on-the-LFP.jpg">on-the-LFP-1024x256.jpg" alt="" width="625" height="156">

We all know that investing in the top P2P has been a good plan. But do corporate bonds offer better risk-adjusted value? Historically you had to have megabucks to buy bonds, or invest in a unit trust. However now WiseAlpha are Finteching the Corporate Bond Market and making direct investing available from as little as £100. Yields from high quality corporates can even exceed unsecured consumer debt on P2P platforms and the industry is far older and more solid.

Ahmad.jpg">Ahmad-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150">We are joined today by CEO Rezaah Ahmad to discuss corporate bonds in the Fintech Age and WiseAlpha’s platform.

The corporate bond market is literally huge – $11.7trn and in a sense an amazing omission for Fintech so far in its mission to digitise and revolutionise the world of FS.

Topics discussed on the show include:

• how jolly japes at college are less frequent these days. Sad!
• how the English Civil War (1642-51) affects some room rents to this day
• cattle in college
• working hours in Deutsche Bank for newbies in the noughties
• the hollowing out of the work spectrum leading to Battery Farms or free range chickening
• value of starting by getting experience in the corporate world
• what a corporate bond is
• history of corporate bonds from 1700s
• late 19th early 20thC
• growth of credit rating
• for plain corporate bonds not much has changed in the past century
• mini-bonds cf corporate bonds
• market as a whole
• investment grade market (BBB and above) is the largest part of the market
• default rates at that level very low
• top corporate versus government bonds
• changes in rating agencies post 2008
• credit assessment across the credit cycle
• 2008 crisis focused in mortgage market, corporates relatively unaffected
• relevance of unsophisticated borrowers in successive credit crises
• sophistication around corporate lending compared to other lending
• from 2007-2017 the corporate bond market has grown 2.7x
• bank issuance of various types
• corporate bond yields of good quality the same or higher than say unsecured P2P consumer debt which looks like an anomaly given the relative risk
• inability to stock pick in corporate bonds unless you are investing £100k at a time – only options being funds or now WiseAlpha
• 10 largest banks and around 150 funds worldwide control the market – WiseAlpha opening that up for true retail access
• WiseAlphas offering, products, business model and approach
• ability not just to buy but to re-list your bond and sell it again thereby providing liquidity
• WiseAlpha’s fees, net, gross returns
• Custodial arrangements
• can invest from most countries
• offering sterling bonds only now but will offer Euro investments too
• automated investment service coming

And much much more

Share and enjoy!