Contrarian: Three big challenges for alternative lending sector

Alternative finance becoming more mainstream

I have a soft spot for all things alternative. And although advisers may not be stampeding into alternatives, their clients are drawn, in part, by the yield possibilities offered through alternative finance platforms and peer-to-peer lending in particular.

At the recent Alternative Investment summit, the majority of advisers attending said they were not going to invest their money into said marketplace websites, but their clients absolutely would. Maybe the sheer pester power of adventurous clients putting their money to work in outfits such as Zopa, Ratesetter and Funding Circle will prompt a rethink among IFAs. Over in the wealth space, alternative finance is certainly catching on fast. Marshall Wace-backed vehicle P2PGI has hoovered up not far short of a billion pounds from successive placings for its London-listed fund investing in ...