What’s your background and the story behind BeyondP2P?
Not so long ago, only in 2020, I discovered P2P Lending as an interesting and profitable alternative form of finance and investment. I quickly caught interest in the field… and got lost in the magnitude of marketplaces, offered investments and peculiarities. While I am as grateful as other investors for the great content from the blogger community, I feel that we are lacking very fundamental and systematic access to data automatization and analytics. Being a professional software developer for many years, I felt I could do something about it. That’s why I started BeyondP2P.
What was your vision when you started your blogging career and what are you hoping to achieve in the next few years?
An absolute passion for software engineering and fintech – those are the two ingredients that drive BeyondP2P. After having worked intensively with fellow investors on this project, I may add a third aspect: the investors community. We are an active group of investors on the Telegram platform that push forward the development of BeyondP2P.
This is really a major source of my motivation. I simply love to share, debate and engineer the next feature for BeyondP2P together with the community. Therefore, I would say: To provide the investors community a data-driven source for P2P Lending is our mission.
What do you consider to be your best and worst investments to date?
My best investment: learning to code. My worst investment: to invest in Coinbase when many smart people say you should not invest into Coinbase. 😅
Do you consider yourself an active or passive investor? And what is the reason for it?
Definitely a passive investor! I follow the general investment advice to invest a large share of my income in a world-wide diversified index fund. To succeed in active investment, you need to dedicate a lot of time and knowledge. I indeed do some active investing, but it makes only for a small part of my portfolio.
In your opinion, what value do P2P platforms create in one’s portfolio?
I see three major benefits: Cash flow, diversification and attractive returns. With regards to cash flow, P2P investments offer the possibility to generate regular passive income. Also, investors often have the possibility to cash out comparatively quickly. Even if we deal with rather static assets that are otherwise subject to high transaction costs. Real Estate crowd investing is an example for this. With regards to diversification, I do not like to bet everything on the stock or bond market, but also invest into consumers, smaller businesses or real estate.
Not to forget: Average returns above 12% are very attractive and can make some nice extra profits.
What factors are non-negotiable to attract your attention to a particular platform?
Social proof. Investment is about trust; and if the investor community has a strong negative judgement, I get suspicious, of course. On the other hand, I value frank, transparent and friendly communication from the platforms and investors alike.
Do you think one can reach financial independence exclusively through P2P lending?
Yes, of course. But to the average investor, I would not recommend to bet everything on P2P lending.
What are you looking forward to happening in the next 6 -12 months in the P2P market?
I am not a fan of economic forecasting. Most of the time forecasts are inaccurate. However, there are various developments investors should ask questions about. How do regulated P2P marketplaces perform compared to non-regulated? How will rising central bank interest rates impact the lending markets? How will the geopolitical situation in Europe influence P2P lending?
Our last guest in this interview series left a question for you: How do you think P2P loans perform in an intense inflation scenario?
Remember when Bitcoin was praised as the “digital gold”? As a protection against inflation and bearish stock markets?
As we are witnessing inflation and falling stock markets, cryptocurrencies have not fulfilled expectations. P2P lending, though, becomes suddenly interesting again for those investors who are looking for higher returns. Successful P2P investments can be indeed an anchor in the portfolio to beat inflation.
Last but not least, in order to continue with this chain, leave a question for our next interviewee to answer!
I would like the debate to continue: Will rising central bank rates mean higher interest being paid to P2P investors?
Hope you enjoyed reading Lendermarket Stars series with Samuel.
By the way, feel free to leave a question for our next interviewee in the comments.
Do you want to start investing in P2P loans by yourself? Check investing opportunities in Lendermarket.
Great interview! BeyondP2P is a great service!