Lightyear is one of several online stock trading platforms to appear on the scene in Ireland and the UK in recent years . This is a short review of the features of Lightyear.
Lightyear first launched its trading app in the UK market in Q3 2021 and expanded into Ireland and most of Europe in the summer of 2022, using Estonia as its base.
Since May 2023 – you can also use Lightyear on the web (laptop/tablet) as well as via their mobile app.. Lightyear also pay interest on cash deposits.
Lightyear’s financial backers include Richard Branson (Virgin Money)
Interest Paid on Savings
Lightyear pays interest on any uninvested cash in EUR, GBP & USD . The current interest rates are shown below.
Lightyear Savings| Lightyear Interest Rates | |
|---|---|
| Currency | Interest Rate |
| Euro | 2.5% |
| GBP | 4% |
| USD | 3.75% |
| Correct as of Nov 11th 2024 | |
Deposit interest is paid without deduction of tax . You will need to declare the interest to Revenue.
See how much tax you will pay here : DIRT
The interest rates on Lightyear are linked to central bank rates (minus 0.75%) .
Interest is calculated daily and paid out on the first of every month.These rates are much better than those available in the main Irish banks. See Savings Rates in Ireland.
Note: You don’t have to buy shares with the cash you hold with Lightyear and you can withdraw it at any time.
Lightyear also has Savings Vaults that use Money Market Funds – but these are not available in Ireland currently. Do not try to open a “Savings Vault” account with Lightyear if you live in Ireland .
To avail of the interest rates listed above – you need to click on the blue “Sign Up” button at the top left of the Lightyear home page or the larger blue “Get Started” button. (Screenshot below).
Which Shares Can You Trade on Lightyear ?
As of mid 2024 – these were the numbers of stocks available to trade on Lightyear:- (over 3500 in total).
330 UK stocks – priced in GBP ( Some priced in USD)
278 EU stocks priced in Euros (Some priced in USD)
2933 US stocks priced in USD – of these about 100 can be purchased fractionally.
200+ ETFs all priced in Euros , USD and GBP. These are mainly ETFs from Vanguard and Ishares but new ones appear to be added relatively often. (No fees on trading ETFs but other fees may apply))
There isn’t as much choice as somewhere like Degiro – but there is a pretty good range of shares available. It’s also worth mentioning, new stocks and shares are added all the time to Lightyear – so those numbers will increase.
Lightyear Fees and Charges.
- For shares on the US markets, Lightyear charges a 0.1% execution fee (10c minimum, capped at max. $1)
- For EU shares there is a €1 execution fee.
- For UK shares there is a £1 execution fee.
- There are no trading fees when buying or selling ETFs (other fees may apply)
- On foreign exchange (FX), Lightyear charges a flat 0.35% fee.
- For example – this would apply when you deposited Euros but wanted to buy shares priced in USD .
- Lightyear does not charge any inactivity fees, there are no one-off or monthly charges to open an account. There are no fees to deposit, hold and withdraw funds.
Capital at risk. The provider of investment services is Lightyear Europe AS. Lightyear Europe AS is authorised and regulated as an investment firm by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority.
You can apply to open a Lightyear account here.
Lightyear Charging Examples:
Buying UK shares in Sterling
Buy £2000 worth of UK shares (in Sterling) 4 times a year for 5 years then sell for £50000.
Trading fees £21.
Stamp Duty 0.5% of £40000 = £200
Conversion fees 0.35% of £90000 = £315 (No fee if you deposit Sterling )
Total = £536 = approx €616
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Buying Shares denominated in Euro on Lightyear
Buy €1000 worth of shares each quarter for 5 years then sell for €30000
Total Trading fees = €21
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Buying US Shares priced in USD
Buy 30000 US shares @ $0.50 per share ($15000). Sell after 5 years for $25000.
Trading fee $2
FX Fee $140 .
Total fees $142 (about €130)
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Buy 1 US-listed share every month for a year @ $400 per share. Sell after 2 years for $10000.
Trading Fees =$0.40 per month = $4.80 plus $1 for sale. Total $5.80
FX Fee $51.80
Total = $57.60 (about €53)
Is Your Cash Protected at Lightyear?
The primary institutions where Lightyear holds uninvested customer funds are ABN AMRO Bank in the Netherlands, AS LHV Bank in Estonia and BlackRock money market funds rated AAA
The provider of investment services is Lightyear Europe AS. Lightyear Europe AS is authorised and regulated as an investment firm by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority
It is important to note that the funds held in a Lightyear account are not equivalent to a bank deposit, and therefore in the unlikely event that all appropriate safeguards fail, funds are ultimately protected by the Investor Protection Sectoral Fund for amounts up to 20,000 EUR in total across all your multi-currency account balances.
You can apply to open a Lightyear account here.
How to Deposit Funds With Lightyear
Customer deposits can be made in Euros or GBP or USD on Lightyear .
Deposits by bank transfer are FREE .
Using a Debit card : The first €500 / $500 / £500 is free then ther is a 0.5% fee .
It is easy to sign up with Lightyear using their mobile app. Once you have provided contact details and PPS number, you must take a photo of your passport or driving licence and a selfie. It only takes seconds to be approved.
You can open a Lightyear account here.
Capital at risk. The provider of investment services is Lightyear Europe AS. Lightyear Europe AS is authorised and regulated as an investment firm by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority.