Company Founded By LendIt’s Co-founders Has Acquired LendingRobot

NSR Invest has acquired LendingRobot to become the largest robo-advisor in the alternative lending space, according to an announcement made by both companies.

Of note is that three of NSR Invest’s co-founders, Peter Renton, Bo Brustkern, and Jason Jones, are also co-founders of the LendIt Conference.

The acquisition is a reminder that the conference founders are also significant players in the alternative lending space itself. According to the announcement, the new combined parent company, Lend Core, LLC, serves over 8,000 clients and manages over $150 million in assets.

For those not familiar with LendingRobot, deBanked started reporting on the company more than two years ago as a tool for investors to automate their investment picks on marketplace lending platforms like Lending Club and Prosper. I eventually became an individual paying customer of the service, using it to automate the purchase of nearly $30,000 worth of tiny $25 and $50 notes that fit within the parameters I had set. LendingRobot’s classic service can also automate investments on the Funding Circle platform, though I have never signed up with Funding Circle or invested in their loans.

When I last met with Emmanuel Marot, LendingRobot’s CEO, in person, he was launching a new hedge fund dubbed the LendingRobot Series that would be managed with robo-advisor technology. The hedge fund was included in NSR Invest’s acquisition.

NSR Invest CEO and LendIt co-founder Bo Brustkern will lead the combined entity as CEO. In a prepared statement he said, “We have long respected the work of the LendingRobot team and recognize that our companies are pursuing a common goal. That is, to provide a unifying investment solution for the millions of investors worldwide who seek the attractive, uncorrelated, diversified returns that alternative lending can provide. With this combination of our firms, we are bringing enhanced capabilities to our combined client bases today, and big plans for the future. A shining example of the kind of innovation that we will emphasize is the Lending Robot Series Fund, which provides customization, liquidity and diversification to investors through a novel, elegant, low-cost fund structure.”

Meanwhile, Marot will continue on only as a special advisor to the company. In a prepared statement, he said, “NSR and LendingRobot have taken different tracts to provide similar services. Now is the perfect time to combine our complementary strengths. The combination of LendingRobot’s advanced technology and NSR’s extensive knowledge of this industry puts us in the best position to provide superior investment advice in the alternative lending space for both individual and institutional investors.”

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.