|
|
Post by Butch Cassidy on Jun 18, 2016 9:31:55 GMT
What is the point of setting investment targets; I held nearly £16k in F*** C** #166 @ 15% it was repaid yesterday but effectively rolled over into #292 but at a 9% rate, 40% lower, I set a £12k target in the knowledge that I am comfortable with the borrower risk if not the rate but was allocated £84.80 out of a £1/2 million loan. I am almost lost for words that anyone at AC thinks that this is acceptable; what is the point of encouraging £30m of Building Society deposits to sit as an underwriting fund when it sucks the life out of every other aspect of the platform?
The sweep function that everyone seems so enamoured over just ends up in a queue paying nothing, the shrapnelator is virtually dormant, MLIA holders must be leaving in droves due to the pitiful rates on offer, where has all this loan gone?
If I had a pound for every time AC had reassured investors that the pipeline was bulging & we only needed to wait a few more days/weeks/months & it would all be improved then I would no longer need any investments. I could almost tolerate MLIA investors being treated as second class citizens if my money was actually earning anything at all but a drop of 15% to 0% overnight has confirmed that Many Things & Something Special appear to still think investors are important & deserve my support.
|
|
happy
Member of DD Central
Posts: 397 
Likes: 497
|
Post by happy on Jun 18, 2016 10:16:37 GMT
And not so many weeks ago everyone was bitching madly about the huge quantity of loans on the SM and how this lack of liquidity was destroying the platform, how times change! Yes I too am somewhat frustrated by the current slow-down in loans but it seems to me that some investors want the best of both worlds, how does a platform please everyone even some of the time is beyond me. The current state of the SM over on SS is certainly causing a few concerns for some investors there right now.
Perhaps AC have done a good job of increasing their investor base and therefore the number of investors wanting a piece of this loan means that is all there is to go around. It takes less than 6000 investors wanting in on this deal to get £84 each and less than 3000 if they all invested in the MLIA and GBBA as I do (I got 2 x 84.80)
It seems that without a huge increase in loan volumes AC will not be a great place for those wanting 4 or 5 figure investments in individual loans. I for one don't have a problem with this as I don't play at that level. Perhaps this is the future for AC and not necessarily a bad thing for platform stability I think.
|
|
jonno
Member of DD Central
nil satis nisi optimum
Posts: 2,808
Likes: 3,242
|
Post by jonno on Jun 18, 2016 12:15:55 GMT
I've been bemoaning the direction of this platform for 18 months and finally for those who want discretion over their investments the party is well and truly over. I haven't increased my level in AC for well over two years but as loans are repaying my funds are now leaving as it's now impossible to get anything invested. I can now see a situation where my only holdings in AC will be the 30 day account and untradeable loans in default. I never, ever thought it would come to this.
|
|
trevor
Member of DD Central
Posts: 557
Likes: 381
|
Post by trevor on Jun 18, 2016 17:04:00 GMT
It's the final straw for me as well. I'm now starting to withdraw cash as the double digit loans mature and only 7/8% is available. My money is off to SS, FS and MT.
|
|
|
|
Post by crabbyoldgit on Jun 18, 2016 21:12:03 GMT
I am a much smaller invester than most posting on this thread i think so to some level the shrapnel machine takes care of reinvesting interest and a bit more. I look for about a safeish 9% average return which not being a taxpayer is very nice thank you. However even i can see problems coming soon i have a large proportion of older loans and all the ones coming up to repayment soon, finding new loans around 9% means a high proportion of property development type and i am getting nervious of the increasing proportion in this sector i hold why i am not quite sure. To keep going i am now bidding on 70 loans on the am some of which i am not in truth wanting any more exposure on so i with regret am now having to contemplate joining old grumps in joining the Mr Trumps fan club its a shame because i like ac a lot but i either invest in a smaller and smaller number of older loans until they run out or execpt 8% if lucky and even then only able to prob maintain around 90% invested levels.
Hoever got to keep balance here my financial adviser wanted me to accept 5% return minus his commission, minus tax and the bank 2% isa because they were giving it tax free , ha the gov were giving tax free the bank giving bugger all.
|
|
stevio
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,065
Likes: 894
|
Post by stevio on Jun 18, 2016 21:13:29 GMT
What other platforms have you defected to?
|
|
jonah
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,031
Likes: 1,113
|
Post by jonah on Jun 18, 2016 22:02:02 GMT
What other platforms have you defected to? This is a great question. I assume for property SS or MT or FS. For pawn MT or FS or even C. For oddities Abl. For asset backed business lending though.... Some on Abl, some indirectly on MT, but probably the 'real' answer is TC. And that's my issue. Being of smaller pockets than most, the minimum per loan there is too high for me. TLC might have worked I guess. But with things as they are, whilst I understand the concerns articulated above, for me I don't see an alternative to AC. The fact that they are rushing towards property is a concern though, bring back more engineering or similar.
|
|
j
Member of DD Central
Penguins are very misunderstood!
Posts: 2,188
Likes: 540
|
Post by j on Jun 19, 2016 0:06:46 GMT
What I say here is my personal opinion. Up till 10-12 mths ago, AC had about 95% of my p2p funds, they now have less than 5% (a total reduction of about 88% of funds over 12 months). As samford71 said, the writing was on the wall & whilst AC will continue to do what they feel suits their business model best, & that's their privilege, it does not suit every investor (I'm happy to take a bit more risk for higher rates) & as AC keep telling us 'if you're not happy take your money elsewhere' - I have, as seems many others are doing. I have no doubt they will continue to have a significant place in the p2p market as they offer innovative products to investors who are not proactive & want to put money in a place & forget about it whilst earning much better rates in a benign interest environment. That suits me fine too as I participated in the fund raising & look forward to AC succeeding & my stake hopefully earning a premium at some point. It's a shame they decided to go in a direction that does not necessarily suit my investment outlook any more. Luckily, other platforms do offer what I want still & I can switch funds there. If & when my outlook alters, I'll happily come back though as I feel AC has one of the better teams in terms of recovery, even though they drag their heels at times but I would be selective as I feel some of the current offerings tend to be on a par with other platforms' but at a fairly lower rate. Of course, we could be having a different opinion in 12 months' time! |
|
|
|
Post by tybalt on Jun 19, 2016 5:26:52 GMT
" For asset backed business lending though.... Some on Abl, some indirectly on MT, but probably the 'real' answer is TC. And that's my issue. Being of smaller pockets than most, the minimum per loan there is too high for me. TLC might have worked I guess. But with things as they are, whilst I understand the concerns articulated above, for me I don't see an alternative to AC. "
Much as I like TC. I would not advice a TLC until the take more proactive approach to managing them show signs of success. Early one have had a pretty poor return.
|
|
|
|
Post by Butch Cassidy on Jun 19, 2016 8:08:13 GMT
Whilst I agree with most of what has been said by the other contributors & as a future shareholder I will undoubtedly benefit, as I think that the AC offering will be a P2P success, I am bitterly disappointed that they continue to over promise & under deliver.
Common sense seems to be non existent in an otherwise excellent management team; take this loan in particular - other than a 40% haircut in rate it is identical in every way, so I can see only 2 possible ways to launch it, as AC did which effectively spits in the face of the loyal, long term MLIA holders or as was previously the case with rollovers allow existing holders to rollover their holdings (or even a % of their holdings) into the new loan. This would not only signal that MLIA investors were a valued & important part of the platform going forward but it would show that AC truly meant all the platitudes about loans suitable for all & not side-lining MLIA etc
Growing the lender base is vital to all platforms but AC have massively increased their depositor base, which is a different thing, that (as samford71 points out) have no interest in investing in anything, it is simply being treated as a cash deposit account, the risk being that this part of the platform becomes so large & ravenous it drains the life out of everything else. Large individual holdings may indeed be a thing of the past on AC but why not allow investors just one allocation per loan (whether in MLIA or any other account) this seems to me a much fairer way of distributing the available funds. I too had my largest holding with AC but have moved at least 50% away so far & the rest will no doubt follow as legacy loans expire but whilst I am still invested I will continue to fight for platform improvements, fairness & equality for all stakeholders.
|
|
stevio
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,065
Likes: 894
|
Post by stevio on Jun 19, 2016 8:29:00 GMT
I was considering AC for a bit of diversity in my SIPP as I am a little limited to certain platforms. I have SS and AB. Other choices are FN and TC
I prefer secured lending at rates around 12%, down to 9% if the security is good
I have not tried AC, FN and TC, so any advice/recommendations appreciated?
Ps what is TLC?
|
|
agent69
Member of DD Central
Posts: 6,048
Likes: 4,438
|
Post by agent69 on Jun 19, 2016 8:59:16 GMT
I assume you are referring to Thincats Lending Clubs (rather than tender loving care). You put your £1k (or other sum) in, TC split it over about 7 loans initially and they decide what to invest in. You get interest at the stated rate (currently 8%) and at the end of the investment term if they can sell the outstanding loan parts you receive a little bonus if the overall performance was > 8%. Good if you don't want to risk £1k a time, but bad if you like to pick your own loans.
|
|
oldgrumpy
Member of DD Central
Posts: 5,087
Likes: 3,233
|
Post by oldgrumpy on Jun 19, 2016 9:33:20 GMT
Or The Lending Crowd?
|
|
skippyonspeed
Some people think I'm a little bit crazy, but I know my mind's not hazy
Posts: 787
Likes: 424
|
Post by skippyonspeed on Jun 19, 2016 11:43:54 GMT
I am starting to get a little concerned my MLIA is starting to build up a cash surplus........it wasn't bothering me that much until QAA queueing was back in full swing. Last time I looked I was 17000thish with about £1.4 million in front of me........on a slightly brighter note I did get a commodores worth of a higher interest loan today
Edit Just logged on to see if there was any movement today........I'm sure even the QAA is taking the p!ss......I've got 10 lumps in the Q, nearest the front is worth <0.01p @ 11,555, I can't wait for it to earning 3.75%
|
|
|
|
Post by pepperpot on Jun 19, 2016 13:17:17 GMT
AC have always said that they would like a range of sources of funds and I can't see them wanting to alienate original MLIA investors so if that account becomes too small I'd expect it to feature in board meetings. Trouble is that is reactive, not proactive. I do expect offerings to be attractive from time to time, however, the double digit returns that most in this thread (inc me) are looking for will be fewer and further between which means the platform will be even more lumpy for us and as a consequence not as meaningful in terms of deployed funds and frequency of site visits. I don't want that, I'd prefer AC to continue to be one of my main portals, but if that's where we are heading, I'll have to accept it. I've been using the GMQAA, sorry, the PMQAA for months now at c8% but it's starting to look like a permanent feature so I'm now reluctantly withdrawing redemptions as they come in and can well imagine my AC book to be much smaller even when (yes when, not if... I have faith in what Chris says) the promised deal flow picks up again. All depends on what's in the mix though, I don't mind my dashboard av. being a blended c10%, but I don't want to go much lower than that. With a legacy book I'm still north of 11% but loans that are threatening to pay back (cheek of it!) will probably whittle away that headroom. I'm afraid I just don't see an attractive risk/reward ratio in P2P much below a blended 9% as that only leaves c2-3% headroom over more traditional investments to allow for default risk and that doesn't leave much by way of added platform failure allowance. I was expecting the introduction of IFISA to push rates down, but how much further can they go when it finally arrives?  AC was going to be one of my top picks for IFISA, but "the times they are a changin". I'm still very bullish for the convertible notes and can see me holding medium to long term. |
|
AC was going to be one of my top picks for IFISA, but "the times they are a changin".