Lending Club Introduces IRA Product

Lending Club CEO and Founder Renaud Laplanche announced today that Lending Club has introduced the first IRA product that allows for peer to peer investments.

Laplanche told Prosper Lending Review today by e-mail, “now investors have more choice for their retirement accounts beyond traditional asset classes. Lending Club is delighted to provide this new alternative to investors. We look forward to offering more innovation and value for financial consumers in the future.”

Potential Lending Club IRA investors should remember that they need to enroll (the application goes by old-fashioned mail) and fund their account by 4/15/09 if you want to enroll for the 2008 tax year. EntrustCAMA, part of the Entrust Group, serves as the administer for these accounts.

Enrollment information is located online at https://www.lendingclub.com/sdIRA/registerIRA.action.

Lending Club has been nominated for the “Top 100 Innovators” by The Industry Standard. It was also recognized recently as one of the 20 “Breakthrough Ideas for 2009” by Harvard Business Review.

Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in Seattle. She follows personal finance and family life. She also blogs at The Pennywise Family.