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Post by markaldrich on Jun 22, 2018 21:04:50 GMT
So I have dabbled with p2p sometime ago but got a bit nervous and took my investments all back into the stock market. Now with things looking rocky in the world I want to diversify. I've considered property but not sure I can be bothered with the hassle of tenants and leaky drain pipes. With the tax changes it isn't attractive either. So I've turned back to p2p. Having read reviews on Financial thing and particularly 4th Way I've plumped for a combo of AC, Growth Street, Lending Works, Proplend, Ratesetter and Zopa. I've jettisoned Moneything and Unbolted pretty fast as their platforms seem poor and don't inspire confidence for investing hard earned cash. I put some in Landbay but pulled out after listening to a podcast and it dawning on me that if liquidity goes I am stuck with 25 yr loans - not attractive for a 51 year old! I enjoy the manual lending on AC and Proplend (though availability here is slow). I expect my question is bearing in mind my caution am I missing any good reliable platforms or making any obvious mistakes here? I have looked at the likes of lending crowd and Lendy but their boards here don't inspire confidence so am tempted to stick to this few but welcome any thoughts, recommendations or hints. Thanks all.
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ozboy
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Mine's a Large One! (Snigger, snigger .......)
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Post by ozboy on Jun 23, 2018 9:25:53 GMT
So I have dabbled with p2p sometime ago but got a bit nervous and took my investments all back into the stock market. Now with things looking rocky in the world I want to diversify. I've considered property but not sure I can be bothered with the hassle of tenants and leaky drain pipes. With the tax changes it isn't attractive either. So I've turned back to p2p. Having read reviews on Financial thing and particularly 4th Way I've plumped for a combo of AC, Growth Street, Lending Works, Proplend, Ratesetter and Zopa. I've jettisoned Moneything and Unbolted pretty fast as their platforms seem poor and don't inspire confidence for investing hard earned cash. I put some in Landbay but pulled out after listening to a podcast and it dawning on me that if liquidity goes I am stuck with 25 yr loans - not attractive for a 51 year old! I enjoy the manual lending on AC and Proplend (though availability here is slow). I expect my question is bearing in mind my caution am I missing any good reliable platforms or making any obvious mistakes here? I have looked at the likes of lending crowd and Lendy but their boards here don't inspire confidence so am tempted to stick to this few but welcome any thoughts, recommendations or hints. Thanks all. Can't believe you've "read reviews" and are seriously still considering Zopa. Have you bothered to read the reviews on here? 
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hazellend
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Post by hazellend on Jun 23, 2018 9:34:27 GMT
So I have dabbled with p2p sometime ago but got a bit nervous and took my investments all back into the stock market. Now with things looking rocky in the world I want to diversify. I've considered property but not sure I can be bothered with the hassle of tenants and leaky drain pipes. With the tax changes it isn't attractive either. So I've turned back to p2p. Having read reviews on Financial thing and particularly 4th Way I've plumped for a combo of AC, Growth Street, Lending Works, Proplend, Ratesetter and Zopa. I've jettisoned Moneything and Unbolted pretty fast as their platforms seem poor and don't inspire confidence for investing hard earned cash. I put some in Landbay but pulled out after listening to a podcast and it dawning on me that if liquidity goes I am stuck with 25 yr loans - not attractive for a 51 year old! I enjoy the manual lending on AC and Proplend (though availability here is slow). I expect my question is bearing in mind my caution am I missing any good reliable platforms or making any obvious mistakes here? I have looked at the likes of lending crowd and Lendy but their boards here don't inspire confidence so am tempted to stick to this few but welcome any thoughts, recommendations or hints. Thanks all. Property partner is a good alternative to direct property investment
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jun 23, 2018 10:10:04 GMT
I put some in Landbay but pulled out after listening to a podcast and it dawning on me that if liquidity goes I am stuck with 25 yr loans - not attractive for a 51 year old! If I understand correctly the loans are 25 years, but fixed for a maximum of 5 years after which they revert to floating at a slightly higher rate than the standard floating rate. I would expect many of these to refinance at that point, and, even if they didn't, would having floating rate income at age 60 be that bad? I like Octopus Choice, but you might have a similar concern to Landbay. Property partner is a good alternative to direct property investment I would have recommended PP as well until a few days ago. They have just announced an increase in fees and they are also possibly selling off one or two early properties. It will be interesting to see how close those properties' sale prices are to the valuation and how any costs impact the return. Another that I am less happy to recommend than I was a month ago is Funding Circle. My biggest concern is that they have just become less transparent than they used to be. It is no longer possible to see the loan book. This has really worried me. I was increasing until I heard this news, but now I am static. Others are reporting, on this forum, that losses are increasing but I haven't had such a problem yet. Is their dash for growth ahead of an IPO having an impact - I wonder. Edit: I have just exited FC. My returns have been okay, others have reported increase in defaults, and I can't verify that because the loan book has gone. Some of this will probably find its way to AC, most will leave P2P.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 10:20:12 GMT
On a wider note there is clearly a "hunt for income" going on around the world and that is buoying up things that act like bonds but are not bonds. So some of the Reits and some of the infrastucture Trusts etc are offering nice income and a generally upwards capital movement that bodes well for the next down turn.
On the P2P front I would think you should be able to get by with 6 portals maximum, in fact more than that would confuse me. I've been at this for 5 years now (only 5% of my wealth is in P2P an the rest in S&S) and I am in retreat from 2, slower retreat from 1 and aiming to be with just 3 in a couple of years time.
Of your selection I only know AC and Ratesetter well and they are on my retreat or slow retreat list, that is not to say that AC is unattractive I just feel they need time to get their new low rate of return book bedded in, so I may look again next year. I might start to use their 5% interest fund as a small cash holding account soon. Certainly Ratesetter is on the retreat list and I see no reason to change that opinion. Of the rest the Zopa dialogue is alarming and I'd not get my feet wet there.
Of the other ones you mention avoiding; Lendy worry me and I think you are right to wait to see what the next year brings, I hope significantly better leadership and fewer Cowes weeks. I think you miss-understand Moneythings' very conservative attitude, where they see default, others see only slight concern. The chief at MT has many years experience at this game and it shows.
I think you might like Ablrate as a very conservative lender with a very hard nosed attitude to possible defaults.
I'd also suggest looking at Trustpilot to get a view as to customer reviews, note that some portals incorrectly copy across their scores from Trustpilot (naughty) and so you need to go to the source.
Good luck.
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Post by markaldrich on Jun 23, 2018 22:16:29 GMT
Thanks guys - I hadn’t picked up on Zopa. I thought if they were heading towards a bank they were pretty stable? Interested in your retreat from rs as again that looked pretty solid - what is the concern? What are your 3 of choice Bobo?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2018 7:44:25 GMT
I suppose I look at portals in three groupings, the 5/6% area, the 8/9% area and the 12% area
In the 5 6% range
Of these RS is struggling to achieve the 5% that I see as a minimum and so will move over to the AC accounts.
In the 8 9% range
However I am in slow retreat from AC as their 12% area was not succesful, I'll still make my money there but there are no new loans coming through at the rate I want (which is 8 to 9%) so I suspect they will become my new 5/6% store.
Then there is FC, which changes its whole structure every 2 years or so, I cannot trust it to deliver on the planned interest rate or to deliver a consistent business plan so I'm just phasing out.
In the 12% range.
Of the rest there are those where I sit doubtful but interested, I suspect Lendy will come through on most of their deals I have but their senior management are not as bright as they think so again no new money going there until I see improved performance. FS as long as they stay away from property and boats I will maintain my present holdings, just re-investing as deals come through.
MT and ABL are now my core, both need to focus in different ways, one at managing recovery and one at spreading their borrower base, but both are well managed capable businesses that I feel I understand
I appreciate that in the 12% range I'm going to get some defaults that will knock it back, so I need companies that know how to manage defaults.
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Post by markaldrich on Jun 24, 2018 8:07:47 GMT
Ah that’s really helpful your reservations on RS are about rate than any concerns over platform. As I gain confidence I’m happy with lower returns so RS looks a decent base for some money with this being perked up by some of the others such as AC. Appreciate this is not higher return but probably will try others out as hopefully confidence grows. Still bemused by the Zopa comments - I had a brief look at the forum this morning and nothing to suggest it was going down the pan - again is it just concern over returns?
Thanks for your thoughts. Very helpful and may indeed look at MT again.
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jo
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Post by jo on Jun 24, 2018 16:00:46 GMT
If one is prepared to invest in a European platform (and there's no reason one shouldn't be, imo), Mintos are pretty good.
I've been with them since 2015 and out of a total of ~4000 micro loans (including repaids), I have 0 bad debt. They have a filter option to invest only where the loan originator offers a buy-back if repayments go 60-days delinquent.
Return (XIRR) in Eur terms is ~12.75% and in Gbp ~17.5% - although I hedge FX exposure.
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Post by markaldrich on Jun 24, 2018 16:04:44 GMT
Thanks. I hadn’t looked at the euro platforms but will take a look at Mintos. I’m not sure I’d know how to hedge the currency difference but will look into this if so put a lot in. Thanks again
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toffeeboy
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Post by toffeeboy on Jun 26, 2018 14:52:15 GMT
Thanks. I hadn’t looked at the euro platforms but will take a look at Mintos. I’m not sure I’d know how to hedge the currency difference but will look into this if so put a lot in. Thanks again I'd second Mintos, I have stopped investing more into UK firms now and just increasing my Mintos investment. Had some great returns so far especially with the 5% cash back bonus which recently ended but no losses so far as all loans covered by 60 day buyback and luckily didn't have any Eurocent loans.
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Post by markaldrich on Jun 26, 2018 14:54:17 GMT
Thanks - have popped a small about of cash into Mintos and once cleared will give it a go. I have posted in the Mintos forum seeking tips on approach. Mark
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