Invesdor AI Overview on 09/2025

Invesdor: Overview 🌐

Invesdor is a pan-European crowdinvesting platform that connects everyday investors with companies seeking funding.
Founded in 2012, it has grown through mergers to operate in multiple countries (Finland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands) and now serves over 180,000 investors across Europe (as of early 2024).
Investors can fund startups, growth SMEs, and sustainable projects via equity, fixed-interest bonds or convertible loans starting from €250 minimum per deal.
Key advantages include a low entry threshold, a wide range of vetted investment opportunities, and a cross-border license allowing one-stop access to various European markets.
The platform emphasizes impact investments (renewables, social enterprises) through its Oneplanetcrowd label and has won industry awards (e.g. IEX Best Crowdfunding Platform 2023 in the Netherlands).
However, investors face major risks – high-risk borrowers and startups can default or fail, leading to potential total loss of capital.
Investments are illiquid (no guaranteed secondary market to sell early) and returns are not guaranteed, so thorough diversification and caution are advised.
(Source: Invesdor site, press releases and user reviews as of 2024–2025)

Invesdor: Product 📊

Investment Products: Invesdor offers a mix of equity investments (company shares), fixed-income loans/bonds, and convertible bonds in European companies.
Equity crowdfunding lets investors buy a stake in a startup or SME, aiming for returns via dividends or an eventual exit (e.g. acquisition or IPO). Notably, one Invesdor-funded firm, Heeros Oyj, even provided an IPO exit in 2016 – an early milestone where crowd investors saw shares list at a higher price.
With bonds/loans, investors earn regular interest payments (typically quarterly to annual) and principal back at maturity.
Some bonds are “green” or project-specific, such as renewable energy notes paying ~8% annual interest.
Convertible loans can be later converted into equity, blending fixed interest with equity upside (high risk, intended for growth-phase companies).

How It Works: All offerings use an “all-or-nothing” model – a company must reach its minimum funding target by campaign end or else investments are returned.
If successful, investors execute subscription agreements (digitally) and funds are transferred only after the funding goal is met.
Equity investors typically become direct shareholders (often recorded in the company’s share register), while debt investors become creditors holding a bond or loan contract.
Legal structures vary: in some cases, subordinated loans (Nachrangdarlehen) are used (common in German crowdfunding), meaning investor claims rank behind other creditors in default.
In 2019, Invesdor’s German branch even issued the country’s first digital security (security token) for a restaurant franchise, indicating innovative legal setups for faster processing.
Each investment comes with an EU Key Information Document detailing legal terms, risks, and any collateral.

Focus & Limits: Invesdor’s campaigns span many sectors – from tech startups and medtech to real estate, energy farms, restaurants, and breweries.
There is a tilt toward sustainable and impact sectors after the 2023 merger (projects aligning with SDGs get a “Oneplanet” sustainability label), but traditional SMEs are still funded.
Geographically, it primarily lists companies from DACH, Nordics, and Benelux regions (e.g. Germany, Finland, Austria, Netherlands) and accepts investors worldwide (mostly Europe).
Typical loan/bond durations range ~1 to 5 years, and equity investments have no fixed maturity (investors remain shareholders indefinitely until an exit event).
Expected return rates vary by project type: fixed-interest deals often yield ~5–9% annually (the platform’s historical average investor return on loans is around 6–6.5% before defaults, per 2025 data).
Equity returns are highly uncertain – they could be 0% (total loss) or multiples of the investment if the company thrives (for example, an IPO at a higher share price gave Heeros equity investors a modest gain in one year).
The minimum investment is typically €250 per campaign.
For retail investors, maximum per-investment amounts are generally capped (often €25,000 per project under prior national rules), and larger investments may require passing a suitability test under EU regulations.

Risks: Investors should be aware of all major risks:
Credit risk is significant – borrowers may default on loans or bonds, which can lead to loss of interest and principal (user reports indicate some “AAA”-rated crowdlending projects still went bankrupt).
Equity risk is high – startup shares are illiquid and can lose all value if the business fails (no compensation scheme).
Illiquidity is a concern for all products – there is no active secondary market yet on Invesdor (investments are typically locked in until loan maturity or an exit).
Project delays and restructurings happen: interest or repayments can be late if a company hits difficulties, and some crowd-funded real estate developers have gone insolvent, leaving projects unfinished (Finnish authorities noted such cases in 2021).
No guarantee or insurance covers these investments – even when personal or asset guarantees are provided by issuers, they can prove unenforceable if the guarantor lacks resources.
Investors must accept the real possibility of total loss, as emphasized in Invesdor’s risk warnings.
Lastly, valuation risk exists for equity: offered share prices might be high and future dilution or failure could hurt returns.

⚠️ In summary: Only invest money you can afford to lose, diversify across many projects, and review each project’s risks carefully.

Invesdor: Company overview 🏢

History & Ownership: Invesdor started as a Finnish fintech startup in 2012 (founded by e.g. Lasse Mäkelä in Helsinki).
Over the past few years it transformed via multiple mergers into the Invesdor Group.
Key milestones: In 2019, Finnish Invesdor Oy merged with Austrian platform Finnest; in 2021, German crowdinvesting leader Kapilendo joined, and all rebranded under “Invesdor”.
In late 2022, Invesdor acquired Dutch sustainable crowdfunding pioneer Oneplanetcrowd, forming one of Europe’s largest platforms with a combined €438 M funded and 170k+ investors at that time.
The group’s ownership is private, held by founders, employees, and early investors. Notably, Dutch VC Unknown Group was an investor in Oneplanetcrowd and endorsed the merger, and StartGreen Capital (a sustainable fund manager) had incubated Oneplanetcrowd, presumably now a stakeholder.
The consolidated company is headquartered in Berlin (Invesdor AG as parent) with major offices in Helsinki, Vienna, and Amsterdam.

Leadership: The Group CEO is Christopher Grätz, co-founder of Kapilendo (now Invesdor AG).
Grätz has led the expansion and is the public face of Invesdor’s pan-European vision.
Mari Lymysalo, one of the original Finnish team, serves as Managing Director for the Nordics, while Ellen Hensbergen (with a banking background at ABN AMRO) is Managing Director for the Benelux region.
Oneplanetcrowd’s co-founder Maarten de Jong joined Invesdor’s management in 2023 to drive sustainability strategy and Benelux growth (he noted the merger makes Invesdor “the largest impact investment platform in Europe”).
The broader team includes specialists in credit analysis and venture investment across its offices.

Partners & Backers: Invesdor actively partners with startup and investor networks.
In 2024 it teamed up with the Global Impact Capital Alliance (GICA) – a worldwide impact startup network – to give its funded companies access to international mentorship and investors.
It also partnered with FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network) to bridge angel investors with crowd rounds (announced in 2024).
On the institutional side, the platform has won backing from established players: for example, Finnish Industry Investment (government VC) and crowdfunding-focused funds invested in Invesdor in earlier years (raising ~$6.7 M by 2022).
Post-merger, StartGreen and Unknown Group provide industry connections in sustainable finance.
Invesdor is a member of the Digital Lending Association and other fintech industry bodies, reinforcing its credibility.
It also collaborates with payment providers and escrow agents to securely handle transactions (investor funds usually flow via licensed intermediaries to the issuers).

Legal Structure: The business operates through several legal entities under the Invesdor Group umbrella.
Invesdor AG (formerly Kapilendo, based in Berlin) is the parent company providing the platform technology and operations.
Invesdor Oy (Helsinki) manages Nordic operations, and Invesdor GmbH (Vienna, formerly Finnest) handles DACH-region deal origination.
The Dutch arm Oneplanetcrowd International B.V. now functions as Invesdor’s sustainability label and gateway to Benelux.
Smaller subsidiaries include Invesdor Brokerage GmbH and Invesdor Services Oy, supporting investment advice and customer service.
All companies share the Invesdor brand and platform, ensuring a unified investor experience.

Regulation & Licenses: Invesdor is a regulated investment intermediary.
Originally, Invesdor Oy was licensed by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIVA) in 2014, making it one of Europe’s first authorized equity crowdfunding platforms.
It operated under Finland’s investment services law (license No. FIVA 39/02.02.00/2014), allowing it to broker securities across the EU.
With the new EU Crowdfunding Regulation (ECSP) taking effect, the group secured an EU-wide ECSP license in late 2022 – notably via Oneplanetcrowd, which became the third platform in Europe to obtain this license (authorized by the Dutch AFM on 6 Sep 2022).
This license, passported EU-wide, permits Invesdor to intermediate crowd investments up to €5 M per project across all member states under a single regulatory framework.
Invesdor’s licensed status is highlighted by regulators: “multiple award-winning and ECSP-licensed” as the company describes itself.
Its activities are now supervised under ECSP rules (with likely oversight by the AFM in the Netherlands for the group license), and it continues to comply with local authorities where relevant (e.g. BaFin in Germany and FIN-FSA in Finland for transitional matters).
Investor protection regulations (such as appropriateness tests for large investments and standardized risk disclosures) are strictly followed.
In summary, the platform is fully legal and monitored by EU financial regulators, providing a measure of safety – though as with any regulated market, it does not imply risk-free investments.

Invesdor: Company Volumes and Results 💶

Scale of Operations: Invesdor has grown into one of Europe’s largest crowd investment platforms.
Since 2012, the Invesdor Group has funded over €590 million for businesses of various sizes (cumulative as of mid-2025).
This includes all funding intermediated through its Finnish, DACH, and Dutch entities.
By summer 2024, the group had already surpassed €550 million total volume, and continued growth (including a number of large sustainable energy loans) brought the figure close to €600 million by 2025.
In terms of breadth, over 1,000 funding rounds have been successfully completed on Invesdor’s platform as of April 2024 – a major milestone celebrated with the launch of their 1000th project.
This includes equity rounds and debt financings; notably, over one-third of total volume has been equity (shares) and just under two-thirds debt (loans/bonds).
The community of investors has also expanded: from around 170k users in 2022 post-merger to over 180,000 registered investors by early 2024, and currently about 200,000+ investors (as of late 2024/2025) are on the platform.
This large investor base is pan-European, with the platform reporting participation from over 19 countries in some deals (e.g. a Dutch bond had investors from 19 EU countries).

Performance & Returns: Investor returns on Invesdor vary widely by project.
For fixed-interest investments, the typical interest rate offered ranges from ~5% to 9% annual percentage rate, depending on risk and tenor.
For example, a recent green bond offered 8.5% annual interest for 2 years, and many SME loans fall in the mid-single to low-double digits interest range.
According to one independent analysis (Sept 2025), the platform’s historical average gross return on loans was ~6.5% per year.
However, this is before accounting for defaults.
Equity investments have no fixed “yield” – some may eventually produce high multiples if the company scales up (or even IPOs), while others may fail entirely (0% return).
Invesdor touts combined “financial and social returns,” but emphasizes that actual outcomes depend on each venture.
A few success cases: a Finnish software firm funded on Invesdor went public, giving crowd investors a modest uplift in share price at IPO, and certain bond offerings have paid investors on schedule with attractive fixed yields (e.g. solar park bonds at ~7–8% p.a.).

Repayments and Defaults: By 2024, over 500 debt projects had been fully repaid to investors (principal + interest) – demonstrating a track record of many companies meeting their obligations.
The platform provides data on performance: it reported paying out substantial interest to investors and even some dividends on equity.
However, not all projects succeed.
Default rates have been a point of concern.
Invesdor’s public statistics mention an “annualized default rate” for loan projects, but the exact figure isn’t directly shown on the site without logging in.
Some third-party reviewers note that defaults increased in recent years.
For instance, a German user in late 2024 observed that the overall default rate was high enough to turn their portfolio returns negative.
On the low-risk end, Invesdor’s safest credit grade had an estimated default probability of ~0.7% (in the lowest risk class), but in practice several supposedly secure projects still failed.
As of early 2025, double-digit percentages of loans were in delay or workout: one experienced crowd investor reported having 27 out of 246 investments on Invesdor/Finnest in “Zahlungsverzug” (payment delay) or insolvency proceedings.
The loss rate for investors depends on diversification – some report still earning a net positive return by spreading across many deals, while others who picked only a few projects saw total losses (e.g. “both my two investments defaulted”).
Invesdor does not publish an aggregated net return after defaults, but user feedback suggests that portfolio performance can range from profitable to significantly negative depending on defaults and recovery outcomes.

Investor Activity: The platform’s momentum is strong.
In 2023–2024, Invesdor funded around €100 M+ per year in new projects (the jump from €438 M in May 2023 to ~€531 M by mid-2024 implies ~€90 M in that period).
It launched several large campaigns, including Europe’s then-largest renewable energy crowdfunding (a Dutch wind farm raising €27 M from 2,600+ investors in 2021).
The average investment per investor is a few hundred to a few thousand euros (with minimum €250), enabling broad participation.
Repeat investment is common: popular issuers have returned for multiple rounds (e.g. a German restaurant chain did 5 rounds on Invesdor), and Invesdor cites investors’ enthusiasm as many campaigns get fully subscribed within days or even hours.
For instance, an Austrian tech firm Evobeam hit €1 M from 600 investors in <2 hours on the platform – a sign of high demand.
As of the latest data in 2025, the platform’s cumulative default rate isn’t disclosed, but investors have received millions in returns (interest and some equity exits) and continue to fund new opportunities at a growing pace.
Investors should weigh these stats with caution: while many projects succeed, a subset ends in insolvency, so average returns will depend greatly on individual portfolio choices and luck.

Invesdor: Risk Approach and Management ⚖️

Project Selection: Invesdor employs a multi-step due diligence process to vet companies before listing.
According to platform info, each potential borrower or issuer goes through financial analysis, credit scoring, and management interviews before approval.
For loan projects, Invesdor’s team assigns an internal risk grade (previously labeled from A/AA up to C for credit quality).
A “multistage screening” means they review business plans, financial statements, and industry outlook.
They often require companies to provide collateral or personal guarantees if possible – some loans are backed by guarantees from company owners or assets (though as investors noted, a guarantee is only as good as the guarantor’s solvency).
Equity campaigns similarly are screened for viability and growth potential, and must produce an offering prospectus or information sheet that Invesdor reviews for completeness.
The platform has stated it is “quite strict about which companies it allows”, aiming to filter out unsound ventures.
Nevertheless, the final risk lies with investors’ judgment; Invesdor presents the information, but does not insure against failure.

Risk Scoring: Invesdor had an internal rating model especially for debt offerings.
For example, a project might be rated “AAA” (best) or lower, which influences the interest rate (higher risk projects must offer higher returns).
However, these ratings are not guarantees – users have reported cases where even “AAA” rated borrowers defaulted quickly, indicating that credit risk is still present despite initial screening.
The platform has acknowledged that outcomes can diverge from expectations and thus emphasizes diversification and thorough reading of risk factors by investors.
Invesdor also incorporates ESG criteria into selection: since merging with Oneplanetcrowd, all campaigns undergo an ESG compliance check (“do no harm” screening) and truly sustainable ones get a Oneplanet “impact” label.
This means projects are filtered for basic sustainability standards (no harmful business models), aligning with the platform’s branding as an impact investing marketplace.

Sector & Geographic Limits: Invesdor tends to accept companies in sectors it understands well – notably renewable energy, technology, consumer brands, real estate development, and SMEs.
It often avoids ultra-speculative ventures; for instance, pure research projects or crypto tokens are not common on the platform (though it has facilitated tokenized securities like the L’Osteria bond using blockchain, these were regulated instruments).
Geographically, the focus is on EU/EEA companies – they have listed Finnish, German, Austrian, Dutch, Belgian, etc., and even UK or Nordic companies historically.
By policy, they can accept issuers from 28 EEA countries under ECSP rules, but most offerings are from core markets (Germany, Finland, Austria, Netherlands) where they have local teams.
This helps manage risk as teams are familiar with local regulations and market conditions.
Invesdor also sometimes co-funds with other investors (e.g. institutional co-investors or public grant money), which can de-risk projects – for example, some projects benefited from state subsidies or EU grants alongside crowd money.

Monitoring & Enforcement: Once funded, Invesdor expects issuers to provide regular updates and reporting.
Loan contracts often include covenants that the company must inform investors (via Invesdor) of significant developments.
In practice, enforcement is limited – if a company runs into trouble, Invesdor’s role is to represent the crowd’s interests but it relies on the issuer’s cooperation.
If a borrower misses payments, Invesdor will mark the project status as “in delay” or “recovery” in investors’ dashboards and typically engage third-party law firms or collections agencies to pursue repayment.
In a 2020 interview, a seasoned investor noted that Invesdor (and peers) do make efforts with lawyers to recover funds during insolvencies, but the process is slow and not always fruitful.
Equity investors, on the other hand, must rely on the company’s shareholder communications – there is no guaranteed reporting interval unless specified.
Some investors have criticized that Invesdor does not require robust ongoing reporting for all projects (citing cases where they had to “seriously ask the platform if any due diligence or reporting requirement existed” when projects got into trouble).
In response, Invesdor has launched an “Academy” to educate investors on managing these risks and understanding their portfolio’s status.
They’ve also improved transparency on project pages: each campaign includes detailed financials, risk warnings, and Q&A sections where investors can ask the founders questions.
Still, ultimately risk management for investors is self-driven – Invesdor provides tools (like diversification guides) and basic safeguards (e.g. all investments are segregated and contracts legally documented), but cannot prevent a business from failing.

Risk Mitigation Initiatives: Invesdor has been proactive in aligning with new regulations aimed at investor protection.
With the ECSP license, they implement appropriateness tests – if a non-experienced investor wants to invest above certain thresholds (e.g. €1,000 or 5% of their net wealth), they must complete a questionnaire acknowledging the risks.
The platform also limits leverage: investors cannot invest on margin or credit through Invesdor – they must fund investments fully.
Invesdor’s conflict of interest policy is disclosed (it does not invest its own money in campaigns, and any related-party cases are flagged).
It’s worth noting that after some high-profile defaults in Finnish crowdinvesting, the Finnish FSA in Jan 2021 urged platforms to improve risk disclosures – ensuring that Invesdor now prominently highlights the possibility of loss and the assumptions behind any forecasts.
The platform’s mission statement stresses “responsibility and fairness”, indicating that they strive to only list campaigns they believe have a fair risk-return balance.
Nevertheless, investors should view Invesdor as a facilitator; the primary risk control is careful project selection and diversification by the investor themselves, using the information provided.

Invesdor: Platform Functionality 💻

User Experience: Invesdor provides a modern online platform (website and mobile-responsive) that makes it straightforward to browse deals, invest, and monitor investments.
The interface supports multiple languages – at least English, German, Finnish, and Dutch, catering to its broad user base.
Investors can switch locales (e.g. invesdor.com, invesdor.de, invesdor.fi) for localized content.
The investment process is fully digital: you sign up with an email, complete KYC identity verification, and can then browse live investment opportunities.
Each project listing has tabs for overview, financials, risks, discussion/Q&A, and documents (e.g. pitch deck, termsheet, and the Key Information Document).
The platform is praised for its ease of use and clean interface – even new users report the process “is intuitive... conditions are clearly stated... everything is well-structured”.
When you decide to invest, you enter an amount (respecting the minimum and any increments) and confirm; payment can be made via online bank transfer or manual wire within a given timeframe.
Invesdor even offers an “Invest now, pay later” option in some cases, allowing you to reserve an investment and then send funds by the deadline.
Once funded, investments appear in your personal dashboard portfolio.

Portfolio Dashboard: The investor dashboard shows all your active investments and their status.
You can see expected interest payments for loans, maturity dates, and any updates from issuers.
If a project is doing well, you’ll see interest or dividend payments credited (Invesdor credits your account or bank directly with any payouts).
If a project encounters issues, the status might change to “Verwertung” or similar (meaning recovery/enforcement) in the German interface.
However, some users noted that the dashboard did not explicitly label defaulted projects as failed – they simply stopped showing payments, requiring the investor to read updates to know the situation.
Invesdor has been working on improvements: they maintain a support center (FAQ) and responsive customer service to answer queries about one’s portfolio, and they reportedly respond to 100% of negative reviews on external sites as part of customer care.
The platform also provides tax reporting assistance: at year-end, investors can download a summary of interest earned, etc., to help with tax declarations (especially for German users who need it for capital gains tax).
It’s important to note Invesdor does not withhold taxes on behalf of investors; all tax due (interest income, capital gains) must be handled by the investor according to local law.

Features & Tools: Currently, Invesdor does not offer an auto-invest tool – unlike some P2P lending platforms, you cannot automatically allocate funds to new projects.
The ethos is more of curated investing, encouraging users to pick and choose.
There is also no built-in secondary market yet (no exchange where you can resell your investments instantly).
However, the company has signaled plans for liquidity: In late 2022 it announced it would enable investors to buy and sell crowd securities among themselves, possibly using blockchain technology to ease transfers.
As of 2025 this is not live, meaning investors should assume they hold until exit.
On the bright side, many of Invesdor’s bond offerings are short to medium term (1–5 years), and some equity startups have provided liquidity events (exits or buybacks) within a few years, offering ad-hoc liquidity.

Diversification Support: The platform emphasizes diversification in its educational content.
They have blog posts like “Diversification explained – minimize risk & maximize returns” and suggest that users invest smaller amounts in many projects rather than a lot in one.
Given the variety of sectors (tech, food & beverage, energy, real estate, etc.) and countries on Invesdor, investors can build a broadly diversified portfolio on the site.
No single project usually dominates – typically each project has a cap on how much one person can invest (often to prevent one investor from taking too large a share, maintaining crowd diversity).
Invesdor’s platform also sometimes groups projects by theme, allowing you to find, say, all renewable energy bonds if you’re focusing on that, which can aid in targeted diversification (though one should beware of concentrating too much in one industry).

Information & Analysis: Invesdor provides a lot of transparent information for each campaign.
Investors get access to the company’s pitch, financial figures (balance sheet, revenue, etc.), valuation or loan terms, and a discussion forum to ask questions.
Often, questions are answered by the company’s CEO or the Invesdor team, which adds a layer of due diligence.
Some projects also come with third-party analysis or endorsements (for example, if a project is co-funded by a well-known entity, that’s stated).
The platform also highlights if a project is co-funded by government grants or banks, which can reassure investors of additional oversight.
An interesting feature post-merger is that sustainable projects carry the Oneplanet label and explicit mention of which UN SDGs they contribute to, giving impact-oriented investors a way to filter deals.

Currencies & Payment: All investments on Invesdor are in euros (€).
Investors from countries outside the Eurozone can invest, but would need to convert their currency to EUR to fund the investment (any currency risk is on the investor – the platform deals in EUR).
There is no multi-currency support or crypto funding on the front-end.
Payments are handled via secure methods; no cash is held by Invesdor long-term except during fundraising – money goes from investor to a safeguarded client account to the company or back if the campaign fails.
The platform supports electronic SEPA transfers and in some cases Instant SEPA for immediate confirmation.

Mobile access: Invesdor does not have a dedicated mobile app, but the website is mobile-friendly and one can invest via smartphone browser.
Key documents are PDF format which can be opened on mobile easily.

Investor Support: The site includes a comprehensive FAQ/Support Center (via Zendesk) covering topics like account setup, investing process, and troubleshooting.
They also have a phone line and email for support in multiple languages (e.g. German and English support lines are available).
User feedback on customer service is generally positive – quick responses and helpful staff were noted.
There is also an investor community aspect: some campaigns host investor webinars or events (especially for larger raises, there might be a live Q&A webinar).

In summary, Invesdor’s platform is feature-rich for informed investing but lacks automated or liquidity-enhancing tools at the moment.
It’s designed for investors to actively engage with each opportunity, read provided analyses, and build a portfolio manually.
Security measures like 2-factor authentication are in place for account logins to protect user data.
No insurance or buyback guarantees exist on the platform (unlike some P2P lending sites that have “buyback guarantee” – Invesdor does not offer that).
The platform’s focus is on transparency and investor empowerment rather than providing extrinsic guarantees.

Invesdor: Platform Pricing 💰

Investor Fees: Invesdor has a mostly investor-friendly fee model. It is free to register and browse investments, and there are no annual account fees.
For a long time, investing itself was free of charge for investors; however, starting January 2024 Invesdor introduced a minor transaction fee of 1.5% on equity investments.
This means if you invest in an equity crowdfunding campaign (shares), you pay a 1.5% fee on the invested amount (e.g. €15 on a €1,000 investment).
According to the platform, this change was carefully considered to ensure sustainability of operations.
Debt investments (bonds/loans) carry no fee to investors – you invest €1,000 in a bond, and €1,000 goes to work earning interest, with no cut taken.
There are also no fees on interest payments or other distributions; what the borrower pays, you receive gross (taxable in your hands).
Invesdor does not take any performance fee or carried interest from investors.
If a project fails, there’s no specific refund fee – investors simply lose their principal (the platform sometimes arranges any residual recovery at no extra cost beyond the standard process).

Aside from the new 1.5% equity fee, there are no hidden charges: account opening, maintenance, depositing and withdrawing funds are all free.
Investors should note that bank transfer fees or currency conversion fees (if investing from a non-euro country) might be charged by their own bank, but Invesdor itself doesn’t charge for handling funds.
There is no exit fee either – though since there isn’t a formal secondary market, this mostly means that if a loan repays early or a company buys back shares, Invesdor doesn’t levy any fee on that transaction.
In summary, for investors the costs are low: “Investing on Invesdor is free” in most cases, with only a small fee now applied to stock offerings.
The platform is quite transparent about this change, having announced it publicly.

Issuer (Fundraiser) Fees: Invesdor makes money primarily by charging companies that raise funds on the platform.
These fees are not directly visible to investors on the site but are usually disclosed in the issuer’s documentation as part of use of proceeds.
Generally, companies pay a success-based fee – typically around 5% of the funds raised (this can range ~4–6% as common in the industry).
For example, if a startup raises €500,000, it might pay about €25,000–€30,000 to Invesdor as a commission.
Invesdor also often charges a one-time listing fee or due diligence fee when the campaign agreement is signed – a flat amount to cover preparation, legal checks, etc.
According to Invesdor’s own FAQ for fundraisers, after a successful raise they also charge an annual service fee on outstanding investments.
This annual fee (often ~1% of outstanding loan principal per year or a fixed amount for equity) covers the ongoing investor relations platform services – handling interest payments, shareholder communications, etc.
For instance, a German crowdfunding review noted that “issuers often pay 4–6% upfront and some annual fee which is used for platform operations and marketing”.
If a campaign fails to meet its minimum target, the issuer usually owes no success fee (and sometimes the listing fee might be partially refunded or carried to a retry, depending on contract).

Transparency: While exact fee terms are negotiated per project, Invesdor prides itself on fair and transparent pricing.
It states that entrepreneurs get a clear agreement of fees “individually with your funding manager”.
For investors, the platform explicitly notes in each offering’s documentation that “no fees are charged to investors by the platform” (except now the 1.5% on equity) so that investors understand the costs are mainly borne by the issuers.
The rationale is that the company raising capital gets value (funding, promotion), so it’s willing to pay, whereas lowering barriers for investors encourages participation.
This model is standard in crowdinvesting and helps align Invesdor’s interests with investors (they earn more if more investors participate successfully).
Moreover, since the Oneplanetcrowd merger, investor fees actually decreased: Oneplanetcrowd had an 0.8% annual investor fee historically, which Invesdor eliminated after integrating the platforms.
The Golden Bull jury in 2024 commended this, noting “entrepreneurs pay the fees, completely eliminating the 0.8% management fee previously charged to investors”, which is a direct benefit to retail investors.

Other Costs: There are typically no performance fees – if your equity investment multiplies in value, Invesdor doesn’t take a cut of your profit.
There are also no fees to use the secondary trading (when implemented) announced – likely they will allow peer-to-peer transfers either free or for a nominal fee in future.
Invesdor may receive some fees from issuers for extra services (for example, producing a prospectus, or marketing packages to attract investors, can incur additional charges to the company).
These aren’t directly relevant to investors except insofar as they come out of the fundraising proceeds.
A look at a regulatory document (e.g. Vermögensanlagen-Informationsblatt) shows platforms often charging total fees around 5–8% of funds raised.

In summary, Invesdor’s pricing is very transparent and low-friction for investors.
Aside from a small transaction fee on equity deals introduced in 2024, investors pay essentially no ongoing or surprise fees – “what you bid is what you invest.”
This transparency and alignment (charging the issuer, not the investor) is one reason Invesdor maintains a good reputation; as of Sep 2025, its Trustpilot reviews mention the “clear terms and no hidden costs” as a positive aspect.
Issuers, on the other hand, must be prepared to pay for the convenience of crowd capital – but they gain not just money but hundreds of brand ambassadors, which can be worth the cost.

Invesdor: Negative Publicity ⚠️

While Invesdor has generally positive ratings, it has faced some criticisms and controversies in its journey – mostly related to project outcomes and transparency.

Project Failures and Defaults:
A key point of negative feedback has been the default rate on some investments. Seasoned users on forums have pointed out that many crowd-lending projects fell into trouble, especially after 2020.
On the German site Finanzfluss, Invesdor’s average user rating is about 3/5, with over a dozen negative reviews (out of 36) citing high defaults.
One investor lamented “both my two investments on Invesdor defaulted… I can only urgently warn others”.
Another noted that even projects with collateral guarantees ended up in default with no recovery – the guarantors were unable or unwilling to pay, and the platform’s updates just inform investors they are chasing the guarantor with little effect.
These experiences highlight the risk of loss, but the emotional responses indicate some investors may not have expected so many failures.

Transparency of Performance:
A particularly striking criticism from a long-time user is that Invesdor allegedly removed certain performance metrics from the investor dashboard once defaults increased.
In a detailed review, the user said: “There used to be a display of nominal vs. actual realized return. It was removed quietly when the defaults came.”
They also mention that the dashboard does not clearly tag projects that have stopped payments as “bad debt”, so an investor’s portfolio view might not immediately show a problem unless you dig in.
This lack of aggregate performance reporting means investors can’t easily see their overall IRR including defaults.
The reviewer speculated that if calculated, the overall return might be “shockingly negative double-digit” for many, given the very high default rate they observed.
They imply Invesdor intentionally stopped showing that figure to avoid alarming users.
This is a serious allegation, though not officially confirmed by Invesdor.
It does underscore a perceived lack of transparency about the platform-wide success rate.
Invesdor likely would respond that each investor’s outcome differs and they encourage looking project by project.

Due Diligence and Ratings:
Some have questioned Invesdor’s vetting rigor.
For example, a user complained that projects “rated AAA with securities in the background still go insolvent pretty quickly”, suggesting inadequate risk assessment.
They wished Invesdor would be more selective or realistic with ratings.
Additionally, that user hinted that reporting by issuers might be lax – “if any review of the issuers had taken place at all, and if there’s any reporting obligation”, they asked rhetorically, implying sometimes companies were in bad shape without investors being clearly warned until too late.
While Invesdor can’t predict every failure, a few high-profile busts (including real estate developers and SMEs that raised money then soon failed) have drawn media attention.
For instance, in Finland, some construction companies that raised via crowdfunding went bankrupt mid-project, leading to unfinished apartments and investor losses.
This prompted Finland’s FSA to publicly urge better risk disclosure in Jan 2021.
Such news articles might have cast a shadow on Invesdor and peers, associating them with risky financing.

Investor Complaints:
On public forums, some investors express frustration at the recovery process.
One person on Finanzfluss (Feb 2025) noted that after defaults, “every two months I just get an email that the guarantor was reminded again and they’re waiting for the next update”, but no actual recovery progress.
They concluded “the guarantees provide zero security, and it seems Invesdor doesn’t sustainably verify them”, advising others to avoid such investments.
This kind of testimonial indicates poor outcomes for some and a feeling that Invesdor’s risk communication was insufficient.
However, it’s worth noting others on the same site gave positive reviews saying if you diversify and choose well, you can still come out ahead – reflecting a divided opinion.

Trustpilot & Reputation:
On Trustpilot, Invesdor fares relatively well (average 4.1/5 as of mid-2025), but even there ~13% of reviews are 1-star, and ~4% are 2-star.
The negative Trustpilot reviews (not quoted due to privacy) likely echo the themes above: difficulty recovering funds, some projects not meeting expectations, or platform technical issues.
That said, Invesdor replies to 100% of negative reviews on Trustpilot and typically within a month, indicating they attempt to address issues.

No Regulatory Sanctions (so far):
We did not find any record of regulatory penalties or cease-and-desist orders against Invesdor.
The platform appears to be in good standing with regulators – in fact, obtaining the ECSP license early is a positive sign.
The Finnish FSA did intervene in 2016 when Invesdor tried to allow Bitcoin investments, but that was resolved (Invesdor had to clarify procedures).
No official warning list entries or fraud accusations are known.
However, platform profitability concerns have been mentioned in industry commentary: a 2020 interview noted “millions are being burned at platforms and none is hugely profitable yet”, implying some financial strain perhaps.
There was no suggestion Invesdor is insolvent or anything, but it’s something investors sometimes worry about – what if the platform itself fails?
Invesdor has contingency plans (e.g. contracts would be serviced by a third-party trustee if needed), but this hasn’t been tested.

Merger Integration Issues:
After merging multiple platforms, there might have been some IT or integration hiccups.
A Reddit discussion in 2023 mentioned Invesdor’s merger of 4 platforms and questioned if the user experience or deal flow was affected.
Some early Finnish users had to adapt from the old interface to the new combined one, which may have caused minor complaints.
No major negative news on this front, though.

In conclusion, the most significant red flags revolve around investment risk outcomes rather than malfeasance by the platform.
Defaults have been higher than many investors anticipated, leading to criticism that Invesdor might oversell the opportunities and undersell the risk.
The platform has responded by enhancing risk warnings (every investment page clearly states you can lose your money now).
It’s crucial for would-be investors to heed these warnings.
The negative publicity essentially serves as a reminder: crowdinvesting is not a savings account – it carries real risk.
Invesdor’s name was dragged into Finnish media when crowdfunded projects went bust, but it has not been singled out for any wrongdoing.
By highlighting these incidents here (e.g. high default rate, removed performance metric, and investor complaints about guarantees), we ensure investors have a clear, eyes-open view of the platform’s downsides.

Invesdor: Success Stories 🎉

Despite the challenges, Invesdor has amassed an impressive list of success stories and milestones over its decade of operation:

Notable Exits:
Invesdor was part of a European first when Heeros Oyj – a Finnish software company – became the first equity-crowdfunded company in Europe to exit via an IPO.
Heeros raised €660k on Invesdor in 2015 and then IPO’d on Nasdaq First North Helsinki in 2016, giving the 200 crowd investors an exit at a ~15% higher share price.
This was a landmark proof that crowdfunding can lead to traditional capital markets success.
Another exit example is Cityvarasto, a self-storage firm that raised ~€1 M on Invesdor in 2015 and later listed on Nasdaq First North (Helsinki) in 2017 – allowing crowd investors liquidity (Cityvarasto’s share price rose post-listing).
These exits, while not everyday occurrences, show that patient equity investors can be rewarded.

Large Fundraises:
Invesdor has facilitated several record-breaking campaigns.
A standout is Windpark Fryslân, a Dutch wind farm project, which raised €27 million from 2,609 investors in just six weeks.
Launched via Oneplanetcrowd (now Invesdor’s sustainability arm) in 2021, this became Europe’s largest renewable energy crowdfunding to date – a testament to Invesdor’s capacity to mobilize big crowds and capital.
Another achievement: HalloStroom, a sustainable energy company, raised €2 million in a matter of days in March 2024 on Invesdor, with 808 investors from 19 countries snapping up a green bond at 8.5% interest.
Fast oversubscriptions are common on popular offers: a German health snack startup NEOH raised its max target swiftly, and Evobeam (space-tech precision manufacturer) hit €1 M in <2 hours (600+ investors).
These show the platform’s ability to quickly fund high-quality companies.

Repeat Success and Growth:
Some companies have used Invesdor for multiple rounds, growing each time.
Beets & Roots, a German healthy restaurant chain, is highlighted as an “Invesdor alumni” with five funding rounds on the platform.
In January 2024, in its 5th round (and first equity offering), Beets & Roots raised €1.5 M from 332 investors – an example of a crowd-invested company scaling up over years.
Friends & Brgrs, a Finnish burger chain, and L’Osteria (via a franchisee) also successfully raised expansion capital and grew their businesses, even paying investors returns: Friends & Brgrs offered an attractive interest and delivered on it, making it a crowd favorite.

International Expansion & Awards:
Invesdor’s strategic moves have been recognized.
The 2022 merger with Oneplanetcrowd made it a truly pan-European platform and earned industry accolades.
In April 2024, Invesdor (with Oneplanetcrowd) won the IEX Golden Bull Award for Best Crowdfunding Platform 2023 (Netherlands).
The award jury praised Invesdor as “an example for the industry” in effectively using the new EU passport and focusing on sustainable, double-impact returns.
They noted that merging gave investors more diversification options and that Invesdor set a high bar for compliance and innovation (one reason being it removed investor fees that OPC used to charge).

B Corp Certification:
In line with its sustainability mission, Invesdor Group achieved B Corp certification in February 2025.
This rigorous certification (first attained by Oneplanetcrowd in 2016, now extended group-wide) verifies that Invesdor meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Becoming a Certified B Corporation puts Invesdor among an elite group of companies committed to stakeholder value, and reinforces its image as an impact-focused platform.
The group proudly announced this during B Corp Month 2025, stating it’s “ongoing drive to do business better” and highlighting that it has funded many B Corp companies (like Fairphone and Mud Jeans) over the years.

Key Partnerships:
Invesdor’s collaboration with important networks is itself a success.
In 2024 it partnered with FiBAN (one of Europe’s largest angel investor networks) – this potentially funnels quality deal flow to the platform and mixes crowd capital with angel capital.
Also in 2024, joining the GICA global impact startup network was a coup, with Invesdor’s CEO appointed to GICA’s advisory board.
These partnerships enhance Invesdor’s reputation and give its portfolio companies extra growth support (a value-add beyond just money).

Platform Growth:
The platform has celebrated hitting 1,000 funded projects in April 2024.
It even published a “1,000 Projects and Counting” blog highlighting this growth journey.
From the first project in 2012 (a small €50k raise) to the 1000th in 2024 (RiverRecycle Oy, a cleantech company), it’s been exponential growth.
Total capital raised grew from €54 M in 2016 to nearly €600 M by 2025, an order-of-magnitude increase, paralleling the rise of crowdfunding as a mainstream financing source.

Success for Investors:
While individual results vary, Invesdor has delivered solid outcomes for many investors.
Numerous projects repaid in full with interest – by 2023, more than 500 loans had completed with all due interest paid out to investors.
Some equity investors have seen their companies raise follow-on funding at higher valuations (providing “unrealized” gains).
Invesdor also occasionally reports “good news from portfolio companies”: for example, a late-2024 update noted several startups hitting milestones or profitability, which can eventually lead to exits or dividends.
One Finnish MedTech company, Koite Health, raised €1.4 M on Invesdor in Oct 2023 and subsequently doubled its revenues each year, indicating strong business traction post-crowdfunding.
Such growth stories increase the chances of investor returns down the line.

Awards & Media:
Invesdor has earned various recognitions over the years: it was frequently named among top Nordic fintech startups, and won a “Best International Fintech” award in Finland early on.
Co-founder Lasse Mäkelä was a notable spokesperson for the industry in its early days, and current CEO Christopher Grätz has been featured in European finance media advocating crowdinvestment.
The merger strategy itself is seen as a success – Reuters covered Invesdor’s acquisitions as a path to create a “pan-European crowdfunding giant”.
This scaling up is being watched as a model for crowdfunding consolidation.

In summary, Invesdor’s track record includes pioneering exits, record fundraises, international expansion and industry recognition.
For every negative (defaults), there are positives such as companies that flourished thanks to crowd investors.
Perhaps the greatest success is that Invesdor has maintained its position as a leading European platform for alternative finance, proving the viability of crowd investing at scale.
By mid-2025, it stands as a top 3 European crowdfunding platform by volume, with a strong brand in impact investing.
These success stories give retail investors confidence that while not every project wins, the platform as a whole has delivered growth and innovation in the investment landscape.

Is Invesdor safe and regulated?

Yes. Invesdor is a licensed European Crowdfunding Service Provider, one of the first to obtain the EU-wide ECSP license in 2022.
It has been supervised by financial authorities since 2014 (originally by the Finnish FSA).
The platform must adhere to strict regulations on investor protection, disclosure, and due diligence.

However, “safe” doesn’t mean investments are without risk – it means the platform itself is legitimate and operates under oversight.
Your money is handled through secure segregated accounts and Invesdor has contingency plans in place should it ever cease operations.
No major security breaches have been reported.

So, Invesdor as a service is trustworthy and regulated, but your investment risk depends on the projects you choose (which can be high).

What returns can I expect on Invesdor ?

Returns vary widely. For interest-bearing loans/bonds, typical interest rates range from 5% to 9% per year.
Invesdor’s average historical loan return is around 6–7% annually before defaults – so if you diversify well and defaults are low, you might earn mid-single-digit yields.

For equity investments, there is no set return – you are buying shares that could multiply in value or go to zero. In the best cases, investors have seen companies IPO or get acquired for several times their investment (e.g., an IPO at +15% from crowdfunding price in one case).
But many startups won’t reach a liquidity event, yielding no return. It’s prudent to expect modest returns and consider anything higher a bonus.

Some investors on Invesdor have reported net positive returns by diversifying (one user mentioned coming out “with a plus” after factoring some failures), while others who had a few bad luck defaults saw negative returns.

Bottom line: For loans, expect ~5–8% annually if things go well (potentially lower after defaults); for equity, you could lose everything or gain multiples, but it often takes years to know. Always consider returns in context of risk – high promised interest usually signals higher risk of default.

What are the main risks of investing via Invesdor?

The main risks include:

Default/credit risk – the company you funded might fail to repay or go bankrupt, leading to partial or total loss of your investment. Many crowd-invested startups or SMEs do not succeed as planned.

Illiquidity risk – you cannot easily sell or exit (no secondary market), so your money could be tied up for years with no way out.

Return uncertainty – especially for equity, you might get no return at all; even for bonds, a high promised interest means nothing if the company collapses and can’t pay.

Platform risk – if Invesdor were to go out of business (no indication of this now, but hypothetically), there could be administrative hassles to continue servicing investments (though contracts would likely be managed by a nominated entity – still, it’s a risk to consider in any fintech investment).

Economic risk – broader factors like a recession can hit many of the companies simultaneously, increasing default rates.

Liquidity crunch – some projects might delay payments (e.g. ask for an extension on a loan) which can mess up your expected cash flow.

Regulatory risk – changes in law could affect the platform or the tax treatment (for instance, if a country suddenly changed how crowdfunded securities are regulated, it might impact future operations; however, with the new EU regulation in place, this risk is lower across member states).

Foreign exchange risk – if you’re investing from a non-euro country, currency fluctuations can affect your real return (the platform deals in EUR, so forex risk is on you).

Fraud risk – theoretically a company could misrepresent information. Invesdor does checks and requires documentation, but there’s always some risk that an investment opportunity isn’t as good as it sounds or even could involve misconduct by the issuer. There have been no notorious fraud cases on Invesdor known, but small cases of companies being over-optimistic in projections definitely occur.

Opportunity cost – tying money in long-term illiquid investments means you might miss other opportunities.

Concentration risk – if you put too much into one project or one type of business, a failure there can hurt you a lot.

The platform itself repeatedly reminds: investing on Invesdor can result in losing some or all of your deposited money.

So the main risks boil down to losing money due to company failures and being unable to easily get out or recover funds. Go in with eyes open: these are high-risk investments in exchange for potentially high returns, and not every project will succeed.