andyb
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Post by andyb on Jun 11, 2016 9:25:48 GMT
hi all, just though i would would ask what your reasons for using SS are? are you using it to create an income or are you investing for the future or something else? for me personally I have never really been into saving or investing until last year and then I decided that I wanted to save hard. a few months ago I found RS and loved getting 6% and then human nature set in and I wanted more. That's when I found SS with its mighty 12% at 1% a month  I decided des that I am not touching the money in the account and will add to it every month for as long as possible whilst reinvesting every penny for maximum interest compounding. so what are your plans? |
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cooling_dude
Bye Bye's for the PPI
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Post by cooling_dude on Jun 11, 2016 9:49:28 GMT
hi all,
just though i would would ask what your reasons for using SS are?
are you using it to create an income or are you investing for the future or something else?
for me personally I have never really been into saving or investing until last year and then I decided that I wanted to save hard.
a few months ago I found RS and loved getting 6% and then human nature set in and I wanted more. That's when I found SS with its mighty 12% at 1% a month
I decided des that I am not touching the money in the account and will add to it every month for as long as possible whilst reinvesting every penny for maximum interest compounding.
so what are your plans?
At the moment, it is simply savings for me (reinvesting all the interest), but in the future (the distant future) I'm hoping it could become an income so that I can work less and enjoy life a bit more. That's only in regards to my personal SS A/C; I also have a business SS A/C. I keep my income (wage & dividends) from my business to just below the higher rate, and reinvest any excess the business has with the SS business account; the idea being, in the future the interest from the SS business A/C could provide me a basic wage.
Due to the above, I probably hold too much (which others would consider not sensible) of my available funds in SS (95% Personal, 80% Business), so this could be is considered a high-risk strategy. The reason that I am (currently) comfortable in doing so, is because of the availability of the SM, and because the SM is currently liquid. Any sign that the liquidity of the SM starts to wane, I will reduce my portfolio with SS.
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sam i am
Member of DD Central
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Post by sam i am on Jun 11, 2016 10:07:21 GMT
For me it is diversification from other asset classes. I sold a couple of properties and had a chunk of cash to invest. I still have some property plus investment funds (pension and ISA), EISs and VCTs. Cash gives minimal returns. P2P obviously has risks but so far has given me steady growth and is not directly linked to stock market fluctuations (although risk is linked to the performance of the economy). I'm of working age and will be for some time yet (touch wood) so I'm looking for reinvestment and portfolio growth but I do see P2P as a useful way to generate income in the future. I currently have 15-20% of my total assets in P2P across two platforms - the majority in SS and also some in MT. My specific reasons for using SS are: - high headline return - asset backed - only two defaults in my memory (just over a year) and I haven't lost anything yet (touch wood, cross fingers, hold rabbit's foot etc) - SM very liquid most of the time - INPL makes investment very easy and flexible - concept straighforward to understand - platform easy to use (except on a few busy occasions when it creaks under the strain) - increasing popularity with other lenders so demand continues to outstrip supply (so liquidity is maintained) - provision fund (a nice-to-have and I don't put a large emphasis on this) My perceived negatives are: - probably more risky than I like to think and maybe I am lulled into a false sense of security - possibly not enough diversification within the platform so if/when things do go wrong with the economy there is the potential for widespread losses - communication from SS can sometimes leave a bit to be desired but it doesn't overly worry me - some of the smaller (<£1m) loans have small pre-fund allocations which means I can't diversify as much as I would like (there are currently about 20 loans where I want and can achieve significant holdings, I'd like more) - the website/server needs a bit of an upgrade to cope with the busiest times - access from mobile devices could be better Overall I'm very happy. I've been on the platform just over a year and I've earned 12% with no losses. Thank you savingstream . |
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Post by ogwellian on Jun 11, 2016 10:56:59 GMT
I'm with about 10 p2p platforms.
SS pays me and my wife's golf club membership!! We pay annually in advance so SS replenishes our capital.
In effect we play for free, compared to where it was sitting before in low interest deposits.
Other platforms pay for taxing, servicing, insuring our campervan, our council tax, Sky/internet/phone subscription etc. etc. We bought one daughter a new car and her interest free repayments go to another platform. We lent money for a lease extension for another daughter and her repayments are in a different platform.
p2p is a boon for cash rich, low income pensioners!!
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Investor
Member of DD Central
Posts: 662
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Post by Investor on Jun 11, 2016 11:08:20 GMT
I'm with about 10 p2p platforms. SS pays me and my wife's golf club membership!! We pay annually in advance so SS replenishes our capital. In effect we play for free, compared to where it was sitting before in low interest deposits. Other platforms pay for taxing, servicing, insuring our campervan, our council tax, Sky/internet/phone subscription etc. etc. We bought one daughter a new car and her interest free repayments go to another platform. We lent money for a lease extension for another daughter and her repayments are in a different platform. p2p is a boon for cash rich, low income pensioners!! One daughter gets 'interest free repayments' the other one just gets 'repayments'. Wait till daughter 2 finds out. 
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stevio
Member of DD Central
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Post by stevio on Jun 11, 2016 12:19:37 GMT
hi all,
just though i would would ask what your reasons for using SS are?
are you using it to create an income or are you investing for the future or something else?
for me personally I have never really been into saving or investing until last year and then I decided that I wanted to save hard.
a few months ago I found RS and loved getting 6% and then human nature set in and I wanted more. That's when I found SS with its mighty 12% at 1% a month
I decided des that I am not touching the money in the account and will add to it every month for as long as possible whilst reinvesting every penny for maximum interest compounding.
so what are your plans?
At the moment, it is simply savings for me (reinvesting all the interest), but in the future (the distant future) I'm hoping it could become an income so that I can work less and enjoy life a bit more. That's only in regards to my personal SS A/C; I also have a business SS A/C. I keep my income (wage & dividends) from my business to just below the higher rate, and reinvest any excess the business has with the SS business account; the idea being, in the future the interest from the SS business A/C could provide me a basic wage.
Due to the above, I probably hold too much (which others would consider not sensible) of my available funds in SS (95% Personal, 80% Business), so this could be is considered a high-risk strategy. The reason that I am (currently) comfortable in doing so, is because of the availability of the SM, and because the SM is currently liquid. Any sign that the liquidity of the SM starts to wane, I will reduce my portfolio with SS.Wondered why you were on SS's back all the time lol - they have all your eggs and the basket!
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Post by wildlife2 on Jun 11, 2016 12:41:20 GMT
Income and pocket money for the cat. 
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Post by GSV3MIaC on Jun 11, 2016 14:09:57 GMT
The reason that I am (currently) comfortable in doing so, is because of the availability of the SM, and because the SM is currently liquid. Any sign that the liquidity of the SM starts to wane, I will reduce my portfolio with SS. Which results in exactly the kind of run-on-the-bank / avalanche breakdown (technical term. 8>.) which we would all like to avoid. At least in the case of SS there is no mechanism for 'race to the bottom' price cutting, but a sudden rush to sell would still be uncomfortable for all. Historically SS have not been great at repayments happening when they are supposed to (not alone there, see also Failed Completion's property loans) so you/we really ought to work on the basis of 'we may be able to get most of our money out within a few months of the loan end date', and if that's not a sustainable option then it's time (IMO, not of course advice) to spread it around more.
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Post by geraldine1210 on Jun 11, 2016 14:19:36 GMT
A very interesting thread.
For me, if is to attempt to increase the return on my investments. I have other money in iSA's etc. Have some, but less money in rate centre. I have a tiny amount left in funding circle, which will come out as it becomes available.
I also enjoy the mental stimulation.
Although not so stimulating when chasing a disappearing loan as you are asked to slowly prove you are not a robot.
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cooling_dude
Bye Bye's for the PPI
Posts: 2,853
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Post by cooling_dude on Jun 11, 2016 14:28:23 GMT
The reason that I am (currently) comfortable in doing so, is because of the availability of the SM, and because the SM is currently liquid. Any sign that the liquidity of the SM starts to wane, I will reduce my portfolio with SS. Which results in exactly the kind of run-on-the-bank / avalanche breakdown (technical term. 8>.) which we would all like to avoid. At least in the case of SS there is no mechanism for 'race to the bottom' price cutting, but a sudden rush to sell would still be uncomfortable for all. Historically SS have not been great at repayments happening when they are supposed to (not alone there, see also Failed Completion's property loans) so you/we really ought to work on the basis of 'we may be able to get most of our money out within a few months of the loan end date', and if that's not a sustainable option then it's time (IMO, not of course advice) to spread it around more. Not going to disagree with any of that. I don't currently envisage having to withdraw my money quickly anyway, and my reserves from personal and business amount to £10,000 which should cover any unforeseen situations. Diversification is currently something I've been looking at. Problem is, as I see it, by diversifying I increase the actual risk of losing some of my money (if any one of the platforms fails), as opposed to the risk of just SS failing (and losing all of my money). That may sound strange when read, but the way I see it is that the likelihood of one of the many P2P platforms failing is high, whereas the likely hood of the one that I'm solely invested in (SS) failing is low. However.... eggs & basket (I know, I know...). I do feel that with the current stable P2P climate I can take my time with my strategy, and hope to have the details ironed out before any disasters occur with SS or the P2P market.
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Post by justdabbling on Jun 11, 2016 15:38:09 GMT
Compared with others I am just playing at P2P. I have reached the age I was going to retire but I find that I still enjoy my work which is freelance, and related to business education around the world, so I have cut down and so have more time than I am used to and I don't need to start using the retirement savings which were intended to be for capital expenditure during retirement as I have enough pension income.
So I have time to do something other than shove the money into a cash ISA and a professional interest in new business models, but the actual trigger was a decision to make sure my cash was only used for things that are Ok with me. I suppose I still hate the bankers, not your everyday ones of course and who may be very nice people, but the industry as a whole which has been ripping people off for at least 40 years.
I started with Abundance and investments with 50% SEIS tax relief, generally assisting family with buying property etc., starting another pension fund (ethical of course), and behold everytime I did something 'principled' I seemed to improve my returns. I suppose it was just that I was actively managing the savings. So it is partly playing, partly professional interest, partly control freakery and partly bloody mindedness. I like SS because it is simple and it seems transparent, but I have only about 4% of my little pot in it at the moment. I am holding back until after 23 June. The other risk that I wonder about is cybercrime ie hacking. It is nice having a site that is so easy to go into, sell loans and draw down funds but I would need a bit if reassurance before I put in a lot more cash.
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adrianc
Member of DD Central
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Post by adrianc on Jun 11, 2016 16:12:59 GMT
Which results in exactly the kind of run-on-the-bank / avalanche breakdown (technical term. 8>.) which we would all like to avoid. At least in the case of SS there is no mechanism for 'race to the bottom' price cutting, but a sudden rush to sell would still be uncomfortable for all. Historically SS have not been great at repayments happening when they are supposed to (not alone there, see also Failed Completion's property loans) so you/we really ought to work on the basis of 'we may be able to get most of our money out within a few months of the loan end date', and if that's not a sustainable option then it's time (IMO, not of course advice) to spread it around more. Not going to disagree with any of that. I don't currently envisage having to withdraw my money quickly anyway, and my reserves from personal and business amount to £10,000 which should cover any unforeseen situations. Diversification is currently something I've been looking at. Problem is, as I see it, by diversifying I increase the actual risk of losing some of my money (if any one of the platforms fails), as opposed to the risk of just SS failing (and losing all of my money). That may sound strange when read, but the way I see it is that the likelihood of one of the many P2P platforms failing is high, whereas the likely hood of the one that I'm solely invested in (SS) failing is low. However.... eggs & basket (I know, I know...). Reading that scares me, C_D, and it's not even my money!
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am
Posts: 1,495
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Post by am on Jun 11, 2016 16:29:35 GMT
Which results in exactly the kind of run-on-the-bank / avalanche breakdown (technical term. 8>.) which we would all like to avoid. At least in the case of SS there is no mechanism for 'race to the bottom' price cutting, but a sudden rush to sell would still be uncomfortable for all. Historically SS have not been great at repayments happening when they are supposed to (not alone there, see also Failed Completion's property loans) so you/we really ought to work on the basis of 'we may be able to get most of our money out within a few months of the loan end date', and if that's not a sustainable option then it's time (IMO, not of course advice) to spread it around more. Not going to disagree with any of that. I don't currently envisage having to withdraw my money quickly anyway, and my reserves from personal and business amount to £10,000 which should cover any unforeseen situations. Diversification is currently something I've been looking at. Problem is, as I see it, by diversifying I increase the actual risk of losing some of my money (if any one of the platforms fails), as opposed to the risk of just SS failing (and losing all of my money). That may sound strange when read, but the way I see it is that the likelihood of one of the many P2P platforms failing is high, whereas the likely hood of the one that I'm solely invested in (SS) failing is low. However.... eggs & basket (I know, I know...). I do feel that with the current stable P2P climate I can take my time with my strategy, and hope to have the details ironed out before any disasters occur with SS or the P2P market. The point of diversification is to narrow the range of possible weighted outcomes. It's better to have a (predicted) range of a 10%-20% loss of capital with a mean of 15%, than a (predicted) range of a 0-100% loss with the same mean. Diversification is for insurance against rare outlier events happening, such as the board of a FTSE-100 company adopting a strategy (buying telecom assets for cash at bubble prices) that destroys the company in a few months.
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littleoldlady
Member of DD Central
Running down all platforms due to age
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Post by littleoldlady on Jun 11, 2016 16:43:22 GMT
Any sign that the liquidity of the SM starts to wane, I will reduce my portfolio with SS. Er, won't that be at just the point that you can't anymore? The SM will likely seize up suddenly, not gradually wane, probably due to a dramatic event.
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cooling_dude
Bye Bye's for the PPI
Posts: 2,853
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Post by cooling_dude on Jun 11, 2016 16:56:49 GMT
Not going to disagree with any of that. I don't currently envisage having to withdraw my money quickly anyway, and my reserves from personal and business amount to £10,000 which should cover any unforeseen situations. Diversification is currently something I've been looking at. Problem is, as I see it, by diversifying I increase the actual risk of losing some of my money (if any one of the platforms fails), as opposed to the risk of just SS failing (and losing all of my money). That may sound strange when read, but the way I see it is that the likelihood of one of the many P2P platforms failing is high, whereas the likely hood of the one that I'm solely invested in (SS) failing is low. However.... eggs & basket (I know, I know...). I do feel that with the current stable P2P climate I can take my time with my strategy, and hope to have the details ironed out before any disasters occur with SS or the P2P market. The point of diversification is to narrow the range of possible weighted outcomes. It's better to have a (predicted) range of a 10%-20% loss of capital with a mean of 15%, than a (predicted) range of a 0-100% loss with the same mean. Diversification is for insurance against rare outlier events happening, such as the board of a FTSE-100 company adopting a strategy (buying telecom assets for cash at bubble prices) that destroys the company in a few months. Very true... This is the primary reason I take part on this forum, to take on advice from those far more knowledgeable than me  I will start to diversify my portfolio; I've already got accounts with MT & ABL, and have my eye on some of the others. As soon as my funds start to increase, I'll invest them in alternative platforms.
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