Orca, an independent data, research and analysis provider for the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market, has today officially launched its own investment platform.
The firm says its new service will “enable investors to diversify across multiple major P2P platforms, lending sectors and borrows from one diversified P2P portfolio”. Having gained its marks as a research provider on the sector, Orca believes it is best placed to identify opportunities within the market for investors and offers a solution to the time-consuming process of building a diversified portfolio.
The Orca Investment Platform will offer model portfolios, comprised of major UK platforms that automatically diversify investors’ capital across multiple borrowers and span across consumer, business and property lending.
According to Orca the P2P market has experienced significant growth in recent years, reaching £13bn in total cumulative lending since the asset class launched in 2005. Orca’s secondary service, Orca Analytics, has grown at 18 per cent in the last year, with £4bn lent in 2017 alone.
“We are passionate about promoting the attractiveness of P2P as an asset class to retail investors,” commented Orca CEO Iain Niblock. “Having analysed the market for years and forged strong relationships with platforms, we believe we are well positioned to help investors gain exposure to an asset class that complements their portfolio with stable, uncorrelated yield at a time when poor cash rates and volatility are affecting performance.”
The platform is promising a 5 per cent indicative return per annum, net of Orca Investment Platform’s fee of 0.65 per cent. Minimum investment starts at £1,000, then permitted at multiples of £1,000 thereafter.
Orca is also considering an actively managed solution for the future, where the platform will pick loans and manage an investor’s portfolio for them. From today, the platform is open to both new and existing investors in P2P lending.
