New York (HedgeCo.Net) – While many others were off enjoying their vacations this summer, Petra Partners was busy preparing the launch of its latest fund for October 1, 2013. The fund will be credit-focused but will invest primarily in the burgeoning peer-to-peer (or “P2P”) lending space.

“P2P lending has been around for only for a few years (the first P2P business, Zopa, was founded in the UK in 2005 and, since then, many others have entered the space) but, in that time, platforms in the US and Europe have originated more than $3 billion in P2P loans,” said Joshua Rand, COO and Principal of Petra Partners. “Loan origination is currently growing at an average rate of approximately 8% to 10% per month, signifying a market – an asset class, actually – still in its nascent stages and with tremendous upside potential.”

“Moreover, while the sheer scale and growth prospects for this niche are impressive, what makes this asset class extremely compelling as an investment opportunity – and the primary reason for which we are eager to raise a fund – is the consistent performance of the loans and the diligent manner in which they are originated.” Rand said.

The new fund has a 9%-12% net return target and Petra Partners anticipates both very low standard deviation and very little volatility, which they believe, according to Rand, “is especially compelling in a ‘ZIRP’ world where people have been forced to be creative and look further afield in search of attractive, sustainable yield.”

Alex Akesson
For HedgeCo.net
alex@hedgeco.net
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