bugs4me
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Post by bugs4me on Mar 8, 2015 22:10:53 GMT
Now apparently, only 20% of all loans are funded by private lenders with the primary loans going to the institutions. So cannot disagree about the cherry picking although I suspect many do not even get to hit the platform in the first place. I suspect it's already happening here in the UK. Why bother with several 'pesky' private lenders when you can just deal with one. I expect this is happening out of our sight, but if the platforms wish to keep themselves in the public eye then they do have to offer some bits to the public. And if the bits are limited then it's essential to have automated tools as otherwise you'd end up with the FS situation, where loans are released and are funded in a matter of minutes, so that only those who have the time to keep a close eye on the website, or be logged in at the moment a pre-announced loan goes live, will be able to invest anything. And to be fair to FS, they generally try to widen their lending base by restricting how much any one person can lend, and that extends the time a loan is available, relieving a lot of pressure on lenders to be logged in at exactly the right time. We tend to nicely call them underwriters but whether those underwriters are individuals or institutions is another matter. If they're obligated to release their holdings promptly for resale at par value, then in my opinion they are underwriters, and I really don't care whether they're individuals or institutions. Unless the platform is in the FS situation -- and can fund nearly any loan they'd like to make -- then the underwriters are providing an essential service, and we 'retail' lenders all would have a less satisfactory experience if they weren't involved. - agree with many of the points you make but institutions reputedly are a greedy bunch and operate below the radar. Once a platform becomes over-reliant upon them then guess who starts calling the shots in future - or is that me being a cynic. Plus of course I wonder which bits us lenders/investors will be offered once the juice has been extracted. Now - I really must gen up on how to multiple quote in posts - you seem to be a master at it - any tips?
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bugs4me
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Post by bugs4me on Mar 8, 2015 22:29:34 GMT
Now that would be an interesting exercise. Many - if not all of those interviewed have a vested interest in attracting more funds to the platforms. But still the journalists seem to continue interviewing them rather than take the more time consuming route of seeking out lenders' experiences. It's well within their interest to give you the best tips, if you are walking away with poor returns you're not likely to continue investing, thus they lose an investor. On top of that, these people obviously understand the platforms better than anyone and know what is happening behind the scenes. They definitely have insight that I personally will employ(I'll pick and choose of course...). Bugs4me, I would love to do a lenders' experience article, the time-consuming part isn't the issue. Trust me, chasing these people down was nothing but time-consuming, lol. The problem with interviewing normal lenders is that, I can't substantiate that they have knowledge of the subject unless they are willing to show me their financial reports/records, etc. Not many people willing to do that. Besides that, even if I could get a good group of lenders to do that, many people wouldn't be willing to listen to them. Because they are just "regular people" that nobody has heard of. There will always be naysayer, no matter what. So I just continue moving forward and giving more information to be consumed and digested, many will benefit greatly from. Points(s) taken and agreed but I am aware that understandably their opinions are bound to be biased and whilst they may loose an investor here and there they will no doubt gain more than they loose from the publicity generated especially in view of the derisory returns offered by the traditional savings route. Whilst many P2P platforms are obligated to state the risk involved in P2P nonetheless this is rarely (if ever) stated by the experts who are interviewed. I feel many lenders/investors are simply dazzled by the headline rates being offered and it stands to reason that sooner or later one of the platforms will be reported negatively by the media which will possibly impact the whole industry. I concede that it would of course be virtually impossible to track down a representative sample of lenders. There may be one or two willing to come out of the woodwork but then you would need to know what level of risk they were most comfortable with. Anyway, thanks for your research into this. It's always good to know what the P2P platforms think.
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bugs4me
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Post by bugs4me on Mar 8, 2015 23:06:20 GMT
bugs4me. I think the real people that you want to hear the views of are the institutional investors. Large scale involvement from institutions is inevitable if P2P is successful. If they don't want to be involved it means it either isn't attractive or too small to be viable. I think understanding the aims and motivations of the instos would be a useful insight into something that clearly concerns the 'retail' lending base; you might like or not like what you hear but that's not the point. Of course since one of us is a 'greedy' institutional investor in their day job (though nothing related to P2P) we might be biased in thinking their views might be useful! I agree though that it would be hard to get them to openly talk about these issues. People prefer to operate below the radar and don't really want their views disseminated widely. There is little incentive for them to open up. Hence we get the platform owners jawboning instead. Of course the institutions will want to be involved and I certainly don't blame them for that - they are after all chasing investor returns. What would be a concern is the level of control they influence over the platform once the platform became over reliant upon them. That being the case which will probably be inevitable with some P2P platforms, then the transparency goes out of the window. It's certainly happened with the LC in the USA. That being the case, then provided some of the smaller P2P platforms can become more professionally presented then there will be enormous opportunities for them to grow IMO. Unfortunately there's more than a couple that seem unable to 'raise their game' and are simply bouncing along the bottom of the barrel.
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Post by Warren Lee on Mar 8, 2015 23:29:58 GMT
It's well within their interest to give you the best tips, if you are walking away with poor returns you're not likely to continue investing, thus they lose an investor. On top of that, these people obviously understand the platforms better than anyone and know what is happening behind the scenes. They definitely have insight that I personally will employ(I'll pick and choose of course...). Bugs4me, I would love to do a lenders' experience article, the time-consuming part isn't the issue. Trust me, chasing these people down was nothing but time-consuming, lol. The problem with interviewing normal lenders is that, I can't substantiate that they have knowledge of the subject unless they are willing to show me their financial reports/records, etc. Not many people willing to do that. Besides that, even if I could get a good group of lenders to do that, many people wouldn't be willing to listen to them. Because they are just "regular people" that nobody has heard of. There will always be naysayer, no matter what. So I just continue moving forward and giving more information to be consumed and digested, many will benefit greatly from. Points(s) taken and agreed but I am aware that understandably their opinions are bound to be biased and whilst they may loose an investor here and there they will no doubt gain more than they loose from the publicity generated especially in view of the derisory returns offered by the traditional savings route. Whilst many P2P platforms are obligated to state the risk involved in P2P nonetheless this is rarely (if ever) stated by the experts who are interviewed. I feel many lenders/investors are simply dazzled by the headline rates being offered and it stands to reason that sooner or later one of the platforms will be reported negatively by the media which will possibly impact the whole industry. I concede that it would of course be virtually impossible to track down a representative sample of lenders. There may be one or two willing to come out of the woodwork but then you would need to know what level of risk they were most comfortable with. Anyway, thanks for your research into this. It's always good to know what the P2P platforms think. Good points, I believe in getting as much info from as many sources as possible and piecing together a good strategy from that intel. Information is always good.
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mikes1531
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Post by mikes1531 on Mar 9, 2015 3:26:58 GMT
Now - I really must gen up on how to multiple quote in posts - you seem to be a master at it - any tips? I'll start by saying the forum software doesn't make it easy, but the way I do it is... - Write a reply to the first message in a separate tab/window, but don't post it.
- Write a reply to the first message in another tab/window.
- Click the 'BBCode' tab at the bottom of one of the composing windows; select all the code and copy it.
- Switch to the other composing window and click on its BBCode tab.
- Paste the previously copied code at the end of the existing code.
- Click on the 'Preview' tab.
- With any luck, the message will look like you want it to and you can submit it.
- Go back to the other composing window that you copied the code from and close it without submitting.
Now you regret you asked, don't you? 
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mikes1531
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Post by mikes1531 on Mar 9, 2015 3:34:03 GMT
I think it all depends on the platform and how much control the user has. If the results are predictable and acceptable, then why not use it? So whilst many arguments/suggestions are sensible I do feel individual platforms require monitoring by the lenders. Apologies if I gave the impression that any automated system qualified for 'set-it-and-forget-it'. That certainly didn't work for Zopa lenders as Zopa kept changing the rules/algorithms. So I'd say any automated system needs checking on at least weekly. But that's still better than having to keep checking the website very frequently so as to be able to take advantage of investment options as soon as they appear. Not to mention that, with a system like AC's, most opportunities that do arise will be snapped up by others with automated instructions before you have a chance to see them and try to act on them.
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Mar 9, 2015 6:30:51 GMT
It's well within their interest to give you the best tips, if you are walking away with poor returns you're not likely to continue investing, thus they lose an investor. [...] Besides that, even if I could get a good group of lenders to do that, many people wouldn't be willing to listen to them. [...] I think the point is, the article is aimed at 'novice' P2P lenders. I suspect that in this context that means people with little experience in anything more than regular savers accounts and has just entered P2P - rather than many on this forum who (while they may still self-class themselves as a novice) are not under that same umbrella. I note one gent uses a figure of 10K USD as if to say that is much more than his readers would be investing. Platforms want more volume, they need borrowers loans to fill and to get that they need more lenders. Attract them with easy catch-all auto-invest tools, and simultaneously get more loans by lowering the safety bar when it comes to risk. Their advice seems to be geared more towards people just lending more, full stop. That is really where their vested interests lie, and so long as the overall average rate of return still beats the banks that these 'novices' came from, everyone remains happy (-ish). That's the way I see it. If their advice was along risk assessment, they will loose business from some loans because their advice is to steer clear, but I could imagine a case where profit may come before the customers investment safety (not, in any way, an accusation of anyone or of any platform). You may be right, that those 'novice' lenders won't listen to a group of nobodies who claim to be experienced in P2P lending. But I think that most people here would listen and consider what was said, because they're not the same as the target for your article. But I don't think this is really necessary because most strategies and tips all come down to the same things, and (to me) it's more a case of laziness than not knowing what I should be doing... PS mixing UK & US platforms... Is that a good idea if your article is targeting new (or nearly-new) UK-resident P2P lenders? I don't think so. Starting with a caveat 'ignore references to this and that if you are in the UK' isn't good.
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baz657
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Post by baz657 on Mar 9, 2015 9:18:28 GMT
Now - I really must gen up on how to multiple quote in posts - you seem to be a master at it - any tips? I'll start by saying the forum software doesn't make it easy, but the way I do it is... - Write a reply to the first message in a separate tab/window, but don't post it.
- Write a reply to the first message in another tab/window.
- Click the 'BBCode' tab at the bottom of one of the composing windows; select all the code and copy it.
- Switch to the other composing window and click on its BBCode tab.
- Paste the previously copied code at the end of the existing code.
- Click on the 'Preview' tab.
- With any luck, the message will look like you want it to and you can submit it.
- Go back to the other composing window that you copied the code from and close it without submitting.
Now you regret you asked, don't you?
There's an easier way. Next to the  click the arrow and for every post you want to quote click select post. Click quote on the last one and they should all be there in your reply box.
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bugs4me
Member of DD Central
Posts: 1,845
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Post by bugs4me on Mar 9, 2015 9:52:21 GMT
Now - I really must gen up on how to multiple quote in posts - you seem to be a master at it - any tips? I'll start by saying the forum software doesn't make it easy, but the way I do it is... - Write a reply to the first message in a separate tab/window, but don't post it.
- Write a reply to the first message in another tab/window.
- Click the 'BBCode' tab at the bottom of one of the composing windows; select all the code and copy it.
- Switch to the other composing window and click on its BBCode tab.
- Paste the previously copied code at the end of the existing code.
- Click on the 'Preview' tab.
- With any luck, the message will look like you want it to and you can submit it.
- Go back to the other composing window that you copied the code from and close it without submitting.
Now you regret you asked, don't you?
Thanks mikes1531 - I give it a go rather than multiple posts. Try and combine them into one.
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Post by Warren Lee on Mar 9, 2015 11:53:16 GMT
It's well within their interest to give you the best tips, if you are walking away with poor returns you're not likely to continue investing, thus they lose an investor. [...] Besides that, even if I could get a good group of lenders to do that, many people wouldn't be willing to listen to them. [...] I think the point is, the article is aimed at 'novice' P2P lenders. I suspect that in this context that means people with little experience in anything more than regular savers accounts and has just entered P2P - rather than many on this forum who (while they may still self-class themselves as a novice) are not under that same umbrella. I note one gent uses a figure of 10K USD as if to say that is much more than his readers would be investing. Platforms want more volume, they need borrowers loans to fill and to get that they need more lenders. Attract them with easy catch-all auto-invest tools, and simultaneously get more loans by lowering the safety bar when it comes to risk. Their advice seems to be geared more towards people just lending more, full stop. That is really where their vested interests lie, and so long as the overall average rate of return still beats the banks that these 'novices' came from, everyone remains happy (-ish). That's the way I see it. If their advice was along risk assessment, they will loose business from some loans because their advice is to steer clear, but I could imagine a case where profit may come before the customers investment safety (not, in any way, an accusation of anyone or of any platform). You may be right, that those 'novice' lenders won't listen to a group of nobodies who claim to be experienced in P2P lending. But I think that most people here would listen and consider what was said, because they're not the same as the target for your article. But I don't think this is really necessary because most strategies and tips all come down to the same things, and (to me) it's more a case of laziness than not knowing what I should be doing... PS mixing UK & US platforms... Is that a good idea if your article is targeting new (or nearly-new) UK-resident P2P lenders? I don't think so. Starting with a caveat 'ignore references to this and that if you are in the UK' isn't good. Thanks for your input Xell, it helps! Although I don't agree that combining US & UK experts in one article is a problem, with the full bios and links to each website, readers need to do a couple more clicks to find out more. The article is aimed at novices for sure, they still need to do due diligence when putting their money on the line. The article is for general P2P lending tips, not platform or country specific. Sooooo many people have just heard of P2P lending this past week, literally. They need a starting point, this article isn't the finish point. I do understand your concern though. I have full confidence that these experts are giving tips that they would give to their family and friends. Just from talking to them, many are genuinely nice people and not the snakes some make them out to be because they are executives. People are people, I left out answers from some companies that gave me the company line or obvious throw away answers. But, I'll tell you what. You all gave me a great idea. I'd love to interview the top 3-5 "p2p forum experts" from each forum and see how that goes. I'll see if I can organize that somehow. Any ideas on how I could quantify who are the biggest expert? Should it be post count, forum vote, tenure on the forum? If I can find a viable way to do this, I will. I know many of you participate in other forums as well, so you could help me compile a list of forum experts and we'll see how that goes over. What do you think?
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Post by easteregg on Mar 9, 2015 12:40:24 GMT
I am not sure if this thread is totally serious or slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it seems fairly clear that the 30 'experts' know very little. If you really wanted to find out how best to make money from P2P lending, wouldn't you be better off with a panel of succesful P2P lenders rather than a panel of people who want to make money from P2P lenders? I was one of the "experts" that Warren spoke to, and would certainly regard myself as a P2P lender (although I'm not sure how the quantify successful) rather than trying to make from P2P lenders.
There are certainly many differences between the US and UK, to the extent that the UK market is more "evolved". The automated tools mentioned are present in virtually all P2P platforms today and the auto-diversification is present in some.
I'm certainly not unique on this board, and there are arguably a lot of members who have more experience of some of the platforms, so perhaps we should run a poll here for the best tips?
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Post by easteregg on Mar 9, 2015 12:50:55 GMT
I am not sure if this thread is totally serious or slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it seems fairly clear that the 30 'experts' know very little. If you really wanted to find out how best to make money from P2P lending, wouldn't you be better off with a panel of succesful P2P lenders rather than a panel of people who want to make money from P2P lenders? I was one of the "experts" that Warren spoke to, and would certainly regard myself as a P2P lender (although I'm not sure how the quantify successful) rather than trying to make from P2P lenders.
There are certainly many differences between the US and UK, to the extent that the UK market is more "evolved". The automated tools mentioned are present in virtually all P2P platforms today and the auto-diversification is present in some.
I'm certainly not unique on this board, and there are arguably a lot of members who have more experience of some of the platforms, so perhaps we should run a poll here for the best tips?
I've added our own expert poll p2pindependentforum.com/thread/2285/p2p-lending-tips
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mikes1531
Member of DD Central
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Post by mikes1531 on Mar 9, 2015 16:35:08 GMT
Now - I really must gen up on how to multiple quote in posts - you seem to be a master at it - any tips? Now you regret you asked, don't you? There's an easier way. Next to the click the arrow and for every post you want to quote click select post. Click quote on the last one and they should all be there in your reply box. Brilliant! I've been looking for that option ever since day one on this forum. Thanks for letting us know about it -- it's so much easier that what I had been doing.
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star dust
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Post by star dust on Mar 9, 2015 18:01:04 GMT
There's an easier way. Next to the click the arrow and for every post you want to quote click select post. Click quote on the last one and they should all be there in your reply box. Brilliant! I've been looking for that option ever since day one on this forum. Thanks for letting us know about it -- it's so much easier that what I had been doing. Me too, so pleased I just had to try it  . I'm always getting into a pickle with quotes as you can see, now if only there was an easy way to edit the quotes once you've captured them.....
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Post by elljay on Mar 9, 2015 19:00:26 GMT
so pleased I just had to try it I liked it so much I bought the company!  Yikes, showing my age now! 
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. I'm always getting into a pickle with quotes as you can see, now if only there was an easy way to edit the quotes once you've captured them.....
