A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a unique code used to identify a business or other legal entity in financial transactions. Businesses must have an LEI before they can begin trading through an InvestEngine Business Account.
Getting Your LEI with InvestEngine
- If you don’t already have an LEI, InvestEngine will provide one free of charge for the first year.
- The LEI will be automatically applied within 2-3 business days once you have funded your account with a minimum of £100.
- If your business already has an LEI, you will need to provide the LEI number during registration. We will verify the details as part of the account-opening process.
LEI Renewal After the First Year
- An LEI has an annual renewal date. If it is not renewed, its status will become lapsed, but the LEI number will remain assigned to the business.
- Existing customers who already have an LEI recorded with InvestEngine do not need to arrange or pay for its renewal solely to continue investing with us.
- If an existing LEI is not renewed, its status may become lapsed. Customers can continue investing through InvestEngine and no renewal fee will be charged.
Why don’t I need to renew my LEI?
When you invest with us, InvestEngine places the trades on your behalf. We’re the firm that carries out the trade, and we’re responsible for reporting it to the regulator.
Your LEI is only used in those reports to show that your business is the owner of the investments. Because it identifies you rather than the firm making the trade, it doesn’t need to be kept on an active renewal cycle for you to keep investing with us.
If your LEI lapses, the number stays linked to your business and can still be used for this purpose.
For further assistance, please contact our support team.