Investingwith an edge
Our biggest rate yet
Follows the
Bank of England
Managed by
BlackRock
No minimums
No maximums
We do things differently
We don’t charge for ETFs
Zero execution fees. Zero custody fees. No FX fees when investing in your home currency - we have ETFs priced in EUR, GBP, and USD.
Explore our universe of ETFs.
Easy access, high yield Vaults
Take control of conversion fees
Asset types to suit every investor
3,000+ US stocks across the NYSE and Nasdaq.
Keeping Lightyear safe
Your US securities are SIPC protected up to $500,000
EU investor protections insure up to €20,000 across your portfolio
Multi-country regulation
Regulated in the UK by the FCA
Regulated in the EU by EFSA
Questions a curious investor might ask
How do you keep my money safe?
Trusting us with your money is not something we take for granted. Lightyear Europe AS is a licensed investment firm and as such is bound by strict regulatory obligations in how we handle and protect your assets.
Customer assets always sit separately to our own and are held by authorised custodians. There’s no way for creditors - in the unlikely event of anything happening to Lightyear - to get hold of the investments or cash that you hold with us.
Lightyear customers have their assets covered up to the amount of 20,000 EUR by the Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund. Read more about this fund here. Your US securities are held with our partner Alpaca, who is FINRA regulated and a registered member of the SIPC. This means your US securities are protected up to the value of $500,000 should Alpaca fail. You can read more about this directly on the SIPC website.
Read more about how your assets are protected in our help centre.
What do I need to know before I invest?
Do you have cash reserves?: It’s generally good practice to have easily accessible cash available to cover your ongoing short term expenses, as well as an emergency fund for any unforeseen sudden expenses (e.g. needing to replace your washing machine), before investing extra money you might have. It may also be sensible to pay off debts with available money, rather than investing it.
Can you accept losses?: All investing contains an element of risk; your investment value can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you invested, or in some cases, you may lose your entire investment. Generally the more risk you take gives you the opportunity for higher returns, but also increases the potential for greater losses. You should also think about how long you plan to invest for, and therefore whether you have the time to wait for any losses to recover. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. See explanations of the types of risk each investment type provided by Lightyear might be exposed to here. This can be complicated, so please let us know if you need help.
Free, impartial guidance covering cash reserves, losses and more, is available at MoneyHelper & InvestSmart (FCA) including: A beginners guide to investing, 5 questions to ask before you invest, Make sure you understand the risks, Is it the right investment for you.
Is Lightyear a bank?
Why are your fees so reasonable? How do you make enough money?
How easy is it to withdraw my money?
Do I need financial advice?
Lightyear doesn't offer investment advice; i.e. we don't assess if our services or instruments are suitable for you. But we do provide info about what we offer – e.g. our Target Market Matrix which describes investor types based on their investment experience, financial objectives and how much risk they're comfortable with – to help you decide what investments might work best for you. You'll need to make sure your investment decisions meet your needs and amount of investment risk you're happy to take. If you don't feel you have the necessary knowledge and experience to make those decisions for yourself, you may want to get independent financial advice instead.