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Lightyear is a stock investment platform that started its operations in 2020. Although it is relatively new compared to other brokers, the truth is that it is modern and has an intuitive design. It is affordable and always evolving.
The majority of its offering is based on US, EU and UK stocks, ETFs and money market funds. In other words, Lightyear offers many interesting products for most investors.
If you do a quick search of the market, you will see that Lightyear is one of the best mobile apps in the industry. It is also good to know that all Lightyear customers have their assets covered up to the amount of €20,000 by the Estonian Investor Protection Sectorial Fund.
Investing in US stocks with Lightyear is done through its US partner, Alpaca Trading. In the unlikely event Alpaca fails, your US stocks will be protected up to $500,000 by the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
If the above has already sounded very interesting to you, you will be pleased to know that the platform has promotions for users from the countries it accepts. To get them, register on the Lightyear website or mobile app, make a minimum deposit of €50/£50 and enter the following code: FINTECHFINDER. After that, you’ll receive 10 free trades, it’s as easy as that.
If you’re interested in finding out what promotions the platform has to offer, we’ll explain them below.
Lightyear promotions
There are currently two promotions for the platform:
- The first one gives you 10 free trades when you register and make a minimum deposit of €50/£50. Remember to enter the code FINTECHFINDER.
- The second one is for Hungary only, and allows you to convert up to 1,000,000 HUF without any exchange fees. To get it, you need to open a TBSZ account and use our promotion code, which is INVESTINGINTHEWEBFX.
T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Below, we show you the two promotions summarized in the following tables:
Promotion for all countries in which Lightyear operates
Sign Up Bonus | 10 free trades |
Condition | Sign up and deposit at least €50/£50 |
Where? | Ligthyear website or app |
Promo code | FINTECHFINDER |
Available in | All countries where the platform operates |
Promotion only for Hungary
Sign Up Bonus | Convert up to 1 000 000 HUF free of fees |
Condition | Open a TBSZ account and use our Promo Code |
Where? | Ligthyear website or app |
Promo code | INVESTINGINTHEWEBFX |
Available in | Hungary |
T&Cs apply. Capital at risk
How to activate the Lightyear promo code
Next, we’ll explain how you can use the promo code for the platform.
Step 1 – Go to Lightyear
Go to the broker’s website via this link or download the app on your phone.
Step 2 – Sign up
Next, click on “Sign Up” to register. You will be prompted for an email address and password. On the next screen, after confirming your email address, it will ask you to enter your phone number to send you a 4-digit code. After that, you need to enter your personal information and enter the promotional code. It is also necessary to provide your details of your main source of income.
You will then need to verify your identity by presenting your ID card and a selfie.
Step 3 – Make a deposit and activate the promotion
To activate the promotion, you need to make a minimum deposit of €50/£50 to be eligible for the 10 free trades. If you live in Hungary and want to use the other promotion, you need to log in and visit settings. There you will find the button “Promotions”. Just enter your code there.
T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Is Lightyear a good platform for beginners?
The platform is considered ideal for beginners, especially for those who are looking to invest in stocks and manage these trades themselves.
One of the big advantages is that you don’t need a large amount of money to invest, as is the case with other platforms. In addition, if you use our promotional code, you can make up to 10 trades without having to pay commissions.
When you search for a company, you will not only have the option to invest in it, but you will also have much more information about the company and news about it. This way, you can make an informed decision before making your investment.
For example, some of the information you will have access to is the market capitalization of the company, what the earnings per share are, whether it pays dividends and how much it pays, etc. In short, everything you need to know before you are investing.
What are the main products offered by Lightyear?
Lightyear is known for being a platform that has a good range of products to invest in. Here are the most popular ones that you can invest in using our promotional code when you register on their website:
- It offers more than 3,500 stocks, mostly from the US. There are also stocks from EU countries and the UK on offer.
- You can buy fractional stocks of US companies. For those who don’t know, these allow you to own part of a stock, without the need to buy all of it. It is a good investment vehicle for stocks that are expensive. For example, Tesla shares cost more than $180, so just $100 can get you a fraction of the stock.
- It offers the possibility to invest in ETFs. It has a wide variety of thematic ETFs ranging from technology to renewable energy, as well as whole markets such as the Vanguard S&P 500.
- You can invest in Money Market Funds. These allow you to invest in large baskets of short-term government and institutional bonds. The fees are ranging from 0.09% to 0.3%.
- All unused funds in your account can earn an interest up to 3.00% net in USD or GBP. In other words, your unused money will not lose value because you can earn interest on it (as of January 2025).
What are the costs of Lightyear?
Lightyear is a platform that is characterized by being transparent in the costs it charges. However, keep in mind that thanks to the promotional code you get up to 10 trades for free, so you will not be charged any commission.
In case you use the broker from Hungary, you also have a promotion that allows you to exchange currencies free of charge. Below are the commissions charged by Lightyear without the promotional codes:
Monthly platform fees | No |
Cost per trade | EU: €1; UK: £1; US: 0.10% (max. $1) |
FX fee | 0.35% |
Why invest in Lightyear?
Lightyear, although it is a relatively new investment platform, is becoming a good broker for investing in stocks, ETFs and other products. In a nutshell, let’s take a look at the main reasons why you may be interested in investing through the platform:
- The investment costs are among the lowest in the market. For example, you will never pay more than $1/€1/£1 to buy stocks. And, the minimum deposit is also one of the lowest at $/€/£1. This can attract many investors who don’t have or want to invest large amounts of money.
- There are no hidden fees. Unfortunately, not all brokers are clear about fees. But Lightyear is not like the others. The platform clearly and concisely explains all the costs of investing with it.
- Do you have money on the platform that you don’t use? Don’t worry, it won’t lose its value because you can get up to 3.00% interest net on USD and GBP on inactive funds. Take advantage of this opportunity so that your money does not lose value (as of January 2025).
All in all, Lightyear is a perfect platform for beginners thanks to its low costs and almost non-existent entry barrier. In addition, you have plenty of information to make well-informed decisions.
The bottom line
Lightyear is a perfect platform for beginners, with a very good website and mobile application. Also, if you use the promotional code, you will not have to pay commissions on the first 10 trades after registration. Furthermore, their fees are some of the lowest on the market.
In short, Lightyear is constantly evolving, so we do not rule out that in the future it will offer more interesting products to invest in.