After rereading the blog, I picked up on the same thing 112233. 39% made money, the rest seem to fall into a hazy, gray area. I'm sure Prosper would claim a significant amount of those other lenders broke "close to even."
And following my rereading, I submitted the following:
To compare p2p loans to a 401k is ridiculous. Once a loan goes kaput, there is very little chance of recovery, even though Propser will gladly let us pay for the priviledge. When my 401k tanked, I still held the underlying asset. Yes, we just went through the Great Recession, and I've had made up most of my 2008 losses with 2009 gains, in my 401k, mind you. My Prosper portofolio, on the other hand, still shows the same charge-offs and adding new late loans going forward. The BigMoney article was fairly accurate, and instead of a constructive rebuttal, Propser swung the pendulum too far the other way. Comparing rotten apples to rotten oranges doesn't make either any less rotten.
One of two things will happen, 1) I will have my post published or 2) I'll get banned. I wonder where the smart money would go? (And honestly, banishment would be a great help. It will help me save myself from lending any more).