- Good Money Guide experts rate Lightyear High-Interest Vaults highly for providing an easy-access investment product that allows users to earn competitive interest rates on idle cash. The product is backed by AAA-rated money market funds, although it does come with a 0.25% annual fee and lacks FSCS protection, which may be a consideration for potential investors.
- Across 676 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 4.9/5, customers frequently commend the app's user-friendly interface, low fees, and transparent pricing. Many users appreciate the platform's simplicity and efficiency, making investing accessible for both beginners and experienced investors. However, some users have noted that while the service is excellent, there may be better interest rates available elsewhere.
Lightyear High-Interest Vaults Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.Our experts have rated Lightyear High-Interest Vaults across five key areas of our review framework.
- Pricing4.5
- Market Access4.0
- App & Platform5.0
- Customer Service5.0
- Research & Analysis4.5
Pros
- High interest rates
- AAA-rated money market fund
- Interest earn daily
Cons
- Better rates are available elsewhere
- Interest is paid monthly instead of daily
See full expert review
Our verdict
Lightyear’s High-Interest Vaults give customers a way to earn interest on uninvested cash by placing it into low-risk money market funds managed by BlackRock. These are easy-access, variable-rate investment products available in GBP, EUR and USD, designed to track short-term interest rates such as the Bank of England overnight rate.
What are Lightyear High Interest Vaults?
We rate Lightyear’s Vaults highly as they are designed for investors who want their idle cash to earn a market-linked return while remaining easy to access, rather than sitting uninvested in a brokerage account.
Lightyear's High Interest Vaults are an easy-access cash investment product with variable rates, and there are separate vaults for deposits in Sterling, Euros and US dollars. Currently, the Sterling Vault offers around 3.77% AER (variable), with interest calculated daily and paid monthly. There are no minimum or maximum deposit limits, so users can start from £1 and add unlimited amounts.
How do Lightyear Vaults differ from holding cash from savings accounts?
Unlike a traditional savings account, the Vault is an investment product rather than a bank deposit. Your money is invested in AAA-rated money market funds, meaning capital is at risk and FSCS protection does not apply to funds held within the money market fund itself.
What is your money actually invested in?
Cash in the Sterling Vault is placed into funds such as the BlackRock ICS Sterling Liquidity Fund, which invests in diversified short-term instruments like treasury bills, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and repurchase agreements. This spreads risk across multiple institutions rather than relying on a single bank.
Is it cheaper to buy the money market fund directly?
Lightyear charges a 0.25% annual fee on money held in the Sterling Vault. While investors could theoretically access similar institutional money market funds directly, minimum investments can run into hundreds of millions, so Lightyear provides retail access to these products with no minimum deposit.
Customer reviews for Lightyear
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 676 reviews
- Excellent92%
- Very good6%
- Basic1%
- Poor1%
- Bad0%
Read customer reviews
Quick and comfortable
Very quick way of investing. Trustworthy. Provides additional information about investments. Great design and comfortable to use.
A very well-designed low-cost investing app, I like it!
Simple and approachable way to invest in stocks and ETFs without unnecessarly large fees.
Best app for investing
I tried a lot of apps and Lightyear is the one I found most friendly for begginers, I learnt from the app about everything about investing and their news for stocks are spot on
Value for money
A far easier and intuitive app then any other I have used over the past 5 years. No problem issues and fair pricing irrespective of currency or shares.
Easy to use
Lightyear is user friendly. I enjoy the grapjics used to help you understand and look through their products. Also, I found their customer service team quick to respond to queries.
Lightyear
Lightyear is an intuitive and highly user-friendly investment platform, suitable even for beginners
Jó
Alacsony díjak, jó értelemben egyszerű kezelő felület
Simple
It is a simple software, not difficult.
Great
Very good!
Simple, without fee
The Lightyear is a simple, great app for trading ETF without fee.
6
Simple and understandible
Good for beginners
I have used this app for some time and so far I find lightyear a good beginner friendly stocks app
Best etf platform
Best ux and no fees for etfs.
Excellent Trading App
Seamless usage of the app and trade executions are swift
Easy to use
Easy to use with low commission and beautiful design
A free simple investment choice
Lightyear is pretty easy to use and search for a variety of ETFs
super cool and convenient
it is my favourite investing app. very user friendly and they are very quick to answer if you ever have questions. it brings you many options from different markets and places
Lightyear is great!
Lightyear is perfect for long term investors.
Reliable and high quality app
Lightyear offers stocks and MMFs with highest rates so you can invest in whatever suits. The experience is amazing
Brilliant service
So much info has helped me trade
Lightyear’s High-Interest Vaults are designed to help investors earn a return on idle cash by placing it into low-risk money market funds rather than leaving it uninvested in a brokerage account. In this guide, we explain how the Vaults work, what they invest in and whether they’re a good alternative to traditional savings.
Capital at risk
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
