First I’ll tell you about the lending bubble, then I’ll share my views about how much it affects us as individual lenders, and then I’ll say what action we can take now. The growing personal loans debt pile Financial advisers, debt charities and the Bank…
Cliff is an experienced freelance journalist hired in as 4thWay’s “Chief P2P Cynic” to give you the alternative view. Read about Cliff. Some months ago, I was chatting with Neil Faulkner, founder and owner of 4thWay. During our conversation, Neil asked me a key question,…
Development loans offer attractive interest rates of 8% or more, secured on land and property, so they are appealing to lenders. Most property P2P lending websites focus on development loans more than other kinds of property loans. (See sidebox, right, to find out what development…
At first glance, Assetz Capital’s* Property Secured Investment Account looks pretty much like what I always thought its Great British Business Account was really meant to be. Its British business account describes itself as lending in loans that are “usually” backed by land and property,…
There’s a hidden cost that we at 4thWay have not given much attention to so far, but we’ve just had an email from one of you about it. It’s called “cash drag”. Cash drag is when you have money sitting in your P2P lending account…
This week I received a newsletter from a popular money-saving tips website that said: “Peer-to-peer lending isn’t the only option for savers keen to earn more – there’s also investing to consider.” It was just yet another time that I’ve heard P2P being described as…
We have had a lot of requests for updates on the big three P2P lending sites, namely Zopa, Funding Circle and RateSetter. There’s an awful lot of important things to say about each of them, so here goes: Zopa Core earns a 4thWay PLUS Rating…
Prime personal loans P2P lending site Lending Works* is one of a smaller number of P2P lending sites that uses insurance to protect lenders from specific situations. What the insurance does for lenders Lending Works’ insurance could pay out if and when a borrower is unable…
Not enough time to read this 4,000 word report? See the simple, plain English summary here. In this report: The Guardian says: RateSetter was hit by £80m of problem loans. Is that true? Significant mistakes admitted by RateSetter. The risks and rewards at RateSetter have…
One of my colleagues wrote a 4,000-word report on RateSetter, explaining some recent troubles it has had as well as his opinion on whether individual lenders should sell RateSetter loans now. It’s called Fact Check: RateSetter Hit By £80m Of Struggling Loans. I know that…
There are very few P2P lending sites that have given me the feeling of 100% honesty and openness that we at 4thWay also aim for, but I certainly feel that from CapitalStackers. Jumping through hoops For a P2P lending site to get listed on 4thWay,…
In a recent article, one of his first for 4thWay, freelance investment journalist Cliff D’Arcy suggested the maximum amount that any of us should lend through P2P is 5% or at most 10% of our wealth. Susan, a 4thWay reader, told me on the phone…
Scott is a 4thWay reader to whom I am grateful since he takes the trouble to send us much needed feedback. (Hint hint. You can send your praise, requests and constructive criticism to allofus@4thway.co.uk. Thanks!) Scott just asked me if, in the light of new…
Among politicians, advertisers, big companies and brands, the biggest buzzword by far these days is ‘Millennials’. But what are Millennials and how are they making money from peer-to-peer (P2P) lending? Are you a Millennial? Loosely speaking, you’re a Millennial, also known as ‘Generation Y’, if…
We’re not a P2P “industry news” site, but we do like to report news if it directly helps individual lenders to make better lending decisions, which is our entire raison d’être. A lot of news like this has occurred over the past six weeks or…
The safest type of lending is lending to borrowers who own investment properties. This means lending to landlords who own and rent out any of the following: Residential properties (houses and flats). Shops. Offices. Factories. Car parks. Workshops. Other land or properties. What makes investment-property lending…
Making adequate retirement provision is one of the most difficult financial challenges facing British adults today. How high your retirement income will be depends on a number of complex factors and choices, including: Over how long a period you invest How much of your income…
It’s exciting for me to see changes in 4thWay’s comparison tables, but how are the different P2P lending products in those tables ranked from top to bottom? And how has this enabled new entrant Growth Street to go straight to the top of the table?…
Cliff is an experienced journalist hired in as 4thWay’s “Chief P2P Cynic” to give you the alternative view. Read about Cliff. A couple of months ago, towards the end of March, I had a one-to-one meeting with a leading light of the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending…
It’s very early days still for LendingCrowd, but so far it’s a tale of two halves: LendingCrowd’s lower-risk loans are easily on track for the top 5/5 4thWay PLUS Rating. But its higher-risk loans do not currently appear to pay lenders enough interest to cover…
*Commission, fees and impartial research: our service is free to you. 4thWay shows dozens of P2P lending accounts in our accurate comparison tables and we add new ones as they make it through our listing process. We receive compensation from LendingCrowd and other P2P lending companies not mentioned above either when you click through from our website and open accounts with them, or to cover the costs of conducting our calculated stress tests and ratings assessments. We vigorously ensure that this doesn't affect our editorial independence. Read How we earn money fairly with your help.
The 4thWay® PLUS Ratings are calculations developed by professional risk modellers (someone who models risks for the banks), experienced investors and a debt specialist from one of the major consultancy firms. They measure the interest you earn against the risk of suffering losses from borrowers being unable to repay their loans in scenarios up to a serious recession and a major property crash. The ratings assume you spread your money across hundreds or thousands of loans, and continue lending until all your loans are repaid. They assume you lend across 6-12 rated P2P lending accounts or IFISAs, and measure your overall performance across all of them, not against individual performances.
The 4thWay PLUS Ratings are calculated using objective criteria that can be measured and improved on over time, although no rating system is perfect. Read more about the 4thWay® PLUS Ratings.
Independent opinion: 4thWay will help you to identify your options and narrow down your choices. We suggest what you could do, but we won't tell you what to do or where to lend; the decision is yours. We are 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 the FCA. 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.
