Financial Samurai - Forums

General Investing => Alternative Investing And Derivatives => Topic started by: jimmoney on September 09, 2018, 07:36:24 PM

Title: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on September 09, 2018, 07:36:24 PM
Hi All,

Fairly new to the blog but have blasted through a good amount of content.  Great stuff, Sam.  Thanks for sharing!

Anyone familiar with Street Shares (www.streetshares.com)?  They sell veteran business bonds and seem to be guaranteeing a 5% return.  Penalty for pulling your dough before a year is 1% reduction to 4%. Seems too good to be true right now? Learned a bit through some online reviews but not much out there including what's on their website, in my opinion.

What research I did find made me confident enough to do a small investment as an experiment to see how it goes.

Anyway, figured people here may have some experience or be interested if not.

Regards,
Jim
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Jeffolucky on September 10, 2018, 08:21:32 PM
Looks interesting to me. Worth further investigation.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on September 11, 2018, 11:54:55 AM
Yeah, same here.  Will explore this further.  To the OP, let us know how the experiment goes...
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: rtysmith on September 11, 2018, 12:10:13 PM
Hi-

I am very familiar with StreetShares, however, I have not used the bonds. Up until recently, you could invest in individual loans which paid very well (and I never had one go bad).

You may want to wait on the bonds until the next special - last one just ended labor day:

For every $50,000 worth of Veteran Business Bonds you purchase by midnight on September 7, 2018, StreetShares will credit your account with a Labor Day Special of $1,000.  Don't have $50,000? For every $5,000 in new investments, your account will be credited with $100 as part of the same, special offer*.

See below for end of investment in individual loans, and Mel's contact info if you are interested in the bonds. I've also found the platform a bit lackluster in comparison to others (tech is a bit dated) but now that individual loans are gone may not matter as much.

I've invested over 200k with them on individual side with seasoned returns of 12.11% - I miss them...
---

StreetShares Business Loans, Lines of Credit, Contract Financing
Hi,

With the first half of 2018 in the books, we wanted to reach out and give you an update on what has been going on with StreetShares and, specifically, Pro investing. As most of you know, StreetShares closed its Series B Equity fundraising round early this year. The capital raised is allowing the Company to not only build out our team, but also put some very ambitious plans in place. Chief among these are exciting new partnerships that we anticipate being formalized in the second half of 2018 which will grow revenue, increase profitability, and better serve small business owners. To date, we have underwritten more than $100 million in loans and we anticipate that figure to grow exponentially. We could not have gotten this far without our Pro investors, so thank you for the support! We have also been able to provide our investors with the highest rates of return in the industry.

As you know, StreetShares' mission is to provide trusted digital financial solutions for America's heroes. Since our founding, we have worked to create a community of veteran entrepreneurs, small business owners, and investors united in their goal of seeing veteran-owned and main street small businesses succeed in this country. We are incredibly proud of this network. Losses have been far lower than we ever expected and the sources and availability of capital at increasingly lower costs to support this community has been heartening.

As we prepare for upcoming partnerships, and other growth initiatives, we have begun to make some substantive changes to StreetShares Pro investing. Many of you have noticed this. Our foremost concern is to ensure that veteran and main street entrepreneurs have access to the financing solutions they need to grow their businesses at reasonable rates. In service of that goal, we have begun taking steps to reduce our cost of capital to better support our lending products. While StreetShares Pro members continue to fund a portion of our loan and contract financing originations, that percentage has been reduced. We fully recognize how this impacts your returns. However, this funding mix gives us the ability to better serve our borrowers and shareholders.

As we reduce the cost of funding for our borrowers, you will continue to see changes to our StreetShares Pro product. First, there will continue to be fewer opportunities to invest directly into loans and lines of credit. You have likely begun to see this play out. Second, your "funds available" will likely continue to increase in your account as longer term loans are paid off, but not backfilled at a commensurate rate.

We understand how frustrating it is to not have your capital working. To that end, we are extending a special incentive* to our Pro members via our Veteran Business Bond offering. Until September 30, 2018, any new investment of $25,000 or more will earn a 3% bonus on the principal amount if you keep your money working with us over the next year. This offer is only for StreetShares Pro members and brings the return on these new Veteran Business Bond investments to 8% over the first year.

We will keep you informed over the next several months as our business continues to grow and our planned partnerships begin to yield results. As part of that effort, we are looking to schedule an investor call with our Pro members in the coming weeks. Our goal with this call is to better answer your specific questions and discuss StreetShares' future. Please send in questions so that we can address them, and be on the lookout for a calendar invitation for the call.

We are honored that you have joined us in helping American veteran and main street business owners make a positive impact in their communities and we hope you continue working with us. We firmly believe that small business is the backbone of the American economy. Our investor members, like you, are enabling those entrepreneurs to do their work and we could not be happier about that.

If you have any further questions, please contact me at mel@streetshares.com or call (571) 325-2963.

Best Regards,
Mel

Mel Levey
Mel Levey
Director of Investor Relations, StreetShares
U.S. Army Veteran
mel@streetshares.com
(571) 325-2963

Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on September 11, 2018, 01:02:31 PM
^ thanks for the heads-up.  That was an attractive promo - may wait to see if anything else comes up in the near term.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on September 11, 2018, 04:31:40 PM
Thanks for the responses, all.  Unfortunately, I'm not yet an accredited investor so can't get involved in their Pro member activity.  Seems as though I may not get an offer like you've seen as they seem to be for their pro members only.  Either way, a guaranteed 5% return is better than any CD you can get right now so seems like a fantastic deal to me.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on September 11, 2018, 08:11:39 PM
Quote from: jimmoney on September 11, 2018, 04:31:40 PM
Thanks for the responses, all.  Unfortunately, I'm not yet an accredited investor so can't get involved in their Pro member activity.  Seems as though I may not get an offer like you've seen as they seem to be for their pro members only.  Either way, a guaranteed 5% return is better than any CD you can get right now so seems like a fantastic deal to me.
Agreed
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Irish247 on September 27, 2018, 09:50:58 AM
Seems worth looking into, but there are so many others to choose from. Any insight on next promo?
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on September 27, 2018, 10:01:54 AM
Hi. Not sure about promos but curious about who the others are that you are referring to? Seems like a fairly unique offering to me.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: rtysmith on September 27, 2018, 12:22:35 PM
See FundRise for non-accredited investors - also review Peter Renton's monthly returns document:

My Quarterly Marketplace Lending Results – Q2 2018

I don't think I can post a link in the forum but he has interesting findings on P2P and other Alt Lending fronts.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on October 02, 2018, 08:00:51 AM
Street Shares promo below.  $100 when you fund account with $10k.  Promo amounts increase from there.

http://go.streetshares.com/veteran-business-bonds-promotion

Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on October 02, 2018, 08:12:30 AM
Awesome!  Thanks for sharing!  I'm curious how you found out about this as I can't find a link to it anywhere on their website and was not even notified about it as an existing investor.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on October 02, 2018, 09:15:34 AM
Quote from: jimmoney on October 02, 2018, 08:12:30 AM
Awesome!  Thanks for sharing!  I'm curious how you found out about this as I can't find a link to it anywhere on their website and was not even notified about it as an existing investor.
I stumbled on it the other week - I don't remember exactly how. I think I was just doing internet searches.

I chatted with a StreetShares web agent the other day and asked if there were any issues with it (I funded with $10k). He said the promo funds would be added within 30 days.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on October 11, 2018, 06:52:26 PM
My promo bonus of $200 for funding my account at $10,000 (promo at this amount is normally and currently $100 but was bumped up for a month) has been successfully deposited into my account.  So far I am happy with my decision to give this a shot.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on November 01, 2018, 12:20:35 PM
Quote from: jimmoney on October 11, 2018, 06:52:26 PM
My promo bonus of $200 for funding my account at $10,000 (promo at this amount is normally and currently $100 but was bumped up for a month) has been successfully deposited into my account.  So far I am happy with my decision to give this a shot.
Same here.  My bonus showed up earlier this week.  So far, so good.  Will likely continue contributing cash to this account.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on November 02, 2018, 06:32:36 AM
Another promo.  This runs through Nov 14th.

QuoteIn today's economic environment, the value has never been better for Veteran Business Bonds, a social impact investment that returns 5% while supporting veteran-owned and main street small business. But if you've been considering further investment in Veteran Business Bonds, now's the time to take action.

For every $5,000 you invest, we will credit your account with a $100 bonus. That's a $500 bonus on $25,000; $10,000 if you invest $500,000. It's a 2% bonus on investments in increments of $5,000.

We are proud that every one of our Veteran Business Bond investors has earned 5% annual interest on every Bond since we launched, but it is always thrilling when we can celebrate America's heroes and American small business with special, limited time offers* for StreetShares members.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on November 12, 2018, 07:49:57 AM
FYI, a couple more days to take advantage of the promo above.  I made another contribution to my account to capitalize on it. 

I exchanged a few notes with their investor relations person over the past couple weeks - I'm becoming more impressed with this outfit and their approach.  Never even heard of them up until a month ago.  :)
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on November 18, 2018, 11:32:01 AM
Same here Dario33.  I took advantage of the Veteran's day promo and have been communicating with Mel at StreetShares.  Very prompt responses, good customer service and have promptly added the promo funds to my account.  So far so good.  Once my two week withdrawal period (once per year) comes up I will withdraw the majority and then start making deposits again based on promo's.  Once I've successfully done that, there will be no doubt in my mind as the the value of this program!
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on February 11, 2019, 07:58:06 AM
FYI, SS is running a President's Day promo.  Good time to get in or add funds if interested.

QuoteFor every $2,500 worth of Veteran Business Bonds you purchase by midnight on February 20th, 2019, StreetShares will credit your account with a Veterans Day Special of $50. This offer is good on any investment between $2,500 and $500,000.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on September 13, 2019, 12:47:11 PM
Hi All,

I've been investing with StreetShares for just over a year now and wanted to provide an update.  It has been a great experience.  I've made multiple investment deposits throughout the year taking advantage of at least a few incentives they offer from time to time. They've been quick to respond, helpful, and pleasant to deal with any time I've reached out with something that required a personal interaction.

The real test for me, and what I was waiting for to provide this update, was getting my money back.  Each year, on the anniversary of your first investment deposit, they allow a two week period when you can withdraw funds with no penalty (there is a 1% penalty outside of this two week period).  I just hit my anniversary date and withdrew 95% of the funds I had invested as a test.  Within 2 business days the funds were in my savings account. 

The only complaint I could make is that interest is not automatically reinvested for you.  Not that big of a deal though as you can login and make an additional investment using the accrued interest within the account.  Just unfortunate that you have to remember to do this manually.

I plan to re-invest what I've withdrawn and continue to invest more, especially when there are incentive deals.

Happy investing all!
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: Dario33 on September 14, 2019, 07:32:41 AM
^ Good update Jim.  I came here to post essentially the same thing.  My one-year anniversary occurred as well and had the same experience.  No complaints and great service.  Haven't seen any recent incentive deals either so will likely start reintroducing funds as deals become available.  Currently splitting funds between this and VWEHX at Vanguard which is essentially earning ~5% as well.
Title: Re: Street Shares
Post by: jimmoney on September 14, 2019, 09:04:55 AM
Glad to hear you are having a similar experience @Dario33.

Anyone else want to offer their thoughts on this investment?  I can understand that many folks felt it was too good to be true and did not get involved due to that fear.  Having seen this positive feedback on the experience that @Dario33 and I have had I am surprised more people aren't responding to this and getting involved themselves.
Title: Street Shares / Try our Reg. A+ if that don't work out
Post by: tramos520 on September 22, 2019, 07:56:19 AM
If that don't work out, try our crypto easy access platform Theodor project  / $0.0375 Reg. A+ or cheaper for Series A / find it and buy it with crypto

S.E.C. qualified JOBS Act - Reg. A, exempt offerings, CIK #s 0001579586,  and 0001640170 at authorized asking price of $0.0375. Authorized to accept crypto in payment for shares.

Series A - U.S. and Series A - London preferred convertible to common with dilution also available.

That way, you get the transparency you be looking for.

Not an offer to sell shares in any U.S. State, except New York.