Zopa: P2P investors outperformed the FTSE 100 in 2018
ZOPA investors outperformed the FTSE 100 in 2018, the peer-to-peer lender has claimed.
The consumer lending platform compared the returns from investing £15,000 equally across a FTSE 100 exchange traded fund (ETF), a cash ISA or a Zopa Plus account last year.
By investing £5,000 in Zopa Plus, investors could have grown their money by up to 5.2 per cent or £260 in 2018, 13.5 per cent more than if they’d invested in a product tracking the stock market, Zopa said.
The total value of the FTSE 100 fell by 12.5 per cent in 2018 – the worst performing year since the financial crisis in 2008.
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Meanwhile, average returns on a cash ISA in 2018 were just 0.77 per cent, with some accounts paying as little as 0.2 per cent, well below the current inflation rate of 2.3 per cent.
“Investors with significant exposure to the stock market could be in for another challenging 12 months,” Andrew Lawson (pictured), chief product officer for Zopa, said.
“One option for investors to mitigate against market volatility is to look at diversifying their portfolios across a broader set of asset classes, including P2P lending.
“P2P lending can offer investors a well-diversified portfolio of low risk loans and a reasonably stable and attractive return on their investment.
“Of course, people looking to invest in P2P need to know what assets they’re investing in and the risks associated with them. Investors should look for asset classes that are reasonably stable and predictable – such as personal loans.”
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