Investors who based their strategy on investing via crowdfunding platforms often earn lower returns than those promised by the platforms, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday.

Figures from comparison website crowdfundingcijfers.nl show that platforms offer an average return of 8.9% but in reality the average return on investment is closer to 5.2%, the paper said.

‘The expectations of investors are not always well managed,’ website founder Gijsbert Koren told the FD. ‘The returns which are being presented are only realised when all the loans are paid back, but that does not always happen.’

In addition, new companies can default on payments, Koren said.

The website’s figures show that €241m was invested via crowdfunding platforms last year, up from €181m in 2017. This year investments in the first quarter alone have topped €128m.