My conclusions one year later.
Although my first crowd investments date back to 2016, it was in March 2018 that I began to explore and systematically invest in the most promising platforms. Twelve months later, I have decided to develop an objective ranking based on my experience, taking into account mainly the return rates obtained (IRR), but also other very important factors such as the rates of delays and defaults, the flow of projects or loans (which determines the possibility of investing quickly in a diversified manner) or the time required by each platform. To have a more complete information of each platform, I recommend that you consult the technical cards, as well as the last monthly analysis of my portfolio.
Here you have my list with the best crowdfunding and crowdlending platforms (P2P and P2B). My winners for each investment category are:
Real Estate Crowdfunding
#1 – CrowdEstate - No defaults or delays. The only downside is that the low flow of new projects does not allow to diversify quickly. However, despite being long-term projects, many of which are fully paid at maturity, after one year, the IRR is 7.6% (and 13.3% in February, which means the maximum potential of the platform has been reached in just one year).
#2 – Estateguru - The silver medal goes to Estateguru. Excellent flow of new projects (almost 300 in a year) and very few defaults, although the returns have not fully taken off (IRR of 6.4%). Another downside is the lack of a secondary market.
#3 – Bulkestate - Really promising platform. Without no defaults historically. It takes time to obtain returns given that all benefits are paid at the end (usually one year). The big downside is that the flow of new projects is quite low (1.8 projects per month), so you have to be patient before you can invest in enough projects.
Crowdlending to Businesses (P2B)
1# – Envestio - Envestio takes the gold medal of the category: it offers the loans with higher yields, Buyback and 0% defaults so far. The only (important) problem is that lately there are not too many new projects, together with the absence of AutoInvest. As a result, lately, projects get fully financed in less than an hour, so you have to be really alert not to miss them.
2# – Linked Finance - Incredible flow of projects and only one default after one year and almost 400 projects. If there was a secondary market, it would be almost perfect.
3# – Flender - The best of Flender are definitely the occasional promotions. I have signed up for two, and that has been enough to shoot my XIRR above 20%. However, the level of delays and defaults are quite worrying. We will have to see how they evolve over time.
Crowdlending between Peers (P2P)
This category where I'm investing in more platforms, so I'll offer my ranking until the fifth place.
#1 – Mintos - Mintos could not be missing from the top positions. By history, volume, number of originators and the possibility of investing in a dozen different currencies, it offers diversification possibilities beyond the reach of any other platform. The IRR of my investments in EUR has been excellent, especially thanks to the incredible promotions of March-June 2018. Besides, investing in other currencies, assuming the fluctuating exchange rates, allows to easily obtain returns around 16 -18%.
#2 – Grupeer - With an IRR above 14% and a constant flow of new projects, what else can you ask for. If it had a secondary market, it would be the perfect platform. During the last months, however, the profitability of new loans has decreased.
#3 – Swaper - An IRR of 14%. Obtained despite the continuous problems of Cash Drag. If they solve this (and judging from what we've seen during February-March it may be the case), it would be a perfect platform.
#4 – Fast Invest - Until not long ago, Fast Invest had a steady flow of loans at 15%. If these returned to the market, the platform would undoubtedly move to my top-3.
#5 – Viventor - Other than a couple of months with some Cash Drag, Viventor has been a really reliable platform. However, other platforms at almost the same level, such as Peerberry and Viainvest.
* These platforms have projects with defaults, so the returns may be lower depending on how they are resolved; ** In Envestio, all projects have either a minimum 90% guaranteed debt, or one must wait for the debt to be recovered from the borrower; *** The period to activate the Buyback in Fast Invest is only 3 days, compared to 30 or 60 days in all other platforms; **** There are platforms that offer loans both with and without Buyback; + Rebuy.
More details, characteristics and definitions in the tables of the Comparator