Peer-to-Peer lending is one of my favorite ways to invest money, especially because it can be completely automated and the returns are great. I am often asked what are my favorite platforms to invest in, which is why I decided to write this article in which I'll tell you what are my four favorite Peer-to-Peer lending platforms.
You will notice that all of those platforms are located in Europe. Indeed, as a European resident, I can't, for example, invest in platforms in the US, and I am of course only recommending platforms I am using myself. However, most of those platforms accept investors from outside of Europe.
Mintos
The first platform that I wanted to mention in this article is Mintos. Compared to other platforms that also act as loan originators (the company that proposes the loans), Mintos is more like a marketplace where different loan originators are listing their loans. This makes it a really interesting platform to invest on, as it gives you exposure to several countries and several kinds of loans in each country. That's instant diversification on a single platform.
On top of that, the interface is really easy to use, and they also have a great portfolio manager so you can set everything once and then just let it invest for you. A large portion of their loans is actually also protected by a buyback guarantee, meaning that even if somebody stopped paying back a loan you will still get your money back. Also, all of their loans are attached to a security, like a car or an apartment, which will then be used to pay back the loan if the borrower doesn't pay back.
Bondora
The second platform I will mention here is Bondora, which is actually the first one I invested in. Based in Estonia, this platform was for a long time the biggest platform in Europe outside of the UK. It has a very nice interface, a lot of loans available, and also an excellent portfolio manager that allows you to choose your level of risk and automatically invest for you. This makes it an excellent platform and I believe you should definitely allocate some part of your P2P lending investments on Bondora.
There are two things that I, however, don't like so much about Bondora. The first thing is that there is no buyback guarantee on the loans proposed by Bondora, therefore exposing you to more risk compared to other platforms like Mintos. However, the returns are usually higher than other platforms. The second thing I don't like that much is that there is no way to invest by hand, you need to use their portfolio manager. However, the portfolio manager is working very well and has given me consistent returns since the time I started investing on Bondora.
Grupeer
The third platform (and the one I like more and more these days) I will mention here is Grupeer. Compared to other platforms, some of the loans available on the platforms are attached to real estate projects, for example, renovating a building. This makes it really interesting, as you can invest in 'typical' P2P lending loans but also directly in real estate development projects. Those real estate investments are actually listed on a separate page, so you can really get a lot of details about each of them before investing.
As for other platforms in this review, Grupeer also proposes a buyback guarantee on most of the loans present on the platform, which is something very nice to have as an investor. There is also a cool auto-invest feature, that is easy to set up and that can both invest in Peer-to-Peer lending loans as well as in real estate projects, to quickly obtain a diversified portfolio. Grupeer also has a very clear and easy to use interface, and an excellent customer support that solved some issue that I had in a matter of minutes.
Fast Invest
The last platform I wanted to mention here is Fast Invest. The platform is based in the United Kingdom, with offices in many other European countries like Italy. They propose high-quality loans that come with a buyback guarantee, so it's a really safe platform to invest in. As of 2018, they have been active for 3 years, and also have been profitable which is very good sign of stability in the future. What makes Fast Invest different from the other platforms inside this article is that they usually propose loans with quite high yields (above 14%), so it's a great addition to your portfolio to raise your average return on investment. You can also completely automate your investments, so Fast Invest is also a platform where you can make completely passive Peer-to-Peer lending investments.
Those four platforms are really my favorite, and as you can see in the details of my portfolio I currently have investments in all of them. People often ask me which is the number one platform that they should invest in. It's difficult to really give an answer as I recommend diversification in several platforms, but I systematically answer Mintos as my favorite platform to get started in Peer-to-Peer lending investment. The platform is easy to use, most of the loans come with a buyback guarantee, and also they are always diversifying into more and more countries & loan originators. So definitely my number one pick when it comes to Peer-to-Peer lending.
Do you also have a favorite platform for P2P lending investments? Do you agree with my selection? Don't hesitate to comment below!
Hi Roderik, basically in this article I only talk about Peer-to-Peer platforms focused on consumer loans, which is why Housers or Property Partner don't appear. You can actually find them on my other article: https://marcoschwartz.com/best-real-estate-crowdfunding-platforms
Hi Alfredo, in the case there is not enough money on your account to cover it they will block money on future earnings.
Hi, I believe many people lost money on Bondora by investing in high-yielding loans that all defaulted. I suggested, however, to use the platform by investing only in the best-rated loans, or via Go & Grow. With this approach, I believe Bondora is an excellent platform to invest on.
You're welcome!
Hi Bert, thanks for the comment! Well first indeed what you say is true for investing in general: only invest money that you're ready to lose. That's the case for any investment, or you just put the cash under your mattress :) Joke aside, in China it was a complete chaos before the regulation, with a lot of fraudulent platforms that never actually invested in anything. What I can tell you for Europe is that all the platforms I invest in are run by great people (I now actually met many of them in person), and that more tight regulations are definitely coming. That one or two platforms will fail I can imagine (that's why always diversify), but we are in a completely different position as what was in China before the regulation.
Thanks! Indeed if you have at least let's say 100 Euros to put in each, I recommend investing in all of them. If not, indeed I'd start with Mintos.
That's an information they gave me after talking to them and that they also shared publicly on their blog
Hi Ed, unfortunately, most of them are not opened for US investors, however, it seems that Fast Invest accepts US investors so I'd try my luck there. For sure I imagine this is something that would change in the future as platforms grow and expand internationally.
Not yet, but it's on my list :)