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The Myths and Misconceptions about Peer-to-Peer Lending

Over the past couple of years, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has become an excellent alternative source of business financing, especially for SMEs and start-ups. With peer-to-peer lending, SMEs and start-ups can gain the funding they need for business development. Not only that, peer-to-peer lending is attractive to investors too, with its high returns and easy concept. However, with the rise of peer-to-peer lending, some myths have attached themselves to the concept. Want to separate fact and fiction? Here are some myths and misconceptions about peer-to-peer lending, along with the reality.

“You need a lot of money to get started”

False. In fact, one of peer-to-peer lending’s key advantages is its low entry barriers. Take our investment product, for example. With a S$1000 minimum first deposit at Funding Societies, you can start investing – and for better diversification, you can invest S$100 into ten loans each. You don’t need much to get started at all.

As a P2P investor, you also have flexibility as you are able to choose from the loans provided. You get to pick whichever loan has the tenor and interest rate that appeals to you most.

“It’s not a mainstream investment”

It depends on what you think of as “mainstream.” Yes, P2P lending as a concept has gained traction only recently, but there’s really nothing new about a business model where investors pool together the amount needed for a loan requested by a borrower. But these days, P2P lending activities are easier to facilitate thanks to online platforms and digital technology.

“There are no regulations for peer-to-peer lending”

One of the typical misconceptions about peer-to-peer lending is that the model is not yet regulated so investing in P2P lending or borrowing from a P2P platform can be risky. But it really depends on the region and country. In Singapore, MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has issued a framework for the P2P lending model. Look for a local P2P lending platform that has been licensed!

“Peer-to-peer lending is crowdfunding”

Not really, but it’s easy to make the mistake. After all, peer-to-peer lending is a category of crowdfunding. Certain principles are the same, but there are a few differences between the two concepts. Crowdfunding pools resources from multiple individuals to gather financing for a particular project, perhaps a creative project or the creation of a product. Sometimes the individuals who help pitch in money for a crowdfunding campaign get rewarded with gifts and sometimes there are no physical rewards, similar to a donation.

Peer-to-peer lending, in the meantime, operates more like a lending and borrowing model. Investors and borrowers are connected through an online facilitator. Together, investors pool together finances for borrowers. The borrower will use the disbursed loan and repay his investors with interest.

“If you lend money on P2P platform, it will be locked for a fixed period”

Well, yes. A P2P investor is asked to commit funds for a fixed period, but for a shorter period than most other investments. On our platform, loan tenures range from 3 to 24 months, which compares favorably to other instruments.

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We hope the above have dispelled some of the tangles and confusion. With its advantages, P2P lending is an attractive solution for both investor and borrowers. Do you agree?

Find out more about the peer-to-peer loan at Funding Societies here.

Funding Societies is a DollarsAndSense Brand Connect partner. If you are interested to know them better, you can find out more on what they do on our DollarsAndSense Brand Connect Page.

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Business

5 Steps for Better Cash Flow Management

Financing is the most important aspect of any business and smart entrepreneurs know that well-managed cash flow will prevent unnecessary costs and charges. Most business owners are aware of the importance of cash flow management, yet many have no idea how to do so. Whether you are a complete beginner or you want to get some more tips, read on for five steps to better cash flow management.

Read also: Growing Your Business Without Breaking The Bank

#1 Never expect quick payments

Have you ever had an experience when a customer did not pay you on time? It may not necessarily be because they are unable to pay the invoice. If your customer has ordered your product, it means that they are likely to have enough funds to pay for your goods. But unforeseen circumstances happen. Perhaps your customer has guidelines on extending payment terms. So it’s best never to expect quick payment on your sales. Instead, determine if you have enough working capital to keep your business running well in the event of payment delays. Remember the saying: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

#2 Read the details of your agreement

It’s rare to have a completely accurate invoicing process. However, understanding your customers’ payment processes or at least using the right purchase order numbers on every piece of communication can help you get paid on time. Carefully study the details of your payment agreement. Make sure you prepare everything you can so that your customers have no excuses to delay payment.

#3 Forecast your cash flow

Doing business without forecasting your cash flow is like driving a car in the rain without windscreen wipers: you can drive but you can’t see where you are going. Account for all expected incomes and expenses in the future.  Being aware of every completed transaction and updating your records accordingly can also help in managing your cash flow.

#4 Find the root of your cash flow problems

Analyze the root causes of your cash flow problem. Late payments are the most common cause of cash flow problems and financial mismanagement. You should also consider potential problems such as inaccurate invoicing, inconsistent pricing, lack of customer contact, or misunderstanding your customer’s payment cycles.

#5 Make use of technology

Ease your financing by using technology. Several software programs are available to help you manage your cash flow. This includes reminder notifications to help you ensure timely payment from your customers. Some software programs even help you to create consistent and professional invoices.

By having well-managed cash flow, you will be able to determine if you need financing support. Even beginners can improve cash flow management by simply incorporating these steps into their business practice. So, start working towards an optimised cash flow position today!

Find out more about the peer-to-peer loan at Funding Societies here.

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Funding Societies is a DollarsAndSense Brand Connect partner. If you are interested to know them better, you can find out more on what they do on our DollarsAndSense Brand Connect Page.

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Alternative Investments

This New App Can Help You Kick Start Your Investment Journey

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending is growing part of investment portfolios in Singapore. This growing adoption is helped by FinTech companies like Funding Societies, which has a powerful yet easy-to-use platform that helps connect SMEs borrowers to a pool of willing lenders who lend them money in return for higher interest rates.

Read Also: 3 Reasons Why Peer-To-Peer Lending Should Be In Your Portfolio

For those new to P2P lending, check out this handy infographic:

Read Also: Three Key Risks of Peer-to-Peer Lending

As Singapore’s leading digital lending platform, Funding Societies provides P2P lending to SMEs in Singapore through an online marketplace, while giving individual investors the opportunity to lend your money for much higher returns.

In keeping with their goal to make investing easier and more accessible, Funding Societies has launched a mobile app so anyone can add P2P lending to their investment portfolio.

Through this app, you can check on upcoming investment opportunities as well as monitor the status of your portfolio wherever you are. If you’re not already a user of the Funding Societies platform, you can sign up and start investing from within the app.

The Funding Societies app is available on both iOS and Android devices. Do check it out and let us know what you think!

Funding Societies is a DollarsAndSense Brand Connect partner. If you are interested to know them better, you can find out more on what they do on our DollarsAndSense Brand Connect Page.

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Growing Your Business Without Breaking The Bank

Do you know that 99% of businesses in Singapore are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? They employ 7 out of every 10 workers and contribute over 50% towards the National GDP.

Yet only 1 in 20 SMEs gets bank financing. Why? Insufficient collateral and track record, staggering interest rates, or all of the above. The reality is that every business starts small and raising capital is a challenge. And in addition, startups are expected provide collateral, afford high interest rates, and have a proven track record, just to be able to get funded.

While traditional banks may be appropriate for big, established corporations, small businesses may be better served by a less traditional route, but one that has gained popularity and traction over recent years. Consider peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, also known as “social lending.” P2P lending allows for individuals to lend and borrow money directly from each other, doing away with the middlemen, financial intermediaries like banks. Just as it offers borrowers loans with low interest rates, P2P lending also benefits lenders (investors) with deserving returns.

How It Works

In a typical P2P lending scenario, you sign up to become a member at a P2P marketplace website. We at Funding Societies are among the first of such marketplace platforms in Singapore and South East Asia. Serving as the platform between borrower and lender, we take care of your borrowing and investment needs.

Borrowers

Before you can borrow from our pool of lenders, we first take some time to get to know you better. We look into business and credit records along with a personal interview to understand your business. Because we want to make sure everyone goes home happy, we only accept quality applications.

Let’s say you’ve been accepted (yay!). Our pool of lenders will see your approved application and make the decision to lend the funds to you. Once your loan is fully funded or funded to your satisfaction, the amount will be released to you.

Lenders

As a lender, you get to choose which ventures you wish to fund, and you can even spread your funds among several borrowers, spreading your risk. Because of the information transparency on our site, you’ll know what kind of business you’re lending to and to what end. You may sympathise with a particular industry’s story or venture, and the future success of the borrower and related industry can give you a sense of personal satisfaction knowing you contributed.

Getting Started

Whether you are a borrower or lender, you may look into P2P lending for your next venture and consider Funding Societies. We are a marketplace lending platform that facilitates funding objectives of SMEs who hit a roadblock when it comes to getting financing. From the borrower’s end, one business borrows from many lenders. From the lender’s end, one person lends to many small businesses, spreading and minimising risks. Investors or lenders get high returns (in comparison to most investment instruments) and borrowers get the loans they need at reasonable rates. And fast. All in all a win-win situation.

While we are confident in our mission, we realise that this operation comes with inherent risks and work with caution. In our efforts to mitigate any inherent or potential risks, we differentiate ourselves in that we work with a safer and less risky SME segment. With an interest rate of 10-20%, lenders can expect lower loan default. Being a marketplace platform, we are able to secure funds from not only retail investors, but also high net-worth individuals and institutional investors. From application to cash disbursement, the process time is short, with SMEs being able to immediately secure the minimum funding within days.

Our team is comprised of predominantly Southeast Asians, with a vision of making a positive contribution to the Southeast Asian societies, hence our name Funding Societies. Within three months since our incorporation in February 2015, we have put together a team of professionals, raised funds, and received large commitments from lenders. With access to the largest and most innovative marketplace lending players in the US and world-renowned thought leaders, and bringing into play the essence of the Silicon Valley startup culture, we work collectively to continually learn, deliver, and reinvent ourselves in this market.

Our customer service is rooted in our relationship with you. We are investing in our community and education to encourage discussion on relevant topics within the world of SMEs, safe borrowing, and investment, which is why you’ll see regular articles posted on our site blog. We have a dedicated team towards client service, ensuring that you will always be served and responded to in a timely way. Making the most of today’s technology, we operate efficiently to connect and facilitate the conversation among our community of borrowers and lenders (investors).

We understand that everybody starts somewhere, and it doesn’t matter where you are, our focus is to get you (the SMEs) the funding required to grow and for lenders (investors) the boost in returns you deserve. With your partnership, you’ll be helping us deliver our mission of serving local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. This is our social promise.

The thriving of our national economy is measured by the growth and success of its enterprises, small, medium, and big. Let’s work together not just for our individual accomplishments, but also for our collective progress as a community.

Read also: 8 Things to Ask Yourself Before Applying for a Business Loan

Find out more about the peer-to-peer loan at Funding Societies here.

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One FinTech Company Hopes To Help SMEs Solve Cash Flow Challenges That Even Banks Have Problems With

SME and start-ups owners will be familiar with the challenge. Your business is doing perfectly fine but you need a short-term loan or a credit facility to tide over some cashflow matters.

You turn to your regular banks but are not familiar with the loans they are offering. They are covenants you need to adhere to, collaterals you need to put up for them, an existing credit history and other business documents that you may or may not have.

It’s a hassle and you only have two choice. Comply or walk away.

Funding Societies Bolt To Provide Fast And Secure Loans For SMEs

Local FinTech Company Funding Societies aims to solve this common headache of SME owners and fellow entrepreneurs by launching an app that allow users to apply for loans in just 2 minutes, through their mobile phone.

The app, called FS Bolt, is now available on both iOS and Android devices.

FS Bolt uses an automated credit assessment process that enables it to approve or reject loan application in just two hours. Once a loan has been approved, money will be disbursed within 24 hours of the loan application. This makes FS Bolt one of, if not, the quickest source of working capital loans that SMEs can tap upon in Singapore.

Read Also: 8 Things To Ask Yourself Before Applying For A Business Loan

Keeping It Flexible For Singapore’s SMEs

To keep it simple and flexible for SMEs, FS Bolt also provides loan tenor flexibility. Borrowers can repay their loan anytime they wish without incurring penalty for early repayment. This is a feature that many loan products in the market do not have. Such a feature provides incentives for borrowers to repay their loans quickly, with borrowers only paying the interest during the time the money was borrowed.

Different Products For Different Needs

Funding Societies is of course no stranger to supporting SMEs in Singapore. The company’s flagship product is its peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform that helps connect SMEs borrowers to a pool of willing lenders who lend them money in return for higher interest rates.

The company has a rigorous credit assessment process and also practices what it calls “skin in the game” by having its founders and team investing alongside lenders in every crowdfunding opportunity.

Read Also: Three Key Risks Of Peer-To-Peer Lending

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Choosing the Right Crowdfunding Product

Interested in raising capital through crowdfunding? We’re not surprised. After all, crowdfunding comes with some pretty sweet advantages. The crowdfunding process is cheap, quick, easy – often entirely online. Because crowdfunding requires no collateral, it is a great alternative to traditional funding such as secured loans.

As we discussed in our last article, there are three major forms of crowdfunding: rewards-based crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer lending. To learn more about them and compare the different forms, click here.

Each form serves a different purpose and targets a different demographic, so it is crucial that you pick the right crowdfunding product. Which crowdfunding product is your match? Below, we have provided a handy list for you to use. Read on!

Rewards-Based Crowdfunding

  • Rewards-based crowdfunding is for you if you are trying to pitch a project. It is meant to raise capital for products or services. Its purpose is not to fund your overall business.
  • Rewards-based crowdfunding is ideal for those in the creative or artistic field, or those developing new products and technology to get market validation and pre-orders before starting production.
  • Most rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns expect to raise around $10,000 – $100,000 according to this article.
  • This is a crowdfunding form that requires effort on your part. You need to create a business plan for your brand and your project, you need to do research, think about legal and tax issues in advance, plan the rewards you will offer your supporters, and craft a compelling story or video to market your project and entice new backers. For more details, check out this Forbes article.
  • Costs include: reward and shipping costs, income taxes, and platform fees.
  • Key platforms include Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Coincidentally, Kickstarter has opened new branches in Asia, including Singapore.

Equity Crowdfunding

  • Equity crowdfunding’s primary purpose is to fund startups with strong growth potential.
  • Because equity crowdfunding is essentially a barter of company shares for funds, ask yourself: are you willing to part ways with your company shares? Are you someone who likes to be in control of your company? If you are indeed willing to let go of company stocks and are looking to raise a large amount of funds, then equity crowdfunding is for you.
  • Equity crowdfunding campaigns expect to raise somewhere between $250,000- $3,000,000.
  • Like rewards-based crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding requires effort on your part. Your startup may be very promising, but you still need to pitch its worth to potential investors on your chosen platform.
  • Costs include platform fees and of course, partial ownership of your business.
  • Key platforms include: AngelList and CircleUp.

Peer-to-Peer Lending or Debt Crowdfunding

  • Peer-to-peer lending provides loans with competitive rates and no collateral. Depending on your chosen platform, you can crowdfund personal loans or business loans.
  • However, peer-to-peer loans are especially useful for SMEs and the underbanked segment.
  • Ideal for small businesses searching for short-term credit to strengthen cash flow, to expand their companies, to finance a newly secured project, or just for operating expense.
  • Here’s an example: businesses with income tied in accounts receivable are a great target segment for peer-to-peer lending as they can have quick loans through invoice financing to start new projects while they wait to get paid.
  • A good option for younger, smaller, and revenue-generating companies, but with no suitable assets for secured loans.
  • Peer-to-peer lending campaigns expect to raise around $20,000-$500,000.
  • Requires less effort on your part compared to rewards-based crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding. Your chosen platform will do credit assessment to see if you are suitable for a loan and take care of the rest. You don’t need to market your funding needs.
  • Costs include platform fees and loan interest.

If peer-to-peer lending sounds like the crowdfunding product for you, you can learn more here and apply for a peer-to-peer loan at Funding Societies here.

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The future of peer-to-peer lending in Asia

This article was first published by GTnews

The financial services industry has taken huge strides in the last 20-odd years, with path-breaking innovations in the financial system such as the advent of automated teller machines (ATMs), credit cards, online banking, mobile banking and sophisticated loan and deposit products. The speed of innovation has been unprecedented.

One new offering that has developed more recently is peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, also known as marketplace lending or crowdfunding. The concept seeks to leverage on the existing gaps in the lending system and serve the underbanked borrower segment while at the same time providing excellent returns to the lenders, who are usually retail investors with excess cash.

Since P2P lending is primarily an online proposition, the inherent costs and overheads are low. P2B (peer-to-business) lending seeks to use this concept to fund businesses which don’t have access to bank funding. Personal loans and loans to small businesses are the two most common lending products within the P2P framework.

The roots of P2P lending lie in the UK and US and go back to 2005-06, with lenders such as Zopa (the first P2P lender), Prosper, Lending Club and Ondeck being the pioneers. Thereafter came other big players like Funding Circle (UK) and Society One (Australia). Over the years, however, Asia has overtaken the US, primarily led by China. In 2015, P2P lenders globally originated loans worth US$64bn, with China contributing more than half of the total. Major lenders in Asia include:

China – Lufax, Dianrong, Yirendai
India – Faircent, Lenden Club, i2ifunding
Southeast Asia – Funding Societies, Modalku
Hong Kong – WeLab
Japan – Maneo

Unlike in the US and UK as well as some other developed markets, where P2P is predominantly an online model, a majority of the P2P lenders in Asia have a mix of online and offline models. Lack of data availability, low internet penetration, manual processes and regulatory challenges in emerging Asian economies are some of the challenges that inhibit growth of completely automated online models.

In the last few years, a new set of completely online P2P lenders has emerged. They use behavioural data from social media, acquire data through partnerships, and also use innovative technology-based credit scoring methods for giving out faster and lower-cost loans to underserved segments. One such example is Paipaidai in China which uses the online trading history of the borrower to underwrite loans.

Another recent phenomenon is the advent of cross-border P2P lending. Crowdcredit funds borrowers in emerging markets including Europe and Latin America through retail investors based in Japan.

The P2P segment has also attracted a significant amount of venture capital (VC) activity in recent times, as well as other funding, with some of the most notable funding for P2P lending companies in the Asian context including:

Lufax: Raised about US$19bn in their Series B round

Dianrong: Raised about US$1bn in their Series C round

WeLab: Raised U$160m in their Series B round

Funding Societies: Raised about US$7m in their Series A round

The key growth drivers for P2P lending in Asia include:

  • Rapidly-developing and high-growth Asian economies with large but credit-worthy underbanked populations
  • Huge funding gaps where banks are not able to lend due to structural inefficiencies
  • The availability of a large pool of retail investors with excess cash
  • Increasing internet and mobile phone penetration that complements the online product proposition and reach
  • Fintech-led fast online processes that help reduce costs and overheads while aiding customer adoption
  • Support from regulators and government bodies towards inclusive financial growth
  • According to Statista, P2P lending globally is expected to cross US$1 trillion in loan origination by 2050. Asia, given its unique positioning, should account for a significant portion of that total.
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Investing in a Post-US Election World

Prior to US Election Day 2016, most polls had projected a Hillary Clinton victory. So to say that the eventual result was unexpected seems fair. The shock impacted the markets even before the official winner was declared. As Donald Trump’s victory became more and more assured, gold prices soared; the metal is generally seen as a safe asset and a hedge against inflation. Meanwhile, emerging market stocks tumbled and the US dollar reached its highest point since 2003 post-election.

Investors are certainly reacting to the new President-elect’s campaign rhetoric, which is widely expected to culminate in more protectionist policies. Yet all the market fluctuations also reflect anxiety for the future. What will the future hold regarding long-term market stability? Will the markets continue on their volatile streak? Or will they calm after a while? And given all this financial uncertainty, what should the typical investor do?

One thing is clear: we need to prepare for a more unstable world. The best ways for investors to do so is by diversifying their portfolios, hunting for new investment opportunities, and staying calm.

Diversity Your Portfolio

Political events like the US presidential election tend to upset both the markets and investors’ confidence. Some investors have chosen to behave in a more conservative manner (see: the post-election demand for gold), while others have chosen to try and time the market in the middle of all this insecurity by pulling their assets and getting back in later when the markets stabilize.

But timing the market is a very risky affair, even for experts. If you want to fortify your portfolio in anxious times, you should diversify across different asset classes and rebalance your instruments periodically to maintain your risk profile.

Telling investors to diversify is very basic advice, but think about it. Diversifying your investments is something you can control in the midst of uncertainty. You get to choose which instruments to purchase and how much money you are comfortable allocating into each asset class.

The main idea here is to balance the potential for risk and reward. For example, if your portfolio consists of company stocks and precious metals, your stock value may have been erratic over the USA election season, but the value of your gold has gone up. As you can see, with a well-diversified portfolio, you remain in the clear if the stock markets fluctuate for the long-term, as your returns aren’t determined by the performance of a single asset class.

Don’t overload yourself with real-time market information, but do look at all asset classes and see how they will fit into your portfolio and your risk tolerance. The bottom line is: if your overall portfolio is doing fine, then geopolitical situations matter less.

This Is a Good Time to Hunt for New Investment Opportunities

If you feel like your investment portfolio is already well-balanced and you have covered the basics (such as fixed deposits, bonds, gold, and stocks), you can research new places to invest your money. There is an advantage to routinely looking at all the available options and seeing how they fit your portfolio because over time, asset classes produce different results. So to maintain your preferred risk profile, an investment portfolio needs periodic rebalancing.

If the current climate is rendering you a little skittish, you can try investing small sums into alternatives. Technology, for instance, can be a promising sector.

Internet stocks are obvious suspects. Think about how essential brands like Google have become. Yet some tech stocks, such as Facebook and Amazon, have taken a tumble post-election. Some observers opine that this stock slump is temporary, but note that unless you are an early investor in these tech companies, your returns won’t be spectacular. Also, if you already own company stocks in your portfolio, other areas in technology can answer the gap in your portfolio.

Innovative and profitable technology companies are not exclusive to Western markets. One technology-based investment opportunity that has arrived in Singapore is peer-to-peer lending, which utilizes online platforms to match borrowers and lenders. Borrowers take out a loan for working capital or other business necessities, while lenders who had collectively funded the loans earn interest-based earnings in return. Investing in peer-to-peer lending has several benefits: good return rates higher than deposits or bonds, a low entry barrier suitable for those wanting to try the business model first, and a streamlined online process. Despite being relatively new, a recent study by the UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) stated that so long as investors are educated and the regulatory framework is sound, peer-to-peer lending does not create systemic risk. In fact, borrower defaults would need to increase at least threefold to whittle down investor interest rates to below zero.

These days, certain apps can give you real-time updates on your favorite investments or even figure out the best investment mix for you. New opportunities are out there. Take the time to research and find new investments you can be confident in. Look for instruments with good growth that you can feel secure in.

Stay Calm and Don’t Make Rash Decisions

Yes, it can be difficult to enact this advice when your portfolio contains your hard-earned money, future hopes, and retirement plans. Investing can be as emotional as politics, making it difficult to stop watching the markets’ every move. Yet it is counterproductive to over analyze the current situation; there are too many variables. All the information overload can induce panic and cause you to “sell low, buy high” instead of the other way around. Additionally, don’t succumb to the temptation of making speculations. Impulsive decisions can change your portfolio drastically and at the moment, you need a balanced and stable portfolio.

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Should you be interested in learning more about investing in peer-to-peer lending, click here. Funding Societies provides annual returns up to 14%, while maintaining rigorous credit assessment and utilizing escrow accounts for security of funds.

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How could you achieve 13-14% investment returns?

Article by Damon Wong

Dear investor,

Imagine you have some savings, so you’re looking to grow the money with a profitable business idea… But you don’t want to place your hard-earned money at risk by investing in the wrong things.
I know of an investment vehicle that is generating a double digit percentage growth for its investors… The best part?
The investor chooses how much and how long to invest in. And then it’s hands off until the time to pick up the check.
If you’re keen on making returns of 13%, riding on the wave of promising Singaporean businesses on their way up…
That’s where Funding Societies comes in.
They open doors to a selection of companies worthy of your investment. In fact, the performance of these companies is backed by research so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting…
As you read on, you will find out what Funding Societies is and how you can possibly achieve returns of 13-14% by investing with them.

1) What is Funding Societies?

Funding Societies is a peer-to-peer lending platform for retail investors like you and me to fund local businesses’ growth.
What’s unique about peer-to-peer lending, you may ask?
The main reason peer-to-peer lending is attractive to many… is the fact that it opens up investment opportunities to people like you and me.
It gives you access to investing in companies previously unavailable to the people – Companies (with huge growth and profit potential) that you’ll never have the chance to invest in… if not for the benefit that peer-to-peer lending provides you with.
And if you wish to invest in promising businesses that even expert investors are dying to get their hands on, getting a return of 13% on the investment while doing so… Then you must read on for how it may turn out to be the most feasible investment decision you make this year.
When investing, you want to keep risk at a manageable level. You want flexibility in the lock-down period that’s less than other instruments… So that when you plan for your expenses, you can look forward to seeing your money come back sooner.
As soon as 3 months should you wish.
Whether you’re looking to diversify a sizeable fund, or if you’re a retail investor with little ability to commit… you’re going to need different vehicles for your investment objectives.
Funding Societies enables investors like yourself to find the investment vehicle that matches your budget you set aside for growth.
Your investment in SMEs strengthen the backbone of our society. SMEs that make up 99% of all companies, SMEs that contribute up to 70% of the economy. By helping move the SMEs, you help move the economy…

2) Who Should Invest With Funding Societies?

a) Investors looking to diversify existing portfolio between short and mid term so they have the flexibility to get their money back whenever they choose;
b) Investors with limited funds but want to know exactly when the investment will mature, and how much to put in so they are always in control where their money goes;
c) Investors looking to make 13% returns on investment with a solid contingency plan in the event of defaulting payment, so they can sleep in peace at night;
d) Investors that support SMEs leading the culture of innovation, job creation, adding value to society, and at the same time growing their wealth with it.

3) How Safe Are My Investments With Funding Societies?

Funding Societies are offering a return of 13% on your investment. Regardless of how much you put in, you are in control of the exit period… Right from the start.
In fact, when you put your money down, an Escrow account managed by MAS registered Trust Agency holds on to it. What this means is that your money is in safe hands.
You can be currently invested in stocks, real estate, bonds… But Funding Societies provides you with an instrument that requires less lock-down time than any of the above, and is more stable than stocks. It lets you diversify your portfolio with better control over your risk and commitment.
Unlike some investments that require you to meet the broker at way-too-early o’clock to sign mountains of paperwork, Funding Societies makes it easier to grow your money by handling your transactions online. You can still do it in person should you wish, but the convenience of an online system is there.
You benefit from being an informed investor. Funding Society prepares and gathers both hard and soft data about the companies before you make an investment – a more comprehensive set of parameters than what banks do.

4) But What Are The Risks Involved?

You’re lending money to fund SME growth in Singapore. Behind every single company is a great mind and soul driven to make the business work.
Take it from our research done in interviewing owners.
With owners themselves being guarantors, they hold themselves and their businesses to high standards of accountability for you to invest confidently.
What this means is that when the companies you invest in close down, the owners have to pay you from their own pocket.
In the unlikely event of the SME defaulting, a collection agency steps in to recover the amount, giving you the right to pursue the matter legally.
This is the same collection agency that major banks in Singapore are using… Banks that have ATMs where probably withdrew your cash from earlier today. If they entrust this collection agency, you know you are in good hands to invest with confidence.

5) When Is A Good Time To Invest?

You heard of the saying that waiting for the best time to do something means never? But savvy investors recognize a good deal when they see one. Investors who make their investment before 31st Oct get their transaction fee waived.
Let me illustrate what is at stake here if you sat through this without doing anything.
Service fees are normally at 1%. For a $10000 investment, at 13% returns… That should put $1300 back in your pocket… But after service fee, that brings your earnings down to $1187.
You now have a chance for taking action, and for taking that action you now get to keep all of the earnings.
Back to $1300 of pure profit. The service fee is waived for your investment.
When SMEs that show great potential are identified, by 10000 other people reading this at the same time, some will be ready to take action…. You will want to secure the good companies to invest in before they get their funding and is no longer accepting anymore.

6) What Are Disadvantages To Investing With Funding Societies?

The disadvantage of investing with Funding Societies is that if you are currently holding on to a portfolio that’s giving you 25% returns from the stock market… Then this will not be beneficial for you at all.
Investing with Funding Societies currently offers returns of up to 13%… With a time period you can choose, and how much to invest that’s comfortable for your appetite.
So, if you find that you don’t want to take on huge risks when investing, and achieving returns of up to 13-14% sound reasonable to you…
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