Founded in 2014, Mintos is the most prominent peer-to-peer lending marketplace in Europe. Since its inception, Mintos has seen exponential growth and is not afraid to embrace change. Originally focused on facilitating investment in loans, company has evolved its core mission to revolutionize how individuals accumulate wealth through long-term investing.
In 2023 they expanded its offering to include bonds and ETFs to democratize bond investing for retail investors and simplify investment options to suit each investor’s unique risk tolerance and financial goals.
In addition, Mintos operates as an authorised firm under MiFID regulation, providing investors with enhanced protection and assistance when investing through the platform. In addition, Mintos is licensed and supervised by the Central Bank of Latvia.
Read also: Sage Fx Review
Mintos – Product offering, portfolio and investment strategy
As we learned above, Mintos offers basically three types of investments: loans, bonds and ETFs. However, the offer in each of these categories is extensive, especially in the case of loans, which are Mintos’ oldest and therefore most established product.
Loans
Company acts as a marketplace for loans, where investors can invest in loans from all over the world. This is a higher-risk alternative investment than other traditional investment options, as the return will always depend on the credibility of the borrower and the debt management by the issuing entity. This alternative investment can be accessed with amounts above EUR 50, which can be invested annually by building a portfolio of bonds, or can be invested automatically according to the yield or according to rules predefined by the investor. This reflects the three options available for investing in loans: Mintos Core, Mintos Custom and manual investing.
To get started with Custom, you need to set the criteria you want to see in the portfolio created for you. These settings allow you to have a portfolio tailored to your profile and investment preferences. In addition to this option, there is Mintos Core, which automates investments and tries to achieve the expected rate of return, while the portfolio is rebalanced to manage the portfolio risk. On the other hand, there is also a manual investing option that offers investors the ability to define where they prefer to invest solely manually, with a wide range of loans available in primary and secondary markets.
Bonds
By the end of 2023, Mintos has introduced fractional bonds, making corporate bonds available to retail investors. As with “loans”, the minimum investment available is EUR 50. As the minimum amount to invest is low, Mintos is democratising bond investments by allowing investors to invest in a small fraction of bonds.
When investing in fractional bonds, investors buy asset-backed securities without physically holding the bonds themselves. Instead, they acquire rights to the profits, while the issuer retains ownership of the underlying bonds and shares in the proceeds. These bonds are issued by a special purpose vehicle within the Mintos Group, which is responsible for raising and managing the payments of the underlying bonds, which are then distributed to investors.
ETF
Mintos also offers a brand new product, the Mintos Core ETF, which acts as a robo-advisor to investors after they complete a suitability and adequacy assessment. Based on your answers and financial goals, the platform will build a portfolio for you consisting entirely of ETFs.
The minimum investment in this product is also EUR 50 and comes with zero fees. Investors will therefore only pay the total expense ratio (TER) of the ETFs in the portfolio, and in this regard, Mintos is committed to driving the selection of assets (ETFs) with low TERs to reduce costs for investors.
Might interest you: BITmarkets.com – Crypto Exchange Review
Mintos fees
This company offers investors a clear and transparent fee structure. It is important to note that there are no fees associated with investing, withdrawing or depositing money. However, some important points to consider are the inactive account fee, the fee associated with selling assets on the secondary market and the foreign exchange (FX) fee.
Safety and reliability
Mintos is licensed and supervised by Latvijas Banka, the Central Bank of Latvia, with licence number 06.06.08.719/534. As an EU-based investment firm, company is subject to financial regulation, including MiFID II, which provides additional protection to investors by ensuring that Mintos complies with established rules and requirements.
From a security perspective, it is essential to consider two factors: how your investments are protected and the broker’s background. Mintos is covered by the Latvian Investor Protection Scheme, which protects investors up to EUR 20,000 if Mintos fails to return financial instruments or funds to investors. However, Mintos is not protected against investment risks such as poor performance of the underlying loans, borrower default or loan company default.
It should be stressed that customer assets are fully segregated. This segregation provides assurance that even in the event of a Mintos bankruptcy, customers will still have access to their assets.
Opening an account
Mintos is a European investment company that is accessible to most EU citizens. In addition, individuals from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Chile can also use the platform. However, Mintos is not available in some regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom and French overseas territories such as French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion.
There is nothing special about the platform when creating an account. Just fill out the form and confirm the registration link.
One of the drawbacks of Mintos is the inability to deposit funds using a credit/debit card, as deposits are limited to bank transfers and selected third-party payment services. While the minimum deposit is EUR 0, a minimum of EUR 50 is required to start investing. It is important to note that the base currency on Mintos is EUR and any required currency transfer will result in a currency transfer fee of at least 0.5%.
Continue reading: TOP 10 ways to make money online – and what to look out for?
Conclusion
In summary, Mintos offers a wide range of investment options tailored to European investors, such as loans, bonds and the newly launched Mintos Core ETF. With its easy-to-use platform and transparent fee structure, Mintos aims to democratize investment opportunities and provide investors with the tools to build long-term wealth.
With over 500,000 users and $600 million in assets under management, Mintos is an exceptional investment company that operates under MiFID regulation and holds a Latvijas Banka license. This licence ensures that investors are protected under the Latvian investor protection scheme, which covers amounts up to a maximum of EUR 20,000.
