P2P Alert: Prosper giving 2% for Funds Invested

[Honest Abe]

Just got this email from Prosper.com:

"We have a lot to celebrate here at Prosper, and we'd like you to join us. As our platform continues to grow, we've seen increased coverage by publications like The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and CNBC, and we know that we couldn't have done it without you.
As thanks for your continued commitment to Prosper, you'll earn 2% cash back on all new funds transferred onto the platform and invested in Notes with a Prosper Rating of AA, A, B, or C through November 30th.* This offer is exclusive to our current investors, so thank you again and happy investing!"

Ummmm... Thanks!!!

[kudy]

Yes, cool promotion, got the email as well.  Thinking of investing a bit more than normal in prosper this month.

[Honest Abe]

I find it interesting that the promotion only applies to high-grade loans. I think there are a lot of good borrowers out there qualifying for 6% loans, but it's hard to find many investors to put money into an unsecured loan that only yields 5-6%

I tend to shoot for an average 15% yield using the filters I've developed. Since May I've got 64 loans funded with 1 paid off and no lates/defaults.

[arebelspy]

In my experience, Prosper is a terrible company.  If you feel you have to do P2P lending, LendingClub is the way to go, IMO.

YMMV, but had to toss it out there for the unsuspecting who see this thread.

[Honest Abe]

In my experience, Prosper is a terrible company.  If you feel you have to do P2P lending, LendingClub is the way to go, IMO.

YMMV, but had to toss it out there for the unsuspecting who see this thread.

Just curious why you say that? I know they had to restructure due to their original bid-offer loan structure running afoul of the SEC, but since 2009 their MO seems to be nearly identical to Lending Club.

[Mactrader]

Prosper/LC interest me greatly as a nice diversification for my stash, but since I have none to speak of at the moment (extreme debt paydown mode, at least all that's left is student loans/mortgages!) I'm only on the outside looking and liking what I see!

[Honest Abe]

Prosper/LC interest me greatly as a nice diversification for my stash, but since I have none to speak of at the moment (extreme debt paydown mode, at least all that's left is student loans/mortgages!) I'm only on the outside looking and liking what I see!

Lendacademy.com is a great place to start for learning about investing in consumer debt

[arebelspy]

In my experience, Prosper is a terrible company.  If you feel you have to do P2P lending, LendingClub is the way to go, IMO.

YMMV, but had to toss it out there for the unsuspecting who see this thread.

Just curious why you say that? I know they had to restructure due to their original bid-offer loan structure running afoul of the SEC, but since 2009 their MO seems to be nearly identical to Lending Club.

They are still run by the same incompetent people. 

I'd be more likely to give my money to Bernie Madoff, were he to get out of jail, than I would a Chris Larsen-run (or founded) company.

LC doesn't have the same issue.

So while I'm still not a fan of P2P lending (and I say that as an individual who has invested over 50k in P2P loans), LC seems 100x better to me than Prosper.  I've heard mostly good experiences about the former, almost all bad about the latter.

[Honest Abe]

Ah, well to each their own... If you have invested $50k in P2P loans you must have a lot of experience with them. Have they all gone to maturity or is your money still tied up there? My one gripe about this asset class is that it's not very liquid. (1-5 year terms)

Here's a link to a recent CNBC interview with their CEO Dawn Lepore. A little research and she seems to have a good background.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000121158

The Bernie Madoff thing seems like a bit of a stretch, IMHO, as LC and Prosper loans are underwritten by the same financial entity (WebBank)

[jpwilliams]

I've personally invested with Prosper for 5ish years and have had no problem whatsoever. about 40 loans, all paid back, and pretty good customer service, even during the bad economic years when they had to do some restructuring.