A recent podcast between Currencycloud and the CEO of WealthTech Lightyear has detailed how the latter company is dealing with challenges in the European investing space.
Currencycloud spoke to Martin Sokk, who used the podcast to explain how the company is helping to simplify the path for everyday people to grow their wealth by using ‘modern-age solutions’.
According to Sokk, he and has business partner wanted to create something entirely new, which was a platform that enables pan-European investing that is free of commission and foreign exchange fees. Investing in Europe has previously been slow and cumbersome, with moving money around being particularly challenging.
“I feel that technology should solve that”, Sokk stated. Lightyear early on scored $1.5m in a seed round and wanted to ‘scale as quickly as possible’. The company offers every user a multi-currency account and a trusted investment partner.
He added, “In the investment world in Europe, people forget that we have multiple currencies. And if you want to operate in various different countries, you need to have a local solution.” Due to this, he notes that working with the right partners is vital – and that when innovation outpaces regulatory watchdogs, ‘customers can get hurt’.
To Sokk, it is key that there is investing in the groundwork of wealth management so that investment can be more accessible to all and hopes that his platform specifically can open up opportunities for financial education for those who need it most.
Lightyear offers its customers both a virtual, multi-currency account and the convential UK account with an IBAN source code. Sokk stated, “We try to be in a position where we enable more discussion and thinking, and less copying each other’s trades.”
What is next for Lightyear? Sokk highlighted that the firm is looking forward to bringing on ETFs and new features for his members as well as adding enhanced reporting options and a steady expansion into Europe.
He also underlined that he believes the ‘money management world has to get ridiculously simpler’, with Lightyear seeking to encourage budding global investors with push-button simplicity and oceans of data at their fingertips.
Listen to the full podcast here.
