LEND.ch is a Swiss peer-to-peer lending provider offering lending in Swiss francs (CHF). It hasn’t opened up to 4thWay’s specialists with data and access to its key people and therefore we haven’t conducted our usual week’s long assessment of it. So this is kind of…
Update: the first answer was corrected on 10th June after a stupid error by me. My apologies. On the positive side, on the 11th June HMRC explicitly confirmed to 4thWay that our second answer is correct. We have two questions on flexible ISAs and one…
We had a query from a 4thWay user about tax rules on lender fees recently, so I thought we could answer that for everyone. The reader was asking about whether lender fees are tax deductible, what that even means, which P2P lending companies currently charge…
Occasionally lenders reach out to 4thWay and describe what they are up to, how they’re doing and what their experiences have been when lending. I really appreciate the contact from you! Recently I had an email that inspired me to write this page today. I’m…
The people normally using 4thWay’s research are all very lucky. I mean, I presume you have money to spare if you’re lending it. There are an awful lot of people who can’t say the same. Yet I think it’s worth looking at the other side…
Whenever you invest (and money lending is a form of investment), you’re taking a risk that you’ll lose money. Not just lose to inflation – which is a loss that is practically guaranteed to happen in savings accounts. But I mean an actual loss in…
Four years ago – spring 2021 – marked the beginning of the quick rise in inflation, eventually peaking at an annual rate of 9.6% by October 2022. It remained very high in historical terms till September 2024. While it has fallen substantially now, it’s still…
This update on 29th April 2025 is writing up a case in the High Court in February 2025. The judgment on the case was made on 17th April 2025 and it has just landed in my hands. Since the case is now on the public…
However, I’m not going to remind you what the latest property-price forecasts from the UK’s best-known economists are for 2025 or the next 12 months. If you want to know, you’ll have to look them up yourselves. Here’s why… What happened in 2024? To start…
Scroll down to see the latest nominee. 4thWay® has a Panel of Peers to govern our website on your behalf. These are individuals like you who lend their money through P2P. They are one of many safeguards we have in place ensuring that 4thWay® keeps…
This content today is extremely different to normal, but I need to get it out, as it’s pressing on my mind. Unusually, this page is not about a cold assessment of an investment provider or lending tips. Instead, it’s all about me. I have to…
The key risks in IFISAs are: Psychological risk: your own greed and fear. Concentration risk: you don’t spread your money across lots of loans and P2P lending sites. Credit risk: borrowers don’t repay you. Platform risk: the P2P lending site (the “platform”) goes bust and…
Lendwise’s lending accounts are unrated. These loans are expected to pay lenders around after bad debts. Visit Lendwise or keep reading the Lendwise Review.
Initially published well over a year ago, this page has been updated in March 2025. P2P lending companies’ financial health is of great interest to lenders and of course to us at 4thWay. If a P2P lending company is already making money then it lowers…
December 2024 had the most write-offs since July 2014 at about £4 million, but the interest paid outweighed that, so the month was still positive overall. That nudged up the year’s return to end on 7.61%, after costs and all losses. The 4thWay Peer-to-Peer…
Your main protection is that loans and cash are segregated Firstly, lets get a sense of proportion. Because FSCS protection here is actually a very minor point. If you have loans at a P2P lending company or if that site is holding some of your…
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…
Investors in peer-to-peer lending and other online direct lending have more than doubled their money in 10 years, while cash ISA savers grew their pots by just one-fifth. Cash ISA savers failed to keep up with inflation, while online lenders comfortably outpaced it. Returns on…
Just brief thoughts on this new story. LandlordInvest is apparently winding down at the insistence of the FCA, which appears, according to brief reports from Alternative Credit Investor, to have issues with its CEO, Filip Karadaghi, who has been forced to step down. We have…
The 4thWay Peer-to-Peer And Direct Lending Index (PADL Index) enables investors to compare long-run returns to shares and other asset classes. Constituents’ returns have massively outpaced the stock market. In the ten years since start of the index, annualised returns after costs have been…
1. Stock-market comparison is based on FTSE 100 total returns data from Curvo and Investing.com, after estimated wrapper and fund costs, fees and expenses of 1%, which is conservative compared to most share investors’ frictional costs.
2. FTSE 100 total returns after costs1 saw share investors with a smaller investment pot on 31st October, 2020 than they had over six years earlier, on 31st July, 2014.
3. “P2P” means the platform model is based on article 36H P2P agreements. “DL” means the platform operates using one of several other direct lending models, or models that effect the same for investors.
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.
*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 CapitalRise, Invest & Fund, Kuflink, Loanpad and Proplend, and other P2P lending companies not mentioned above either when you click through from our website and open accounts with them, or when you make an investment, 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.
