October lenders are from all over Europe. Most of them come from France, where October started 6 years ago. But also in The Netherlands the number of lenders is growing. One of the Dutch lenders is 32-year-old Oege P. As portfolio and overlay manager at Cardano Risk Management he manages the risks for pension and investment funds*.
Through his job, Oege has experience with financial markets and investing. In his spare time, he also invests on the financial markets, next to the money he keeps as savings. Since two years he invests in European SMEs through October. We talked to Oege and asked him about his October review.
Putting money to work
Oege: “I invest mainly for the long term. I don’t want the money I have earned to slowly lose value. Ideally, it should only be worth more! By investing, I put my money to work. Of course, the risk involved in any investment should not be unnecessarily high and should be in balance with the expected return.”
How does he deal with the risks of investing? “I try to build my investment portfolio with different financial products. This way, I spread my risks and receive different risk premiums, i.e. different types of return associated with the different risk types. For example, when investing in equity, I look at the risk of the company’s profitability changing and how I can benefit from that. “
“October is one of the few ways I can invest in SMEs. Even though the return on investing in SMEs, especially in the Netherlands, can be attractive. With this type of investment, I pay attention to the credit risk, or the risk that my loan will not be repaid. In addition, the interest rate must be fair and I look at how quickly my investment will be repaid. Through October, I have a good insight into these risks and I make a transparent return. “, according to Oege.
Good experiences with diversification
Oege: “On October I can diversify my portfolio well. There are plenty of great projects on offer. Because you can invest from €20 in a project, you quickly achieve a minimum spread and reduce your risk. Investing becomes very accessible and you can easily start with a smaller amount. It goes smoothly through the website and the app and becomes easier with every update.”
Oege has experienced the importance of diversification himself. “I have some defaults in my portfolio. But because I have spread my investment over a large number of projects, this does not outweigh the return I have achieved.” About the risk analysis of October, Oege says: “My experience is that October’s credit analysis stands strong. In addition, it gives me confidence that October’s management also has skin in the game. They invest in every project in which I invest, whereby they align their interests. It is important to me that I have insight and confidence in the analysis of the platform and that I can spread my investment well.”
Minimum time effort with sufficient information
Over the last 2 years, Oege has built a nice portfolio. But he is not done yet. “I invest as much as I can. At the moment, about 5% of my total investments are with October, but I would like to expand that to 7.5% to 10%. The supply of new projects varies, but when I can, I invest on a weekly basis.” Oege doesn’t spend a lot of time on that. “I spend about 10 minutes a week on October. Once you know how it works and have confidence in the platform, it all goes pretty fast.”
He does a short analysis per project. “When a new project is published on the site, I briefly read the company analysis. I mainly look at the credit score and how this relates to the duration and the interest offered. October gives enough information to do a thorough analysis, but most of the time I scan through it and I rely on October’s analysis, especially since October also is investing. When the project opens for investment, I receive a notification and make my investment. “
Oege’s favourite project has already been fully repaid. “My favourite project is Constar Beheer B.V., because it was a solid borrower with a good credit score, a short term maturity and a fair interest rate.”
Experience October yourself
Create an account directly with October. This way you can explore the platform and see if there are any projects that suit you. Would you rather immerse yourself in lending before you start? Read all that you need to know in our tutorials. Curious about the experiences of other investors? Have a look at our Trustpilot reviews.
Already an October lender? Reach out to us if you want to share your experience like Oege.
*Oege participated in the review on his personal account.