Just recently started using this to compare against LendingClub. Interface was buggy when signing up but once setup everything seems to be working fine. Will update once I have used it more
I use Prosper. The single most important thing in P2P lending is diversification. The minimum amount you can loan is $25, and they highly recommend starting with $2500 - enough for 100 loans. That way you can lessen your risk of loss from defaults.
Prosper has a tool that lets you setup automated investing. You can define your criteria for loans and it will automatically invest your pool of cash into loans that meet your criteria. That's important because as you get paid back you need to reinvest that money.
I started out with $2500. Then I setup automated deposits of $200/month for 12 months. After a year of depositing money I turned that off and let my account simply grow from the interest I was making.
Currently I'm averaging a little over 8% yearly gains. In total I deposited $4900 and my current portfolio balance is $5704 after 2 years total. (+16.42% total). I pretty much don't even touch it now, my gains get automatically reinvested back into it and it continues to grow.
For me, it's just one more diversification. I have a maxed 401k and Roth IRA already, so this is just a way of investing money outside of stocks and bonds.
I used prosper from 2006-2008 just to play around a bit. This was before portfolio investing was rolled out and you bid on individual loans. Overall I put $358.63 in, and got $320.39 back, for a net loss of 8.39%.
I'm tempted to try lending club with some portfolio investments, but Prosper isn't doing business in Ohio yet.
I opened a Prosper account in September with $2500 invested in 100 loans. It look a couple of months from opening the account to becoming fully invested.
It kinda sucked to see someone not even make a single payment and just go straight into a default situation for one of the loans. I have 3 loans that are late right now.
While the return is significantly better than leaving my money in the bank, it's definitely not a great investment for everyone. It required much more research and work than most investments.
Matthew Huiover 7 years ago
Just recently started using this to compare against LendingClub. Interface was buggy when signing up but once setup everything seems to be working fine. Will update once I have used it more
Reply
LeviWover 7 years ago
I use Prosper. The single most important thing in P2P lending is diversification. The minimum amount you can loan is $25, and they highly recommend starting with $2500 - enough for 100 loans. That way you can lessen your risk of loss from defaults.
Prosper has a tool that lets you setup automated investing. You can define your criteria for loans and it will automatically invest your pool of cash into loans that meet your criteria. That's important because as you get paid back you need to reinvest that money.
I started out with $2500. Then I setup automated deposits of $200/month for 12 months. After a year of depositing money I turned that off and let my account simply grow from the interest I was making.
Currently I'm averaging a little over 8% yearly gains. In total I deposited $4900 and my current portfolio balance is $5704 after 2 years total. (+16.42% total). I pretty much don't even touch it now, my gains get automatically reinvested back into it and it continues to grow.
For me, it's just one more diversification. I have a maxed 401k and Roth IRA already, so this is just a way of investing money outside of stocks and bonds.
Reply
tallduderover 7 years ago
I used prosper from 2006-2008 just to play around a bit. This was before portfolio investing was rolled out and you bid on individual loans. Overall I put $358.63 in, and got $320.39 back, for a net loss of 8.39%.
I'm tempted to try lending club with some portfolio investments, but Prosper isn't doing business in Ohio yet.
Reply
nekradover 7 years ago
I opened a Prosper account in September with $2500 invested in 100 loans. It look a couple of months from opening the account to becoming fully invested.
It kinda sucked to see someone not even make a single payment and just go straight into a default situation for one of the loans. I have 3 loans that are late right now.
While the return is significantly better than leaving my money in the bank, it's definitely not a great investment for everyone. It required much more research and work than most investments.
Reply