I first wrote about Prosper’s Premier service back when it was introduced earlier this year. At the time I said it was a good move by Prosper because there are many investors who like the potential returns offered by p2p lending but don’t want to go to the trouble of selecting loans themselves.
If you are this kind of investor and you have been considering Prosper then there has never been a better time to start investing. Prosper is offering a $1,000 bonus to the first 25 SLN readers who sign up for Premier and invest at least $25,000. All the details are below.
How Prosper Premier Works
Before we get into the details of this bonus let’s first take another look at the Premier service. Prosper bills it as “the fastest, most convenient way to earn great returns”. You choose a couple of parameters including your level of risk and Prosper manages your investment for you.
Here are the steps needed to open a Premier account:
- Download the Order Form from Prosper’s website.
- Choose a target allocation based on the different loan grades from AA down to HR.
- Allocate a percentage to different loan terms (1, 3 and 5-year) or just select all loan terms.
- Choose the maximum dollar amount to invest per loan.
- Decide whether to reinvest payments or not.
- Fill out funding instructions.
Before your money is invested you will speak with one of Prosper’s investment analysts who will confirm your instructions. If want to add a specific filter, such as number of inquiries, repeat borrowers only or no delinquencies to name a few possibilities, then you can add them when you talk with the analyst.
Once your criteria are all set your selections will run every time new loans are added to the platform. In reality your investments are batched with the Automatic Quick Invest orders and run with them. You will receive an email confirmation whenever your money has been invested.
How to Get Your $1,000 Bonus
This bonus is only available to readers and subscribers of this blog. Prosper contacted me a couple of weeks ago and wanted to run a special promotion just for the readers here. So, in order to get your $1,000 this is what you have to do. Fill out the order form and then call the Premier number at 1-877-611-8797. You should be connected to Austin Bryant or Cameron Fleischer. When you speak with one of them mention you saw this offer on the Social Lending Network blog and you should get your $1,000 bonus, as long as you are one of the first 25 people.
Of course, there are some conditions:
- You need to invest a minimum of $25,000.
- You need to keep your account as a Premier account. You cannot open a Premier account and then switch it back to a self-managed account.
- If you are an existing Prosper investor you need to transfer in an additional $25,000 and convert to a Premier account.
- Prosper cannot provide investment advice – you make all the decisions on the application form.
I get no kickback from this offer; I am sharing this because I believe it is an excellent deal for investors.
Before making any investment you should read our disclaimer section as well as the Prosper prospectus. You should also consult with a financial professional to ensure this investment is appropriate for your financial situation.
What is the minimum investment amount for a new Prosper investor to get the bonus?
$25k Larry
Larry, I made a mistake not spelling that out. Yes, the minimum is $25K and I have updated the post to reflect that.
Just so that things are clear for everyone, how long would you have to keep the account as a Premier acct. before you could……………for instance close the account? 3 years?
So if you keep the account open, it would have to remain a Premier account in perpetuity?
Dan, Not sure on the rules for that but I will get an answer for you.
The answers are for your the benefit of your readers because it’s important that everyone understands the fine print……………so there’s no chance of future confusion.
The answer is that you must keep the account as a Premier account for the first 12 months.
I’ve worked with Cameron Fleischer a fair amount in setting up both my Prosper IRA and my wife’s Prosper IRA. Cameron even helped me get in touch with the VP of IT at Prosper (Ron Pugh) as I’m working on developing http://www.NumberWhale.com… even though it kind of competes with their Premier service.
They have an Incredibly professional and helpful team.
Terry, In no way do I think your Number Whale service will compete with Prosper. And I don’t even think it will cause the people who want Premier to change to a regular account. People who go to the trouble of using your service will most likely want to invest themselves. Prosper are supporting it because with Lendstats still down for Prosper investors there is no alternative for analysis. For this reason I am also looking forward to the launch of your site.
Peter, I certainly can’t argue with your thoughts there. Our list of pre-registered users is growing (in a large part thanks to your including us your weekly round-up). We’re aiming for an early October Go Live, so keep your fingers crossed. But to not further distract from your Prosper Premier promotion, best of luck to you and Prosper!
Glad to help. Looking forward to seeing what you have created.
Peter, Are there any other current Prosper investor bonuses in play? Do these types of things come up very often? Where do we read about these. Thanks
These types of bonuses only come up occasionally these days and this is the best one I have seen in a long time which is why I decided to feature it.
Peter, I looked at the form and it says it is for existing Prosper members only and requires you to sign a statement to that effect. I get the impression from your blog that the offer is open to new members as well. Is that correct?
I notice they charge a .8% fee off the top, so the bonus would actually be $800 on a $25K investment.
Mia, The existing member part is just a formality. It means you have to sign up for an account before you can open a Premier Account. Call Prosper and they can talk you through it.
The 0.8% is waived for the time being so the bonus is a full $1,000.
Thank you for the clarification.
Peter, is this offer still on the table or have 25 people already signed up? I am not sure how I missed this until now. I ususally read your blog weekly.
Thanks as always,
Tim
Tim, I heard from Prosper late Friday and while several people had signed up they were still under their 25 people limit. So I would expect if you get in today you will still be able to get this deal.
I will contact Prosper and get the ball rolling. It’s such a great deal. As I recall from opening my LC account, it took a while to get funding from one IRA into a new one–which is what I would be doing here. I think they should give you the corner office, man!!! What I wouldn’t give to have your readership with a blog devoted to my favorite subject, retirement planning!
Take care,
tg
Thanks Tim, I appreciate your kind words.
Good morning Peter,
It seems there is data on everything these days. Do you know if there is any data to show the default rate for loans made through a premier account at prosper and the avereage default rate of individually managed accounts? I am just wondering if risk is lowered or elevated as a result of investing through a premier account. Have you ever used a premier account at LC or Prosper (I think I remember something about this) and what was your experience compared to your own hands-on management of the account?
I am about ready to take the plunge and just maybe I need a few words of wisdom related to premier accounts. Is the 1000.00 reward REALLY a good deal for Prosper? It would seem that it would take a long time for them to recapture that money through their normal operations.
Thanks for your time and all the help.
tg
Tim, There may well be data on everything but there is nothing publicly available comparing the returns of Premier versus individually managed accounts. I don’t think risk is elevated either way. The way to look at is that a Premier account is like an index fund and we know in the mutually fund industry most years index fund funds beat actively managed account. However, there is will be some successful managers who will be able to beat the index funds over long periods of time.
It comes down to how much you want to get your hands dirty and manage the investing yourself. Premier is for those people who want a helping hand and a set it and forget it approach. I do think the $1,000 bonus is a great deal for these kinds of investors.