The Essential Guide

City Index 2024 Review: Awards And High Trust Rating. Is There A Catch?

Last Updated: November 4, 2022

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Author

Marko Csokasi

Risk Warning: Your Capital is at Risk.

City Index is a derivative brokerage firm that offers customers a platform for spread betting and trading forex and Contracts for Difference (CFDs). CFDs allow traders to speculate on asset prices without owning them.

City Index is a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated broker with global operations, most notably in the UK, Australia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

City Index is a well-regulated broker that offers its customers access to over 12,000 markets across forex, indices, shares, commodities and – in limited countries – cryptocurrencies.

Customers can take comfort in the broker’s 38-year operating history and strong financial backing from its publicly traded parent company.

City Index offers a wide variety of trading platforms, including robust mobile applications on iOS and Android for on-the-go traders.

This City Index review covers facts about the broker, explores major advantages and disadvantages, and whether City Index is available for traders in .

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Overview of City Index

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Pros and Cons Of City Index

Where Does City Index Operate?

City Index has business operations in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Australia. It’s available in over 150 countries.

Based on which country you live in, City Index may refer you to their sister platform, Forex.com to open a forex account.

Traders can use the City Index platform in six languages. These are English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese.

Restricted Countries and Products

Like other brokers, City Index offers a particular set of products in different countries, based on what they can and cannot do by law.

City Index does NOT offer CFDs to traders from, United States, Brazil, Belgium, Hong Kong, and Japan, where CFDs are not permitted by law.

Additionally, City Index does not offer CFDs based on cryptocurrencies to UK retail traders, or clients in the US/Canada.

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City Index Trading Products

This section gives you an overall impression of City Index’s trading products.

City Index offers trading on CFDs for indices, shares, forex, cryptocurrencies (not in US/Canada), and other markets.

The above markets include City Index’s DFT (daily-traded funds) markets.

CFDs On Indices

City Index offers CFD trading on 17 major indices from Asia, Europe, the US, and Australia, including Singapore Index, Wall Street, and Germany 30.

Stock CFDs

City Index offers CFD trading on more than 4,500 shares of the most popularly traded public companies in the world including companies from:

Forex CFDs

City Index offers forex CFD markets on over 65 global FX pairs including majors, minors, and some exotics. Traders can choose from USD, GBP, EUR, and other cross-currency pairs.

Cryptocurrency CFDs

The cryptocurrency selection is limited with City Index, though they do offer:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Ripple

Please Note: Availability subject to regulations. Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to UK retail traders.

Furthermore, cryptocurrency products are not available in the US or Canada.

Exchange-Traded Funds

City Index offers a broad range of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

Other City Index Markets

City Index offers CFD contracts on a variety of other commodities and products:

• Metals: Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum
• Other Commodities: US Crude Oil, UK Crude Oil, Sugar No. 11, Coffee, Natural Gas
• Bonds: UK Long Gilt, Euro Bobl, US T-Bond, US T-Note
• Interest Rates: Short Sterling 3 month, Eurodollar, Euribor 3 month
• Options: UK 100, Wall Street, Germany 30, Australia 200

City Index Spreads

The broker offers both fixed and variable spreads depending on the specific market being traded.

• Fixed spreads: Not impacted by volatility or liquidity. Fixed spreads are offered throughout trading hours or during a particular period of the day.
• Variable spreads: These spreads may fluctuate throughout the day according to factors like underlying liquidity or market volatility. Up-to-date minimum variable spreads as well as the average spreads are available on the website.

The company does not charge commissions on spread betting or on any CFDs other than Stock CFDs.

The following lists show the minimum spreads charged to City Index CFD customers:

Variable Spreads

Spreads for the following asset classes vary and traders should refer to the City Index website for up to date numbers:

• Shares
• Forex Pairs
• Bitcoin
• Metal Futures

Indices Spreads

City Index’s spreads on indices are fixed.

Major Commodities Spreads

City Index offers commodities at fixed spreads.

Traders can refer to the City Index website for the full list of commodities spreads.

Major Bond Spreads

Bonds at City Index are offered at fixed spreads.

Interest Rate Spreads (Fixed)

Speculating on interest rates at City Index is based on fixed spreads.

Traders can refer to the City Index website for the full list of interest rate spreads.

Other Fees

City Index does not charge commissions, only certain fees. Here’s an overview of City Index’s fees.

• Deposit Fees: The broker does not charge for debit and credit card deposits or bank transfers.
• Withdrawal Fees: City Index does not charge withdrawal fees unless the customer wants to receive same-day payment using a CHAPS bank transfer. Same day CHAPS transfers incur a £25 fee.
• Bid/Ask Spreads: Fixed and variable – varies between markets.
• CFD Equity Commission: Upwards of 0.1% with minimum commissions of £10/$25/€25.
• Back to Base/Currency Conversion Charge: City Index charges commercially reasonable rates for converting CFD and forex trades back to your base currency. The broker discloses the conversion rates on contract notices and trader statements. Since spread betting takes place in only one currency, these charges do not apply.
• Exchange Data Fees: City Index does not charge exchange data fees.
• Guaranteed Stop Orders: Traders who want to guarantee that their position closes at a specified price pay wider City Index spreads to execute these trades
• Overnight Financing Charges: This overnight fee (or credit) is either added to or subtracted from a trader’s account when a position remains open past a certain period of time. The formula’s for calculating overnight fees:
  • Short Positions: F = V x I / b
  • Long Positions: F = V x I / b
    • F = Daily financing fee
    • V = Value of equivalent (quantity x closing price)
    • I = Applicable financing rate
    • b = day basis for currency
• Borrowing Costs for Shorting CFDs: A small minority of CFDs traded on the City Index platform are tied to underlying assets that are hard to borrow. Traders who want to short these CFDs will incur borrowing costs.
• Inactivity Fees: City Index charges a monthly inactivity fee of £12 per month (or equivalent to your cash balance if less than £12) to accounts that are inactive for 12 months or more.

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Account Types and Requirements

City Index offers a standard trading account, a professional account (invitation only), and two types of demo accounts.

There is no minimum deposit to open a real trading account, although City Index recommends $/£/€100 to get started.

Traders can use demo accounts for up to twelve weeks, and City Index provides them free of charge. The City Index demo account comes with 10,000 demo credits and allows access to all features of the platform.

The MT4 demo account also comes with 10,000 demo credits, along with access to the forex market.

Account Requirements

After you click the green “Create Account” button the website, City Index, asks you a few questions related to:

1. Your personal details
2. Which products you want to trade in your account (spread betting, CFDs or both)
3. Your financial status
4. Your trading experience

City Index doesn’t have specific criteria to qualify new traders but aims to ensure some competence and understanding due to the risks involved.

How To Verify Your City Index Account

After completing this information, traders may have to submit additional information to verify their identity.

Traders who have to supply additional information are required to present one document as proof of identity and one as proof of address.

Funding and Deposits

Traders can make deposits and withdrawals by debit card (Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and Electron), credit card ( Visa or MasterCard), bank transfer, and PayPal.

Supported Currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, PLN, SEK, SGD, USD.

Depositing money in an account is fast and simple. Traders can access the funding link from the main platform, fill in the required information, and send it.

There is no minimum deposit — City Index recommends $/£/€100 as a starting point.

Leverage and Margin Requirements

Traders should consult the City Index products section of the website for specific leverage allowances for each financial instrument. Each financial instrument also has specific City Index margin requirements that traders must maintain.

Variable Leverages: City Index offers different amounts of leverage depending on the product, but the maximum leverage is 1:200 in the UK, 1:30 in Australia, 1:50 in Singapore.

Traders who fall below the City Index margin requirements risk receiving a margin call and having their position closed prematurely.

Withdrawals

Here are City Index’s withdrawal limits.

• Minimum withdrawal: £100 or currency equivalent
• Maximum withdrawal: £20,000 or currency equivalent (per transaction)

If withdrawing online via credit card, there is a maximum withdrawal allowance of £20,000 in 24 hours.

Withdrawals are free of charge unless you require a CHAPS payment, in which case, there is a £25 charge for payments under £5,000.

For compliance purposes, City Index must transfer your funds back to the original source you used to fund your account. This account needs to be in the same name as the account maintained with City Index.

Professional Trading Accounts

Alongside regular retail accounts, City Index offers bespoke accounts for professional traders.

Professional traders’ perks at City Index include cash rebates, priority service, flexible credit facilities, and lower minimum margin rates, namely:

• Major Indices: 0.25%
• Major FX: 0.25%
• Commodities: 0.5%
• Shares: 3%
• Crypto: 5%

Professional traders also benefit from favorable maximum leverages of up to 400:1.

How To Get Verified As A Professional Trader

In order to become a professional trader, clients need to meet at least two requirements from the following criteria:

• Trade size & volume: Place a minimum of 40 (significant sized) trades daily
• Portfolio size: Possess a financial instrument portfolio of at least $/£/€500,000
• Experience: 1-year professional experience within a financial sector

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Mobile Trading Platform

City Index offers mobile applications for on-the-go trading.

Both Android and Apple device users are catered for with separate Android and iOS applications. While the mobile app and responsive trader are not inclusive of all desktop features, most are available and built-in.

Mobile Features Overview

Mobile traders can still benefit from a feature-rich platform, including:

• Full trading charts with over 60 technical indicators
• Embedded Reuters news
• Cross-device trading and device syncing
• Personalized watchlists
• Economic calendar
• Mobile live-chat

Product Browsing

City Index’s application presents products and asset classes in a non-pretentious format. Products can be navigated by scrolling through the screen, and trades can be executed in just a few taps.

Executing Trades

Trades are incredibly simple to perform on mobile. The one-tap trading functionality works on portable screens, too.

Personalized Watchlist and Visual Menu

Based on what assets or products on-the-go traders want to keep up with, the mobile menu allows alerts to be managed and customized.

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Web Trader Platform Review

City Index traders have access to three desktop platforms and mobile trading apps for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets:

• Web Trader: A browser-based platform offering advanced HTML 5 charts, customizable screen layouts, and advanced charts that feature custom indicators.
• Mobile Trader: A fully responsive, feature-rich mobile platform for on-the-go trading.
• AT Pro: A desktop platform with analysis tools including auto-trading, advanced charting, and improved data transfer for a faster platform.
• MetaTrader 4: The industry standard platform offering advanced features enhanced by City Index’s service, support, and pricing.

Trading Interface

The platform is web-based so it requires no installation. Upon logging in, traders are greeted with the main trading screen:

Traders can customize the flexible dashboard layout, choosing to switch between various personalized workspaces.

Here are some examples of how the dashboard can be set up:

There are many practical features built into City Index’s web trader, namely:

• One-click trading
• Asset watchlist
• Custom trade ticket alerts
• Direct account management

One-Click Trading

Traders are offered the option to tick the one-click trading button to easily enable this handy feature. The button is located at the top right-hand side of the menu on the web trader.

One-click trading on mobile can also be enabled in a single tap via the top menu.

The Web Trader trade ticket shows traders the necessary information to create guaranteed stops and trailing stops to their orders, while a real-time margin calculator helps inform decisions.

Trading Tools & Analytics

The charting feature offers dozens of technical indicators and precision drawing tools. A margin calculator allows traders to calculate the cost of placing a trade.

Also, traders can use a single chart with an overlay of multiple markets.

Web Trader offers all standard trading platform features, such as historical data feeds and tools for monitoring open and closed positions and trading history.

There are plenty more trading tools offered on the City Index platform, like:

• “Build your own workspace” feature
• Market analysis dashboard
• Market filter
• Highly customizable charts
• Import and export preferred chart layouts
• Economic Calendar
• Risk management tools (stop loss)

Traders will also find comprehensive market information, including a detailed analysis from Reuters.

More experienced traders may want to check out the City Index MT4 or AT Pro platforms.

City Index Demo Account

The demo account is separate from the live platform, and traders can’t toggle back and forth between the two platforms.

Traders can use the City Index demo account for a limited period only (UK — 12 weeks; AU — 2 weeks; SG — 30 days).

Customer Support

The City Index team are available 24 hours-a-day, 5 days-a-week via:

• Live chat
• Phone support
• Email

More, City Index offers various support materials, not including their main library of educational resources. Traders can access tutorials on getting started via the web trader.

To read more about educational resources and the knowledge base, see the next section.

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City Index Education Resources

City Index has a Training tab on its website that offers educational resources for traders at all levels.

This section of the website contains a series of educational videos, articles, and practical examples on a wide range of trading topics.

• Getting Started Guide: City Index offers a neat guide for new traders — it is located within the web trader interface. This includes an interactive platform guide, as well as quick-instructionals to finding instruments, submitting trades, and managing positions.
• Introduction to Financial Markets: This section covers the different asset classes traded on the City Index platform, the types of market participants, and the factors that move each market. Traders can also learn about the differences between spread betting, forex, and CFD trading.
• Live Webinars: City Index hosts live webinars from professionals and experts in the financial sector. Traders can make the best of this free learning opportunity. Webinars are available from the trading dashboard and can be found via the event calendar.
• Trading Strategies: This section covers some practical tips for successful trading.
• Technical Analysis: A tutorial on technical analysis topics including moving averages and Bollinger bands. New traders can learn the basics of charting, while more advanced traders can learn the intricacies of support and resistance, trading with the trend and trading with indicators.
• Fundamental Analysis: Traders can learn about topics such as company earnings and economic indicators and how they affect markets.
• Trading Academy: This is a video series chronicling the journeys of a few new traders learning to trade City Index markets. The series follows the progress of traders who learn from a team of experts and then take part in a trading contest.
• Video Library: This series of video tutorials cover how to execute CFDs, forex, and spread bets with City Index.

Even particular City Index features are unavailable in , most of the educational resources are free to use.

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Can I Trust City Index?

In 2001, the firm introduced CFD trading, and in 2006, with the acquisition of IFX Group, City Index entered the forex marketplace. In 2008, City Index expanded its presence in forex with the acquisition of FX Solutions.

City Index has its global headquarters in London, United Kingdom, and offices in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Australia.

Who Regulates City Index?

In addition, the Markets in Financial Directive (MiFID) allows the company to operate as a regulated entity throughout the European Union.

City Index provides customers dedicated 24/5 customer support in over 180 countries. Traders can contact City Index customer service by phone, email, or live chat.

Is City Index a Worthwhile Platform?

All in all, City Index offers multiple cross-platform trading applications, 24/5 customer support, and a variety of asset classes and products to choose from.

The broker covers many major and minor markets globally, with over 12,000 products.

A 12-week demo account with 10,000 credits is available for both retail and professional traders to explore and make a clear decision on whether City Index is a worthwhile broker.

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FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions that traders and to-be traders often ask about City Index.

Is City Index a good broker?

City Index offers a variety of financial products to trade. They operate on multiple platforms and devices and are a well-established, regulated firm. These are indicators of a trustworthy broker, but the broker’s suitability depends on the individual trader’s needs.

Is City Index regulated?

Yes. City Index is regulated by three major financial regulatory bodies. These regulating bodies are the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). City Index is also regulated to trade in the United Arab Emirates under their FCA license.

How do I close my City Index account?

To close your City Index trading account, you need to contact the client management team. Before the account can be closed, you need to answer two security questions that you set up prior to verifying your identity. After providing this information, City Index will proceed to close your account.

Why are CFDs banned in the US?

Contracts-for-difference, also known as CFDs, are banned in the United States because the US securities law disallows their trading. Irrespective of CFDs being banned in the US, non-US traders are able to trade CFDs on company stocks based in the US.

Does City Index offer mobile trading?

City Index offers a mobile application for both iOS and Android users. Traders can use the app to execute and manage trades on the go while making use of City Index’s main platform features. See our mobile platform overview for more details.

Credits: Original article written by Lawrence Pines. Major updates and additions in Jan 2021 by Marko Csokasi with contributions from the Commodity.com editorial team.