Tag: inversion

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More joy and good news in a long August

A good month of August has brought more joy than the last few months and some good news, although it is taking a long time for me in terms of work.

While many are enjoying a well-deserved holiday, those of us on the other side are waiting for it to arrive, perhaps in October…

Back to the important stuff, this month has brought in €759 in profits, split between €520 in interest and €239 in bonuses.

It has been exceptional in the case of Robocash over the rest of the platforms, thanks also to the fact that I have invested more than 25.000€. 

It has also been a good month at Peerberry with €117 in interest, although they have been publishing few projects lately, which fly among the more than 58,000 investors.

In addition to Robo.cash (+950€) and Peerberry (+1,400€), I have taken the opportunity to increase the portfolios in Esketit (+200€), Lendermarket (+150€) and Viainvest (+150€).

I continue to phase out of Bondster, as I intend to stop working with them as soon as possible.

In September I am expecting the definitive return and withdrawal of Bulkestate, after 18 months of delay, which has been an eternity for me.

I am also hopeful that Crowdestor will return 20% of the Renewable Energy project in September and Consumer Loan Portfolio Acquisition and Kaleju 57 could be sold before November.

And maybe even Housers will give us good news for the sale of Sagasta, even if it is below the estimated price. My first return in four years…

Some of you have asked me how to invest €1,000, €5,000 and even €20,000, to which I always reply that I am not a financial advisor.

But, if after studying all the options you opt for Crowdlending, I would consider 50% to Robocash, 25% to Peerberry, 10% to Viainvest and the remaining 15% among the rest of the recommended platforms: Lendermarket, Esketit, etc.  

And as a sample of my investments, here is the August return that will pay for my next holiday:

In August I have had a number of friends and family visiting me, which has resulted in some overspending, but there is no better way to spend it than on them.

Despite this, I am still above 51% savings relative to earned income, as you can see here. 

This doughnut is more visual to distinguish platforms in full withdrawal (Lenndy, Mintos, Crowdestate, Bulkestate, Housers, Bondster and Crowdestor) and others in clear increase (Esketit, Lendermarket, Viainvest, Robocash and Peerberry): 

And in this last graph, you can see the profits for this month of August compared to previous months and years:

Here are the platforms that I am very satisfied with in green, somewhat less so in orange and undesirable in red:

Peerberry (+info)

Another €117 was earned by Peerberry in August, €4 more than the previous month.

Vietnam’s DongPlus originator has joined the portfolio at 12% p.a. and is guaranteed by the Aventus Group.

With regard to projects affected by the conflict in Ukraine, 42.21% have already been repaid. Here you have more information

In big news, Peerberry was the number one funded platform in July, €3.5 million ahead of Mintos, which lost its preferred position.

This month I have added €1,400 to my portfolio, thus starting the challenge of reaching Gold status (+€25K invested) and its additional return of 0.75%.

Peerberry has surpassed €1.3 billion in funding and has already paid over €15 million in interest to the nearly 59K current investors.

This is the main panel, which contains the status summary of this great platform:

If you want to invest in them, here they add 0.5% of your investment if it exceeds €500 during the first 30 days:

Viainvest (+info)

They have contributed €19 in August and it is one of the chosen ones in which I have increased the portfolio by €150.

On 2 August they completed the transition from individual loans to asset-backed securities which have not been well communicated.

The biggest complaint has been about the duration of the securities (182 days), which had not been reported previously.

This has caused them to send an email to every investor explaining the maturity process of asset-backed securities, hoping that everyone would understand it, which has not been achieved.

In any case and after studying them in detail, I trust this new safer product, although I prefer to invest manually for a while to check each one before investing.

Therefore, I do not make use of autoinvest and when an individual loan ends, I reinvest it in a security of my choice that I study in detail.

Here you can see some of the latest ones:

And in this chart you can see that I still have almost twice as many individual Loans as the new Securities, although they will be rebalanced as they are finalised:

I am interested to see whether investment financing falls or, on the contrary, continues to rise steadily.

If you want to start earning, this banner gives you €15 just by investing more than €50. What are you waiting for? With only 50€!

Robocash (+info)

Robocash has come out in August and has brought in €293 in interest and another €200 in welcome bonus… Olé, olé y olé.

The increase is remarkable because I have surpassed €25K invested which brings a +1% return.

August has brought 640 new investors, we have raised €610K in returns and €17 million has been funded.

But I must say that, although the figures are exceptional, I have a complaint towards one originator: Unapay.

I have therefore modified my autoinvest to not invest with them as they are the only ones in arrears, even if they apply their 30-day payback:

On the other hand, on 24 August they lowered the profitability percentages, which are as follows:

I recommend investing in longer-term projects with higher returns, as they also pay interest once a month.

As a sample, here is my automatic investment chart:

Another new development in August is that Natalya Ischenko has been promoted as the new CEO of Robocash, while Sergey Sedov continues as Chairman of the Board.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join them in this banner, where they add 1% of your investment if it exceeds 500€ during the first month:

Lendermarket (+info)

This platform is giving me a lot of joy and I have rewarded it with an additional €150 added to my portfolio.

I intend to exceed €5,000 in December, even more so if the completion of the Crowdestor projects and the sale of Housers materialise.

Below is my panel where the yield has risen further to 14.32% and arrears have fallen to over 31 days:

If you want to benefit from their 1% promotion for investments over 300€, click on the following banner:

Esketit (+info)

This month they have contributed €8 in interest and it is still the platform with the highest annual return: 14.85%.

With my €200 contribution to the portfolio, I have over €1,000 invested and hope to double it before December if it continues to perform so well.

If we compare the last 6 months, we can see that they have financed more than €46 million and during the last 3 months it has doubled:

FEBRUARY 2022
AUGUST 2022

Over €81M invested, 3800 investors and more than €1.3 million in interest.

Below is my dashboard, where you can see that only €42.36 is more than 31 days overdue out of the €1,050 invested:

And the main thing is that they continue to keep their failed projects at ZERO since they started in January 2021.

In August, they launched the “Esketit Experience”, which is a series of interviews. The first interview aired, you can watch it here.

If you invest on this great platform, here is an additional 1% bonus for amounts over €100 for the first 30 days:

Estateguru (+info)

In August they paid a backlog of €8.25 for July, but I am still waiting for another one, which they say they are looking for a solution to.

I hope that in September it will be regularised, as we have been waiting 36 days for them to comply with a payment to which they committed themselves on 16 August.

At the moment, this platform is leaving me with some doubts, so I will wait until the end of September before making a decision.

I already invested in 2018 with them, but I see that delays are still common, or maybe it was my choice of projects?

The fact is that there are 140,000 investors and their feedback is really good, so I will give them another month’s leeway.

Here is my dashboard, showing the project backlog and the interest generated since July 2021:

If you want to join them, in this banner you have a Welcome Bonus that brings an extra 0.5% to your investment for the first 90 days:

Kirsan Invest (+info)

August has brought me €4 again and now it’s time to let compound interest do its job and continue accumulating capital to invest.

As of 31 August, they have just funded their latest project and have told me that they are going to launch several in a few days.

I have also been given an update on the change in the image and usability of their website, which will take place in October.

This is my panel as of today, with 220€ waiting for them to launch their next project:

They continue to close projects with some dynamism and have already financed 27 projects with an average return of 11.87%.

They have a welcome bonus of €10 from a minimum investment of €200, which you can take advantage of here.

Bondster (+info)

August has brought €11 in profitability, which has also dropped due to the fact that I have withdrawn €139 this month.

They have paid back some of their arrears over 60 days, which in July were over €207 and have now been reduced to €172.

In July I already withdrew the welcome bonus as I have stopped recommending investment on this platform until further notice.

Crowdestor (+info)

This month they have contributed a meagre €32, a figure they have not suffered since August 2021.

But I remain hopeful that they will return 20% of the Renewable Energy project in September, plus a possible sale around November of the Consumer Loan Portfolio Acquisition and Kaleju 57.

Month after month, the profitability is decreasing and is down 0.15% compared to last month, as my panel shows:

I have been in full retirement for two years now, in which I have reduced just over €11,000. I hope to get rid of the remaining amount in another two years…

Just in case, I remind you that I do not recommend investing in any way in this platform, which I keep in the shadows because it continues to return projects, albeit at a very slow pace.

Housers (+info)

What happened in Housers in August? Something VERY important: they have proposed a vote for the sale of the Sagasta project, even if it is below the estimated price.

I am particularly excited, because it will be my first return in four years… Now all that remains is for the tenant to leave (to see how he has left the house), for the sale to be closed, for the money to arrive and for the company to be liquidated. Optimistically, around November.

And then I show you the Sagasta project which, with an estimated duration of 24 months and being funded on 27/01/2017, is still showing “No incidence”.

Perhaps 44 months behind schedule is not enough for “Overdue” to appear instead.

And that is all in relation to this platform that has been giving us, the long-suffering investors, so much trouble for the last four years.

Bulkestate (+info)

I am still waiting for the Amalijas Street project to be returned in September, 18 months behind schedule.

What I do not know is why it appears “Paid” in the project, when it has not been paid and the proposed date is 26/09/2022:

As soon as they pay it, I will say goodbye to them for good, although I have to say in their defence that at least they have kept us informed.

Maybe it will pick up in the future, but I doubt they will be able to count on me by then.

Crowdestate (+info)

Still no news, apart from the third unsuccessful auction to sell off the Baltic Forest projects, which are more than two years behind schedule.

Crowdestate has filed a legal claim against the project managers.

The additional problem is that they have not provided any information about this project for four months. Does it cost them that much?

Yet another platform that has lost investor confidence due to the accumulation of failed and delayed projects.

On the other hand, the last monthly report dates from October 2021 and the latest annual accounts date from 2019. Weird, isn’t it?

Remaining reported and doubtful platforms

We remain confident that justice will take its course and we will recover the failed investments between 2019 and 2020.

Since then, no platform has failed. The new European regulation has a lot to do with this.

We have new developments in the investigations against Kuetzal and they are VERY optimistic, as their conglomerate has been unravelled.

We expect to have a proposal for payments shortly from two originators.

Progress on Envestio has been made in Malta and Estonia, but there is still a long way to go.

And from Monethera I am still waiting to testify against them, so I remain at the disposal of the competent authorities when they require me.

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Too good to be true

I was dreaming about the arrival of October, because it was the month of payment of the Albufera project that Housers should have paid, but oh, surprise! We have not been paid! It was too good to be true.

In any case, I do not consider it a bad month, as it is the fifth consecutive month of over €700 per month.

Specifically, it was 761€, as you can see in this graph:

On the other hand, I am happy because I have invested €3,774 collected from an indemnity that will soon start to provide returns.

I have diversified it among six European platforms that I have full confidence in and which already exceed a portfolio of €42,000.

In addition, two platforms have released their profitability box this month: Estateguru and Kirsan Invest.

This is the October income, its profitability and the total invested:

And now for the platforms that I am very happy with in green, somewhat less happy with in orange and undesirable in red:

The BEST and recommended platforms with welcome BONUS

Peerberry (+info)

October has brought in a very welcome €65 and will be even more in November as I have added another €900 to the portfolio.

With this amount, I have deposited €3,100 in the last five months in their portfolio and the confidence they inspire in me is enormous.

They are continuing with their plans to launch a secondary market and also to obtain the EMI (Electronic Money Institution) licence to become a payment provider.

It remains second in terms of volume financed, with more than €56 million, behind only Mintos, with €153 million.

Here they add 0.5% of your investment if it exceeds €500 during the first 30 days:

Viainvest (+info)

Another €25 contributed by Viainvest in October, a month in which I increased my portfolio by €300 to €1465.

Due to its new Broker Licence, as of 5 November, investors will fall under MiFID II regulation.

Thus, ordinary investors can be either retail or professional and Viainvest will be supervised by the Latvian Financial Commission (FCMC).

In this banner you get €15 just for investing more than €50. What are you waiting for? With only 50€!

Robocash (+info)

This platform is going great! In August it gave me a €70 return, in August it was €95 and in October I got another €106!

And of course, I have increased my portfolio by €1,874 in October, thus surpassing the €10,000 mark, which brings me an additional +0.5% return.

It has been an exceptional month, exceeding €15M financed and paying out more than €305K to investors, of which there are now more than 20,000.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join this banner, where they add 1% of your investment if it exceeds 500€ during the first month:

Lendermarket (+info)

This month it returned €16 and I took the opportunity to add another €200 to my portfolio, which offers a 14.28% return.

In December I invested a small amount of €300 and the experience could not have been more satisfactory. One of my best decisions.

This month they have only published a series of updated investor FAQ (in English).

If you want to benefit from their 1% welcome promotion, click on this banner:

Bondster (+info)

Bondster returned €6 in October, a month in which I took the opportunity to increase my portfolio by €200.

I still want to increase my portfolio to €1,000 before the end of the year and I am well on my way.

This month saw the return of Lime South Africa to funding through Bondster and two new providers: TrustGro (Kenya) and NúNú (Iceland).

With almost 14,000 investors, they are on the verge of reaching €90M funded in record October with over €4.7M.

Get an additional 1% from €100 of investment for the first 90 days:

Nibble (+info)

October has contributed €4 with only €300 initial investment totalling €33 in interest since April.

It is next in my sights to expand my portfolio, as they will soon obtain a supervisory licence from the Estonian FSA (Financial Supervision Authority).

I currently get a 14.5% annual return, but if you don’t want to take risks, take advantage of their classic strategy at 9.7% with Buyback and from 10€:

Esketit (+info)

I am delighted with Esketit, which has returned €8, doubling the best result so far and with only €300 invested in May.

I have already had the opportunity to test their Buyback which works without delays and an autoinvest which works autonomously.

October has been a record October and November could see more than €16M financed and €200K paid in interest to the nearly 900 current investors.

In August I wrote a detailed article about this platform, which you can read here.

It is a new but reliable platform, created by the founders of Creamfinance, with 8 successful years in the market.

If you invest on this great platform, here is an additional 1% bonus for amounts over €100 for the first 30 days:

Estateguru (+info)

As I told you before, I invested €300 at the end of July and I invested another €300 in October.

From the first project I have already obtained €8.25 which you can see here and which in quarterly periods will bring an interest of 11.01%.

I already invested in 2018 with them, but they have improved a lot and their projects are now really interesting.

In fact, they have become the fourth largest platform in terms of EUR funding, with an accumulated €454M and close to 100,000 investors.

If you want to join them, in this banner you have a Welcome Bonus that brings an extra 0.5% to your investment for the first 90 days:

Kirsan Invest (+info)

I have started October with the first €3.67 of interest from the three projects I invested in in September:

Interest received: €3.67 // Available: €2.97 // Investments financed: €600

These are the projects in which I have invested €600, at 6 months, 1 year and 18 months respectively, two in Moldova and one in Spain:

They currently have two projects under financing, at 17% and 13% annual return, both in Moldova, a country in full development:

I will give you more details in a month’s time, as they have very interesting projects, a great financial structure with very good backing and very clear ideas.

There is no welcome bonus at the moment.

Platforms with some shadows that I do not recommend investing in

Crowdestor (+info)

In October they have contributed €117 from various interest arrears, but I still have no confidence in this platform.

Four “Elvi Grocery Stores” projects have had €500K in capital repaid, but the number of projects at serious risk of loss continues to grow:

€3.7M in recovery // €15M with delays exceeding 91 days

My projects in recovery add up to 25%: Kabuki Restaurant at Salaris, Consumer Loan Portfolio Acquisition and Fertilizer Export Financing.

On a positive note, it appears that Meža Enerģija investors will be paid €20K per week and expect to sell the project by May 2022.

There continues to be a lack of information from Crowdestor, which is the main reason why I do not recommend this platform with an uncertain future.

Iuvo (+info)

Another month in which they have contributed one measly euro to the portfolio, so I am reintegrating my entire portfolio from this platform.

It has been a test that I started in December and has not achieved the expected result.

This is not to say that it is not advisable for many investors, but it is not for me.

As an example, Kviku offers a return of 9.5% in euros in Iuvo, while Bondster offers them at 12%.

And if I want to get more return in foreign currency, they pass on 4.5% for each currency exchange, which is exaggerated in my opinion.

For those who want to give it a try, they have launched IuvoUP, with returns between 3% – 4%. Here you have more information in English and Spanish.

Maybe we will see each other in the future, but a lot would have to change.

Mintos (+info)

This month I have been refunded €25, but there is still €735 in the process of being refunded.

Of this amount, 98% is accounted for by Varks AM, which Mintos has changed from a projected recovery of 70% to 100%, but over a 5-year period instead of 3 years. Welcome.

They have outlined some new developments now that they are licensed as a European investment firm regulated by the Latvian FCMC (Financial and Capital Market Commission).

These include that investors’ monies will be protected up to a maximum of €20K under the investor compensation scheme.

This scheme does not protect against changes in the price of an investment, default of a borrower, lender or issuer.

The platform is changing for the better, but I need to see how it evolves over the coming months to confirm this.

Mintos remains the leading P2P platform in Europe, with almost €7.5 billion funded and almost half a million registered users.

Avoid these platforms

Housers (+info)

Housers has left me (again) with the desire, because I needed a miracle and I thought that maybe this time it would happen. What has NOT happened?

Well, the Albufera project where I invested €50K in 2018 has not repaid the capital nor the last interest signed at the Shareholders’ Meeting, with a payment date in October 2021.

Lawyer Manuel Merino has court hearings against Housers and developer Construbecker on Tuesday 2 and 4 November, respectively. We will see if justice is done and the indications of fraud by both are proven.

In October they paid two months’ arrears on the Torres de Paterna project, but I fear that we will not see any more interest arrears, unless the court case is successful. I hope I am wrong.

I am not in the mood to wait for what happens in that trial, so I will expand on that in the next publication.

Bulkestate (+info)

They have only launched one project in October and after half a month, they have not yet reached 75% of the necessary funding. Something is going wrong.

The reason for this is the distrust of Bulkestate and its refusal to pay monthly interest except for a few projects.

They have a lot of competition and better conditions, such as Estateguru, Reinvest24 or Evoestate.

On the personal front, they have updated the interest receivable on my project, which will be repaid one year late.

As soon as it does, it will be time to abandon this platform, which has two short-term alternatives: renew itself or die.

Crowdestate (+info)

There have been no changes since the announcement of 30 September by Baltic Forest’s insolvency administrator.

It states that the appraisal of the project has been completed and that the first auction will take place in November, so I will publish news shortly.

I am afraid there will be no repayment until the middle of next year, as there are more creditors than just Crowdestate investors.

In June the EFSA (Estonian Financial Authority) granted Crowdestate the certificate of regulated payment institution, but I see that they keep accumulating failed projects.

Furthermore, I wonder why the delay in the presentation of its annual accounts. Do you know that the last ones submitted are from 2019?

In October they have been very active with 10 projects funded, but there has been little progress on the more than 10.5 million outstanding on 31 overdue projects and almost 4 million on 6 unpaid projects.

Lenndy (+info)

We can talk about red flags or express them in many ways, but the conclusion is clear: they have disappeared.

They have not returned the 783€ of outstanding capital for three months, without answering emails or calls.

Could an investor come to your offices in Vilnius and confirm or deny the closure?

And they will still be able to take offence at the fact that a complaint has been lodged against them.

Posted on

Some joy in a satisfying August

Yes, this could be the summary: a few joys in a satisfying month of August.

And I can feel satisfied even though I only got €705.

The reason is that a Crowdestor project has been repaid in full and Housers has repaid the Albufera project, among others.

On another note, I have received a financial contribution that will be reflected next month on various platforms. Whenever I can increase my crowdlending portfolio, I don’t miss the opportunity.

And I am patenting an idea that will hopefully be well received and bring me a lot of satisfaction.

Finally, I have started investing in Estateguru, but I will not update the information until September.

I can be happy with the results of the last three months, totalling €2.353:

And now, let’s get to the month’s news, with big news from some of the platforms:

The BEST and recommended platforms with welcome BONUS

Peerberry (+info)

On the verge of getting the crowdfunding licence in Lithuania, Peerberry keeps growing and giving me good news.

This month they have contributed €42 and are keeping the arrears at bay, as you can see here:

Peerberry Situation
Only 0.87% overdue more than 31 days

We have heard that they intend to launch a secondary market and that they also want to obtain the EMI (Electronic Money Institution) licence to become a payment provider.

This month they have also activated push notifications on their mobile app, with new deposits, withdrawals, uninvested amounts and others.

It remains the second largest platform by volume financed, with more than €48 million, behind Mintos with €150 million.

And finally, I reflect here the news that the Aventus Group, of which Peerberry is part, earned €13.15 million in the first half of 2021.

My goal at Peerberry is to reach Silver status (€10K) which offers an additional +0.5% and which I hope to achieve before December 😉

Here they add 0.5% of your investment if it exceeds 500 euros during the first 30 days:

Viainvest (+info)

Another €25 has been brought to me by Viainvest in August and I have taken profit from the additional €350 I added in June.

They have let us know that they have set an 11% interest rate on all their projects from 1 September.

They are also about to obtain their broker’s licence (IBF) and I will continue to grow my portfolio with them to €3,000 by the end of the year.

In this banner you get €15 just for investing more than €50. What are you waiting for? With only 50€!

Robocash (+info)

70€ earned on Robocash! New this month was the interview I conducted with Dmitry Balakhnin, director of strategic communication.

In it, he unveiled some new features, which you can see here.

This month Robocash has already entered the TOP 10 platforms by funding with a total of €12 million.

We are already 18,000 active investors on the platform and almost 700 new ones joined in July. I am not surprised!

In September I will increase my portfolio by €1,000, bringing me closer to Silver status, which brings an additional 0.5% with €10K invested.

In this banner they add 1% of your investment if it exceeds 500€ during the first month:

Lendermarket (+info)

This month it has returned €4 with only €415 invested and maintains its return above 14%.

August brings some news: Credistar Group, parent company of Lendermarket, has applied for the specialised banking licence.

In addition, it has placed more than €23 million in bonds, coinciding with its 15th birthday.

And in the second quarter, net profit exceeded €2 million.

It is a company to keep an eye on and is ranked 12th in terms of turnover with €11 million.

If you want to benefit from their 1% welcome promotion, click on this banner:

Bondster (+info)

Bondster returned €5 in August, I am satisfied and am looking forward to increasing my portfolio to €1,000 before the end of the year.

NordCard has increased its profitability by 1% and Lime South Africa has finished paying last year’s outstanding amount.

As far as we have been able to ascertain, the average number of projects in arrears is less than 0.1% in Bondster:

They have reached 13,000 investors and more than €3.1 million in interest.

Get an additional 1% from €100 of investment for the first 90 days:

Nibble (+info)

I continue to be delighted with this easy-to-use platform which brought me a record €13 in August and about which I wrote a detailed article last month.

In total it has generated €22.82 since mid-April and is the platform with the highest return of 14.5% per annum.

This month I have been invited to take part in an internal survey that promises great things to come.

Nibble is currently in the process of obtaining the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) certificate.

They have also applied for a supervisory licence from the FSA (Financial Supervision Authority) of Estonia.

Remember that their classic strategy offers 9.7% with Buyback, with NO risk and a minimum investment of €10:

Esketit (+info)

It has contributed €3.80 in August and is already bringing me my first joys.

Its Buyback works without delays, it is easy to use and its autoinvest works autonomously so you don’t have to worry about it.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a detailed article about this platform, which you can read here.

It is a new platform, but created by the founders of Creamfinance, with 8 successful years in the market.

Here you get an additional 1% bonus on every investment over €100 you make during the first 30 days:

Platforms with some shadows, not recommended for investment

Crowdestor (+info)

Although this month Crowdestor has only given me 21€, I am satisfied because they have returned the Forestland Investments project in full.

As of today I have a backlog of 11 projects out of 12, of which I have 5 for sale on the secondary market.

It is a pity that the E. Fon Trompowsky Quarter project, which was up to date until August, has not been paid this month:

The payment schedule now has this new design, but the tricky thing is that non-payments are still accumulating.

The M119 project should be completed in September, but I am afraid they will not pay on time because they are already 4 months behind schedule.

They have also embraced Auto Invest, which is now available on the secondary market. I do not recommend using it on Crowdestor.

Here you can see the status of the projects in July and below as of today to draw your own conclusions:

JULY: 438 projects funded; 127 repaid; 113 current; 165 in arrears; 33 in demand
AUGUST: 449 projects funded; 141 repaid; 109 current; 157 in arrears; 42 in demand

Until they reduce their high default risk, I do not recommend investing in this platform.

Iuvo (+info)

This month it has only returned €2 and I still have serious doubts about this platform.

Investments in roubles have not been a great incentive either and, although returns have increased, I see little difference.

In short, I will wait another month to see how it evolves. It is still a platform that I have been testing since December.

The good news is that Easy Credit and Viva Credit are lowering their Buyback from 60 to 30 days, but at a yield between 5-6%, far from my expectations.

In any case, I do not recommend investing in it today.

Don’t even think of investing in these platforms

Housers (+info)

This month Housers has fulfilled some commitments: Albufera III, Juan de la Encina and Pensamiento.

BUT, it has again defaulted on six other projects, one of which has not delivered a single cent since it was funded in March 2018.

One is particularly serious because the developer Construbecker was given a second chance to fulfil its non-payments, so we will have to wait until the complaints made against it are successful.

vara del rey

Several investors affected by the Vara del Rey project have joined forces to recover the administration of the company, but neither Housers nor the administrator seem willing to call an extraordinary meeting.

And the most curious thing is that on their website this project appears “without incident”, although it should have been returned in April 2020.

And since we are delighted with its management, we want to manage it ourselves as investors, despite the additional costs involved.

Many of the 123 “uneventful” projects should have been returned years ago, but they are not considered “overdue”:

Some “uneventful” examples that I personally suffer from:

  • El Raval II (expired in February 2020)
  • Sagasta (expired in January 2019!!!)
  • Pensamiento (expired in January 2020)
  • Juan de la Encina (expired in June 2019)

And to complete the current situation, I leave you with this latest example of their inability to pay back their funded projects:

114 projects closed out of 327 highlight Housers’ management

Bulkestate (+info)

They have not launched any projects in August and seem to have taken the opportunity to rest, as there has been no news from them either.

My project will be returned a year late and, since they have no secondary market, I can only wait.

At least they have published some photos of the evolution of the project, although I see it very late and I don’t know if they will finish it in March 2022.

Mintos (+info)

I have been refunded €32 this month and there is now €773 still to be recovered, mostly from Finko AM.

The good news is that Mintos has been licensed as a regulated European investment firm by the Latvian FCMC (Financial and Capital Market Commission).

In addition, it has new Russian originators Pay P.S. and Capem; Conmigo Vales, GoCredit and Alivio Capital, all from Mexico, as well as Jet Finance and LF Tech, both from Kazakhstan and Watu Credit, now also in Uganda.

Mintos remains the leading P2P platform in Europe, with €150 million funded last month.

I continue to withdraw my portfolio, as the investment in one of the TOP originators at the time left more than €1,000 in the process of recovery, of which I will recover a maximum of 70%, as announced.

Lenndy (+info)

This month they have not made any repayment of the 783€ of outstanding capital and it has taken them three weeks to transfer 4€ from last month.

I must be patient, as the outstanding amount will not be refunded before March 2024.

In May I put my two assets up for sale at a 21% discount, but no one has yet been interested. I am not surprised either.

Crowdestate (+info)

This month there has been no news from Baltic Forest’s insolvency administrator and €350 of accumulated interest remains to be paid.

Something has to change at Crowdestate since the EFSA (Estonian Financial Authority) granted them the certificate of regulated payment institution in June.

In August they have been very active, launching 11 projects and successfully returning 3.

But let’s not forget that they have more than 10 million outstanding on 21 overdue projects and more than 3 million on 5 unpaid projects.

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Esketit, new platform with high profitability and security

It is not yet in its first year and I am already clapping my hands because I have invested in Esketit, a new platform with high profitability and double security.

It has made a strong entry into the market, having funded over €5.3 million and over 500 active investors.

I started investing in them on 14 May after studying them for several months and I am still delighted with my decision.

It is a P2P investment platform that offers loans from individuals in exchange for a return of 12-15% per annum.

Here is a screenshot of my control panel as of 19 August:

You can see that in three months I have earned €9.35 in interest, hardly suffer any delays and maintain an annual return of 14.33%.

In July they have contributed €3.63 and as of 19 August I have accumulated €3.02, so I will end the month above €4 with only €300 invested initially.

You can see the details and my Esketit statistics here, but here is a summary:

ESKETIT General Features

Country of originRegistered in Ireland, operates from Latvia
Year founded2020
GuaranteesDouble: the founders invest in each originator and the originators invest in each project. In addition, most of the projects have Buyback
AutoinvestYES
Secondary marketYES
min-max investmentFrom 10€. No upper limit
Return estimated12-15% p.a.
Investment periods1 day-12 months
Support rating10 / 10
Official supervisionEach originator is licensed in its country of origin

Who is behind Esketit?

Matiss Ansviesulis and Davis Barons founded Creamfinance in 2012 and last year launched the Esketit platform.

Esketit works with 5 loan originators, all owned by Matiss and Davis or Creamfinance in Spain, Jordan, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka and Mexico.

Legal aspects and safety

Esketit is registered in Ireland, while operations are carried out from its headquarters in Riga, Latvia. This is common practice.

In relation to the security they offer, it is striking that being so new, it is one of the most reliable platforms.

  • Firstly, all short-term projects have Buyback, which means that the originator is obliged to repay the initial capital plus unpaid interest 60 days after completion.

I have had the opportunity to try it out and I can assure you that after 60 days I have been fully reimbursed for the project, plus the interest accrued during the delay.

Business projects do not offer Buyback, so it is preferable to invest in short-term projects, as they offer the same return.

  • Secondly, the owners hold a stake in all loan originators, so that Esketit invests a share in each project.

In the finance industry this practice is referred to as “skin in the game”.

And as a final safety measure, they have a secondary market, so that any project can be sold in advance of completion.

Moreover, in the event that nobody is interested in it and the sale is urgent, Esketit acquires it with a 1% discount.

Using the platform

It is an ideal platform for inexperienced investors because it is very intuitive and easy to use.

In addition, we can make use of autoinvest, which works autonomously so that we can forget about it.

Let me give you a real example on this platform: after finishing a project, I receive €20 of the initial capital and 14 cents of interest. On the same day they reinvest the €20.14 in a new project following the guidelines set out in the autoinvest.

Esketit Customer Service

In case of any questions or problems with the Esketit account, we can communicate in English with the customer service team support@esketit.com, but if I can help you, I am always ready to: info@libertad-financiera.eu

Esketit’s business hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 18:00, GMT +2.

I hope you will take the opportunity to invest in Esketit with a welcome gift of €10 if you invest a minimum of €100 during the first 30 days after registration:

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Interview with D. Balakhnin, Strategic Communications Director of Robo.cash

I have long wanted to know details about Robo.cash that I didn’t see in its portfolio, and I finally managed to interview Dmitry Balakhnin, Director of Strategic Communications.

Who better than him to give me those details that few others know? I have been investing with them for three years now and wanted to know what Robo.cash is like from the inside.

I would like to thank Dmitry Balakhnin and Anastasia Palamarchuk for providing me with this interview.

And now for a brief summary of my experience with Robo.cash:

Since September 2018 I have invested in 2161 loans, of which 1932 have closed as planned, 229 are currently active and ZERO (0) loans have been delayed.

In March 2021 I reached €5,000 invested, which gives me bronze status (+0.3% additional) and I aim to reach silver status (€10,000 and +0.5% additional) before the end of 2021.

As of today, I have almost €6,400 invested and we are already more than 18,000 investors who place our absolute trust in Robo.cash and its bright future.

If you need more details, statistics and news, be sure to visit the Robo.cash private page 😉

The most professional interview

1.- Welcome to Financial-Freedom, Dmitry. Nice to meet you and to have a word with you about Robo.cash, where you have been working since 2014. Here we go: given the rapid evolution of Robocash, the increase in investors and the amounts invested, how do you plan to avoid a possible lack of available projects?

Robocash group companies, which place loans on the platform, are developing at a rapid pace. I’d like to note that Robocash.kz (placing loans via RC Riga Kazakhstan) is growing particularly fast. This means there will be a demand for investment, including funding through Robo.cash.

Besides, the group has an expansion strategy and needs substantial investment for its development. Giving that, the platform is ready to offer investors commercial loans at a favorable price, focusing its efforts on the group’s scaling.

2.- Can investors expect a further readjustment of interest rates in relation to the project period?

We have no current plans to change our interest rate, but we are constantly monitoring not only the market and the situation, but also the P2P lending market as a whole comparing the terms with other investment alternatives as well. We strive to provide the best value for money for our investors, so our interest rates will be in line with the risk ratio and profitability we offer.

3.- Robocash is ranked 12th by volume of funding in the EU. What actions do you plan to take to reach the TOP 10? When do you think you will reach this milestone?

I think we will reach TOP 10 this year because our main priority is the security of investors’ funds while maximizing profits and further reducing risk.

Moreover, we are now ready to satisfy higher appetite of investors because the group is developing rapidly in the most promising and fast-growing markets in Asia.

Our actions? I can admit that at present we are taking a balanced approach in providing new features, as investors value reliability highly.

What we definitely intend to do is to maintain the trustworthiness we built showing our clients that we are the company they can trust. We will be as transparent as possible and respond to the needs of our customers by improving our service.

4.- What news does Robocash have in store for this year of transition and the next year of take-off?

Robo.cash is glad to see the P2P lending market is gaining momentum. The investment platform has long-term goals, so we plan to build strong relationships with investors, doing our best to provide them with high-quality service.

Another important point is that the platform will strive to make the P2P investment market one of the most attractive investment assets. P2P lending is a more persistent investment tool compared to the stock market.

At the same time, it is proving to be a profitable asset on the investment market with an average interest rate of about 10-11%, which is a decent rate for Europe.

The most personal interview

5.- Perfect. Let’s move on to a more informal interview, Dmitry. What do employees value most about working at Robocash?

First and foremost, employees are valued by the owner and top managers of the company. An each team member has the opportunity to unlock their potential and apply their knowledge and skills. Management provides all resources for training and development of our employees, which creates an environment where everyone sincerely wants to improve the functionality and performance of the platform. Each employee is supported by the strong team and has the freedom to propose and implement meaningful approaches.

6.- What phrase or quote reflects your philosophy of life?

“Do not put all your eggs in one basket”. This rule applies to investment as well as to life. My credo is to be versatile. One should not rely on just one thing in life. Career, family, hobbies and leisure time enable us to live our lives meaningfully, harmoniously,and thus, full of joy.

7.- Tell me a lesson that life has taught you.

Whatever experience happens in your life, it is definitely useful. I guess you remember the world financial crisis of 2008. It forced the company where I had been working for 4 years as PR manager to lay off employees. I lost my job where I had planned to make a career. I had to find a new one in an unfamiliar field to me: marketing. I was upset because I had to give up PR and master marketing.

However, later I realized what priceless experience I had gained and since then I have been mixing different approaches in my work and trying to use versatile working methods.

8.- And a lesson that working at Robocash has taught you?

I got a very good lesson while working for Robocash Group. It is: “ Don’t be afraid of challenges and do whatever you think is worthwhile regardless of the difficulties, because everything is in your hands”. I’ve been working for the company almost since the beginning when it was a Russian startup. I can’t count how many challenges were overcome during this extensive journey. We were unknown in Russia and nobody welcomed our initiatives, but we were brave enough to research and pitch our ideas in the media and at conferences.

I remember when we entered the Kazakhstan market, we did not know what challenges awaited us, but we found common ground with the local media market and public officials. As a result, we were published in the local Forbes and other respected media.

Then Spain, Europe (the investment platform) and the new course of development in a very promising Asian market with rapid pace of internet penetration and lack of access to traditional banking service.

I had never talked and negotiated with foreign partners before and I did not understand what I had to do to attract their attention. A genuine aspiration to do something useful and meaningful for customers has worked and made it possible to be where we are now.

9.- Which people, one historical and one current, would you like to have a conversation with?

Actually, I don’t think I have any particular historical or a famous person I am keen to have a chat with. I find it inspiring to talk to all smart people who are professionals in a particular field or who have achieved decent results in business or other aspects of life. I can find out a lot of new and priceless information by talking to ordinary people on a daily basis. This can be very insightful, and perhaps even more valuable than talking to a historical person.

10.- Have you invested in cryptos? Do you see a future for them? Do you have any recommendations of cryptocurrencies to avoid and others with a foreseeable future? Has Robocash considered launching its own altcoin?

I haven’t invested in cryptos. I’m not a huge expert at this type of asset, but I think the huge waves and significant fluctuations in the market are a temporary situation. It’s good for the investors who want to hit the jackpot there (and know how), but it can be risky for those who want to make long-term and relatively consistent investments.

I think that the cryptocurrency market will find its price, which will be balanced and reasonable compared to other investment tools.

Robo.cash is not considering launching its own altcoin.

11.- And the last question: If you had €100,000 to invest, in which financial products would you invest it and in what percentage each of them? (not valid in Robocash) 😉

Actually, I already have such investment plans. I am considering putting about 30% of the funds in the P2P lending market, 50% in the stocks and 20% in the Russian bond market, one of the Group’s entities Zaymer issues its bonds on the MOEX. As for the stock market, I am waiting for the time when the holding company Robocash Group holds the IPO and issues its shares.

I will definitely buy shares of Robocash Group because I know the company from the inside, its financial strength and effective management. I believe fintech will be the most profitable investment in the stock market.

12.- I would like to add one more question, given that a major financial collapse seems to be looming and prominent investors (Michael Burry, Jeremy Grantham,…) warn that the biggest bubble in history is brewing. What is Robo.cash’s opinion on this and what consequences could it have for the sector and the company?

It is likely that an emerging crisis will affect those investment fields where prices are set too high or too low, or where we see overheated demand, such as in the stock market. I agree that the potential collapse would probably impact many other niches, including the P2P lending market.

However I don’t think there will be any sudden crisis. If the macroeconomic situation gets worse, the quality of borrowers may decrease or new development strategies may be considered. But the collapse will only strengthen the reliability of such investment tools over time.

Once again, thank you very much for spending your time with us, Dmitry!

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Discover Nibble

Discover Nibble,its simplicity of use and its medium-high proven profitability. Read.

What can I say about Nibble? I started investing in this platform in mid-April and three months later I have already received (and reinvested) the € 10.31 interest.

Here’s the summary of my current portfolio:

And what’s my experience with them?

Unbeatable. They have met the expected return (14.5%),I have not suffered any delay in the 7 active loans, it is a very simple use platform that has made it easier for me to reinvest the interest generated.

Here are more charts and details of my personal account.

Is Nibble safe?

Yes, it is. Although Nibble was launched in 2019, the platform is owned by IT Smart Finance Group,a strong financial group created in 2014 and headquartered in Barcelona and Moscow. At the end of 2021 they will open headquarters in Mexico.

Nibble offers micro-credits issued by Joymoney Spain and Joymoney Russia,analyzed based on three criteria: probability of delay, risk of fraud and degree of loyalty.

And what investment options does Nibble offer us?

It has three strategies. This is the Classic Strategy,which until August 31 offers 11.7% instead of 9.7%, WITHOUT any risk and with a minimum investment of € 10:

NOTE: Here is more information about the risk classification, from AA to C.

Below I show you the Balanced Strategy. In it I have invested since April € 300 and I have already reinvested € 10.31 in interest in just 3 months, which confirms its 14.5% return.

It carries more risks, but so far NONE of my projects are in arrears. The portfolio requires a minimum investment of € 100 and the minimum investment term is 7 months:

Finally, they have the Special Strategy,with a return of 17.2%,but I do not recommend investing in it at the moment because it does not compensate for the risk. In addition, the minimum amount and period are 500€ and 12 months, respectively.

Below I provide how the risks of each project are determined.

Nibble is currently in the process of obtaining the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) certificate.

They have also applied for a supervisory licence from the FSA (Financial Supervision Authority) of Estonia.

You can review their financial statements, audits and balance sheets at this link.

And how are the risks determined?

They are evaluated by a Risk Committee that meets at the end of each month, composed of the following professionals:

And what is its mission? There are three tasks to be developed:

  • Study and analyze the results of the work done regarding NPL 30-60-90-120 (delayed projects at 30 days, 60, 90, 120)
  • Compare the actual indicators with those programmed for the period
  • Analyze the scoring and profitability model (11.7%-14.5%-17.2%),make a forecast and calibrate it

And who helps me if I have doubts?

They have very good support through chat, telephone and e-mail in Spanish, English, German, Russian and Italian.

Would you like to invest in Nibble?

Clicking on this image will add 2% if you invest more than € 300, that is, an additional € 6:

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A GOOD MONTH OF JUNE

That’s right, a good month of June. And if the forecast holds true, July will be even better. Much better.

But of course, as always, it is up to Housers and its irregular payment schedule to make it happen.

Below I show how the €844 earned this month has been distributed:

Best platforms

In June Crowdestor provided me with €131 in interest and made two partial repayments from Forestlands Investments, which will be paid in full in July.

I continue to take the opportunity to balance the portfolios, reducing Crowdestor, where I still have €18,600 and increasing in Peerberry and Robocash, above all.

It appears that the legal proceedings on the Fertilizer Export Financing project are continuing and there could be interesting developments in October.

Here is a summary of the status of the projects from their website:

412 funded; 119 repaid; 99 current; 161 overdue; 33 in recovery; Capital lost: 0€

They currently have 7 active projects with an annual return between 22%-34%.

Peerberry has behaved as well as ever and has given me €43 in interest. In June I increased my portfolio by another €1,000 and now have €2,500 invested.

Far from reaching the magic €10K figure that will allow me to earn an additional +0.5% interest, I aim to reach it by December this year.

In June I took the opportunity to invest €350 in two real estate projects for 9 months at 11.5% p.a. and a trial €20 in a “long-term” project for three years at 12% p.a. with monthly payments.

Curious graph: 23% of its investors hold a portfolio between €10K and €25K, followed by 21% of the lucky ones who have more than €100K invested:

In addition, Germany is the country with the most investors (27%), followed by Spain (11%) and the Netherlands (6%). It is clear that it is a platform that builds trust.

In June they changed the look and feel of their website and app, which are now lighter and more intuitive.

They have also presented the good 2020 results of some of their partners: SOS Credit CZ, Credit7 UK, Nado Deneg UK, Gofingo UA, Slon Credit UA, AutoMoney UA, etc.

Here they add 0.5% of your investment if it exceeds €500 during the first 30 days:

I am still delighted with Robocash, which has brought me €96 in interest this month, although July looks even better as several projects are coming to an end.

In June I increased the portfolio by another €700 and I am now close to €6,000 invested. In November I expect to reach €10,000 to qualify for “silver status” which offers an additional +0.5% interest.

Given its consistency and the security it gives me, I invested €500 in a single project for 10 months at 12.3% per annum.

In June they unveiled their new microcredit originator Zaimer and we learned that they are hiring nuclear physicists to optimise their successful algorithms.

They continue to break records with €10.6 million per month funded, +1,000 new investors and €185K paid in interest.

Here they add 1% of your investment if it exceeds €500 in the first month:

Viainvest has paid €35 in June and I have increased my portfolio by €350 to invest it in some long-term projects at 14% interest instead of the usual 12%.

In addition, on 29 June, they announced a new partnership with Atlan Advance Management to manage bridge loans through the financing of mortgage-backed real estate loans in Spain.

This new typology of projects will avoid the occasional lack of offers that they sometimes suffer.

In this banner you get €15 just by investing more than €50. Why are you waiting? With only 50€!

In June, Lendermarket provided me with €6, where I have 20 projects, 3 of which are behind schedule, although I have already seen that their Buyback is working perfectly.

They have just turned two years old and have announced that their annual accounts will be audited by KPMG. Big time!

They already have 2,600 investors who hold an average portfolio of €5,000 and have accumulated a volume of €106 million in funding.

The promotional campaign for new investors at 2% has ended, but the 1% promotion is still active:

Nibble has returned €3 in June and in July I will reinvest the interest of the last three months, setting in motion a snowball of profitability.

In testing since mid-April, expectations on this platform are high and so far it is performing perfectly.

It has a very simple usability and I like its evaluation system based on three pillars: probability of delay, probability of fraud and degree of loyalty.

Be sure to take a look here for some introductory information I have prepared on their platform.

In mid-May I invested €300 in Esketit to try it out and, although it is too early to draw any conclusions, I can tell you how well it performs.

With thirteen investments made, two of them in business and eleven in short-term loans, I already have a proven return of 14.03%.

Interesting also because it is based in Ireland, thus avoiding the concentration of Baltic platforms, it has reached €3M in funded loans.

In July I will publish a more detailed publication with more statistics, results and general impressions.

Bondster has rented €4 in June and comes with good news. Originator Kviku has achieved €1.6 million in profit and Bondster has added two new ones: NordCard and SmartAdvance South Africa.

From 1 July they will have a secondary market with a 0.5% commission to the seller, with no fee for the buyer.

This tool will increase liquidity, although I don’t think I will use it because my projects are short term and its Buyback works perfectly.

In addition, until 31 August, they are offering 1% of the investment to each new affiliate and an additional €5 bonus:

Platform with some shadows

Iuvo is not convincing me and has generated €1 again this month, despite investing in roubles with Kviku at almost 20%.

I have already seen that they have an inconvenient currency exchange rate, so I will give them until the end of July, when they will be 5 years old.

It is a very secure and highly rated platform, but its profitability is below my expectations.

In relation to its partners, Adwisers and NordCard have presented their audited annual accounts, while Ibancar has completed two years in Iuvo.

The new originator Access Finance with a 9% yield, risk category A and 30% skin-in-the-game has been launched.

Shunning these platforms

This month Housers has fulfilled the first payment of €517 committed for the Albufera III project. I expect that in July the payment of Torres de Paterna, both from the denounced developer Construbecker, will be added.

The court has admitted the complaint for a fraud offence and several parties involved on both sides, Housers and Construbecker, have been summoned to testify.

The total amount is €6.3 million for the projects Avenida del Puerto, Cardenal Benlloch, Albufera I, II and III, Tarragona, Torres de Paterna I and II, Eliana and Llanes.

Another court has ordered an investigation into the complaint filed against ByNok and Álvaro Luna, chairman of the board of directors of Housers, has already testified.

Things are not going well for them, that’s for sure. Based on last month’s data, we see here that investors are taking out more capital than they invest:

Another novelty is the inclusion of Bitcoin as a payment method in Housers through Cryptan.

My advice: don’t invest in Housers even with Monopoly tickets.

In Mintos I have reduced my portfolio by €114 and gained €5 in interest, thanks to the return of Akulaku. It is now up to Finko AM to follow suit, although they have already announced that they will return a maximum of 70% of the amount owed. I still do not advise investing in Mintos.

Already close to being licensed as brokers, they have introduced three categories of investors: retail, professional and eligible counterparties.

They have published their 2020 annual accounts audited by KPMG, which are less satisfactory than those for 2019.

In Lenndy they returned €13 in June, but I still have a long way to go until March 2024 to get rid of my entire portfolio. Last month I put the two assets up for sale at a 21% discount, but no one has been interested in them.

I am still very unhappy with Bulkestate. This month they came up with the idea of launching a project with the same return as usual (12%), for a term of 18 months, but with a minimum investment of €25,000.

And why invest in this project when there are others in which I can diversify and invest €50 at the same or a higher return and for a shorter term, even with monthly payments? Absurd.

Crowdestate still has no news on the Baltic Forest project, for which they owe me €284 and counting. It seems that the bankruptcy committee is taking it easy.

This month they have published 7 projects (none since 10/06) and we are still waiting for the publication of their annual accounts.

In the loss section, more than €2.5 million is irrecoverable and €7.1 million is in the hands of the courts.

Platforms denounced

Grupeer is not getting off the ground. This month it has been confirmed that the Latvian National Police has launched a criminal investigation and the person responsible is Commissioner Ervins Ambrozis, who can be contacted by those affected by this email: ervins.ambrozis@vp.gov.lv

It is also possible to join the Armada Group through their website. They have not published any posts on their blog since 31 March.

The curious thing is that on 16 June they presented the accounting books for the last three years (2018-2020) of one of the group’s companies, in which its administrator is Mr. Kisiks Andrejs.

Wisefund has defended its position and the judge has not yielded to the creditors’ meeting. In any case, the Spanish Judicial Police have informed me that they have found evidence of pyramid activity.

There is little time left to bring in the full cavalry against Monethera and there is evidence of cross financial movements with Envestio. In late summer there could be pleasant surprises.

Yesterday, 30 June, the defence of the claims against Envestio took place, but there is no public information about it. There will be further developments at the end of July.

The hearing against Kuetzal was held on the same day. It appears that the network is being extended to Colombia and one of its financial institutions. In Russia, a lawsuit has already been filed in the relevant courts.

RECOMMENDED PLATFORMS OFFERING WELCOME BONUSES (no Mintos, no Bulkestate, no Housers, no Crowdestate, etc.)

VIAINVEST: 15€ bonus with a minimum investment of 50€

CROWDESTOR: 1% of your investment during the first 90 days

PEERBERRY: 0.5% of your investment for the first 30 days starting from 500€.

ROBO.CASH: 1% of your investment for the first 30 days from 500€.

LENDERMARKET:1% of your investment with a maximum of 3.000€.