Month of capital returns
August has been a month of low profitability but with significant capital returns from Crowdestor, although I still have two projects pending. I can be satisfied but it could have been improved.
This “new” normality is giving a lot of headaches to various originators because in their home countries the situation is not going back, such as Spain, Ukraine and Russia. Let us look at more details:
While in May the interest generated reached a mere 51 euros, in June it was 378 euros, in July it reached 595 euros and in August it was 155 euros. I already have an estimate for September, which is going to be spectacular, with returns of around 1150€!
This month, which is the fourth in a row, Housers has contributed zero euros, being a platform in which I have invested 107,000 euros. They continue to accumulate complaints, publications against them and associates affected by the bad management that their propaganda is unable to silence.
Mintos has only contributed two sad euros and increases the problems with some originators and their consequent delays.
Grupeer has contracted the services of Recollecta, a professional legal and financial firm which will be responsible for collecting the unpaid amounts. You will find more details below.
Crowdestate has stopped paying its monthly interest. It seems that the owners of Baltic Forest want to propose a new schedule to the court administrator. Of course, I have banned them due to the proposed return dates, which have gone from an initial 12 months to 94 finally, which could be extended even further…
Crowdestor has made my month happy with the return of the IVECO project, but we are still waiting for the return of a project that ended on May 30th. Of the one that ended on July 8, a quarter has been returned and the rest will be paid for through new funding.
Robocash has contributed 14 Euros this month and is the most secure platform available today. In addition, they have published their accounts audited by KPMG and they couldn’t be better.
Of the rest – Viainvest, Bulkestate, Wisefund, Swaper, Lenndy and Bondster – I refer to the detail below.
Finally, it can be commented that there has been significant progress against the complaints filed against Kuetzal, Envestio and Monethera. The most precise information is at the end of this post.
As a reminder, the pan-European collective financing regulation could be approved by the end of 2020, enter into force in the second half of 2021 and provide additional security for investments in P2P and P2B.
Below I show you the table of returns obtained in August:
[table “9” not found /]Housers (extended version)
On 6 August they sent a letter informing that they had distributed almost 246,000 euros to investors in July. Or so they say. It is already a coincidence that I have had ZERO euros for the fourth month in a row, another month in which Housers forgets that I have almost 107,000 euros invested in them.
This is the fifth month since I have invested with them in 2015 that has happened to me.
In addition, on 3 August, Housers’ personal page could not be accessed unless the new terms and conditions were accepted. In other words, either you go through the hoop, or you don’t get in. Is this transparency?
There are other news:
Sagasta: no news since February – six months ago – when we were told that there were some people interested in paying the deposit contract. Unless the buyers back out and lose the deposit, the sale could be closed and I would lose 28%, according to their own website.
On July 9, the Lenders’ Meeting was convened for several projects in relation to the developer, in which I have invested almost 70,000 euros: Paterna and Albufera Towers III. The promoter’s proposal is the novation of an additional year, which would already add a total of 36 months to the initial 12 months, to be paid from August. It has been approved on 12 August and they are supposed to start paying in September. This same proposal was made previously and they broke the contract. Will it happen again?
In June I was sent the extraordinary meeting of the Marismas de Odiel project, in which I have invested 10,000 euros and in which I have chosen to transfer the debt to a company specialised in recoveries. On 12 August they reported that the necessary quorum had not been reached, so no proposal was approved. After calling them, they replied that they did not know what they would do, that we would probably hear from them in September and that it was our fault for not reaching an agreement… UNBELIEVABLE!
Housers is being portrayed, has lost its commercial appeal and has been unable to finance several projects. There are various news items in the media such as www.idealista.com and www.elconfidencial.com about one of the associated developers, in reference to the battle between shareholders and in which they report that private investors are suing the Housers platform for unfinished real estate projects.
An association has been set up to deal with them in court, together with a specialised law firm: https://www.afectadoshousers.com/
I have not recommended investing in this platform for years. Let’s hope they catch up with the one that’s coming…
Mintos (extended version)
They continue to be P2P monsters, taking in 104 million euros invested in July.
In August I am still dropping positions in my portfolio because they are taking longer than desirable and some of their originators are not doing their homework.
If you look at the following summary of my account, you can see that I have a greater amount (599.55 euros) in recovery than I have invested (558.75 euros), of which 355.66 euros is delayed between 31 and 60 days:
On the other hand, since August 14 they do not update the status of suspended originators and since July 31 the originators with delays. Too slow.
For the moment, I have stopped the autoinvest since last 27 March and I continue to reimburse the amounts that continue to be returned to me slowly but surely.
This month they have improved the calculation of the annualised net return by including interest income from default, outstanding payments and repurchase default.
Invest&Access has been replaced by 3 other strategies to choose from: diversified (similar to Invest&Access), conservative (originators from B- to A+) and high yield (focus on returns, up to C-). I still have 152 Euros invested in this modality and I have stopped the autoinvest to get the full amount back. We will see when I get it, because there are investments in suspended and delayed originators.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
On 14 July they sent their 2019 Consolidated Annual Report in English, which you can see here.
There are still temporary suspensions from the Polish originators Dziesiatka Finanse and Vietnamese Cashwagon, as well as Varks (Finko Group), AlexCredit, Capital Service and Akulaku.
On 7 August a survey was launched to find out about the Capital Service proposal offering a 40% reduction in existing debt and the other 60% to be paid over 8 years with a two-year grace period. Mintos said they would reject the proposal.
Since August 6, Mintos allows investment in loans as a new asset. If you want to know more about it, click here.
Remember that since April 13, Mintos charges a commission of 0.85% of sales in its secondary market and does not apply in its three new strategies that replace Invest & Access.
Peerberry (extended version
One of the platforms I am most satisfied with, although with some fallow this last month. It is the second European platform by accumulated funding, with almost 12.5 million euros in July.
It is also true that it is one of the least amount I have invested, precisely because it allows the flexibility to repay it in a short time and lately I have been short of cash.
This platform continues to work VERY well, they pay back the interest in two working days and keep investors permanently informed, although in August some of their originators have failed and this has caused the number of loans published to fall.
Despite the fact that on August 12th they published that Gofingo group started to operate 9-month business projects, new short-term projects of Aventus Poland and Aventus Kazakhstan and real estate projects by the new partner SI Baltic.
On the other hand, they hardly have any delays and all of them are less than 15 days away, as you can see in this current screenshot:
Viainvest (extended version)
August has not brought any news to this platform, which continues to behave well, with hardly any delays, and the interest generated is being quickly invested. Until the middle of the month they barely published projects and I took the opportunity to withdraw money from fallow, but since the last week, many projects are published daily.
Viainvest still seems to me to be one of the most experienced and secure platforms in the sector.
With them I have diversified my portfolio into 26 short term loans, of which 3 are in arrears and with a rather restrictive self investment that works perfectly. They are essential to achieve financial freedom and a current return of 11.66%.
And most importantly, they ALWAYS pay back the loans.
Robo.cash (extended version)
I couldn’t be happier with this platform, which has provided me with regular withdrawals over the last few months in the form of a coin-platform and continues to be increasingly consolidated in the sector.
And for proof, here are the excellent 2017-2019 annual accounts audited by KPMG and here the management report.
It’s a pity that since September 1st they are offering a 12% return instead of the current 14%, but even so, it’s worth investing with them because they are a safe bet.
I am at a 12.19% return which you can see below, with only 17.51 euros delayed from 816 euros and they continue to provide amazing figures despite the pandemic:
They have opened up a secondary market that I have not yet tested for long-term projects. The project must be maintained for a minimum of six months, and in the event that no buyer is acquired, Robocash will take over the purchase. Great!
Crowdestor (extended version)
As usual, of the 155€ return obtained in August, 118€ came from Crowdestor. On the other hand, we are still waiting for the return of the “Fertilizer Export Financing” project completed on May 30th and the payment of the remaining 3/4 of “The Catch Summer”, which ended on July 8th.
In addition, the interest of the Dizozols company, amounting to 181 euros, has not been paid in August and should be paid at the end of September. Pity, because my earnings this month would have been 336€.
In August they returned the IVECO project which brought me 207 euros out of 1003 euros invested (16% per year) and continue to regularly pay their monthly interest schedule, which seems to have normalized.
They have just launched a project based on the acquisition of a new payment platform that will be integrated into the Crowdestor platform, a tool that will make transactions between investors, originators and the platform itself more dynamic, as well as anticipating the demands that will soon be imposed from the European Parliament.
In mid-August the automatic project evaluation system was tested, which was done on-line and produced some surprising results. It is clear that they know what they are doing and before the end of the year they will launch their autoinvest and a secondary market, among many other functionalities.
It continues to be the platform that offers the highest profitability over the rest:
They launch around 5-7 projects per week and the rates of return have increased considerably: today there are two at 20% and another three at 26% and even 29%!
They can be very attractive projects, but my medium-term plan is to reduce my exposure on this platform and I will follow it until I get a portfolio of around 15.000-20,000 euros.
I am looking forward to September, when I will be charging 1004.70 euros in interest on multiple projects, as you can see below:
Lenndy (extended version)
This month they have been late with some payments, but I am not overly concerned because they always comply and pay the interest for late payment. I still find it a safe and compliant platform. Although I only invest in short-term personal projects and vehicle purchases on this platform, never in companies.
This is my situation as of August 31st:
The current 982 euros invested are widely spread over 27 projects, which yield an average of 12.62% per year.
Yesterday they launched a survey to find out what investors think about a new product. It would involve buying a property and extracting a return by renting through airbnb-type platforms. I find it VERY interesting in particular.
Bulkestate (extended version)
This platform is freestanding and works like clockwork. There is currently only one project to invest in.
They still have a loyal legion of followers and I have noticed that only projects that are over 23 months old, appear with monthly interest payments. In addition, since April they have increased the profitability of their projects to 14-15%, adding an additional 1% on investments over 10,000 euros and 2% if they exceed 20,000 euros.
In March I invested the remaining 300 Euros in the Amalijas Street project, with an LTV of 49% and a return of 12% per year. I had to wait until March 2021 to receive the 36 Euros in interest.
Wisefund (extended version)
On 25 June they reported on the status of the project in which I have invested 1000 Euro “Operating Cash for Dutch Flower Exporter” and let it be known that, despite the three-month delay due to the pandemic, they will keep to the payment schedule.
This means that instead of finishing my project in July, it will be finished in October, with the addition of interest on delay. As of 31 August, the interest for March, July and August has not been paid, amounting to 72€.
It is clear to me that in October I will take out everything I have invested in this platform, because I don’t like the fact that they don’t pay on time and don’t report punctually on the status of each project.
Swaper (extended version)
With a return of 7€ in July and 1€ in August, it continues to offer a 14% return on all its new projects, although in August they have suffered quite a bit of fallow and I have taken the opportunity to make a small refund. For the time being, I am maintaining the average at 13.12% profitability.
Of the 10 projects invested, only three have delays of just a few days. This September I will be withdrawing positions from this platform that has not convinced me because of its high fallow. Moreover, they have not yet published their financial statement for 2019, which I dislike.
During the pandemic, Wandoo Finance Group, to which Swaper belongs, has reduced its operating costs, extended its credit line and paused its marketing activities.
Bondster (extended version)
In August I have added another €10 return, as in the previous two months. This translates into 13.80% in the 56 active projects, of which 24 suffer some delay, but it is not worrying, as it has a very efficient Buyback and still have time to regularize them.
At the moment, autoinvest is working perfectly and I receive on my mobile phone every new movement on the account.
With reference to two of its less compliant originators, Mikrokasa and Lime, they made late payments in July amounting to €300,000 and €73,000 respectively. In addition, they have incorporated RapiCredit as a new Colombian originator owned by the American Credimax LCC, which offers 15% in 30-day projects.
Crowdestate (extended version)
This month they have launched 11 new projects, but I am still not investing in them, because I was not satisfied with the decision to extend to 94 months projects that had an initial duration of 12 months.
I have 2,600 euros invested in them – Baltic Forest – and they have been restructured into a new payment schedule ordered by a judge to avoid bankruptcy.
And the worst thing is that for seven months we didn’t hear anything and we still haven’t collected the amount due for July. They said on 3 August that they are going to restructure a new calendar and it was expected that the investigating judge would determine a possible solution, but as of today we have no news.
Bad management by this platform. I will inform you about the news at the end of September.
Grupeer – possible scam (extended version)
Grupeer has contracted the services of Recollecta, a professional legal and financial firm which will be responsible for collecting the unpaid amounts. The management costs to all the originators will be paid by Grupeer, except Finsputnik and Primoinvest, with a fee of 5% on the amounts recovered. On the other hand, the Armada group has been created to take legal action against Grupeer, from which you can obtain more information here.
After an internal audit, they realised that the staff needed to be adjusted and they did not have the originators and their projects under control, so they created an action plan.
The juicy thing is that they are going to start legal proceedings against several originators – Primo Invest, Finsputnik, Lime and Right Choice Finance. In addition, they will make the debt collection/enforcement processes independent of other Grupeer activities and are in the process of obtaining a licence from an independent regulator to ensure the transparency of the company. We shall see.
The project in which I have invested 1113 euros has ended in the middle of May, but the originator is one of those who intend to denounce, so I doubt if I will get any encouraging news from him until the end of the year at the earliest. I don’t know if they will have disappeared by then…
Monethera – confirmed scam (extended version)
Monethera has been confirmed as the third big fall of the year. The Estonian and Lithuanian police have started their investigations. Complaints have been filed and the judicial process is under way.
The six bank accounts in which the money is distributed are being checked.
If you want more information about this in the Telegram group created for this purpose and in English, follow this link.
Envestio – confirmed scam (confirmed version)
A fine has been imposed on Arkadi Ganzin for failing to appear before the judge and I am aware that there have been several arrests.
We are now trying to find out which real and fictitious companies have appropriated our money and the rogues behind each one.
I will inform you shortly of possible developments…
Kuetzal – confirmed scam (confirmed version)
Viktoria Gortsak has testified under oath, but she is referring the responsibility to Alberts Cevers. It looks even better than Envestio, because it seems that there is more money in the accounts, but they are still tracking the bank movements between companies.
As with Envestio, by mid-September we could get even more news.