RateSetter reports its P2P assets offered stable returns during Q1 2020

Lending platform RateSetter has claimed its loans were among the most stable assets during the first quarter of 2020, amid wider market volatility.

By investing £10,000 in a 90-day basket of RateSetter loans, an investor would have outperformed a number of popular assets including the FTSE 100, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF, and the top easy-access savings accounts.

RateSetter’s 1.01 per cent rise in the quarter ranked alongside gold (+12 per cent) and UK 10 year government bonds (+3.98 per cent) as the best performing stable assets during the period.

“We are in the midst of a major economic shock and most mainstream investments have seen a major adjustment; however our analysis shows that some investments are weathering the storm much better than others,” said RateSetter CEO Rhydian Lewis.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty around the economic outlook and there is undoubtedly a long way to go before things get back to normal, but people are starting to notice the stable and earning characteristics of RateSetter’s P2P investments which are valuable as part of a diversified portfolio.”

While Bitcoin was the second-best performing asset RateSetter benchmarked against during the period, +4.39 per cent, it’s huge volatility saw the returns swing positive in only the final few days of the quarter.

RateSetter’s loans held stable throughout the quarter, similar to gold and UK government bonds.

Given the looming economic turmoil facing millions of households across the country, it’ll be interesting to see how this basket of assets performs over the next three months.