City Index Review

Point Summary

Over the years, City Index has been awarded and received industry recognitions from international awarding bodies by some of the most prestigious awarding as below

Shares Awards

Since 2001 the Shares Awards have recognised the high quality of service and products from companies in the world of retail investment as voted for by readers.

• Best Spread Betting Provider 2019
• Best Professional Trading Platform 2019

Is City Index safe or a scam

City Index is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under the name Gain Capital UK Limited with register number: 113942,

How are you protected?

City Index operates a bunch of subsidiaries and depending on your residence, one of these subsidiaries will serve you. The investor protection amount you get depends on the subsidiarys country you are signing up with.

For example, if you come from the UK, you will sign up with GAIN Capital UK Ltd and get an £85,000 investor protection. GAIN Capital UK Ltd is regulated by the FCA, the UK regulator.

City Index investor protection

Client country	Investor protection amount	Regulator	Legal entity
Europe Middle-East	£85,000	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	GAIN Capital UK Ltd
Australia	No protection	Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)	GAIN Capital Australia Pty Ltd
Singapore	No protection	Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)	GAIN Capital Singapore Pte

Negative Balance Protection ensures that retail traders never lose more than the funds in their account. Should your CFD or spread betting account fall negative, They will adjust the balance to zero, at no cost to you (this does not apply to Professional Traders).

Accounts

City Index offers three main types of trading accounts which includes: Trader, Premium Trader and Professional Trader. They also offer a free demo trading account for traders.

Each account comes with some similarities and differences as highlighted in the comparison table above.

The minimum deposit amount required is $150. However, when funding via credit/debit cards, there is a minimum amount per card transaction of $250. Its also a very low amount as there are brokers, which require a minimum of $2,000 or more.

	Trader	Premium Trader	Professional
Minimum account balance	£0	£10,000	£0
Leverage	Up to 30:1	Up to 30:1	Up to 400:1
Additional services	-	Relationship manager	Relationship manager

If you want to trade with Professional account, you have to satisfy criteria, such as holding a min. €500,000 portfolio or working experience in the financial sector.

Based on ownership, you can open an individual or corporate account. If you are from the UK, you can trade with SIPP account as well.

How to open new account at City Index

1. Clicking on the Create Account button

2. It will then open up a registration page where users simply need to fill their account information details, as shown below:

3. Users are then asked for personal and financial information, employment status, trading experience, as well as the base currency of the account you would like to open (EUR, GBP or USD). Then users are asked to agree to certain terms and conditions, as well as contact preferences, before the broker starts to process the application which takes up to 30 seconds, as shown below:

Users are then redirected to a verification page to upload proof of identity and proof of address details, as shown below:

The account opening is fully digital and takes only 1 day until your account is approved.

 
Demo account

Demo accounts are intended to enable you to familiarise yourself with the tools and features of our trading platforms. Success or failure in simulated trading bears no relation to probable future results with any live trading that you may choose to engage in.

Please note that a demo account cannot always reasonably reflect all of the market conditions that may affect pricing, execution and margin requirements in a live trading environment. Margin and leverage settings may vary from time to time between your demo account and a live account due to live account setting changes imposed as a result of elevated market volatility or other factors.

City Index offers demo accounts for CFD and FX. Please click here to apply for a demo account.

After fill in all the info above. you will see the notification as below:

How long does my demo account last for?

Your demo account gives you 12 weeks unlimited access to over 4,500 markets. It comes with a balance of SGD 20,000 for you to trade risk free.

What platforms will I be able to use?

Depending on which account you sign up for (CFD or FX/MT4), you will be able to trade using Web Trader, iOS and Android mobile apps and MT4 mobile, tablet and downloadable platforms for your account type.

Can I extend my demo account?

While the Demo Account is for 12 weeks only, if you feel you need more time to practice trading, you can always apply for another one.

Products

City Index offers a wide range of instruments to trade on covering all major asset classes such as below:

Below is a list of just some of the markets available for trading:

Forex	Including majors, minors, and some exotics. Traders can choose from USD, GBP, EUR, and cross-currency pairs.	EURUSD, AUDNZD, CHFJPY, USDTHB, GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD, EUR/AUD, etc
Indices	City Index offers CFD trading on 21 indices from Asia, Europe, US, and Australia	Australia 200 CFD, China A50 CFD, Crypto 10 Index CFD, EU Sotcks 50 CFD, US SP 500 CFD, etc
Shares	City Index offers CFD trading on more than 4,500 shares of the most popularly traded public companies in the world	Amazon.com, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays (UK), Glencore, etc
Crypto	The cryptocurrency selection is limited with City Index, though they do offer	Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Etherenum, Litecoin, Ripple
Other 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 has great forex and average CFD product selections. Comparing Plus 500, this product line-up is more advanced, while IG is taking over in terms of the number of products available.

	City Index	IG	Plus500
FX pairs (#)	84	205	70
Stock index CFDs (#)	21	78	26
Stock CFDs (#)	4,500	10,500	1,889
ETF CFDs (#)	99	1,900	95
Commodity CFDs (#)	25	47	25
Bond CFDs (#)	12	13	-
Cryptos (#)	5	8	14

The drawback at here that you cant change leverage levels

Changing the leverage is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. For example, instead of trading with 5:1 leverage, only trade with 2:1 leverage in case of stock CFDs. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high.

Trading Platforms

Web Platforms

City Index offers users the ability to trade on their advanced, feature-rich, browser-based trading platform called HTML5 Web Trader, their desktop download platform called AT Pro, as well as on MetaTrader 4.

HTML5 Web Trader

It looks friendly and nice. You can easily add, remove, change the size or change the position of the tabs.

The broker’s own browser-based proprietary trading platform is feature-rich, offering the following:

• Configure and personalise multiple workspaces
• Switch between workspaces with a single click
• Trade through charts and overlay multiple markets
• Smart trade tickets with advanced risk management
• Define stops limits by points, PL or price
• Real-time margin calculator informs your decisions
• Custom indicators and precision drawing tools
• Overlay multiple markets in a single chart
• Trade through charts
• Identify key trading opportunities
• Latest market details with charts, news and pricing
• Detailed market analysis from Reuters in-platform

We really liked the search functions of the web trading platform. You can search by typing the preferred product and there is also a product list with categories, like forex or popular markets.

Portfolio and Fee reports

City Index has clear portfolio and fee reports. You can find them on the "Reports" and download the reports in Excel, PDF, XML, and CSV.

Desktop Platforms

There are two desktop platforms, the AT PRO Trading platform and MetaTrader 4. Similarly to the web trading platform, we tested the Advanced Trading Platform as this is City Indexs own platform, while MetaTrader 4 is a third-party platform.

AT PRO Trading Platform

City Indexs desktop trading platform has the same functionality as the web trading platform. For example, you can use the same order types or price alerts

AT Pro Trading Platform is designed for Advanced Users so it isless user-friendly for beginners. It was hard to navigate on the platform and felt too crowded with functions.

Allowing users to create your own unique trading templates in C#, .NET and Visual Basic with AT Pros Development Studio, or access to hundreds of in-built templates. It also offers:

• 100+ techinical indicators
• Deal through Charts
• Multiple chart types available, including Candlestick, Heikin-Ashi and Point Figure to allow you to identify trends and key levels.
• Use extensive range of drawing tools including trend lines and Fibonnaci retracements to identify key support and resistance levels.
• Trading signals instantly display potential trade entry and exit points on charts for greater accuracy
• Choose from over one hundred free templates and customise them based on your requirements
• Use back-testing excel tool to see how trade signals have performed against historical data
• Customisable economic calendar
• Real-time news from Reuters
• Technical and fundamental analysis portal

MetaTrader 4 Trading Platform

MT4 is one of the most popular Forex trading platforms globally, It offers:

• Analyse price movement and trends with indicators customised to your needs
• Access a vast array of timeframes and charts with the MT4 charting package
• Automate your trading with Expert Advisors
• Customisable economic calendar
• Trade over 80 Forex pairs, including majors, minors and exotics.

Mobile Platform

There are two platforms, You can use City Indexs own and MetaTrader 4 mobile trading platforms. Both platforms are available on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. In this review, we tested City Indexs own mobile

Mobile Trading Apps (City Indexs own)

The City Index mobile trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed.

We liked the Take a tour option on the menu. Another great feature is the embedded Economic calendar that has advanced filter options and can be customized on a high level.

Search functions

The search functions are good. You can search by typing the assets name or through the product categories.

And more features on mobile as below:

• One tap dealing through charts
• 60+ custom indicators Chart Profiles saved to your preferences
• Live TradingView charts
• Receive the latest global investment news from Reuters in the app
• Real-time price alerts
• Customisable economic calendar

Which trading platform is better for you?

Most seasoned traders will tell you that all they really want from a trading platform is something that is reliable and easy to use, intuitive, and doesn’t crash. Each platform is unique and has its own pros and cons, so it is best to understand what you want in a forex account, and platform before you get started.

How to place a trade at City Index

You can use many order types, including some sophisticated ones.

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop trailing
• One-cancel-other (OCO)

There is also a guaranteed stop-loss order, which close out your position no matter how volatile the market.

Mobile

We didnt see any order time limits we could use.

Deposits and Withdrawals

City Index accepts deposits and withdrawals via:

• Credit Card
• Debit Card
• EFT
• BPAY
• PayID
• PayPal

Deposits

How can I fund my account?

You can fund your account using credit or debit cards, EFT, BPAY, PayID or PayPal.

Card Deposits
Click on the ‘Funding’ tab on the top-right corner of the trading platform, then select ‘Deposit’, Debit/Credit Card.

EFT, BPAY, PayID or PayPal
You can find our bank details and more information about depositing funds into your account via EFT, BPAY, PayID or PayPal by clicking the ‘Funding’ tab in the trading platform.

Please note
they do not accept cash payments paid directly into their bank account.

they are unable to accept payments from third parties. Any third-party transfers will be returned to the original source.

What is the minimum deposit amount at City Index?
The minimum deposit amount required is $150. However, when funding via credit/debit cards, there is a minimum amount per card transaction of $250.

How long does a Deposit take?
Please allow up to 48 hours for any PayPal deposits. However, this process is usually instant.

Deposit Fees?
There are no charges for making deposits to your account from a debit/credit card or local bank transfer.

Account Base Currency?

You cant change the account base currency at the account opening. If you would like to change that, you have to reach out to the City Index support team.

If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you dont have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.

Withdrawals

What is the minimum withdrawal amount?

The minimum withdrawal amount is $150, or all your available account balance (whichever is lower).

The maximum you can withdraw in a single transaction is $20,000. If withdrawing online on credit cards there is a limit of $20,000 in 24 hours.

If you wish to withdraw more than the limits online then, please contact their client management team using one of the options on our contact us page.

Does City Index charge withdrawal fees?
No. their company does not charge clients for withdrawals.

How long do withdrawals take?

Instructions received by City Index for payment request will be processed within three working days. Wire transfers typically take three working days and all telegraphic transfer charges will be borne by the client. Card withdrawal can take up to 10 working days for funds to reach the client. On exceptional cases this may take longer, clients are welcome to contact them for further assistance if funds are not received within the next 10 business days after processing.

How do I withdraw my profits from City Index?

1. Log into your City Index account
2. Goto Funding
3. Choose Withdraw
4. Add withdrawal amount
5. Initiate withdrawal

Commissions and Fees

View a full list of pricing and charges at City Index across all of the markets they offer.

• They offer fixed and variable spreads
• their margins start from 0.2%
• Benchmark financing on Australian markets is Reuters Deposit Rate +/- 2.5%

City Index has low fees for forex and stock index CFDs. On the other hand, stock CFD fees are high and they charge inactivity fee after one year.

Spreads and Margins of each assets

City Index Indices

City Index Shares

City Index Forex

City Index Bitcoin

City Index Other Cryptocurrencies

City Index Commodities

City Index Metals

City Index Bonds

City Index Interest Rates

The larger the trade size, the higher the risk level associated with the trade. Therefore we may increase our margin requirements for larger size trades or any additional trades in that instrument. Below is an example of how this may work:

CFD quantity	Margin
0-1,000	5%
1,000-10,000	10%
10,000-50,000	15%
50,000+	20%

Commission

With the exception of Shares CFDs, all of CFDs are commission free.

Share CFDs are subject to commission charges which vary by market - see table below:

Market name	CFD Spread	CFD Commission	Minimum
UK shares	Market	0.1%	£10
European shares	Market	0.1%	€25
Australian shares	Market	0.09%	$5 AUD
US shares	Market	0.15%	$25 USD

Financing charges

Financing is a fee that you pay in order to hold a position open overnight. The daily financing fee will be applied to your account each day that you hold an open position (including weekend days). The financing rates are set at benchmark regional interest rate of +/- 2.5%. The financing rates we charge by territory are:

Country	Financing on long positions	Financing on short positions
UK	LIBOR +2.5%	LIBOR -2.5%
US	LIBOR +2.5%	LIBOR -2.5%
EU	LIBOR +2.5%	LIBOR -2.5%
Australia	Deposit +2.5%	Deposit -2.5%
Other international	Contact Client Management	Contact Client Management

Is there an overnight financing charge for holding Bitcoin?

Yes. Overnight financing is charged at 0.08219% per day (May change due to market conditions.

Inactivity fees

Where no activity has occurred on your account(s) for a period of 24 months or more, your account(s) will be deemed inactive. Activity is defined as placing a trade and/or maintaining an open position during this period. Placing an order on an account without executing a trade will not qualify as ‘Activity’ for these purposes. A monthly inactivity fee of $15 (or currency equivalent) in aggregate (or your cash balance if less than $15) will be applied for accounts that are inactive for 24 months or more.

Bonuses and Promotions

At the time of this City Index review, they did not offer any bonuses or host promotions. But this could change over time.

Trading Features

City Index offers an impressive range of trading features that are already built in to their very own trading platform. For example, users can access Guaranteed Stop-Loss orders on thousands of markets.

The broker also offers an external technical analysis and fundamental analysis research tool which helps scans for chart patterns and a range of indicators and oscillator bullish and bearish conditions.

The broker also offers fundamental analysis tools, powered by Trading Central, which includes:

• Stock valuation
• Best buy opportunities
• Company metrics
• Global data
• and more.

Customer Support

Research Education

City Index has a large, dedicated training section for new traders, but as it is a multi-asset broker, the focus isn’t always on Forex trading. Similarly, the Market News Analysis area is comprehensive and useful, but again, the focus is distributed across all the asset classes available at City Index.

Educational

The educational material offered at City Index is good but only adequate for a broker of its size and type. Under the Training tab on the website, you will find links to short, detailed courses on Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis, Trading Strategy and Risk Management – there is also a small video library covering common Forex topics.

A more in-depth multimedia course called Introduction to Trading will be useful for beginners who want to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

Research

Under the Market News Analysis tab, you will find a section devoted to daily research and fundamental analysis of news events. This is updated frequently by a small team of City Index analysts and covers all the asset classes tradeable at City Index. Articles can be filtered by topic, author and asset class so finding relevant Forex news and analysis is not difficult.

Also in this section is a fairly basic Economic Calander covering all the known economic events.

City Index also host webinars, though not frequently, and you will need to be an active customer in order to register for them. And large range of videos on their YouTube channel, as shown below:

Overall, a fairly underwhelming analytical section, especially when compared to other large brokers such as CMC Markets or Plus500.

Conclusion

City Index has been around a long time and gives the impression that it has spent that time fine-tuning the service it offers its clients. It is a global broker that is licensed and authorised by top tier global regulators

They provides a simple, transparent trading, yet highly competitive offering suitable for both beginner and advanced traders. Users have access to Spread Betting accounts, offering commission-free trading and CFD trading accounts offering commission-free trading on all asset classes except Share.

Traders can access more than 12,000+ trading instruments covering a wide variety of markets including Indices, Shares, Cryptos, Forex, Metals, Commodities, Bonds and Interest Rates with very competitive spreads.

On top of this regulatory platform, it has built a research rich and user-friendly trading environment that will appeal to all kinds of traders, including their HTML5 Web Trader platform and the AT Pro desktop download platform for advanced traders and the globally-recognised MetaTrader 4.

The broker offers some interesting advanced trading tools with their technical analysis and fundamental analysis research portal. They also offer a high level of trading research and education that beginner and advanced traders will find of use and easy to access.

It has some drawbacks though. The product portfolio is limited, the stock CFD fees are quite high.

In short, City Index provides a high level user experience based upon a solid foundation; they can be easily recommended to any level of trader.

Yet, we would be glad to know your personal opinion about City Index you may share your experience in the comment area below, or ask us for some additional information if required.