BASIC INFORMATION:
Lightspeed Trading is a US stockbroker designed for active day traders. Lightspeed Trading is division of Lime Brokerage, a financial services technology company. The broker has offices in New York and Chicago and provides a medium to trade American stock markets. The companys target clientele is active, high-volume retail and institutional traders from the US to Germany and Singapore.
Foreign traders from some countries can open accounts with the broker, however further paperwork is required. The countries accepted by Lightspeed include Canada, Australia, India, the UK and the UAE.
REGULATORY INFROMATION: LICENSE
No valid regulatory information
Please be aware of the risk!
MARKETS
The broker provides clients with access to all equities and options on the New York Stock Exchange, including exchange traded funds (ETFs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Furthermore, a wide range of futures can be traded. There are 11 currency futures, Bitcoin, agriculture, livestock, dairy, lumber, soft produce, energies, indices, interests and metals. Lightspeed Trading also offer futures options.
ACCOUNT TYPES
There are many account options available with Lightspeed Trading, from standard margin trading accounts to more specialized options aimed at hedge fund managers and brokerage firms.
· Regulation T Margin Account – Standard equity and futures trading account. Leverage is limited to 1:4 as per the Regulation T rules. Minimum account value of $25,000 for desktop trading, $10,000 to use web and mobile trading applications.
· Portfolio Margin Account – Aimed at advanced and active traders, allowing access to higher leverage rates of 1:6, increasing their market exposure. Minimum account value of $175,000 required plus evidence of sufficient day trading experience.
· Separately Managed Account – For investors with a large portfolio, SMAs are similar to a mutual fund but with you as the sole owner. These allow heavily customized investment solutions that can meet specific requirements.
· Delivery Versus Payment (DVP/RVP) Account – This trading model reduces some of the risk associated with the liquidity of the market around the settlement date.
· Clearing Member Trade Agreement Account – These accounts are aimed at traders who would use several brokers to conduct their trades. At the end of each day, all the trades can then be cleared by one firm within the agreement, making the process less cumbersome.
· Other Accounts – Joint Account, Partnership Account, Corporate Account, LLC Account, Registered Hedge Fund Account, Trust Account, Individual Retirement Account
Traders from countries outside the USA may also open accounts with Lightspeed Trading. These international accounts allow foreign traders to access the US stock markets and the brokers range of services.
COMMISSIONS
Lightspeed Trading offers variable commission rates that are lower for more active traders.
Stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) have two avenues of commission, based on the volume of trades. The starter commission per share is $0.0045, though this drops to $0.0010 for monthly volumes over 15,000,000 shares. Alternatively, there is a $4.50 commission per trade that falls to $2.50 per trade for a monthly activity of over 10,000 trades. Options begin at $0.60 per contract and drop to $0.20 per contract for a monthly volume of over 100,000 contracts.
The reduction in commissions is incremental with monthly trade volume, with six total commission levels. To implement these lower commissions, you need to apply for active trader status with the broker once your monthly volume is high enough.
Standard futures are subject to a commission of $1.29 per side, though options on futures are charged $1.79 per side.
There is also a minimum monthly charge of $25 for accounts worth less than $15,000, though any commissions charged are taken away from this. Commissions will also contribute to the software fees for relevant accounts.
PAYMENT METHODS
Lightspeed trading accounts can be funded and emptied using direct wire transfers, automated clearing house (ACH) transfers or cheque deposits. Once funded, the broker will hold the account for a period. If the deposit was made by wire transfer, the account is only held for 24 hours, however cheques and ACH transfers require five business days before trading can commence.
There is no minimum deposit with Lightspeed Trading, though accounts have minimum balance levels, the lowest being $10,000.
TRADING PLATFORMS
Lightspeed offers over 15 platforms to trade with, they are:
· Lightspeed Trader
· Sterling Trader Pro
· Livevol X
· Eze EMS Pro
· Eze EMS Express
· Lightspeed Web & Mobile
· Derivix
· Silexx OEMS
· Wex
· eFutures
· CQG Integrated Client
· CQG QTrader
· CTS T4
· Trading Technologies TT
· Rithmic
TRADING HOURS
Lightspeed provides trading opportunities to clients in both the standard and extended trading hours. The standard hours of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are 09:30 to 16:00, though there are pre-market and post-market sessions at 04:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 20:00, respectively.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
The Lightspeed Trading customer service team are available during all regular and extended market hours. They can be contacted using the phone numbers and email details below.
· International Telephone – +1-646-393-4800
· Domestic Telephone – 1-888-577-3123
· Email – contactus@lightspeed.com
ACCEPTED COUNTRIES
Lightspeed Trading accepts traders from Australia, Thailand, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries.
