In this review of City Index, our experts explore a well-respected broker that boasts three top-tier licenses from the FCA, ASIC, and MAS. At City Index, you can trade over 4,500 instruments in seven asset classes. This includes indices, shares, forex currency pairs, commodities, precious metals, and more.
You will also find numerous trading platforms to choose from, including a Web Trader, MT4, and mobile platforms. Our City Index review team found this makes the broker perfect for all types of traders, as you can easily select the best platform for your trading style. City Index also provides you with extensive educational resources and market news.
Continue reading our review of City Index to learn everything you need to know about this award-winning forex broker.
Contact Info
- Website: www.cityindex.com
- Support: [email protected]
- [email protected]
- Office address: Devon House, 58 St Katharine’s Way, London, E1W 1JP
73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Trade with an experienced, international broker
City Index boasts over 35 years of experience, as the company was established in 1983 in the United Kingdom. Since then, the broker has opened additional offices in Sydney, the UAE, and Singapore.
In 2020, City Index was bought by StoneX, a NASDAQ listed company with over 295,000 retail clients worldwide. This simply boosted City Index’s already sterling reputation, however, as the broker has earned numerous awards over the years. Accolades given to City Index include the Best Pro Trading Platform award from the Online Personal Wealth Awards 2020 and the Best CFD Provider award from the ADVFN International Financial Awards in both 2019 and 2020.
City Index offers access to 4,500 instruments, which increases to 12,000 in the UK thanks to the inclusion of spread betting.
Benefit from top-tier regulation
Our City Index review found that the broker is regulated by some of the most stringent regulators in the industry, namely the FCA, ASIC, and MAS. All of these are considered to be tier-1 authorities, as they impose strict safeguarding policies.
If you are trading from the UK, your funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which entitles you to compensation of up to £85,000 in the rare event of the broker becoming insolvent. You’ll also benefit from negative balance protection on all spot forex and CFD trades. EU traders are covered by the FCA license, through ESMA’s cross border agreements.
In Australia, City Index is regulated and authorized by ASIC. Unfortunately, neither negative balance protection nor investor compensation is extended to Australian clients, however ASIC is still considered to be a strict and trustworthy regulator.
Our City Index reviewers also discovered that your funds are always held in segregated accounts in secure tier-1 banks, no matter where you are trading from. This stops the broker from using your money for operational purposes, providing you with extra peace of mind.
Find the perfect City Index account type for you
This online forex broker offers three main live account types, in addition to a demo account.
Personal accounts are designed for experienced and new traders alike. There is no minimum deposit for Australian traders, yet UK traders must fund their accounts with at least £150. This account offers competitive pricing, trading courses, education, news, analysis, and award-winning platforms. All accounts also receive the best execution.
Premium Trader accounts are by invitation-only and are for retail clients with higher trading volumes or larger assets. These accounts receive a credit allowance, cash rebates, priority service, access to premium events, and dedicated broker-assisted dealing. To qualify for these accounts, you need to deposit and maintain an account balance of at least £/$10,000.
Professional Trader accounts have lower margin rates, credit allowances, higher cash rebates, individual coaching from expert analysts, segregated funds, advanced trading platforms, and priority service. In the UK, Professional Trader accounts benefit from higher leverage, although you must prove that you are an experienced trader.
City Index also offers Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) accounts, Corporate and Trust accounts, and joint accounts.
Pros and Cons:
- CMinimum deposit limit of just $150.
- Regulated by ASIC and FCA.
- Access to 4,500+ instruments.
- Stock CFD fees are not competitive.
- COnly one main account type for retail clients.
Bonuses at City Index
Our review of City Index did not discover any bonuses. This allows the forex broker to focus on offering fair account pricing to all clients, without any gimmicks. As such, City Index retains its credibility as a serious broker used by experienced and beginning traders alike.
Enjoy competitive spreads and low non-trading fees
Trading fees from City Index come in the form of fixed or variable spreads. As an example of spreads, the minimum spread for the UK 100 index is 1 point. For EUR/USD, the minimum spread is 0.5 and the typical spread is 0.9, both of which are competitive. Commissions on share CFDs vary, with the example of Apple Inc. having a commission of 2 cents per share with a minimum of $15. City Index also offers cash rebates for traders with high trading volumes.
Our reviewers found City Index’s overnight rates to also be competitive. as they are based on the benchmark regional interest rate +/-2.5%. This allows for full transparency and confidence on your part.
City Index charges an inactivity fee of $15 per month, but this is only charged after a full 24 months of inactivity. This is a much longer fee-free period than many of the broker’s competitors. You’ll also be glad to know there are no charges for deposits or withdrawals, no matter which payment method you choose.
Choose from multiple payment methods
The payment methods that City Index accept vary slightly based on country, but rest assured you’ll always bee able to choose from multiple convenient options with this online broker.
You can fund your account using a credit or debit card, and you can withdraw via this method too. Do note, however, that the minimum withdrawal with this method is £/$150 or your account balance, whichever is less.
Electronic payment methods, including BPAY, PayPal, PayID, and EFT, are also available. PayPal deposits and withdrawals are typically instant but can take up to 48 hours, and a similar timeframe is to be expected with other e-wallet services. Depending on your region, bank transfers may also be available for both deposits and withdrawals.
Once City Index receives withdrawal requests, the broker processes them within three business days. Wire charges will typically take three working days, while card withdrawals may take up to 10 business days or longer.
Take advantage of convenient trading platforms
Our City Index broker review team appreciates the range of platforms that you can choose from, including proprietary and industry-standard options.
The Web Trader is a proprietary City Index platform with advanced charts, custom indicators, HTML5 technology, and customizable workspaces. You can switch between the workspaces with a single click and use overlays of multiple markets to monitor your trades simultaneously. This platform also features curated market information to help identify opportunities.
If you prefer to use a more well-known platform, you’ll be glad to know that you can trade at City Index via MetaTrader 4. This is available across devices and includes trading signals, custom indicators, and hedging tools. It also has a customizable economic calendar, multiple order types, and supports the use of trading robots.
Our City Index review team encourages experienced traders to consider the AT Pro desktop platform. It includes an advanced charting package, enhanced efficiency and speed, and your choice of trading templates. This platform features more than 100 indicators and an extensive selection of drawing tools.
Explore proprietary mobile applications
City Index makes trading on mobile devices straightforward. You can download the broker’s proprietary mobile trading apps for Android or iOS device, or use the relevant MT4 application. The broker’s proprietary mobile platforms offer secure 24-hour access, a live Reuters news feed, an economic calendar, live charts, and streaming prices.
The City Index website is also mobile-friendly, and you should find it easy to navigate. During our review of City Index, we found the pages to be quick to load and responsive, and we could enjoy full functionality. From the mobile site, you can register, contact customer services, and view analysis, and market news.
Improve your trading knowledge
City Index stood out from the crowd during this review thanks to its extensive educational and analysis materials. To help you to identify more profitable trading opportunities, you can view charts that feature price history from the past 16 years. There are also various trading tools, such as a stock valuation traffic light indicator, best buy opportunities, company metrics, an economic calendar, filter options, and free SMS trading alerts. Everything is conveniently within an analysis portal.
You can also view news and market analysis in a dedicated section of the broker’s website. Here, you will find expert analysis and the ability to sort by topic or browse based on category.
Our review team was impressed with the range of educational materials provided by City Index, including the Trading Academy. Here you can find dedicated training sections for risk management, trading strategies, fundamental analysis, and technical analysis. Alternatively, you can view training materials based on skill level. There are also sections describing each asset class, including CFD and forex trading.
Benefit from attentive customer support
Should you require help at City Index, our reviewers would first advise you to browse the broker’s FAQ pages. Here, you can find detailed answers to popular questions and the topics are conveniently organized by category. This makes it much easier to find the information you need.
If you need to talk to a representative, you can use the live chat feature, send an email, or call customer support. City Index typically responds very quickly and, if the wait times for an agent are longer than usual, they’ll tell you this before you contact them. This means you can avoid hanging around on hold.
Register with City Index today
With regulation from the FCA and ASIC, risk management features, and ownership from a stock exchange-listed company, our reviewers are happy to recommend City Index as a safe and trustworthy forex broker.
Whilst we were a little disappointed that the broker only offers one account type for retail clients, we found that this is more than made up for by the huge range of trading instruments, payment methods, and research tools. City Index’s educational materials are sure to help traders of all skill levels to hone their abilities too, something which the demo account also assists with.
Put the knowledge you gained from this forex broker review to good use by opening a City Index account now in a matter of minutes.
FAQs
Yes, our review of City Index found that this forex broker is regulated by ASIC in Australia, the FCA in the UK, and MAS in Singapore. These are all highly stringent and well-respected regulators that impose safeguarding policies. They also ensure the transparency of the broker’s dealings by requiring segregated accounts.
The minimum deposit at City Index is just £150 for UK retail accounts and $150 in Singapore. In Australia, there is no minimum deposit required. In comparison to our other reviewed brokers, this is a relatively low limit making this broker a good choice for both beginners and experienced traders.
No, City Index does not offer trading bonuses to retail clients due to regulatory restrictions. Instead, the broker focuses on offering the same well-rounded experience and low fees to all traders. It’s worth noting, however, that Premium account holders can benefit from cash rebates although this status is invite-only.
City Index offers you a choice between three different types of live trading accounts; Personal Trader, Premium, and Professional. That said, regular retail clients are limited to just Personal Trader accounts, as the others require you to prove your experience and/or a large account balance. At City index, you can also open a demo account free of charge.
Yes, City Index is secure thanks to its regulation and the fact that its parent company, StoneX, is listed on NASDAQ. City Index is known for its tight regulatory structure, its long and successful history, and for the awards it has managed to garner. All of this proves that the broker is stable and responsible.
