Lightyear launches ‘Ready-made Plans’ in the UK

Lightyear launches ‘Ready-made Plans’ in the UK

• The launch comes as UK consumers still aren’t investing, with Lightyear research showing that more Brits keep money in a wallet, coat pocket or bag at home (21%) than in stocks and shares (15%).

• New Ready-made Plans offer three risk-based options across 25 markets  – Moderate, Growth, and All-World.

• Designed to cater for both novice investors and those with more sophisticated goals, the products are built on funds by BlackRock and Vanguard.

Lightyear, the pan-European investment platform, today announces the launch of Ready-made Plans: three curated, risk-based portfolios designed to help investors get started simply.

Ready-made Plans are powered by funds from BlackRock and Vanguard, carry no buy or sell fees, and are available across all 25 Lightyear markets and account types from today.

The launch follows Lightyear’s “do-it-yourself” (DIY) Plans feature, which allows users to group and manage their own holdings. Ready-made Plans extends that functionality to investors who want a structured, hands-off starting point.

Getting started continues to be a key barrier to investing:

Ready-made Plans builds on what Lightyear’s data already shows: 60% of customers prefer simple, passive investing.

Many are early in their investing journey, around 50% have less than three years’ experience, and for them, confidence is the biggest barrier. Ready-made Plans address this directly with three simple options that remove the need for prior knowledge.

But this isn’t just for beginners. More experienced investors face a different challenge: time. Researching funds takes hours, time many don’t have. Ready-made Plans offer a simpler way to invest, by design.

Three fund options based on risk appetite:

Ready-made Plans offers three options based on risk appetite:

• Moderate – iShares Moderate Portfolio ETF (£MAMG / €MODR), managed by BlackRock

• Growth – iShares Growth Portfolio ETF (£MAGG / €MAGR), managed by BlackRock

• All-World – Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (£VWRP / €VWCE), managed by Vanguard

All three can be set up during onboarding or from the Portfolio page, with auto-invest available. Customers can also name their plans. There are no buy or sell fees; standard FX fees apply when investing in euros. The funds are managed by BlackRock and Vanguard, two of the world’s leading asset managers.

Wander Rutgers, UK CEO at Lightyear, says: “While over half of Brits have cash savings, just 15% have stocks and shares, and only 6% hold funds or ETFs. Our mission is to get more people investing, and to do that we need to create simple, accessible ways into the stock market. Ready-made Plans gives everyone that starting point, backed by BlackRock and Vanguard, without needing to know the difference between an ETF and an index fund to get going.

We built DIY Plans for people who want control. Ready-made Plans are for everyone else. Three options. Pick your risk level. Start.”

Ready-made Plans are available now at lightyear.com/uk.