P2PGI returns improve as it continues shift away from P2P assets
P2P Global Investments (P2PGI) reported an increase in its net asset value (NAV) return in March, as it continues to shift away from peer-to-peer lending assets.
The London-listed investment trust posted a NAV return of 0.56 per cent in March, pushing its first-quarter return to 1.32 per cent.
The March figure is an increase from 0.31 per cent in February and its quarterly NAV is an improvement from 0.91 per cent in the same period of 2018.
P2PGI has been shifting from investing in P2P assets towards other specialist and asset-backed lending.
Read more: Consumer P2P loans weigh on P2PGI fund returns
Its March update showed that yield on its continuing portfolio had risen 10.2 per cent so far this year after bad debts, while the yield on its legacy collection of P2P exposure, which includes Zopa and Funding Circle loans, had grown by just 2.4 per cent.
P2P loans made up 12 per cent of P2PGI’s portfolio as of the end of March, down from 16 per cent in December 2018.
The fund is currently trading on a discount to NAV of 12.4 per cent, which Numis analysts said offers value.
A Numis analyst note said P2PGI’s securitisation of Funding Circle loans last month had boosted the financing terms of the portfolio and added that the purchase of fund veteran Neil Woodford’s 13 per cent stake in the trust by Quilter had removed any fears of a “overhang” or flood of shares hitting the market and pushing down the share price.