh deary me! 
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zlb
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Post by zlb on Feb 19, 2018 9:19:35 GMT
Downing are a long-standing investment house with a reputation to protect. I have in the past invested in a number of their planned exit VCTs which have done well enough. Not spectacularly, but they are in line to do what they said on the tin. I've been in Downing Crowd from the start and have a substantial amount with them (a similar amount to my AC and RS investments, but less than I have on TC). The quality of documentation is good and I think the rates are OK for the risk. Most (not all) of the bonds relate to seasoned, operational assets, which is not the case generally with p2p. Where that's not so the LTVs are relatively low. The main disadvantages are (1) no SM, so no liquidity (not an issue for me), and (2) there are not many bonds in which to invest. Also it's not possible to set up automatic withdrawals. However, they email you whenever a payment is made and it's easy enough to withdraw when that happens. thanks for insight. I thought also they'd have reputation to protect. their faq now states that "No fees are deducted from the interest rates advertised." Presume that's what you find to be the case.
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