City Index review

1. What is City Index?
2. City Index Bank Pros and Cons
3. Awards
4. Is City Index safe or a scam?
5. Leverage
6. Accounts
7. Market Instruments
8. Fees
9. Spreads
10. Deposits and Withdrawals
11. Trading Platform
12. Customer Support
13. Education
14. Conclusion

Our Review Method

• 55Brokers leading financial experts with over 10 years experience in Forex Trading checked full trading offerings including fees, platforms, verified licenses and safety, contacted customer service and placed traders to see thoroughly examine the conditions to give an expert opinion about City Index

What is City Index?

City Index is a trusted muti-asset Trading Provider with over 40 years of experience and heavy background of a well-trusted parent company – GAIN Capital, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, serves numerous trading names around the world and is one of the largest retail and institutional trading providers.

• The broker was established in 1983 in London, UK and is one of the world’s leading spread betting, Forex and CFDs trading in forex, indices, shares, commodities, bonds, interest rates, and cryptocurrencies

Among the numerous benefits and transparent operation that Gain Capital shows constantly within the industry, its global presence with 800+ staff across Europe, Asia Pacific and North America are letting you trade assured of a clear manner broker operates.

Is City Index a good broker?

The broker’s quality execution, competitive pricing, low margins, tight spreads from 0.5 points of FX and truly supportive relationship management makes the broker an excellent choice suitable for both beginner and advanced traders. Our research showed that the broker’s client base comes to a number of over 150,000 traders worldwide, and this is not a surprising fact.

Is City Index a market maker?

Yes, since its inception, City Index has been primarily operating as a market maker just like many other CFD brokers in Europe.

City Index Pros and Cons

Based on our research, City Index is a respected and reliable broker and is a part of the large strong established group listed in stock. The broker is considered one of the Best UK brokers with a large instrument range, low spreads, and a professional education section. City Index is a good choice for both beginners and advanced traders.

On the negative side, their customer support is not available 24/7 also there are no multi-currency accounts, so conversion fees for funding might be applicable. Also, we noticed that the broker lacks social trading which is one of the most popular sophisticated strategies that benefits both beginners and advanced traders.

Overall City Index Ranking

Based on our Expert findings, City Index is highly regulated and provides some of the best trading conditions in the Forex and CFDs trading market. The broker is famous for a pretty wide range of instruments available globally for international trading. Also, for UK residents, it offers competitive conditions for spread betting. The main drawback we found fristrating is the kack of multi-currency account

• City Index Overall Ranking is 8.8 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

City Index Alternative Brokers

Despite all the positive aspects and great conditions provided by City Index, our experts found that the broker doesn’t provide social trading which is considered one of the most popular strategies when it comes to beginner traders, as well a multi-asset account is missing. Also, margin trading is restricted only to professional traders.

See detailed Alternative Broker Reviews:

• BlackBull Markets – Good for High Leverage Trading
• eToro – Good platform for Social Trading
• AvaTrade – Good Instrument and CopyTrading

Awards

When researching the City Index offering in a detail, we found out why the broker gained during forty years of activity in such a trustful position along with many awards and international recognition. Also, GAIN capital is among the ranked successful institutions and holdings, so the awards are truly mean.

Voted Best Spread Betting Platform | ADVFN & Best Spread Betting Provider at the Shares Awards

Voted Best CFD Provider, Best Mobile application, Best Cryptocurrency Trading Platform | Online Personal Wealth Awards

Best MT4 Broker | UK Forex Awards

Is City Index safe or scam?

No, City Index is not a scam, our experts find the broker a well-respected and established firm with FCA authorization backed up with a compensation scheme in case of insolvency, as well as traders’ negative balance protection.

Is City Index legit?

City Index and City Trading is a trading name of GAIN Capital UK Ltd authorized and regulated trading provider by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and holds additional 8 worldwide jurisdictions registrations as a part of GAIN Capital Holdings Inc, founded in 1999.

• However, particularly City Index serves offices in Dubai, Singapore, and Australia, while surely holding respected local authorizations by UAE Central Bank (Find Best Brokers in UAE), MAS and ASIC accordingly.
• Since GAIN Capital Inc is one of the largest and most heavily regulated providers from almost every jurisdiction, with its strong records and the highest standards of governance, the financial strength and the transparency it delivers are considered to be on the highest possible level.

See our conclusion on City Index Reliability:

• Our Ranked City Index Trust Score is 8 out 0f 10 for its good reputation and long years of operations. The broker is highly regulated by some of the secure top-tier regulators and is one of the largest brokers for international trading. The main negative side is that the compensation conditions vary depending on the entity.

How are you protected?

As a retail client money is fully segregated from the broker funds and is kept separately and safely with world-leading banks. Along with the rest, necessary protection procedures that are carefully followed by the company the trading accounts, and overall management of the traders from A to Z adhere to provide you with a clear state of mind.

In addition, the broker applied for negative balance protection, and in case of insolvency, FSCS controlled clients’ compensation to recover accounts up to £85,000.

What is the leverage on City Index?

Leverage known as a loan given by the broker to the trader that allows you to trade larger capital than the initial capital is a very useful tool, yet you should use it carefully. Recent regulatory updates from European ESMA set a maximum level to only 1:30, as the authority recognized the potential not only to magnify gains but losses as well.

City Index Leverage based on entity conditions and instrument you trade:

• European entity is eligible to offer a 1:30 leverage only
• Australian branch can not use high leverage any longer and is entitled for 1:30 too (Forex Trading Platforms Australia)
• US Traders leverage is maximum of 1:40
• International clients may use leverage up to 1:400 (see the top forex brokers with high leverage).

In addition, we found that the leverage levels are depending on the account offers, and you may face a difference in trading margins too.

City Index Account types

In terms of account management it has been done in a simple, not confusing way, meaning you can apply either for a financial spread betting or CFD trading account.

So at City Index there are options between three account types: Trader, Premium Trader and Professional Trader respectively, while all of them are featuring the same efficiency, utmost support, and technology used, but vary by the level of the trader itself.

Trading service

We also found another interesting additional feature from the broker – Private Client Service, a tailor-made exclusive program for active traders who fund and maintain an account balance of £10,000 or more, and it comes with highly competitive pricing, expert trading support, and some interesting perks.

Demo trading

Certainly, it is important to understand the risks involved in trading before account opening, hence the broker highly recommends new traders practice and educate themselves by using a demo account as well as minimize risk by using the educational tools available from the broker learning programs.

City Index offers two demo accounts joint CFD, spread bet, and MT4 accounts. The demo account gives 12 weeks of unlimited access with a balance of £10,000, also the client will be able to access Advantage Trader or MT4 mobile, tablet, and downloadable platforms according to account type.

Instruments What can you trade with City Index?

City Index enables trading on over 12,000 global markets consisting of Spread Betting, CFD, and Forex Trading for 21 global Indices, 4,500+ Shares, 84 FX pairs, Crypto, and 25+ Commodities. The Crypto market at City Index is also widely presented and includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ripple, with an opportunity to adjust trading strategy and start to trade as a spread bet from 10p a point or as CFD Minis.

Beyond Indices, FX, Shares and Commodities City Index offers an additional choice of markets to trade, including Metals, Bonds, Interest Rates and Options.

However, keep in mind, that crypto trading is banned in the UK, so UK residents might prefer trading under a different jurisdiction.

• We ranked City Index Instruments 8.2 out of 10 for the wide instrument range, the main drawback is the difference in market range depending on which entity you are registering your account. Also, the instruments are traded mainly through Forex and CFDs

What Are City Index Fees?

We found City Index markets and trading conditions deliver a transparent pricing model and actually offer quite competitive fixed and variable spreads starting from 0.5 pips for FX or from 1 point for Indices, with margins from 3.33%.

• City Index Fees are ranked average, low with an overall rating of 7.9 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to over 500 other brokers. Pricing at the City Index for all types of trading is in line with the industry average.

Additional charges

In regards to additional charges, our experts noticed City Index charge commission when you Spread Bet or trade Shares on CFD Trading. E.g. UK Shares are eligible for 0.08% CFD Commission with a minimum of £10.

Also bear in mind the overnight fee, which is charged if you hold a position open longer than a day, financing rates are set at a benchmark regional interest rate of +/- 2.5%.

Spread

City Index spread depends on the market you wish to trade, as well as giving you the option to choose between the fixed or variable spreads according to the strategy you prefer to use. Below you can see the comparison based on minimum spread quotes, yet for the most recent price check an official website or platform. Overall we rank fee conditions at lowest spread levels and quite favorable conditions.

For instance, check out and compare City Index trading fees with its UK-based peer BlackBull Markets.

• City Index Spreads are ranked excellent with an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10 based on our testing comparison to other brokers. We found Forex spread is lower than the industry average of 0.5 pips for EURUSD,

Deposits and Withdrawals

Based on our research, City Index offers the most common payment methods that will assist you to find the best suitable choice to transfer money to or from the trading account. Even though the payment methods are quite limited, they are in fact most reliable, as well as do not incur additional charges from you to transfer funds, which is definitely a big advantage.

• City Index Funding Methods we ranked Excellent with an overall rating of 7.7 out of 10. The broker offers limited but reliable funding methods, fees are either non-existent or small. The main point is that the broker doesn’t have a minimum deposit, so you’ll have to make at least a $100 depositing

Deposit Options

The set of methods includes a Debit card: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and Electron, a Credit card: Visa and MasterCard, or a Bank transfer.

What is the minimum deposit for City Index?

There is no minimum deposit requirement for account opening, even so, we advise you to do a deposit of £100 in order to cover margins.

City Index minimum deposit vs other brokers

	City Index	Most Other Brokers
Minimum Deposit	$0	$500

Withdrawals

Transactions involving card deposits and transfers for both deposits and withdrawals do not incur any charges from the company and traders can use various methods from the most convenient like Bank transfers to e-wallets. However, if you wish to receive same-day payment using a CHAPS bank transfer, there will be a £25 charge.

City Index Trading Platforms

A variety of platforms at City Index cover web-based platforms – Advantage Web platform or downloadable AT Pro platform, as well mobile or tablet apps or still offers the choice to use known MT4 Platform.

• City Index Platform is ranked Excellent with an overall rating of 8 out of 10 compared to over 500 other brokers. We mark it as excellent since the broker offers industry popular platforms like MT4, on top of that it has sophisticated proprietary platforms

Web Platform

In fact, and what is obvious the broker’s developed a platform designed as a powerful technology for whatever level of trading you are willing to perform, as it offers customizable 16 types of charts, 80 indicators, and actionable trade ideas by research portal highlights.

It is a web-based platform allowing you to trade from any browser with no installations as a highly customizable web-based platform will be a perfect choice for those who prefer easy access and powerful fundamental analysis mixed in one tool. Eventually, for its great performance, the platform has gained several awards for excellence and has been chosen by many traders among others specifically for its outstanding capabilities.

Voted Best Spread Betting Platform | ADVFN Awards

Desktop platform

Of course, City Index mainstay platform features various versions so you can choose either to use or access the platform via various methods by the device of your choice.

Furthermore, the broker indeed pays great attention to the execution policy. If the price moves in traders favor while an order is being processed, City Index executes orders at a better price by their developed technology.

Mobile trading

Advantage trading apps are available for iOS and Android devices allowing you to live stream prices and charts also powered with Reuters news fees and economic calendar for your comfortable use.

Customer Support

As for the customer support services, we would note it’s a good level and regarded support from the traders. Customer Service is available for traders via phone lines, chat, and emails also covering clients worldwide due to brokers’ presence and coverage of major destinations.

• Customer Support in City Index is ranked Good with an overall rating of 8.2 out of 10 based on our testing in comparison with other brokers on our website. Support is fast and helpful, it is provided through different communication channels like phone, email, chat, etc., and quite easy to reach during the business days

Education

Our experts found that there is a well-organized learning centre designed for both beginning traders and professionals.

Education Center provides trading concepts, technical analysis and fundamental analysis, trading strategies, also trading courses defined by the trading level you are at. Along with that, City Index runs regularly Webinars, and updates with Trading News and research materials covering popular and unique points.

• We ranked City Index Education total ranking of 8.4 out of 10 based on our research. We found an extensive range of educational materials in various formats available for free which will help beginner traders to hone their trading skills.

City Index Review Conclusion

As we conclude, City Index as a part of the global leading financial company GAIN Holding is not just a reliable and stable company to cooperate or trade with, due to heavy regulation and client protection rules. A wide range of technical optimization tools, alike a highly developed choice of platforms and various instruments for analysis, strategy improvements and functions bring excellent proposal mixture to suit your particular skill level and expectations, making City Index as one of the Best UK Brokers.

Based on Our findings and Financial Expert Opinion City Index is Good for:

• Beginning Traders
• Traders who prefer the MT4 platform
• Currency Trading and CFD Trading
• Suitable for a Variety of Trading Strategies
• Spread Betting
• Cryptocurrency Trading