When experienced investor Hayden* began researching New Zealand’s peer-to-peer lending platforms, Zagga was the only one to make it through his strict criteria and into his impressively diverse portfolio.
But what drew him to investigate peer-to-peer platforms in the first place?
“At the time, my portfolio was composed of shares, trust funds and bank deposits. I felt that adding peer-to-peer lending would bring balance to my investments,” explains Hayden.
During his successful career as a dentist, Hayden always had a scrupulous eye for detail. Once he retired, he put that keen focus to good use, researching new investment products and carrying out a level of due diligence that would put many other investors to shame. When he turned his eye to researching peer to peer lending platforms, only Zagga gave him the confidence to get on board.
“I thoroughly investigated the peer-to-peer platforms available in New Zealand. I carried out my own personal research and talked with financial advisors. In the end I found that the others were either too complicated or were lacking in transparency,” he says.
“By contrast, I could see that the way the Zagga platform was set up would make it very easy for me to assess the risk of each investment opportunity. In fact, the whole process was very straightforward and transparent.”
Zagga is an online platform matching investors to creditworthy borrowers. Investors can fund loans in full or in increments of $1,000, always knowing exactly where their money is going and what it’s funding.
Rather than making recommendations about the merits of each loan opportunity, Zagga instead gives investors all the information they need to make their own, fully informed decisions. The platform assigns a Credit Assessment Score to each loan based on data about the borrower and including serviceability, credit history and the loan to security value ratio (LVR). This LVR is based on the security against the loan, which comes in the form of first mortgage over the borrower’s property. All of which is made available to Zagga Investors via a secure online portal.
Zagga’s system of Credit Assessment Scores, together with the wide range of information available on its online portal, puts control back into the hands of the investor.
“Return and risk are the most important factors when I’m considering any investment product,” says Hayden.
“I carry out due diligence with every Zagga opportunity, just as I would for any other investment. I like how quickly and thoroughly I can do that using Zagga’s dashboard and Credit Assessment Scores.”
Hayden has now been regularly investing through Zagga since he joined, benefiting from a level of returns that very much vindicates his earlier decision to spurn the other peer-to-peer competition.
“With Zagga, I’m regularly getting 8% – 9% return and I continue to feel confident in the Zagga platform and team. It fits in well with my portfolio and my lifestyle. I certainly plan to keep investing through Zagga in the future.”
*This investors name has been changed for privacy reasons.