Funding Societies – Let’s Finance!
So I’ve started investing in P2P financing/loans a few months ago via Funding Societies.
I decided to wait a couple of months before having this post up as I wanted to be sure of the returns as well as the credibility of the site.
And.. So far so good!
I’ve put up RM3,000 as initial capital and, after all the fees, I’ve gotten back RM66.73. My first investment was made on 29 November 2017. This gives me an annualized gain of 13.17% per annum, outperforming my Freedom Fund.
Of course, the risks of financing are higher compared to shares. I’d advise everyone to carefully go through the various businesses’ prospectus before jumping in. And as always, higher returns will mean higher risk on your part as a financier.
How does Funding Societies Work?
As an investor, you’ll first have to register an account. More info on signing up below
Once your account is activated, and you’ve deposited some money into your account, you’ll be able to begin financing small businesses in Malaysia.
You’ll typically receive email notifications when investment opportunities become available. Note that you may have to wait a bit for such an opportunity.
The next step is to then decide on the amount to invest, from as little as RM100.
From experience, you can expect to receive your first repayment a month after the funds have been disbursed to the SME.
The Risks
I feel it is important to delve more into the risk part of P2P financing, especially for us as investors.
Funding Societies do themselves vet through the various SME issuers through its rigorous and rigid scorecard-based risk assessment. The tenure of financing is also relatively short (between 1 to 12 months).
Default rates are currently at around 1.5% across the countries Funding Societies operate in – Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Good news though, Malaysia is, at the moment, default-free – 0%.
To further minimize your risk, I would recommend spreading your investments across different loan issuers, should anyone default. A simple example will be investing RM10,000 across 100 different deals. A 1.5% default rate will probably result in a default in 2 deals. Investors will still be able to generate returns from the remaining RM9,800.
Signing Up – RM50 BONUS
Signing up to be an Investor is a breeze. Just head over to Funding Societies, and all you need is your IC / passport number, an email, and your mobile number.
Additionally, you’ll receive a bonus RM50 when you sign up with my code j1mwa37p
The terms? You’ll just have to invest a collective amount of RM1,000.
Don’t worry, all the links provided here already has my code embeded.
Alternatively, you may click on this link Funding Societies.
A big thank you in advance!
Easy to Use Interface
The interface of Funding Societies has changed significantly compared to when I first joined. It is now much easier to get your annualized performance (no more calculating this on your own) and you get to view your net income, after expenses and fees easily.
Funding Societies – Conclusion
I expect great things from Funding Societies in the coming years.
Already they are the largest regional P2P financing platform in Southeast Asia, connecting creditworthy SMEs with retail, high net worth and institutional investors.
Funding Societies is recognized and regulated by Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia and has received various awards and recognition both regionally and globally, including making the prestigious Fintech 250 list and winning the Global SME Excellence Award from the United Nations’ ITU Telecom Unit.
If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like lending money to businesses as a bank does, give Funding Societies a go. The business is self-sustaining and is based on the fees they receive from your loan payments. And the returns are commendable.
Update (24 Nov 2018)
My investment in Funding Societies so far stands at a cool 13.12%. It’s actually doing better than my share investments.
Also, thank you, everyone, for the referrals. You’re amazing.