Robo.cash sees rising demand for long-term loans
Robo.cash has seen rising investor demand for long-term loans offered by its Singaporean loan originator.
In August, the European peer-to-peer lending platform’s investors funded €1.5m (£1.4m) of these loans, the highest figure to date.
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This is twice as much as in June (€700,000m) and up from July’s €1.2m.
Robocash said that as the Singaporean loan originator is the only one on its platform that places loans lasting from eight to 12 months, the trend can be seen as a sign of a growing demand for longer-term products among P2P investors.
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Research from the platform has also indicated investors are looking to long-term assets, such as shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In April 40 per cent of investors said that stocks and ETFs made the largest part of their portfolio, up from 33 per cent at the beginning of the year.
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Robo.cash cited analysis from MarketWatch, claiming that the pandemic and the related uncertainties seem to have caused investors to reconsider their strategies and think ahead, opting for longer-term investment products.
“As for the stocks, it is undeniable that they remain one of the most profitable investment tools,” the analysis said.
“However, it is hardly possible to count on a sharp rise in stock markets after the current recession, a so-called V-shaped recovery.
“Some prominent experts say that the stocks are rather likely to follow the U-shaped recovery, which decreases their attractiveness.
“The longer the pandemic, the more pessimistic these predictions become. Thus, other experts think that the recovery scenario may well have the L-shape, which makes this type of investment riskier than usual.
“This may be a reason why investors look at other alternatives, including P2P lending.
“Such investments give high returns, are not so volatile and give a view of exactly when and how much profit one is going to receive.”