ozaz
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Post by ozaz on Apr 29, 2017 16:45:17 GMT
At the moment, I don't have time to choose loans manually so am limiting myself largely to platforms with hand-off and early exit options.
I'm aware of the following platforms which provide this.
Assetz Capital
Bondmason
Funding Circle
Growth Street
Landbay
Lending Crowd
Lending Works
Ratesetter
Zopa
I'd like to know the full list of options available to me.
Am I missing any?
Thanks
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markr
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Post by markr on Apr 29, 2017 17:02:26 GMT
The Money Platform could be hands off once you've set up your offers and added funds. Very few loans at the moment though, and do be aware of the risks of short term loans.
Something to bear in mind is that for some platforms, notably FC and Ratesetter, choosing to go hands off will almost certainly trade off convenience for a reduced rate (on RS, because you'll get market rate which is usually lower than a carefully chosen manual rate, on FC because your autobid will be buying the more canny investors' castoffs). On a platform like Assetz, the hands off accounts have an upfront target rate, so at least you know (barring disasters) what you'll be getting.
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nush
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Post by nush on Apr 29, 2017 17:07:12 GMT
unbolted are hands off if that how you want to do things
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fogey
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Post by fogey on Apr 29, 2017 17:27:40 GMT
At the moment, I don't have time to choose loans manually so am limiting myself largely to platforms with hand-off and early exit options. I'd like to know the full list of options available to me. Am I missing any? Thanks Octopus are worth a look and an ISA is expected there in the not too distant future ... liquidity should not be an issue unless there is a sharp downturn in the property market ... but bear in mind any of these platforms might seize up if there is a sudden unexpected event which causes everyone to head for the exit at the same time ... always have some ready cash in a FSCS or FCA protected account ! You also need to think about diversification and minimum investment levels too ... some of these platforms are not very diversified and some are really for HNW investors.
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ozaz
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Post by ozaz on Apr 29, 2017 17:53:05 GMT
Thanks for the replies  Money Platform: Given risk involved £250 minimum per loan is probably a bit high for me at the moment to achieve satisfactory diversification. Unbolted: I can see this platform offers automated lending but do they have early exit opportunities and is this automated (auto sale)? I can't tell from their site. Octopus Choice: This looks interesting. Will definitely look into that further. Thanks for the cautionary comments as well. Makr - Hadn't considered that Funding Circle auto-bid will be buying up the cast-offs. Thanks. Fogey - I am looking for platforms with good liquidity (in relation to other P2P lenders) but I do realise there is always the risk of a sector-wide seize-up. |
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fogey
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Post by fogey on Apr 29, 2017 18:08:27 GMT
Thanks for the replies Octopus Choice: This looks interesting. Will definitely look into that further. Yes I haven't used them yet, there was quite a queue to get in when they first opened up but that is no longer an issue ... also the predicted rate was rather optimistic until this forum complained about it ! You can even work it out yourself from the detailed open loan book on their site.  Now they have listened and it is far more realistic and hovering just above 4% most of the time. It's on my shortlist for an IFISA at the moment.
Edit: The biggest risk here is that the diversification may be very low and if there is a (borrower)payment problem with any loan when you want to sell out of everything, then that difficult loan may not be available for resale. This appears to be possible even though that loan is not technically "in default" but looks at some risk of going there. In this case you will not get all your capital returned until the true state of that loan is clearer. So you will have to wait and see if it recovers ( borrower payments return to normal) or if it goes into default. If the security is in the form of residential property this means you will have to wait until it is sold and that may take some time.
Oh and welcome to the forum here you won't find any better source of advice/knowledge
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sand2880
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Post by sand2880 on Apr 29, 2017 19:56:22 GMT
Investly have an auto invest option.
Invoice Finance...no early exit but short term loans of Upto 90 days.
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kulerucket
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Post by kulerucket on Apr 29, 2017 20:48:11 GMT
WiseAlpha is probably the most hands off I have and is easy to exit. I see it as a lower risk, lower return part of my portfolio and helps a lot with diversifying over a different class of investment.
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macq
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Post by macq on Apr 29, 2017 22:08:52 GMT
Would say with regards Octopus choice that the diversification so far is ok, as i am in about 60 loans although the % in each varies somewhat due to when i have paid money in.For real hands off they have a simple monthly payment plan & auto reinvestment of interest.
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fogey
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Post by fogey on Apr 29, 2017 22:48:50 GMT
Would say with regards Octopus choice that the diversification so far is ok, as i am in about 60 loans although the % in each varies somewhat due to when i have paid money in.For real hands off they have a simple monthly payment plan & auto reinvestment of interest. Thanks for your input here: as you can see I am looking into Octopus at the moment. At the moment there are only 14 loans available. How did you get to 60 loans ? Do you pay in regularly and so get new loans added all the time ? Or would the monthly auto reinvest do this for you ? I would be thinking of using the monthly withdraw option and wondering if that would hinder the diversification as it's not obvious to me what would happen then. Thanks in advance for your replies.
Edit: Posted enquiry on the Octopus board re. their auto diversification feature and whether it now works
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macq
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Post by macq on Apr 29, 2017 23:29:45 GMT
Think when they started they aimed for a minimum of 10-20 loans and getting to about 40 if you add more funds as there idea of a good mix, but may depend on how much goes in,looks like they break it down into £10 parts except for the reinvested income so you may want to check(but you could still end up in the same loan again if its open when you add more money).I have got to 60 since the new year by breaking down a lump sum i was going to pay in,into smaller amounts over a few weeks & having loans repaid and reinvested into new ones.Doing it monthly i think you have more chance of getting a mix as new loans get added but may take a while and like any company depends on the loans not drying up.They also accept debit card which means if you see the loans go up you can add straight away,can see there are 14 loans at the moment but even when there is 30-40 loans it still only says 20 available and never goes beyond that so maybe they only look to put you in 20 at any one time.But like i said the % break down is not perfect but doing it auto invested i guess it is harder then allocating yourself, but it seems to get better with time.
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fogey
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Post by fogey on Apr 29, 2017 23:49:07 GMT
Thanks for your reply. It seems they were working on an auto diversification feature earlier this year, so I have asked for an update on this on the Octopus board. Their idea of 20 loans for diversification is not offering a lot of protection but perhaps if they have a very low default rate it doesn't matter so much.
Like yourself I would prefer far more diversification, so what you did makes a lot of sense. But as you say, you really have to wait until the loans you already own are filled, before applying for more, to be sure that you are diversifying away from your existing holdings. The time for doing this depends on how quickly their loans fill up of course and that might take some time. So I have also raised this issue on the Octopus board too.
Are you thinking of using their IFISA as it seems it may be available later this year and existing customers get priority when there might well be a rush of applications ?
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macq
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Post by macq on Apr 30, 2017 0:12:56 GMT
Not sure about the Isa yet as now i have a lump sum in i am only doing a small lump sum a month.The thing is its a very easy pay and forget product but a lot of people will not be interested in the rate which tends to be an average of about 4.1-4.3% most of the time so may not be a big rush from the people looking for 12%.As the company behind it also do funds & VCT, i think its aimed more at the general public rather then the P2P expert and they also aim at the Financial advisor market as well.
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mary
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Post by mary on Apr 30, 2017 6:38:53 GMT
At the moment, I don't have time to choose loans manually so am limiting myself largely to platforms with hand-off and early exit options. I'm aware of the following platforms which provide this. Assetz Capital Bondmason Funding Circle Growth Street Landbay Lending Crowd Lending Works Ratesetter Zopa I'd like to know the full list of options available to me. Am I missing any? Thanks Probably the simplest, and safest is RateSetter, the way their Provision Fund operates has, so far, meant that no investor has has lost any Capital OR Interest. However rates have trended lower recently due to high investor demand, and to avoid early exit fees you are limited to their Rolling Market where rates can be as low as 2.2%. I strongly recommend that you read and understand RateSetter's Provison Fund and what happens if it runs out, as the way all investors shoulder losses equally (although to date this has never happened) means it is irrelevant to you who is the underlying borrower. This is almost unique. Therefore for simplicity, safety and track record, this is my #1 hands off platform, especially for beginners.
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mary
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Post by mary on Apr 30, 2017 6:54:06 GMT
With Assetz Capital and their "accounts" you need to beware...
There is no way to ensure diversification across loans to minimise risks. Most people would recommend spreading your investment across at least 100 loans so maximum exposure to capital loss is 1%. I discovered that I had had 20% of my funds auto-invested in, what I thought was a very dodgy 2nd charge loan.
When I tried to liquidate my account, I discovered that some money was stuck as the underlying loan was in default and therefore unavailable to be sold to another investor. Fortunately I did recover my funds, but it took a few months to get 99.9% back.
Therefore the 'easy' exit is possible an illusion, covered by T&Cs buried in the small print regarding liquidity.
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