Any instruments you purchase through Lightyear are yours. You would be the “beneficial owner” of those instruments (shares or ETFs) and they are held in a clients' assets account on your behalf. You retain all the rights and benefits of being a shareholder, and Lightyear, where possible, also provides information about corporate events. Your stocks may allow you to vote in shareholder meetings if applicable.
US shares are registered with the DTCC (Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation) which is the central securities depository of the United States.
For European securities, we partner with several CSD’s (Central Securities Depositories), examples of which include Euroclear, CREST and Clearstream, depending on which market the security is traded and hence registered.