City Index Review
[wpdatatable id=4 table_view=regular]City Index started offering brokerage services since 1983. The brokerage firm is part of “Gain Capital” and subsidiary of “StoneX group”, a NYSE listed company and sister company of forex.com.
Ever since, city index managed to gain a reputation as one of the best cfd brokers among other top regulated online brokers. City Index is well regulated by top-tier financial authorities in the majority of jurisdictions, including:
- (ASIC) in Australia also known as Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- (MAS) in Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Even though City Index is not publicly listed on any stock exchange, the company maintains a safe reputation as a safe broker since it is regulated by top-tier financial authorities.
The trading portfolio of city index is mostly around the contract for difference and Stock Index CFD, but they also offer Crypto, spread betting and CFD trading too.
Our editorial team have tested their online platform and evaluated their service, and decided to rate city index as:
- Low Stock Index CFD Fee broker
- The Best CFD Broker in UK
- Top Spread Betting Broker
Put simply, City Index offers CFD, FX, and digital currency trading through their spread betting platforms (powered by MetaTrader4 broker) which is available in three forms of web trader, mobile apps trading and obviously desktop trading software. Let’s deep dive to other aspects of this broker and help you get started.
How much is City Index Fees?
City Index commissions, spreads and more
Sometimes traders ask questions like: “Is city index good for spread betting?” or “Is city index a good broker for CFD trading?”. Well, there is always high risk of losing your money but being able to change the default leverage is essential for many professional traders.
Unfortunately, You CAN NOT change the leverage when trading with this brokerage platform; still trading CFDs with City Index is favoured by many traders. The fees that City Index charges you for S&P 500 CFD, Europe 50 CFD, and EUR USD are built into spreads:
✓ For S&P 500 CFD the fee is 0.6 average spread cost, which is considered to be low.
✓ For Europe 50 CFD the fee is 1.5 average spread cost, which is considered to be low.
✕ For EURUSD the fee is 1 pips average spread cost, which is considered to be Low.
✓ $12 per month after 12 months of inactivity is what City Index charges which is non trading fees.
Let’s have a look at City Index’s fees and compare it with two regulated brokers to show you the difference. The Scenario is as follows: We will review a typical trade which means buying a leveraged position, holding it for 7 days and only sell it after that period.
* Volume: a $2,000 position for: 1) The stock Index 2) CFD 3) Forex transactions.
The leverage in these scenarios is: • 20:1 stock index CFDs • 30:1 forex Below you can see the difference between two other top online brokerage companies that we compared with city index: IG review and Plus500 Review.
Compare City Index Alternatives
City Index fees and its alternatives
[lt id=21] [lt id=22]“Illustrative prices”
To choose the right broker you must know how CFD brokers make money. Whether they charge you commissions, spreads, or CFD hedging strategies, (‘Plus500 does not offer hedging orders’) you should be smart and be aware of the other fees that online brokers might charge you.
Generally a broker charges you a fee when you perform any trade on their platform. This is called “Trading Fees” and come in forms of:
- Commissions
- Spreads
- Financial Rates
- Conversion Fees
Some brokers also charge you “Non-trading fees” such as withdrawal fees and inactivity fees. : These charges are not 100% related to what currency, share or options you trade.
City Index, is one of the most popular no deposit brokers that allows traders to get onboard without depositing a penny.
Is Web Trader good platform for beginners?
City Index Trading Platform
City Index trading platform is design with trader’s satisfaction in mind. It is very user-friendly, neat and easy to navigate through. City Index Trading platforms are:
- AT Trader
- Web Trader
- Mobile Trading App
- MetaTrader 4
When you trade with MT4, Since it is powered by MetaTrader engine, you can change your preferences in 21 languages. Additionally, you can easily create Expert Advisors, or work with Custom indicators and trading signals. Charting of MT4 is very handy and useful.
As for the web trading platform, it does not let you to configure price alerts which is not a good point. However, it’s very customise so the workspace is exactly how you want it to be. Web trader allows you to implement advanced risk management strategies and define stops & limits by price, points, or profit and loss.
City Index Platform for experienced traders is called AT Pro. The charts are designed for experienced users and focused on powerful analysis. You can use over 100 technical indicators and deal through charts. Here is how the platform looks:
All traders who speak the following languages can configure the tool to their preference::
How To Open Account at City Index?
What CFD Trading Account is best for beginners?
To open your account with City index, you’ll be prompted to choose your account type. You can choose to open CFD, Spread Bet, or both in the same account.
You will go through a very smooth and user-friendly process to open your trading account with city index. All you need is an email or a social platform login credentials.
Traders from almost all countries should be able to open their account, however, there are citizens of countries such as the USA & Canada that won’t be able to open an account due to their financial regulations.
As you can see below, all of your questions are clearly answered in city index FAQ website. Obviously, you can immediately use your demo account for free
Both City Index CFD and Spread Betting accounts are first in first out accounts, it’s also known as FIFO.
With FIFO mechanism, no new position will be opened in the market that you already have an open position, and your position will be amended. 1 point spreads available on the UK 100, Germany 30, France 40 and Australia 200 during market hours.
At City Index, you can choose from these 9 base currencies: USD, USD, CHF, HUF, AUD, CHF, JPY, PLN, GBP. Your default Base currency is British Pound.
In case you decide to trade with real money, you will be requested to provide your passport copy and a proof of residency (something like a utility bill or bank statement).
What can you trade with City Index?
At first, let’s have a look at the three city index account type that are available at City Index.
- The first types of accounts is called Trader Account with no minimum deposit and leverage up to 30:1
- Then we have Premium Trader with the same leverage but min deposit of £10,000.
- Finally, there is a Professional Trader Account with leverage of up to 400:1 and no min deposit.
- Tip: you can open a Professional Trading account by (request) only if you hold half a million Euro portfolio in the past year.
Since the sister company is a forex trading hub and competes heavily with IB, City Index portfolio is more shaped towards CFDs, crypto, and less about foreign exchange. Overall, the main trading options that you can find in City Index are:
- Stock Index CFD
- Spread Betting
- Other CFDs
| Currency Pairs | 84 |
| Stock Index CFD | 23 |
| Stock CFDs | 4,500 |
| ETF CFDs | 57 |
| Commodity CFDs | 31 |
| Bond CFDs | 12 |
| Future CFDs | 0 |
| Crypto | 8 |
Does City Index offer technical Analysis tools?
Research Tools & Education for CFD Traders
We talked about online trading platform, and account opening which is pretty fast and smooth on City Index.
All traders are looking for trading signals to get the best out of market changes, and trading with City index enables you to receive an alert once a significant price movement (between 0.25% – 2%) is logged.
City Index’s investment protection is £85,000 for European and Middle East citizens. When it comes to research and tools, City index offer news feeds and economic calendar. Having MetaTrader 4 at your disposal, you can perform technical analysis with up to 65+ indicators.
Does City Index offer Fundamental Data?
Unfortunately No.
Does City Index offer Trading Ideas? Yes.
In fact this is a trade off and not a disadvantage because though no fundamental data is offered by city index, they share no trading ideas on their website.
As for education, apart from a lot of trading guides that you can learn from our money blog, it’s best if you try and install the best investing apps on your mobile phone. When you go through City Index training and articles, you will see that they present you with high quality materials, and a lot of detailed articles. Regardless of your trading experience, you have series of educational videos, articles and a demo account at your disposal to master trading.
Conclusion of City Index Expert Review
Is City Index Scam or Legit?
4.5/5
Is city index a good online broker? Overall, City Index is definitely one of top regulated CFD brokers.
It’s also listed as one of top 10 spread betting brokerage companies. When it comes to online trading, customer care becomes very important to traders.
Except forex brokers from Canada and U.S brokers that have limitation on trading, City Index customer support team respond fast to phone calls, and also available to talk in English via live chat, but are not that fast with emails and Not available during Weekends.
In comparison with the other alternatives to city index, a positive point is offering over 84 currency pairs and 4500 Stock CFDs, that way you can find your way to trade your preferred contract for difference.
Research tools in City Index platform is great and their news feeds is premium.
Besides, when it comes to education it covers everything and it’s pretty easy to understand. Remember that you can easily begin trading with no minimum deposit.
Is City Index Scam or Regulated?
This broker is regulated by:
- (ASIC) in Australia also known as Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- (MAS) in Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore regulated them
How to open my trading account?
Follow these steps to learn how to open trading account:
1. Get ready with your email address
2. Select the country of residency.
3. Provide demographic data
4. Choose your preferred online trading platform
5. Select your account type & base currency.
6. Explain your trading experience and provide employment history
7. Provide identity and residency proof for activation.
What is the minimum deposit for City Index
The minimum deposit is $0.
What are City Index Pros & Cons.
- Low trading fee & free withdrawal
- Top 9 base currencies
- Very customizable charts & tools
- Fully Regulated
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