City Index Review 2024
Key Takeaways
- City Index is a well-established UK broker, founded in 1983.
- City Index is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UAE Central Bank in Dubai, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
- City Index’s NASDAQ-listed parent company, StoneX Group Inc., is one of the largest retail and institutional trading providers in the world, and a Fortune 500 company.
- StoneX Group Inc. had a total equity capital of $800 million in October 2020.
- City Index’s parent group boasts over 295,000 retail traders worldwide.
- City Index’s parent group also laid claim to $5 billion in total customer assets in October last year.
- With over 4,000 markets from which choose across FOREX, indices, shares and commodities, traders have extensive access to Contracts for Difference (CFD) selections.
- City Index uses four main platforms: Advantage Web, Webtrader AT Pro, and the popular third-party trading platform MetaTrader4 (MT4).
- With access to over 84 currency pairs, 4,500 global shares and 21 major indices, City Index customers have an extensive range of investment options from which choose.
- City Index offers traders one universal account type designed to cater for many customer needs.
- City Index supplies quality multilingual 24/5 customer support, accessible through multiple channels.
- City Index offers competitive spreads and commission-free trading across most account and investment types.
- City Index offers a strong slate of quality research and education tools on its Website and through its platforms.
Evaluate City Index - research result
Overall Summary
City Index was founded in the UK in 1983. Starting out as a spread-betting brokerage, it grew by acquisition over the years, culminating in its own buy out by StoneX, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New York City.
StoneX is listed on the NASDAQ and provides capitalization and support to City Index to offer its clients comprehensive market access through CFDs, spread betting and options in FOREX, indexes, shares, commodities, bonds, interest rates and cryptocurrencies.
City Index’s deep product listing includes 21 market indices, 84 currency pairs, 12 types of bonds and over 4,500 global shares. It also offers access to cryptocurrency markets, including bitcoin and ethereum. However, following new legislation, CFDs on cryptocurrencies are no longer available to UK traders.
City Index handles over 150,000 retail accounts. At the most recent count, it had $978 million in client assets. The combination of its solid capitalization, extensive product basket, diverse platform choices and class-leading research facilities make it a sound choice for entry-level and experienced retail traders alike.
Who Is City Index Good For?
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Diverse product basket.
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Strong cryptocurrency offering.
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Spread betting for UK clients.
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Powerful back-testing.
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Competitive and tight spreads.
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Quality user experience platforms.
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Low opening deposits.
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Well-regulated with decades of experience.
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Powerful slate of platforms.
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Wide range of trading instruments.
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No volume discounts for elite traders.
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Unclear fee disclosures.
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No secondary insurance coverage.
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Brief access to demo account.
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No deposit bonuses or promotions.
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No VPS hosting.
Is City Index safe?
The company has earned a solid reputation as a reliable spread-betting, FOREX, and CFD broker. It is regulated and licensed by the FCA, the Dubai UAE Central Bank, the MAS, and the ASIC. Naturally, this regulation mandates best practices, such as segregating client funds in tier-1 banks. In our review, we found it concerning that the broker does not invest in third-party insurance schemes as other brokers do to make doubly sure that investor capital remains safe.
Further, City Index complies with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) rules. These rules mandate negative balance protection for traders so they cannot lose more money than they invest. ESMA rules mandate brokers to advertise on their Websites what percentage of clients lose money trading CFDs. At the time of this review, the number advertised by City Index was 70%, which is not unusual in European markets.
The broker claims to put emphasis on fees and spread transparency. However, it has not found a way to lay out clear cost comparisons. Traders will need to be eagle-eyed to make out which account and which instrument attracts fixed or variable spreads. All told, when accounting for the broker’s length of operation, prestigious ownership, and extensive regulation, it can be considered safe.
Offering of Investments
- 21 market indices.
- 84 currency pairs.
- 12 types of bonds.
- 25+ commodities.
- Five types of metals.
- Over 4,500 global shares.
- Options on three interest rate markets.
- Five major cryptocurrencies.
Available assets
| Markets | Available | Number of Assets |
| Currency Pairs | 84 | |
| Stocks | 360 | |
| Commodities | 10 | |
| Crypto | ||
| Indices | 21 | |
| ETFs |
Account Types
| Account Type | Minimum Deposit | Spread Commission | Commission | Swap Commission | Deposit Commission | Withdrawal Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard account | $0 | Starting from 0.8 pips | none | Not mentioned | Starting at $0 with credit cards and wire transfer, and up to to 2% with electronic banks. | 1.5% when using credit cards and/or electronic banks and up to 30$ with bank transfers. |
| MT4 account | $100 | Starting from 0.5 pips | None (except stock markets) | Not mentioned | Starting at $0 with credit cards and wire transfer, and up to to 2% with electronic banks. | 1.5% when using credit cards and/or electronic banks and up to 30$ with bank transfers. |
| corporate account? | $50,000 | Starting from 0.6 pips | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Starting at $0 with credit cards and wire transfer, and up to to 2% with electronic banks. | 1.5% when using credit cards and/or electronic banks and up to 30$ with bank transfers. |
City Index offers clients a single universal account for retail traders, called the Standard Account. The minimum deposit is an attractive amount of £/$0. Thereafter, clients must pay £25/$25 for future deposits. There are no commissions on spread betting and CFDs, except for equity CFDs.
High-volume traders can be invited to open a VIP account. This account comes with some benefits, not the usual improved spread-betting offers, but interest on cash balances and improved rates of trade execution.
Besides the hard financial incentives, the broker also sweetens the deal by offering VIP client access to exclusive sporting and society events, as well as an expert sales trader to offer 24/7 advice. Notwithstanding, the account does not come easy, and becoming a qualifying member requires the approval of the City Index VIP team.
Demo Accounts
The broker offers two free demo practice accounts. The first demo account offers a space to learn to trade, conduct market analysis, and test market strategies. This MT4-enabled demo account is available for three months with £10,000 in virtual cash as part of the deal.
The other option is the Standard City Index demo account. It comes with uncapped access to the company’s trading platforms with £2,500 in virtual cash to spend. Once customers have their demo login details, they can access dynamic pricing on hundreds of markets. They can also access most of the features available on the live accounts.
Account Opening
Opening an account is fast and easy. With the right documents, the account can be ready to receive its first deposit in one business day. Opening an account with this broker involves the standard process of filling out some questions about their trading knowledge and providing acceptable identification and address information.
However, traders should know, depending where they live, they may be referred to City Index’s sister company, FOREX.com, which can disappoint if they have performed research on City Index. Traders can find out with which trading entity they will have to invest by digging deep in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, trying to open an account, or contacting the customer service desk.
Deposits and Withdrawals
- Debit cards.
- Credit cards.
- Bank wire transfers.
- PayPal.
Customer Service
Commissions and Fees
Platforms and Tools
Mobile Trading
Research and Development
City Index has put a great deal of effort into developing a top-class research and educational product. In our view, this area of its offering ranks well against any other broker. Its Training Academy contains many helpful video tutorials on how to make the most of your time with City Index. The material is mainly developed in-house, with regular appearances by the Research Director at City Index.
Meanwhile, the Website video content is supplemented with external YouTube content. There are many interesting topics, and the material is well organized. Some research categories can even be accessed directly from the trading platforms.
Traders can learn several trading strategies drawn from different market approaches on the Website and through the platforms. Users should note that some content is paywalled, which is a slightly negative point. The in-house material is supplemented by Trading Central, which provides a helpful fundamental scanner feature that, in turn, uses filters to compare current market prices against City Index’s valuation of the price.
Traders will enjoy the fortnightly Webinars designed to teach them how to take advantage of share price fluctuations and how to analyze and monitor patterns. Although in-person seminars are now affected by pandemic restrictions, these are typically free, informative and well-attended. Here are some other key elements of City Index’s research product:
Market News and Analysis: Traders are spoiled for choice with daily reports on market movements, FOREX events and financial highlights. In addition, the broker posts detailed technical analysis and graphical breakdowns of market events to help trader decision making.
Historical Data: The broker provides a wealth of historical data through an Excel plugin. Traders can track and analyze trends to inform their strategies. The presentation is digestible and easy to follow.
Signal Alerts: This real-time market signal alert service is delivered via email and text. It gives traders up-to-the-second information on developments they should know.
Recognia: This is a third-party powered analysis portal that scans markets in real time for patterns that could be used advantageously by traders.
Education
The detailed training repository contains well-structured trading tutorials that are divided into six thematic sections. The broker has taken the time and effort to make this section as exhaustive as possible. Traders can also find “how-to” articles that break down the fundamentals of each of the major trading instruments. The help and support databases are equally informative and well-stocked.
Final Thoughts
Conclusion
City Index in Brief
Review Methodology
The team at Arincen collected more than 120 pieces of data covering in excess of 100 licensed FOREX companies. Data collection was done in three ways:
1. Companies’ Websites.
2. Other Websites that have ranked FOREX companies.
3. A survey questionnaire (referred to here as Survey “1”) we had sent to the companies invited to participate in the exercise.
We have identified 12 criteria for our assessment, each containing several aspects and carrying its own relative weight. These include licensing, deposits and withdrawals, number of assets etc.
Afterward we validated the data by:
1. Registering with FOREX companies as a secret shopper and/or as Arincen.
2. Survey number “2,” in which we asked these companies’ customers for important feedback and past experience.
The next step saw us evaluate and rank each company, relying on the hard work of 15 Arincen employees. We were very careful in ensuring the most accurate assessment possible, including taking into account different languages, as well as the various mobile-app operating systems, e.g., Apple, Samsung etc.
To add credibility to our research project, we sent a final and third survey (referred to here as Survey “3”) to enable participating FOREX companies evaluate our own research and whether it accurately reflects the realities on the ground. We were fortunate enough to receive a mark of 9.9 out of 10! We have kept to a minimum the margin of error, which stood at a measly 1%. To learn more on how we came up with the evaluation, please click here.
FAQ
City Index is licensed by the tier-1 (high trust) FCA and the ASIC. It holds additional licensing from the MAS in Singapore and the Dubai UAE Central Bank.
City Index complies with ESMA rules that mandate Negative Balance Protection for traders, so they cannot lose more money than they invest.
City Index does not serve US clients as this is left to its sister company, FOREX.com. For the rest, it can be hard to make out which geographies City Index serves. The broker is regulated in the UK, Australia and Singapore under the City Index banner, but depending from where in the world you access its Website, you could be relayed to City Index’s sister company, FOREX.com.
Yes. The broker offers trading in five major cryptocurrencies.
The broker runs a “Deposit Bonus” scheme that rewards regular deposits. It is not available in all countries, so traders should visit the broker’s Website to see if they qualify.
Traders can make deposits and withdrawals using the following methods: debit/credit cards, bank wire transfer and PayPal.
Traders have a choice of four different trading platforms. These are: Advantage Web, Web Trader, AT Pro and MT4.
The City Index multilingual customer service desk operates 24/5, with telephone support through a UK number. There is also an international number for callers from other markets. Traders can make use of the helpful online chat feature, but must deal with a chat bot before they can actually speak to a human.
