Two marketplace lending funds give investors access to an interesting asset class while providing worldwide diversification, managed with proprietary software.
Marketplace lending offers stable and attractive returns in a low-interest environment. But accessing and managing many different lending platforms poses a challenge for investors. i2 invest was founded in 2015 with the goal of developing a software solution that collects, standardises, and evaluates investment data from marketplace lending platforms. The fintech startup now starts to offer innovative investment and software solutions for professional investors that want to invest in marketplace lending or implement their own investment strategy.
i2 invest has raised 1.3 Mio CHF in a Seed financing round backed by high-profile business angels with a financial background to support their growth and to extend the team. With this financing round, Christopher Bödker joins the board of directors. He is known for establishing Akina, a Zurich-based asset manager with 2.8 billion USD AuM, that specializes in private market investments, which was sold to Unigestion.
The financing round also supports the rapid growth of two fund projects, with 10.0 million seed money committed to each, which will launch this fall. One will focus on financing loans with recoverable collateral like car loans, agricultural loans, or software development loans. In the second project, i2 will help a Liechtenstein asset manager to bundle the best SME loans from Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland available on marketplaces into one fund. “This project is a matter of the heart for us. We are pleased that we can make a positive impact on the domestic business environment” says co-founder and CEO Gregor Stadelmann.
I2 invest has built a track record since 2017 investing in over 30 marketplaces worldwide. These two funds as well as further ones in development will be available for qualified investors from Europe.