Lightyear launches low-cost ISA with no account fees in attempt to muscle in on platform heavyweights

Focus on financial freedom

Investment company Lightyear has launched a low-cost Stocks and Shares ISA aimed at providing an affordable alternative option for retail investors in an attempt to muscle in on the market share currently taken up by big name investment platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell.

According to research from Capital Economics, more than £850m is paid by UK Stocks and Shares ISA holders in what Lightyear deemed "unnecessary account fees", every year.  Lightyear's S&S ISA is set to be ten times cheaper than the market average over the period of a decade, the firm claimed, charging £240 over ten years compared to the average £2,300 that a S&S ISA holder will pay in account, transaction and currency fees during the same time, Capital Economics' research revealed.  In addition, over the course of 25 years, each Lightyear ISA holder would pay 16 times less than if the...