Where to invest in P2P H2 2021

Loanpad seems to be the winner so far.

I understand that Loanpad seems more secure than others and therefore one is less likely to lose one's money. They are also one of my favourite P2P platforms.

However, I've noticed the LTVs being higher and some of the borrowers' projects being more risky ones on my latest loans through them.

A return of 3% or 4% is very low when one considers that inflation is currently 2.1% and almost certain to head towards 3% soon. Then, depending on the amounts of one's invest returns, one may have to pay a sizeable ratio of that 3% or 4% interest in tax, meaning one is basically losing money by lending through Loanpad. 

That's despite Loanpad probably having a similar risk of platform failure as P2P platforms paying much higher returns, because one never knows with any P2P company what's happening behind the scenes and how close they are to going bust. (As has been commented before regarding these polls, there's an eerie correlation between P2P platforms that come top in these polls and those that go into Administration!)

Thoughts?

1. Loanpad.
Falls out of AC, into Lp.
2.Other. ( is my next biggest ££)Not listed P2p. Had a good look around the P2P world when the Pandemic hit.
3. CP (But only 2 votes allowed).

I'm very happy to hear that the Euro platforms have performed particularly well for you.

I avoided European platforms, despite the substantially higher returns on offer, because I was under the delusion that there would be meaningful protections for lenders with UK P2P platforms compared to those based in the Baltic states etc.

How naive and stupid I was. As you very rightfully say, I've experienced time and again that (a) UK P2P platforms are run atrociously, with blatant illegal and criminal behaviour by their Directors and/or other allied parties (e.g. on one P2P platform which recently suddenly closed down, the Director took an "unauthorised Director's loan" - that would have been defined as "stealing money" if he didn't have the "right" skin colour - which, when discovered, triggered the platform going into Administration) and (b) when P2P platforms do go into Administration, everybody is acting against your interests as a lender, whether it is the FCA, the FOS, Action Fraud/the police, the Administrators, Solicitors, Valuers, Surveyors, the borrowers etc. etc.) and therefore chances of you recovering your capital nevermind interest are negligible. 

Therefore, the biggest risk by far in P2P Land is a platform going bust, not individual loans, as the downside is loss of all/almost all one's capital and years and years of time wasted and suffering severe distress going through Administration processes versus a small potential upside of perhaps 2% or 3% p.a. return after factoring in tax and inflation.

I'm still very much in the P2P game as I hope the existing larger P2P platforms won't also suddenly go out of business, but the vast majority of my investments go into equities and bonds etc. because I don't worry about sharedealing platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown suddenly going into Administration and me losing everything I'd invested into shares through them.

How high a risk would you say there is of one or more of the existing 'well loved' P2P platforms we talk about on these forums going into Administration within, say, the next year?

That is something we cannot know.   Only the FCA can look into that and that doesn't seem to be something they are competent to deal with.