[OT] Brokerage for the D Language Foundation

[jmh530 via Digitalmars-d]

On Sunday, 18 September 2016 at 12:39:25 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu 
wrote:
>
> Thanks all for answering! Well there is a relatively low-risk 
> option to make some 5%-7% annually by investing in marketplace 
> lending, see https://lendingclub.com/. (Individuals may do the 
> same, too, btw - look into it!) I've been using them since 2013 
> with moderate amounts. Right now the portfolio's return rate is 
> 5.06% - not to sneeze at. The issue is liquidity, i.e. your 
> principal and interest are returned on a monthly basis over 3-5 
> years. The monthly schedule is actually nice for the Foundation 
> because it matches the way operations are paid for.

I would advise against investing the whole sum with the Lending 
Club (some smaller amount, say 5-25%, I have less of an issue 
with). 5-7% is what people earn investing in dollar-denominated 
sovereign bonds from Emerging Markets. That's the kind of risk 
your taking on. You think it's low risk because you don't see the 
risk: unemployment is low and has been falling since 2013, so 
there are few defaults. What happens when there is a recession? 
There will be higher defaults, slower repayments. And you can't 
exit the position because you've locked up the investment for 3-5 
years.

>
> Regarding the stock market, IB is quite attractive, and has an 
> incredibly low margin rate.

Frankly, this comment makes me cringe. Margin rates should not 
influence your decision in the slightest.