LC Advisors
Lend Academy is opening a fund available to anyone as well as separately managed accounts. The firm will offer a low-risk product with returns of about 5 percent, a balanced offering with returns of about 7.5 percent, and a riskier option that aims for 10 percent, Renton said. Lend Academy will charge fees of 0.95 percent to 1.5 percent and won’t keep any of the gains, returning them all to investors.
For the separately managed accounts, Lend Academy is working directly with Prosper to let investors buy a cross- section of loans on the service. LendingClub has its own similar service, called LC Advisors.
As for blogging, Renton said he won’t change his approach. He’s transparent with readers about his investments and tells them upfront that he’s not an objective analyst.
“I’m a cheerleader for this space,” Renton said. “I want to remain a source of news and education, but I don’t pretend to be a journalist.”