Auto-Invest: Which Are My Top P2P Sites
Peer to peer lending is an innovative investing option but manual investing can come at a time cost. Especially if you invest through many companies as I do. Thankfully auto-invest solves this problem. Here are my top p2p sites that offer auto-investing, so you can spend more time losing balls on the golf course.
While some people love scouring business accounts and property valuation documents, others long for hands-off lending knowing time is a precious commodity.
Auto-investing through the top p2p sites does come with some downsides. First and foremost, most auto-invested accounts pay lower returns than you would be able to achieve manually. For example, Assetz Capital’s auto-invest Great British Business Account (GBBA) pays a target return of 7% p.a. If you manually invested through Assetz, you could achieve a return of somewhere in the 8-9% range. You have to decide how much your time is really worth and invest accordingly. For me since I live, breathe and work peer to peer lending, I invest manually. My mother, on the other hand, can’t be bothered with the manual work so she strictly uses auto-invest accounts.
Before we get to the top p2p sites which offer auto-invest products list, please note that it may change as companies make changes to the way they operate their accounts. Also, no peer to peer company is perfect, each has its pros and cons. Feel free to read my in-depth reviews of each company listed.
#1 Top P2P Sites Assetz Capital – Medium Risk / ISA Available – Read The Full Review
Assetz Capital offers peer to peer loans that are constantly monitored and stress tested for borrower compliance.
The biggest downside of Assetz Capitals auto-invest accounts is the lack of diversification that can occur based on loan supply. For example, if there are only two available loans, all your money could theoretically be invested in those two loans. This is more of a concern when loan supplies are scarce.
Assetz Capital offers several auto-invest account options with varying return rates:
Quick Access Account (QAA) – £1 min
The QAA is a great option for those looking for an instant access* account with no exit fees. The QAA is protected by a provision fund which covers payment delays, shortfalls in interest or possible capital default losses. The QAA is made up of secured business loans and offers completely hands-off investing and re-investing.
*Remember that instant access is based upon normal market conditions and is never a guarantee.
30 Day Access Account (30DAA) – £1 min
This account operates exactly the same way as the QAA account but requires a 30-day withdrawal notice. There are no withdrawal fees. Since your money is tied up for 30 days, you will be rewarded with a bump in interest returns versus the QAA. The 30DAA account is also made up of secured business loans and is covered by a provision fund. The ability to exit is based on demand and supply.
90 Day Access Account (90DAA) – £1 min
Same as the above 30 Day Access Account but requires a 90-day withdrawal notice.
The Property Secured Investment Account (PSIA) – £1 min
This account offers loans to businesses where property is one of the assets which secures the loans. No withdrawal notice is needed if you decide you need your funds**. Exiting your investment is free but based on there being other lenders to purchase your loans. The PSIA is covered by a provision fund.
The Great British Business Account (GBBA) – £1 min
The GBBA contains British business loans secured by properties and other assets. No withdrawal notice is needed if you decide you need your funds**. Exit is free but based on there being other lenders to purchase your loans. The GBBA is covered by a provision fund.
Check the offer page for current cashback promotions
#2 Top P2P Sites: Lending Works – Lower Risk / ISA Available – Read The Full Review
I have been investing in Lending Works for more than three years and it remains one of my favourite set-and-forget peer to peer companies. Lending Works is a lower risk option that offers lending accounts backed by insurance to protect against missed loan repayments due to the borrower’s job loss, accidents, sickness, death, fraud or cyber crime backed investing.
Return rates are very competitive paying up to 6.5% per year.
Lending Works has strict lending criteria and only considers the highest quality borrowers.
The biggest downside of investing through Lending Works is that interest return rates can fluctuate but this is becoming less common. Lending Works does send out a weekly email to notify investors of current rates.
Lending Works offers two hands-off account options with an optional ISA. Each account offers auto-reinvest.
Need your money early? It’s possible to exit loans based on lender demand, but there is an exit fee.
Check the offer page for current cashback promotions
#3 Top P2P Sites: Landbay – Lower Risk / ISA Available – Read The Full Review
I have been investing through Landbay since 2015. Landbay offers lender loans secured by buy-to-let properties owned by experienced landlords. Property loans have lower loan-to-values and the rents cover a minimum of 125% of the loan payment.
Landbay is probably one of the safes peer to peer lending companies in my portfolio.
The biggest downside of investing through Landbay is the lower return rates, but if you want lower risk, you have to sacrifice returns. On a positive note, you’ll receive payment even if your money is sat in the queue waiting to be deployed.
Landbay offers two account options, both which can be inside an ISA:
Tracker Rate: Target annual return LIBOR + current offered rate
The Tracker Rate pays an annual return that fluctuates as LIBOR changes although since rates are so low, I don’t expect this rate to move much. If you need to access your money, you can do so without any exit fees. Anytime I have needed to exit, it has been instantaneous, although exit depends on lender demand. In other words, if there’s a lender to buy your loans, you will be able to exit immediately.
Fixed Rate (5 yr)
The Fixed Rate product pays a slightly higher rate than the Tracker product. If you need to exit, there is a 0.2% exit fee plus there may be variable charges if interest rates have risen. This is to prevent lenders from selling loans at lower rates and reinvesting at higher rates. If rates have fallen, the exit fee will be waived.
Check the offer page for current cashback promotion
#4 Top P2P Sites: Growth Street – Lower To Mid Risk / No ISA Available – Read The Full Review
Growth Street rounds out my top five auto-invest peer to peer companies auto-investing list. Growth Street offers 30-day business loans to rigorously checked borrowers which have resulted in low default rates. Loans are secured by business assets, debentures and personal guarantees. The beauty of Growth Street is under normal market conditions, lenders can access their funds after 30 days. In theory, your Growth Street account could be used as a short term access account even though being able to exit is never a guarantee.
Growth Street is simple to use as it only offers one loan product to lenders’.
I like Growth Street’s approach to lending and think it’s a great option for auto-investing.
Check the offer page for current cashback promotions
#5 Top P2P Sites: Mintos – Higher Risk / No ISA Available – Read The Full Review
Mintos is my first choice in European auto-investing peer to peer lending. Mintos is a huge aggregator for many different loan companies located in various European countries. Mintos offers a staggering range of loans such as personal, cars, invoice, mortgages and business.
What I like about Mintos is they don’t underwrite their own loans but rather risk assess each of the loan companies that offer loans on Mintos’s platform.
My pretax return rate on Mintos is holding steady at about 12.5% per year and I haven’t experienced any losses in over three years. This is a great return rate but remember, the higher the returns, the higher the risk.
Minto’s main negative for me personally is that it is located based in Latvia which is unregulated outside of the UK. European countries have a habit of falling into economic instability but that’s just part of the risk. Mintos does, however, have support phone numbers in seven European countries including the UK.
Minto’s offers a good secondary market should you wish to buy and sell loans. There are no fees for buying and selling and premiums and discounts can be used.
Check the offer page for current cashback promotions
Top P2P Sites Notable Mentions
Octopus Choice: Read the full review. Octopus Choice falls into the lower risk category and is financially backed by the much larger Octopus Group of companies.
If you want to learn more about peer to peer lending, click here and receive my complimentary Top 5 Peer to Peer Lending Sites Report.
The information presented on this top p2p sites page is for information purposes only and is not investment advice. Top p2p sites information can change frequently but was deemed correct at the time of writing. Peer to peer lending contains risks, so never invest more than you can afford to lose.
