Lending Club Update

Finally the Lending Club IRA has been funded. It only took 24 days. I started the process by applying to Lending Club. They passed the ball to Self Directed IRA Services (SDIRA). Then it was on to TIAA/CREF for the rollover. TIAA/CREF passed it back to me, and after I submitted the proper paperwork, deposited a check in the USPS. Finally the check was received and deposited by SDIRA. Then they sent the funds to Lending Club.  You can see the time line below.

OK, there were 5 entities involved, 3 weekends, and 2 holidays. But I will admit being disappointed with all of the participants.  Contrast this to setting up the Betterment account, about 48 hours from application to funds invested.

But now on to managing the Lending Club account. I started the ball rolling by bidding on 4 notes. Since I ultimately expect to hold about 400, $25 notes, I decided to try automated investing. With this option you specify some selection criteria and Lending Club will search four times a day for appropriate notes. There are 7 grades of notes and I elected to allocate 7% of my funds to each. This will leave 51% of my cash for manual selections. I elected to limit investment in each note to $25 each.. Finally I accepted either 36 or 60 month notes. I will follow-up with how quickly notes are purchased.

Date    Action

12/29   Applied for Lending Club IRA

12/31   Welcome letter from SDIRA

01/06   Notified TIAA/CREF rejected transfer

01/07   Submitted required form to TIAA/CREF

01/08   Funds removed from TIAA/CREF

01/09   Rollover check mailed to SDIRA

01/19   SDIRA deposits check

01/20   Payment made to Lending Club

01/21   Money in Lending Club account

01/22   Bid on 4 notes and set up auto investing