Aleks Bleck Reviews Wandoo on CrowdedHero: Secure a Fixed 15% p.a. Return

Interest rates are falling again everywhere. No, there is a platform where you can even get more than before for your money. I've recently invested €2,000 on the CrowdedHero platform, with an interest rate of 15% per year in Wandoo Finance, the major lender behind the P2P lending platform Swaper, which has been paying its investors a timely 14% per year for the past eight years. Now they are doing a crowdfunding round with a bit more interest for a two-year term. And I'll show you why I invested here, why it's more tax-efficient than investing directly in Swaper, and who else this might be interesting for. Welcome to Northern Finance. My name is Aleks Bleck. Yes, I invest in all the products I recommend here on Northern Finance. And if there's one thing that guarantees that I look closely, it's the liability with my own money. Because I really hate losing it. Nothing ensures that you watch where your money goes and how serious the whole thing actually is like the liability with your own capital. And now I've invested quite a lot in it. To be exact, 1% of the total financing amount of €200,000 here. I find that quite cool personally, and so yes, I am quite heavily invested, you could say. Definitely by my standards. And in this video, I want to show you why that is. But let's start from the beginning—CrowdedHero is a crowdfunding platform regulated by the Latvian central bank, which handles deals here.

And here I have already invested €2,000 similarly in March of this year in debt capital for Simpleros, a lender from Spain, which also offers high interest rates of 19% per year before taxes to its crowd investors here and with a term of also two years. You can no longer invest here. The project is now closed and without you. Yes, that is now open. That's the new project. And here you also invest in debt capital for Wandoo and then get shares in a special-purpose entity that holds the debts, so to speak, that Wandoo owes to the special-purpose entity. And you are the owner of it. And Wandoo Finance itself finances consumer loans, is already somewhat established and I have known them for a long time through their P2P lending platform Swaper. Yes, because they are especially reliable, having paid their investors interest rates of 14 to 16% per year consistently since 2016. And I now also assume that after the strong growth in Europe across several countries as seen here on the map, yes, that it can pay off nicely again for investors over the next two years. The crowdfunding project runs that long. Before that, you can't separate from it. And we're now going to look at Wandoo's numbers, as well as the risk, and for whom it is suitable and for whom it is not.

But first something about the background on Swaper, the platform that Wandoo had founded for its financing, I have been investing there for already six years now. As you can see here, I made my first investment of €250 in February 2018 and bought the first loans here, all of which have been paid on time ever since. Which is really important to emphasize because during COVID, many had problems paying their debts on time. But not Wandoo. A year after my first investment, I was also personally on site at the then office in Valencia, Spain, to conduct an interview with CEO Iveta Bruvele, who still leads the lender Wandoo Finance and who also belongs here as the majority shareholder. I have been trusting Iwata with my money for years, she has so far increased it very well for all investors and I now trust that she will continue to do so. Trust is good, but control is better. So let's take a closer look at the deal and the numbers. Overall, without you, as you can see here, it would collect at least €200,000 and has already received €40,000 at the time of recording. 15% interest is paid over two years. A special-purpose entity (Spv in English) is founded, which, as seen here on the project page, then buys bonds from Wandoo itself and distributes the dividends to the crowd and the lead investor here.

As indicated here, the after-tax return is 11.25%. For that, we have now put CrowdedHero and Swaper next to each other in a small comparison, as one could simply invest there. We are now assuming an investment of €2,000 and the return differs because CrowdedHero offers 15 instead of 14% interest, so one percentage point more. And then you pay taxes and costs for the SP, which does not exist at Swaper. Here you only pay the personal tax rate plus Soli on top. This is completely omitted at CrowdedHero. Whoever likes can pause here. This is the detailed explanation from the tax attorney of CrowdedHero, why this can be tax-wise better in Germany or for German investors thanks to the partial income procedure, as opposed to investing directly in Swaper. If you have questions, ask your personal tax advisor. Thus, the tax rate at the end is lower than with direct investment in Swaper. And combined with the higher return, this results in 11.25% interest in comparison to 10.5%. So you have 0.75% more interest per year every year. Sounds like little, but depending on how much you invest here over two years, it can add up quite a bit. But it is important for this according to the tax attorney, that you finance at least 1% of the total amount of the project here, i.e., €2,000. The investment process is also relatively simple. There are numerous documents on risk and all other information needed, including the last audited financial statements and the profit development, alongside the description on the project page.

And there is also, of course, an investor presentation and other legal documents. I now simply type in my investment here. It starts at €100 and I now enter €2,000, then pay another €25 in fees and click on Invest. Afterward, we see our personal information and details about the investment and some boxes that need to be ticked. Then you fill boxes from 1 to 5, €2,000 goes off the card and then you are already invested. If you also want to invest, click the first link below in the video description because the crowdfunding ends in four weeks. So you have to be quick. But what is the current development at Wandoo? The numbers are regularly published on their platform Swaper, as well as these from Q1 2024, which were recently uploaded to the blog and which we have already looked at in detail in this video. Most important here is the page where revenue and EBITDA since 2022 are shown and which show very strong growth here and indicate that the investments in a significantly larger credit portfolio and more countries have paid off and can continue to pay off, as we also see on the next slide, where it becomes clear that now even better numbers are being written.

The numbers from previous years are, as mentioned, also all audited, those from 2024 of course not yet, as the year is not yet complete. And also in the credit portfolio, the development looks very good. If we take a closer look at this graph of the default rate. In the issuance of consumer loans, there will always be defaults. This is simply in the nature of the business and controlling these through proper screening of customers before granting credit, or keeping them as low as possible, is the task of Wandoo. And if we look at the development over the last quarters and years, we see very reliable, similar values, which have even fallen somewhat, to under 10%. This may sound like a lot, but as openly stated in the investor presentation of Wandoo, this is easily made up for with the monthly interest of 12 to 25% for all customers. This may sound like a lot, but the loans only run for 30 days, and if you want to make money despite the defaults, you have to demand it. And then there's the issue of regulation in the Polish market. Here, quite a bit has changed in the legal requirements and the regulation has become mainly stricter than before. That's why I asked Wandoo myself how it actually affects them. And I got an answer on three pages. We'll see that here, here's the first page and here's the second, feel free to pause if you want to read it through.

But most importantly, Wandoo says they meet all legal requirements. And crucially, at the regulatory level, they naturally comply with Polish financial supervision and adhere to their reporting obligations. They assert that these new regulations pose no issue for them, they meet their obligations, and have everything under control, so to speak. Thus, they perceive no significant problems. I'm quite curious to see if it will indeed proceed as smoothly as anticipated. I had envisioned it might be more challenging, but so far, it looks promising. Let's draw a conclusion. Having been successfully invested in loans for a long time, I've encountered no issues with payments to investors during the Corona crisis, and they have also become more transparent, which to me is perhaps the most crucial aspect. Besides profitability, they now offer monthly and quarterly updates, and thus I afford them a certain degree of trust, as they have shown excellent development from various perspectives, as mentioned. That's why I am investing €2,000 here, approximately 1% of the total sum, in the new crowdfunding project. This investment not only reflects my trust in their operational stability but also aligns with the greater returns they've historically provided, which suggests a continuation of profitable growth. Moreover, the engagement in a significantly larger credit portfolio and expansion into more countries appear to have been well-judged, as evidenced by the latest financial performance indicators.

The increased transparency and regular updates have strengthened investor confidence significantly. As we can see in the subsequent slides, which will detail the current figures, there is clear evidence of ongoing robust financial health. These figures show not only consistency but improvement in key metrics such as revenue and EBITDA, highlighting the successful scaling of operations. The introduction of additional regulatory measures, especially in new markets like Poland, has been effectively managed without disrupting their service delivery or financial outcomes. This proactive management of regulatory changes is crucial for maintaining trust and stability in the financial services they provide.

Investing in Wandoo, therefore, represents not just a financially sound decision but also a strategic alignment with a company demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and sustained growth. If this investment proposition aligns with your financial goals and risk tolerance, I recommend clicking the link below in the video description to learn more and potentially participate in this opportunity. The crowdfunding round is drawing to a close in four weeks, so timely action is necessary. Reflect on the information provided, consider the potential benefits, and perhaps this could be an opportune moment to diversify your investment portfolio. Remember, while high returns are attractive, they come with associated risks, which need to be understood and managed.

What are your thoughts on Wandoo and Swaper, and the ongoing financial round they are conducting? Does it sound intriguing to you? Let me know in the comments below. I look forward to your feedback and wish you good returns. And until next time.

Original video in german: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zODmMTx2ZME