LendingClub introduces peer-lending robo for advisers

Advisers who want to invest clients in peer lending have a new shortcut. LendingRobot, an automated platform for individuals seeking such investments, now provides advisers with the ability to set up accounts on behalf of their clients, creating unique risk and investment profiles for each. Advisers receive access to a unified dashboard to view all their clients' loan investments together, said Emmanuel Marot, chief executive of LendingRobot. The robo provides individuals with access to three peer-lending platforms, but the adviser product is only open to investments through the largest of those systems, LendingClub. “Advisers told us they'd really like to put clients in peer lending but they didn't want to have to log into LendingClub again and again to see each individual clients' investments,” Mr. Marot said. “This will remove a lot of the concerns and barriers that financial advisers would have.” [More: What advisers need to know about peer-to-peer lending] LendingRobot, founded in 2012, has about 6,000 clients with $110 million in peer-to-peer loans. It provides investors access to LendingClub, Prosper Marketplace and Funding Circle through its automated platform. LendingClub and Prosper focus on individuals lending to other individuals, while Funding Circle links capital providers and small businesses. LendingClub investors had about a 7% return on investment over the past several years, Mr. Marot said. San Francisco-based LendingClub has had its own troubles. The firm's stock price has fallen from about $8 per share in early May to about $5.50 today, after it fired its founder and chief executive Renaud Laplanche over false loans that were sold to investment banker Jefferies.