Peer-to-peer lending is on average a relatively low-risk investment compared to the stock market and it is relatively easy to assess compared to picking shares – provided you arm yourself with knowledge. But it’s still, most definitely, an investment, meaning carelessness, greed, panic, pride, fear…
The process of money lending has been very profitable for thousands of years, even before computers and credit reports. For many decades now, it has become especially easy to assess borrowers and decide what interest rates to charge them. Research from Liberum and data from…
In China, the number of websites offering lending platforms reached more than 2,000. For a long time, after that, 80 of them were being closed down every month due to peer-to-peer lending fraud or incompetence. Europe is far from China in more ways than one….
The main peer-to-peer lending risks are: Yourself (psychological risk). Not enough diversification (concentration risk). Losing money due to bad debts (credit risk). Losing money due to a P2P lending provider going bust (platform risk). Losing money due to a solvent wind down (more platform risk)….
This article is about how much you should split between savings accounts and peer-to-peer lending, and also shares if you want more diversification further up the risk scale. I also discuss the money you might put into buying your own home. Those are what we…
Safe peer-to-peer lending is not as risky as the stock market. Not by a long shot. On average! However, as with the stock market, the risks in P2P lending are not uniform. Some lenders will lose a lot of money over the next half century, simply…
Here’s an overview of how you can earn an income and make money by helping others escape the banks through peer-to-peer lending. You open online accounts, and then you can lend money to people or businesses, including property owners. By cutting out the banks in…
In this guide, we explain how peer-to-peer lending performs when compared against stocks and other investments. Here’s a short summary of what you’ll learn Useful investments for most people are 1) Savings accounts, 2) peer-to-peer lending, 3) buying your own home and 4) the stock…
Independent opinion: 4thWay will help you to identify your options and narrow down your choices, but the decision is yours. We're responsible for the accuracy and quality of the information we provide, but not for any decision you make based on it. The material is for general information and education purposes only.
We are not financial, legal or tax advisors, which means that we don't offer advice or recommendations based on your circumstances and goals.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not held by 4thWay. 4thWay is not regulated by ESMA or any of the domestic financial regulators in Europe. All the specialists and researchers who conduct research and write articles for 4thWay are subject to 4thWay's Editorial Code of Practice. For more, please see 4thWay's terms and conditions.
*If you’re looking for research on shares and how they compare to bonds and cash (savings), the best you can get comes from three London Business School professors, Paul Marsh, Elroy Dimson and Mike Staunton. They write the Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbooks and Sourcebooks, and are the authors of Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns.
This page was adapted from our UK website. The original is here.