City Index review 2023
City Index review Summary
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From master risk management tools to daily trading ideas, City Index aims to be the platform of choice for serious investors. Keep reading to find out more about the platform and whether it’s the right broker for your trades.
What can I do with City index?
City Index gives access to CFD and forex trading, along with spread betting services. It touts on its homepage that it will give you trading access to over 12,000 markets. The platform’s equity offering is limited to UK, US, and Australian markets, and it provides access to 84 FX pairs, 25 global commodities, and plenty of long or short cryptocurrency positions.
Since its founding in 1983, City Index has built up its reputation as a trustworthy and reliable global CFD and FX broker. With its long track record, regulation and licensing in eight different jurisdictions across the world, and the financial strength of its publicly traded corporate parent – StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX), it is a great option for all traders.
City Index markets, assets, and options
What assets and products can you trade on City Index?
In addition to the usual well-known equity options such as shares in companies such as Amazon and Apple, prominent USD forex pairs, and cryptos like Bitcoin and Litecoin, City Index also offers access to a host of other trading options. Here’s a summary of what you can access.
| Product (CFDs) | Offering |
|---|---|
| Forex | 84 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 5 |
| Commodities | 4 |
| Metals | 4 |
| Stocks | 4,500 |
| Bonds | 4 |
| Options | 4 |
| Indices | 21 |
| Interest Rates | 3 |
What leverage trading options are there?
City Index promotes leveraged trading as one of the key advantages of their platform. Professional traders can use maximum leverage up to 1:400, which is higher than most other brokers.
It is important to remember that leveraged trading of any kind means that you are exposed to much more risk. If a trade goes against you, your losses will also be greatly magnified and can even wipe out your capital fast. Therefore we do not recommend using leverage if you are a beginner investor.
| Product (CFDs) | Maximum leverage | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | 1:30 | 3.3% |
| Cryptocurrency | 1:4 | 25% |
| Stocks | 1:400 | 0.25% |
| Commodities | 1:20 | 5% |
| Metals | 1:2 | 50% |
| Bonds | 1:3 | 33.3% |
| Options | 1:50 | 2% |
| Indices | 1:50 | 2% |
| Interest Rates | 1:3 | 33.3% |
What are the spreads?
Spreads with City Index start from 0.5 pips on major currency pairs. Spreads on other products vary and are all displayed in the table below.
| Product | Average spread | Fixed or variable? |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | 0.8 pips | Variable |
| Commodities | 1 pip | Variable |
| Cryptocurrencies | 0.4 pips | Variable |
| Metals | 2 pips | Variable |
| Stocks | 0.3% | Variable |
| Bonds | 0.3 pips | Variable |
| Options | 0.2 pips | Variable |
| Indices | 2 pips | Variable |
| Interest Rates | 0.2 pips | Variable |
Fees, limits, and payment options on City Index
What are the deposit and withdrawal fees, limits, and speeds?
City Index’s payment options are slightly more limited than other established brokers in that they only offer credit/debit card, direct bank transfer, and PayPal. Here’s a summary of City Index’s payment methods, and the speeds, fees, and limits associated with each.
| Payment method | Deposit | Withdraw |
|---|---|---|
| Debit/Credit Card – min/max – fees – speed | Yes $10/$50,000 Free Up to 48 hours | Yes $100/$20,000 Free 3-5 business days |
| Bank Transfer – min/max – fees – speed | Yes $100/$50,000 Free 2-3 business days | Yes $100/$20,000 Free 1-2 business days |
| Paypal – min/max – fees – speed | Yes $10/$50,000 Free Up to 48 hours | Yes $100/$20,000 Free Up to 48 hours |
How much are City Index’s fees and commissions?
Online brokerages typically charge much lower fees than traditional brokerage houses and this is also the case with City Index. The platform charges no fees on trades, but does apply commission in the form of spreads. Here’s a run-down of the charges for trading on City Index.
| Fee type | Fee amount | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | None | 0.8 average pip spread |
| Stocks | None | 0.3 pips |
| Bonds | None | 0.3 pips |
| Commodities | None | 1 pip |
| Cryptocurrencies | None | 0.4 pips |
| Metals | None | 2 pips |
| Options | None | 0.2 pips |
| Interest Rates | None | 0.2 pips |
| Indices | None | 2 pips |
| Inactivity | £10.00 per month after 3 months of inactivity | – |
City Index trade sizes and limits
City Index offers traders standard, mini, micro, and nano lot sizes. This gives you a lot of options when placing trades, and you can find a breakdown of the lot sizes for each different CFD below.
| Product | Minimum trade | Maximum trade |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | 0.01 lots | – |
| Cryptocurrency | £100 | – |
| Commodities | 0.01 lots | – |
| Stocks | 1 share | – |
| Bonds | 0.01 lots | – |
| Metals | 0.01 lots | – |
| Options | 0.01 lots | – |
| Indices | 0.01 lots | – |
| Interest Rates | 0.01 lots | – |
City Index trading platform
What devices can I use City Index on?
City Index offers web-based, desktop, and mobile platforms for you to conduct your trades. It supports Windows, Android, and iOS platforms. It also has an app that you can download from both the App Store and the Google Play store.
- Desktops
- Laptop
- iPads
- Tablets
- Android and iOS Mobile phones
Can I use City Index in my country?
City Index is available in over 130 countries, simply select your country from the list below to find out if the platform is available where you are.
Is City Index available in my language?
City Index offers customer support via both phone and email in English, Spanish, German, Polish, Arabic, and Chinese. Select your language below to find out if City Index is available for you.
How easy is it to use City Index?
City Index’s primary Web Trader platform, which was originally launched in 2018, is both easy to access and use, with no installation required. It is one of three different trading platforms they allow you to choose from, with the other options being the widely recognised MetaTrader 4 and the AT Pro desktop platform.
Once logged in on the company’s Web Trader platform, you will instantly notice several useful features such as one-click trading and a toggle option to change your screen layout to as many as nine workspace screens similar to a professional trader.
In addition, it also offers all the standard functions you might expect from a modern trading platform, such as built-in Reuters news feeds, trading through charts with custom indicators, as well as stops & limits by points, P&L, or price.
Key features
City Index offers several different unique and distinguishable features which makes it easy to identify and execute trades. Here are our three favourites.
AT Pro’s Development Studio
AT Pro is City Index’s most sophisticated trading platform for seasoned traders. Its Development Studio feature makes it easy to create your own trading templates for larger quantity blocks, extensive custom chart drawing tools, and access to 100+ trade indicators.
Fast HTML5 technology
For a real time margin calculator and advanced risk management such as guaranteed stop loss orders, hedging, and price tolerance levels.
Live Reuters News Feed and Economic Calendar
You can get fast, up-to-the-second actionable trading ideas and reminders of upcoming tradeable events tight on City INdex’s platform.
Security and regulation
Is City Index safe?
Yes. It is owned by a publicly traded entity, all funds are kept in segregated tier 1 bank accounts, and it also uses modern encryption technology to keep user data and information secure.
Am I and my funds protected?
Yes, in the event of liquidation of the broker’s assets, clients are eligible to receive compensation of up to £85,000 by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Is City Index regulated?
Yes, City Index is regulated by several financial authorities. This includes tier-1 regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), as well as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Do I have to verify my account with City Index?
Yes, as an FCA regulated business City Index is required to ensure that their products are suitable for account applicants. They will ask you to provide all of the following:
- Your personal details (along with ID)
- Which products you want to trade in your account (spread betting, CFDs or both)
- Your financial status
- Your trading experience
Extra information
Educational resources
City Index provides an extensive training section on their website to help enhance your trading performance or just learn to trade with their videos and tutorials. This includes an Introduction to Trading sub-section as well as experienced trader courses and webinars, making the platform suitable for all users.
Tools and charting
City Index gives access to dozens of powerful trading and charting tools to analyse, identify, and execute trades. These include more than 65 technical indicators, extensive custom chart drawing tools, and deal-through charts – meaning you can trade directly from a chart.
Customer support
City Index client services team is on-hand Monday-Friday to answer questions via either phone or email. They are generally a well-reviewed broker, but it seems as though their customer support seems something to be desired, with many current and former clients saying inquiries were not followed up within the requisite 24 or sometimes even 48 hours.
Our verdict
City Index is an established CFD and forex broker with a long track record that is regulated by top-tier financial authorities, primarily by the FCA in the UK (where the company is based).
It offers an easy account opening process and high-quality research tools such as a portal that scans the market for chart patterns and a ‘What If’ analysis tool allowing you to toggle a stock’s estimated EPS growth rate in any direction. In addition, there is no minimum balance, no withdrawal fee, and a free demo account to learn the ropes.
With that said, City Index does have its share of drawbacks. Primary among these are a comparatively limited product portfolio and high CFD trading commissions – other brokers might be able to provide you more options at a lower cost. By and large its web and mobile platforms’ ease of use and plethora of advanced trading tools make up for its shortfalls, but there is definitely room for improvement on several fronts.
City Index’s track record and stability combined with robust platform capabilities are enough to make it a good option for novice and pro traders alike.
How to open an account with City Index
- Head over to the City Index site and click on the ‘create account’ button on the top right of your screen.
- You will be led to a new window where you will be required to input your personal details including name, email, country of residence and date of birth.
- After selecting all the applicable products you are interested in, click save and next.
- Enter your full address.
- You will be prompted to select which trading platform you are interested in: Regular, Premium or Professional.
- Complete your application and submit to City Index for review.
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