2014 was the biggest year yet for peer to peer lending and in turn was the biggest year for the Peer & Social Lending blog. I’ll hit on some of the highlights of the past year as well as talk about what I anticipate in 2015 for this site. Most importantly, in 2014 we had not only 1, but 2 companies go public - Lending Club and OnDeck. The Lending Club IPO was an astounding success and I’m excited for what news we will hear from Lending Club in 2015. In 2014, I also began investing in Prosper. Seeing the success of Lending Club’s IPO I think it’s likely we will see Prosper file for an IPO in 2015. [Read more…]
Archives for December 2014
Cash Flow is King in Peer to Peer Lending Investments
Peer to peer lending is a unique for many reasons, but one that is often overlooked in my opinion is the cash flow both LendingClub and Prosper accounts provide. As I touched in a recent post about the complaints of peer to peer lending, liquidity is one of the biggest complaints. I offered a counterpoint that the short duration of peer to peer lending investments make them relatively liquid. If you’re wanting to be able to cash out your entire account instantly, peer to peer lending probably isn’t for you - at least for now. I imagine we will see some improvements in liquidity in 2015, but for now - it is slow in, slow out.
LendingClub IPO - A Review of the Day that Changed P2P Lending
Yesterday was an incredible day for the peer to peer lending industry as LendingClub went public. It surely has brought attention to a new way of investing that I have been involved with for a year and a half. There has been a substantial increase in articles about LendingClub which will only expand the investor and borrower base. The most exciting article for me is below, where I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal:
Lending Club IPO: Finance Business Gets Tech-Stock Allure
In this post, I’ll outline how I handled the shares of LendingClub stock I was allocated. Please feel free to share how you fared in the comments.
OnDeck Loans Review for Small Business Borrowers
Thinking of applying for a short-term business loan with OnDeck Capital or just want to learn more about options when it comes to small business lending? The New York based online lender is among the rising stars in the alternative lending industry specifically targeted to business borrowers. But, it’s not for everyone. In this OnDeck loan review, we will cover what you need to know before you use this platform to apply for a loan, including what makes OnDeck Capital different from other sources of financing, which kinds of businesses qualify, and more importantly, which businesses will benefit the most from an OnDeck loan. [Read more…]