I’ve have been asked recently by several followers how much
time I actually spend managing my peer to peer investments and at first I
didn’t really have an answer. Having
thought and reflected on this, it’s a valid question as you must place a value
on your time. Thinking through what I
do, I’ve broken down my thoughts on how much time I dedicate to managing my
Peer to Peer Lending accounts. As I currently
invest in four different platforms, I’ve split out my thoughts on each.
TruePillars – If
you are a regular follower, you will know TruePillars was my first peer to peer
investment platform. As such I spent a
lot of time on the site in the beginning learning about the platform and
understanding how the process worked and buying up loans on the secondary
market as well as new loans when available.
Now I spend much less time on the site.
I would check the account once a week or so to take note and track any
loans that are overdue (5 minutes a week).
In addition to this when new loans are listed (which I’m notified by
TruePillars via text) I’ll log on and place a bid on the new loan (5 minutes to
log on have a quick read through the loan on offer and place a bid). However I’ve just activated the auto bid
function to reduce my time commitments now I’m comfortable with how the
platform works and keen to test this functionality out. In addition to the above at the end of the
month spend about half an hour reviewing and updating my performance tracking.
MoneySpot – This
platform takes no time on my part to manage.
The platform is based on pooled fund where you are paid a return on the
funds you have invested. Apart from the
time to fill in the application form, it’s checking once a month to have a read
of the monthly report and taking note of the returns I’ve received which would
take less than 10 minutes. In my case
I’ve opted for auto reinvestment to allow my investment to grow at a compounded
rate.
RateSetter – This
platform also takes little time on my part to manage. When I add funds in I log in a few times to
split up the funds I’ve commit to loans to help me feel comfortable I’ve diversified
across multiple loans. Each time it
might take a few minutes. On top of this
I’ll log in once a week and reinvest any repaid funds sitting in the account (5
minutes). I’ve not used the auto invest
on this platform as I believe I can get a slightly higher rate by manually
entering noting there is a time commitment on my part. On the flip side if you are time poor and
prepared to accept the auto bid prices this could be used as a time saver. Like the other platforms at the end of the
month I’ll also spend about 10 minutes or so reviewing and updating my performance
tracking.
OurMoneyMarket –
This platform is still relatively new for me and is currently where I’m
spending more time while I work out how to get the best out of the platform and
get my funds invested across multiple loans.
This would typically look like logging in every day or two to check for
new loans to invest in (5 mins a go). Again
at the end of the month to track my monthly performance.
Adding up the different times spent, overall it would equate
to under 45 minutes a week and an extra half an hour at the end of the month
while document my performance of the different platforms. While this is my experience investing over
multiple platforms, I realise not everyone is the same and may not have similar
time available. To be honest, you can be
as active or passive as you like, as each platform I invest in, offers a form
of auto investing to cater for the time poor.
I’m comfortable with the time I spend as I like to be more actively
involved and want to understand what I am investing in. As I become more familiar with the platforms,
I’m more comfortable with using the auto invest functions where appropriate. Interested to hear about other people’s
lending experiences and times commitments they make.
