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[Mark12547]

This turned up in my Google Alerts this afternoon:

Peer-to-peer Lending Sites Can Offer Good Returns For Funders

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/finance/article/peertopeer-lending-sites-offer-good-returns-funders_454298_9.html

..., investments in peer-to-peer loans are emerging as a another way to diversify a portfolio.

Not all diversifiers are good. Some diversifiers are best utilized by ignoring them.  Stocks fluctuates with economic cycles. Alas, I suspect sub-prime loans (the bulk of Prosper loans) also experience defaults going up during economic downturns, making them a poor diversifier for stocks.

But investors beware: The risks associated with these loans can be minimal to very high, in part depending on the credit history of the borrower.

...

This is the first time I recall seeing "risk" mentioned so early in the article. In fact, "risk" is mentioned frequently throughout the article.

I think the author may have heard the same saying I have heard: "If the returns are greater than you would expect, look for unrecognized risk (or undiscovered fraud)."

[pioneer11]

That is the best balanced article on P2P that I have seen.  Thanks for posting.

Here is a link to the analyst's report quoted.  http://www.javelinstrategy.com/research/4 I would like to read it but it is far too "rich" for me.

[Mark12547]

The price of the report is too rich for me, too.

[mhs505]

The price of the report is too rich for me, too.

W

Who would pay that kind of money?

[onthefence]

The price of the report is too rich for me, too.

W

Who would pay that kind of money?

A corporation looking to purchase or start a P2P lending business.

[HollowOak]

There's a link to a "brochure." That contains the Table of Contents. From  that one can generally surmise the outline of the report and that it probably wouldn't be good value for money, not even for a large corporation.