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Post by konstantinovs on Apr 23, 2015 12:23:37 GMT
Hi all. I recently got introduced to p2p lending (feel like I've been missing out all this time  ) and quickly deposited some money (around 5k) in ratesetter. I'm happy with the way their company is set up and the returns they offer but I think it's best if I diversify amongst different companies a bit more. I probably have a few thousand more to play with which I won't need access to in the next few years and I've narrowed it down to a few P2P companies that I'm interested in. I'd say I'm relatively risk averse and don't want to be spending my time looking at loan applications doing due diligence so companies that offered a fixed return with a provision fund were what I was after mainly. So was hoping for a bit of help on the following if that's ok!
Apologies in advance if these specific questions have been answered - I've been combing the boards for a few days researching but didn't see anything that answered my queries.
Assetz Capital:
1) This seems to be one of the more popular companies around here, but since I don't want to do DD on loans before investing it looks as though their green energy fund might be a good bet? 7% fixed return for a 3yr period with a provision fund. Compared to the 3 and 5 year terms on similar sites like Ratesetter it looks like a good deal. Any feedback on this - most threads I see on the AC board tend to focus on the regular P2P portion with the higher and more volatile returns rather than this energy fund.
2) Are there any referral offers for joining AC? If so, happy to use a member's code/link.
Wellseley:
Was thinking of investing £2.5k in their P2P 5yr 6% offering which would also net me a £50 cashback. Advisable? (I've noticed moneysupermarket have expired this offer but it still seems valid on the p2pmoney site, can anyone confirm this?)
Funding Circle:
I've managed to figure out that the autobid doesn't get a lot of love around here. However would it be worth it if I just signed up for the £50 referral bonus and stuck £1000 in using autobid with £20 max per loan? Even with a few defaults more than the predicted 2.3% default rate I'd still end up with a decent rate of return factoring in the bonus, no?
Zopa:
Steer well clear??? Even with the £50 bonus.
A lot of questions I know so thanks in advance for any advice!
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SteveT
Member of DD Central
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Post by SteveT on Apr 23, 2015 15:18:49 GMT
On your Funding Circle question, rather than setting Auto-stupid to burn through your first £1000, you'd be much better off going to the Secondary Market ("Loan Parts" page) and manually buying 50 x £20 loan parts in a selection of A+ rated property loans that are available at a discount (ie. a negative premium). That way you'll immediately profit by the value of the discount (typically 0.6 - 1.0% depending on the loan) whereas Auto-stupid would buy you into very same loans at par. Filter to look at just the "A+" loans with a "Max Premium" of -0.5% (click on Advanced filters), then Sort by "Buyer Rate" and work your way down from the top.
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markr
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Post by markr on Apr 23, 2015 16:57:22 GMT
Assetz are popular here because they were involved in the setting up of this forum (after FC trashed the previous one), and they chose to use this forum as their "primary" forum and interact regularly with it, making this the "go to" place for Assetz info. Also, Assetz (at least in it's original form) appealed to more sophisticated investors who were more likely to use a forum. Similarly, the FC board is busy because this forum was born out of the Independent Funding Circle forum, so lots of FC users moved over when FC bought and canned the other forum. We have long memories, and FC's attempt to stifle an independent forum and their constant refusal to interact with us or even admit this place exists leaves them open to a lot of friendly ribbing here but that doesn't necessarily mean we don't like or use the platform. Similarly, the Zopa forum is relatively quiet because they have their own well used forum, although it's the largest and oldest P2P platform and many of us have holdings there.
Incidentally, I did pretty much exactly what stevet suggested when my partner was wanting to invest in P2P. The referral bonus and some discounted or cashback parts has got her set up nicely with a little buffer against future bad debt. Remember though the discounted and cashback loans aren't easy to resell so you may not be able to get your money back quickly.
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webwiz
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Post by webwiz on Apr 23, 2015 17:56:55 GMT
For your situation I would recommend Zopa, Ratesetter and Wellesley. These can all reasonably be regarded as "invest and forget". But they are not savings accounts. You might be better off going with Santander 123 which pays 3% on the total balance if it is between £3000 and £20,000. IMHO p2p is for investors who want a little more excitement, are prepared to do a certain amount of DD research, and who are ready to accept some losses.
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mikes1531
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Post by mikes1531 on Apr 24, 2015 1:17:55 GMT
Assetz Capital:
1) ...since I don't want to do DD on loans before investing it looks as though their green energy fund might be a good bet? 7% fixed return for a 3yr period with a provision fund.
: Depending on whether you're looking for a completely set-it-and-forget-it solution with minimal risk or are willing to do a bit of work for yourself and accept a bit of risk, an alternative to AC's Green account might be to buy parts in the components of that fund directly. They pay 9.5% to 10% and, IMHO, the difference between that and the 7% paid by the Green account seems a good return for taking some of the risk yourself. With a bit of effort you ought to be able to build up a diversified portfolio of those loans by yourself, though it might take a little while and would require more of your attention. Then again, you might sleep better at night letting AC keeping track of your portfolio and knowing you have the benefit of the provision fund, so you need to do whatever you feel comfortable with.
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Post by konstantinovs on Apr 24, 2015 9:13:36 GMT
Realise these options are a lot riskier than savings accounts, but guess I'm just fed up with the rates on offer. Already maxed out the high-interest current accounts available e.g. Lloyds, TSB etc and have a large chunk in cash/S&S ISAs so just looking to put the rest of my money to work. Only going to invest around 10% of my available money into p2x anyway so whilst I would obviously be a bit annoyed if I were to lose some of it it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I think for now I'm leaning towards the Zopa/Wellseley route to snag the intro bonus and just run the account down (unless rates increase) whilst doing more research on Funding Circle and Assetz Capital. Maybe a couple of months down the line I'll put a few hundred into MoneyThing/Savings Stream just to test the waters once I'm a bit more comfortable with p2x! Thanks for the advice all.
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mv
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Post by mv on Apr 24, 2015 11:24:14 GMT
In terms of the introductory bonuses...
You can open an account with funding circle and ratesetter and get an introductory offer 50 + 25. You can then introduce your partner to open the same and get it again. They need to invest 1000 pounds. In ratesetter that is easy- just put it in at the monthly market rate and set it to be paid back to your holding account. Then withdraw one month later or re-invest- up to you.
In FC they will also need to invest 1000. For 50 quid bonus you could pick one decent looking fixed rate loan (preferably with cash back) and put the lot in 20 pound instalments. Then even if you sell the lot on the secondary market with a 1% discount you are up.
Alternatively it might all be a bit too much hassle for 150 quid!
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Post by konstantinovs on Apr 24, 2015 13:43:10 GMT
Thanks for the tip! There isn't much I wouldn't do for £150  Incidentally, does anybody have a referral link for FC? Cheers! |
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Post by elljay on Apr 24, 2015 14:04:48 GMT
Incidentally, does anybody have a referral link for FC? Cheers! [mod hat on] By PM is fine, but please don't post it here. Thanks.
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mv
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Post by mv on Apr 24, 2015 14:38:19 GMT
Thanks for the tip! There isn't much I wouldn't do for £150 Incidentally, does anybody have a referral link for FC? Cheers!
elljay: Oi! By PM please!
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) and quickly deposited some money (around 5k) in ratesetter. I'm happy with the way their company is set up and the returns they offer but I think it's best if I diversify amongst different companies a bit more. I probably have a few thousand more to play with which I won't need access to in the next few years and I've narrowed it down to a few P2P companies that I'm interested in. I'd say I'm relatively risk averse and don't want to be spending my time looking at loan applications doing due diligence so companies that offered a fixed return with a provision fund were what I was after mainly. So was hoping for a bit of help on the following if that's ok!
