24 May 2026
What Is Auto Invest and How to Set It Up Correctly
Kristiāns Purviņš, Head of the TWINO Investment Platform, discusses how automated investing works, why it’s worth using, and what beginner investors should keep in mind.
Expert Insights
Time saved and greater stability — why it is worth automating your investments
In brief:
Auto invest is a feature that allows the platform to automatically allocate an investor's funds according to pre-defined criteria (term, interest rate, amount, diversification).
The main advantages are time savings, a disciplined approach, more efficient use of money and simpler diversification.
Automation simplifies the process but does not reduce the underlying risk of the investments themselves — the investor must develop the strategy themselves.
It is recommended to start with a simple, broadly diversified strategy and review results regularly.
Auto invest has become a popular way of investing in recent years, particularly on peer-to-peer lending and investment platforms. The reason is straightforward: many investors want their money to work efficiently, but not everyone has the time to monitor new investment opportunities every day and manually select each investment. Automated investinghelps solve this problem.
It is worth adding that in today's regulated environment, investments in loans are made in practice through loan-backed securities issued by licensed investment platforms. Auto invest is a tool that makes this process more convenient, regardless of whether the instruments in question are loan-backed securities or others.
Why manual investing can become time-consuming
When starting to invest, a manual approach often seems logical — the investor selects securities themselves, compares interest rates, terms and other parameters. This helps develop a better understanding of how the platform works and builds experience.
In the long term, however, this approach can become cumbersome. As the portfolio grows or the investor regularly adds new funds to their account, several challenges arise:
Keeping track of available investments.
Regularly reinvesting repaid funds.
Evaluating dozens or even hundreds of offers.
Some money can remain uninvested for extended periods.
In practice, this means that investing begins to take up more and more time. Furthermore, people often make emotional decisions — for example, focusing too heavily on very high interest rates or trying to time the perfect moment to invest.
Auto invest helps simplify this process. It allows the investor to automate the investment process, reduce day-to-day involvement and at the same time maintain control over the key principles of their strategy.
What Is auto invest
Auto invest is a feature that allows the system to automatically allocate an investor's funds according to pre-defined criteria. Simply put, the investor defines the rules, while the platform selects suitable investments and makes them on the investor's behalf.
The following parameters can typically be set:
Minimum and maximum interest rate.
Investment term.
Amount per investment.
Desired level of diversification.
Automatic reinvestment.
Various risk parameters.
Automated p2p investing essentially works like an automated filter. The system continuously searches for investments that match the chosen criteria and allocates funds to them.
This is particularly useful for investors who want:
A passive approach to investing.
To invest regularly.
To minimise day-to-day involvement.
To maintain a disciplined strategy.
How automated investing works
The principle behind automated investing is relatively simple. The investor begins by creating their strategy and selecting certain parameters. The system then operates automatically.
A typical process looks like this.
1. The investor sets the criteria
For example: term of up to 12 months, interest rate from 10 per cent, maximum €20 per investment, automatic reinvestment. These parameters determine which securities or loans the system is permitted to select.
2. The system searches for matching investments
When investments matching the investor's criteria appear on the platform, the system automatically adds them to the portfolio. The investor does not need to monitor the platform constantly or respond manually.
3. Repaid funds Are automatically reinvested
One of the most important advantages of auto invest is automatic reinvestment. When an investment is repaid together with interest, the funds are not left idle — the system can reinvest them immediately. This mechanism is particularly effective at harnessing the compound interest effect over the long term.
The main advantages of auto invest
Time savings
Automated portfolio management significantly reduces day-to-day involvement. The investor can focus on the overall strategy rather than on technical tasks. This is especially important for people who invest to generate supplementary income alongside work or business, and who do not want to spend many hours analysing each offer.
A disciplined approach
Many investors make the same mistake: they take impulsive decisions under the influence of market emotions. Auto invest, on the other hand, helps the investor stick to the strategy set at the outset. The system has no emotions, and if the criteria have been well thought through, consistently following them over the long term helps maintain a disciplined approach and avoid impulsive decisions.
More efficient use of money
Money that is not invested generates no return. Automation helps reduce situations where funds sit idle in an account for extended periods. Automatic reinvestment ensures that repaid funds are put back to work as quickly as possible.
Simpler diversification
Diversification is one of the most important principles of risk management. Instead of investing large sums in a few securities, auto invest helps distribute capital across many smaller investments. This reduces the risk of a single unsuccessful investment having a significant impact on the entire portfolio.
What are the risks and what should be kept in mind
Although automated investing is convenient and helps maintain discipline, it does not automatically protect against all risks and does not reduce the underlying risk of the investments themselves. The investor can still lose part or all of their invested capital if borrowers fail to meet their obligations. The investor must develop the principles of their strategy themselves, and in this respect people tend to make similar typical mistakes.
Criteria that Are too narrow
One of the most common mistakes is setting conditions that are too strict. For example, if an investor requires a very high interest rate, a very short term and specific additional filters, the system may not find enough suitable investments. As a result, some funds remain uninvested.
Insufficient diversification
If the amount per investment is too large, the concentration risk increases. It is therefore often advisable to spread capital across many smaller investments. This helps reduce the potential impact of losses.
The strategy Is not reviewed
Automated investing does not mean the investor can completely forget about their portfolio. Financial circumstances and market conditions can change, so it is worth periodically reviewing whether the chosen parameters still match the goals, whether greater diversification is needed, and whether the risk level is still acceptable.
Practical steps for setting up auto invest
If you want to start using auto invest, it is advisable to do so gradually, step by step.
Define your goal
Start by answering the question: why are you investing in the first place? For regular passive income, capital accumulation or long-term growth? The answer will shape the strategy you choose.
Choose an appropriate risk level
A higher potential return usually also means higher risk. It is important to choose parameters that match your comfort level.
Do not over-prioritise interest rates
Beginners often focus solely on maximising yield, but in the long term a stable, diversified approach is far more important.
Start with a simple strategy
There is no need to use complex filters and dozens of parameters right away. In many cases it is more effective to start with a simple, broadly diversified approach and gradually refine the strategy over time.
Review results regularly
Auto invest is not a pure "set it and forget it" tool. Good practice is to periodically review the portfolio's composition, the volume of uninvested funds, the average yield and the level of diversification.
In conclusion
Auto invest can be a useful tool for both beginners and more experienced investors. It helps save time, maintain a disciplined approach and manage the investment process more efficiently.
At the same time, it is important to understand that automation does not replace a thoughtful strategy. The foundation of successful investing remains diversification, sensible risk management and regular portfolio review.
If you are ready to put your free capital to work but do not want to dedicate a great deal of time and energy to it, the auto invest feature offered by the TWINO platform was made for you. Log in and see for yourself.
Email: [email protected]
Address: Dzirnavu iela 42, Riga, LV-1010, Latvia
This material is for informational purposes and is not individual investment advice.