Lightyear app launches AI features to make investing less 'expensive, clunky and exclusive'

Investment platform Lightyear has unveiled new artificial intelligence features which it says will help to drive retail investment in the UK.

Lightyear, which recently passed $1billion in assets under management, said its new AI tools will help to make UK retail investing 'affordable, simple, and accessible as opposed to expensive, clunky, and exclusive'.

It comes as the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has launched a campaign to promote retail investing, while 'targeted support' reforms will come into play next year.

Martin Sokk, co-founder and chief executive of Lightyear, told This is Money: 'Retail investing in the UK is still full of friction, and Britain is still a nation of cautious investors, so there's much more to do here.

'We're using AI to bridge the gap, to help people make better-informed investing decisions in real time.'

Lightyear on Thursday launched three AI market intelligence tools on its platform, which it says will 'level the playing field' by giving users access to market insights that were previously only accessible to institutional investors.

These tools include 'lightning updates', which will send summarised news to a user's portfolio screen when a stock they own or are tracking makes a significant move.

The platform has also launched a 'why did it move' feature, which allows users to select any period on a stock's price chart to find out why the price changed at that time, such as due to earnings, sector swings or global events.

Investors can also access bull and bear cases for a stock, with both angles drawn from analyst sentiment and certain trusted sources of financial information.

Lightyear says it will continue developing its AI capabilities over the next few years, including by adding wealth management options for investors, and that AI was 'integral' to its long-term strategy.

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Future AI developments could offer portfolio breakdowns and analysis, contextual tax help and what it calls 'self-driving money' - automated money management based on the investor's personal goals.

Sokk said: 'AI in the financial sector is not just a phase. Companies that are building with this in mind will be the ones that succeed in the long run.'

'We believe AI will drive a lot of technological progress in the next five to ten years, so it's an integral part of our long-term strategy.

'Our new AI-powered market intelligence tools are just the beginning.'

The platform said it has raised $23million in a series B funding round, with the new funds committed to launching its AI suite and further developing its AI offering.

The funding was led by European-Japanese VC firm NordicNinja, as well as Superangel and SpecialistVC, as well as Bolt founder and chief executive Markus Villig.

Rainer Sternfeld, partner at NordicNinja, said: 'We believe that AI will play a powerful role in every aspect of our future, and the investing sector is not immune to that.'

On Thursday Lightyear also launched its platform in Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria.