Assetz Capital – yet another new account, the Quick Access Account

Assetz Capital is a site that it full of innovation but the way the site works is complex and sometimes unpredictable.  The latest account is the Quick Access Account (QAA).  This joins the Cash account, Manual Loan Investment Account, Green Energy Income Account and the Great British Business Account.  Yes, that’s FIVE accounts in total, including the cash account.

QAA

The QAA offers (almost) instant access to funds, is secured by a provision fund and has an interest rate of 3.75%.  The clever thing is that as new loans come online or existing loans, specified by the lender, become available, money is automatically transferred from the QAA to one or more of the other accounts.  In other words, Assetz are offering 3.75% interest on cash that would otherwise be parked (with no interest) in the Cash Account.

In the Lab?

For me, Assetz is a kind of laboratory experiment, a prototype or beta site but with real money and real loans.  It reminds me, in some ways, of Funding Circle with its complex secondary market and the ability to bid for your own interest rate.  Mind you, bidding for varied rates on FC will soon be a thing of the past. FC are shortly going over to fixed rates only so the ‘flippers’ and their ‘bots’ will need to find a new home!  More of FC and fixed rates in a future post.

Where am I with Assetz?

I've got bits of cash in the 4 accounts and wait with INTEREST, hopefully 3.75%, 7% or more (Manual Loan Investment Account), to see what cash ends up where and when! Anyway, I look forward to putting more money into Assetz, if and when the algorithms get sorted out and the flow of new loans increases, and I can fully understand what the platform is doing with my cash! 

Assetz Capital Peer to Peer Lending - New Account Offers Instant Access Savings at 7% !

Introducing the Assetz Great British Business Account (GBBA)

Too good to be true?  Read on ..

Assetz Capital have just introduced a THIRD Peer to Peer Lending Account.  Until recently, they had:

• A Manual Loan Investment Account where you build your own portfolio of loans
• A Green Energy Income Account that pays 7% 

The Manual Account typically pays around 11% on average with a package of self-selected secured (against property) loans.  There is no protection fund.  The Green Account automatically selects green loans (wind turbines, solar etc.) for you making a balanced, protected, portfolio at a fixed interest of 7%.

The good news with the Green Fund is it is highly liquid.  In other words you can (normally) get most of your money out very quickly.

Ratesetter Comparison 

This compares very favourably with, for example, Ratesetter, where you currently get 5.9% in the 5 year market.  This is decidedly NOT liquid in that it takes 5 YEARS to get all your money back and there are heavy penalties for early withdrawal.

The GBBA

So what about the third account, the GBBA?  This is similar in operation to the Green Account but this one offers 7% based on loans to Small to Medium British Enterprises (SME).  Like the Green Account it is protected by a contingency fund.

Some Assetz customers have been cautious about the future of Green Investment so this new fund offers a great alternative to park some cash temporarily and still get a really good rate of interest without too much risk.

Note that the Manual account includes all the Assetz P2P loans while the Green and Business Accounts each include a relevant subset of these according to the fund type (Green or Small Business).

'Hands On' verses 'Leave Alone'

While the Manual account is fairly 'hands on' and involves moderate risk, the Green and Business accounts are much safer and require virtually no management.  In other words, You deposit some cash in your Assetz account then transfer it into the GBBA.  When you want the money back you withdraw it from the GBBA and hopefully it will quickly appear in your cash account where you can transfer it back to your current account.  Tres simple!

Warning

Please note that I have no particular preference for Assetz Capital but, as other Assetz lenders have done, I have purchased a few shares in the company.  So please don't take this as a recommendation.  Make up your own mind as to whether this is a good deal for you and beware of investing too much in any single Peer to Peer platform.

As with all investing, DIVERSIFICATION is key.  Happy Lending!