It’s the time of year when punters – and punters’ opinions – proliferate. That’s partly because there’s a shortage of news, and partly, in some cases one suspects, because there’s been some old-school, Fleet Street pint-related punditry. This, despite the fact that alcohol and keyboards do not mix.
We’ll be offering our own sober, considered views on the world and Money&Co.’s place in it later this month.
Meanwhile, here’s an extract of one of the more thoughtful takes on alternative finance from leading crowdfunding intelligence platform, crowdfundbeat. We don’t agree with all the opinions, but then, that’s the nature of punditry. So we’ve cherry-picked the points that seem to us to be best made…
“The banks will continue to fail SMEs. The funding void that banks have left for start-ups and growing businesses will continue to be filled by the alternative finance sector. We’ve had a lost decade of bank lending now – and this could become a lost generation the way things are going; the young budding entrepreneurs of the future are growing up thinking that ‘banks don’t lend’…
“Online investor communities will flourish. Online investment models will evolve from rather linear, one-dimensional, transactional processes to environments that have more of a vibrant social networking feel. Investors will be able to follow and comment on businesses, businesses will be able to syndicate people together, and interactive communities will begin to develop…
“Alternative finance companies will become brands. Alternative finance platforms will invest more time and money in marketing and building their identities and reputations in 2015, with the aim of creating strong brands that can protect them against ‘attacks’ from new and emerging companies and foster investor loyalty. Brand will be a crucial weapon as the market expands and players seek to grab market share…”