Lightyear investing platform - new lower fees

AltruisticPie1544

I don't think many people know about Lightyear, but they are an investing platform comparable to the likes of Trading 212 and Freetrade. They are relatively new, having launched in the UK in 2021 and are fully authorised and regulated by the FCA. They're also backed by Richard Branson of Virgin Group.

Today I received an email informing me they are reducing their trading fees for personal accounts. They also put out a blog post with more details which you can read about here.

https://lightyear.com/en-gb/blog/lowering-our-fees

With the new changes to their fees, they now appear to be slightly more competitive than Trading 212 and significantly better than Freetrade, especially when it comes to FX fees. Lightyear have reduced their FX fees from 0.35% to 0.1%, and no longer charge commission to buy and sell individual stocks in a GIA (previously it was £1 / $1 per trade).

Personally I'm still planning to use Trading 212 as my main investment platform for my ISA as there isn't enough of a difference to justify moving, but have just switched my GIA investments from Freetrade to Lightyear and quite happy with it so far.

Freetrade basic plan charges 0.99% on FX fees, which is about 10 times higher than what Lightyear are now charging!

Bostonerimus1

Branson is someone I see as high on his own hype, therefore, Lightyear is not for me. With so many other platforms with good track records I don't see why anyone would choose a newcomer.

AltruisticPie1544

Well, I just see him as one of many investors backing the company. It doesn't mean he is running the show. In any case you're free to do whatever you like and if you're satisfied with other options then good for you i suppose.

poseidon1

Thanks for the heads up. It looks like an interesting App only prospect, although how on earth they plan to make a profit with no fees is a mystery. Personally, I am no fan of Trading 212 ( have suspicions about the business owners ), so this new upstart operating a similar model catches my attention.

What swings it for me is the backing of the co founder of Wise ( Taarvet Hinkrikus) for whom I have considerable respect, and the founders of the business are also ex early employees of Wise.

Hopefully, there maybe the possibility of some cross integration with the Wise FX platform in future given the people involved.

Will probably give this new venture a try with a GIA account to see how they compare with other platforms I use.

However they are unlikely to ever get my exclusive business since they don't support Unit trust funds which I utilise alot.

Bostonerimus1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81919485#Comment_81919485

Wise is a mature and legitimate business, so there's hope. But I would let others be the early adopters, let them "kick the tyres" and deal with any start up issues.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6659204/lightyear-investing-platform-new-lower-fees

The range is currently a little limited but it's good to see that it now offers some London and continental European listed shares, previously when I looked it was US only.

I can only spot a few investment trusts: Scottish Mortgage (SMT), Pershing Square (PSH) and City of London IT (CTY).

Alliance Witan (ALW), Polar Capital (PCT) and F&C IT (FCIT) are FTSE100 companies so I'm surprised they're not offered as well plus there are plenty more in the FTSE250.

https://lightyear.com/en/stocks/united-kingdom

northmatter

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81919485#Comment_81919485

'App-only' - there's a web app too.

The homepage says the money is made from 'foreign exchange and interest payments.'