I began my Lending Club experiment in March, 2009 with $50 to see how I would fare in the peer-to-peer lending world. I have been thrilled with the results and have continued to slowly build my account.
As of now, I am earning a net annualized return of 10.10%. With savings accounts below 1%, this has turned into a great way to earn a better return, though there is also more risk.
I have made $46.63 in interest since I started with Lending Club, which is a great return given the size of my portfolio. I have invested in 24 notes in $25 increments and six of them have been fully repaid. One did go past due, but it was paid back into good standing by the borrower.
I have 17 outstanding notes with an outstanding principle of $301.43, one note in funding at $25, and $17.38 in cash. Every time my cash goes over $25, I pick a new loan right away.
Ever since I came up with the social lending snowball strategy, I have been considering adding $25 per month to my account to grow it even faster. I have not, as of yet, implemented the strategy, but it is in my long term plans for my investment strategy.
My biggest request of Lending Club would be to have an ability to do a direct deposit from my paycheck or an ACH from my checking account. At this point, you have to initiate the transfer from your Lending Club account, you can’t push money there from another source.
Overall, I have been thrilled with Lending Club so far and plan to grow that account while also giving Prosper a try. If you have tried peer-to-peer lending, I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments.
Lending Club Update – May 2012 is a post from: Narrow Bridge Finance