City Index Review: Some of the Best Trader Tools Around

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City Index is one of the oldest and most established trading platforms offering CFDs and financial spread betting, with a huge range of markets to trade, post execution analytical tools and trading signals.
Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Good Money Guide Founder

City Index Customer Reviews

3.6

101 Good Money Guide reviewers have given this provider an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 based on their genuine experience.

Excellent29%
Very good29%
Average22%
Poor12%
Terrible8%

Leave a review and tell us what you think to help others make more informed financial decisions.

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Reliable broker

28th October 2024

Been with them for a short time but can see differences to former brokers I have been with. Good service, good number of products and reasonable spreads when trading.

Sam Jones

Excellent platform

28th October 2024

Great platform, lots of markets available and the app is also excellent

Eva

A wide range of markets available and an excellent customer support

23rd October 2024

Access to an extensive range of tradeable markets and a great service, also a good platform and a great mobile app

Jack Corbier

Service

31st July 2024

Overall the services of the Citi Index is quite good

Macy

Don’t use often

27th June 2024

Don’t use often

Matt Judge

OK

20th June 2024

OK

John Frederick Martin

Good depth of information on…

12th June 2024

Good depth of information on various shares

John Luckett

reaaly use this platform

5th June 2024

reaaly use this platform

Leslie Phillips

Solid reliable platform

31st May 2024

Solid reliable platform

Joe Ellis

Trading was easy, website easy…

28th May 2024

Trading was easy, website easy to navigate lots of information

Peter Houghton

easy to use

26th May 2024

easy to use

Peter George

regular

25th May 2024

regular

JOHN LABARTE

Ok but not special

22nd May 2024

Ok but not special

Barry Vernon

Always worth checking out

22nd May 2024

Always worth checking out

Simon Gatti

Ok

22nd May 2024

Ok

David Whitehouse

4/5

28th February 2023

Pros:

not sure

GMG Awards Voter: [118255611656]

4/5

25th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252679768]

2/5

24th February 2023

Cons:

no opinion

GMG Awards Voter: [118252250556]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252126117]

2/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Not much

Cons:

More liquid smaller caps

GMG Awards Voter: [118252087171]

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Expert City Index Review

I opened my first City Index account way back in 2008, when they were one of only a handful of spread betting firms catering to high net worth traders in the City of London. Back then when I was a derivatives broker at MF Global, City Index used to hedge their CFD business through us so I could see they always had a fairly sophisticated client base. But over the years, as traders and investors have become more educated and akin to taking more risk, City Index now takes on more and more private clients.

If you’re thinking about trading with City Index, but haven’t quite made up your mind yet, I’ve tested all their trading platform’s features, visited their offices and interviewed their senior management for my review to hopefully provide enough information for you to decide if they are the right broker for you.

City Index Review
Good Money Guide Recommended 2024

Name: City Index

Description: City Index is one of the oldest spread betting and CFD brokers based in the UK. They were founded in 1983 and offer trading in over 13,500 financial markets, to around 126,000 active clients. City Index is currently owned by StoneX, a US brokerage listed on the NASDAQ valued at $1.75bn.
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Why we like them:

City Index offers some of the best trading tools and analysis to help traders perform better. Their unique post-trade analytics and voice brokerage service make it an excellent choice for large and frequent traders.

Pros

  • Excellent trading tools
  • Post-trade analytics
  • Publically listed (part of StoneX)

Cons

  • Trading only, no investment account
  • Limited options markets
  • No direct market access
  • Pricing
    (4)
  • Market Access
    (4.5)
  • Online Platform
    (4)
  • Customer Service
    (4.5)
  • Research & Analysis
    (4.5)
Overall
4.3

Ratings Explained

  • Pricing: Always competitive.
  • Market Access: Excellent coverage, especially for small-cap stock and exotic currency pairs.
  • Platform & Apps: Some excellent added value trading signals and portfolio analytics (even though the desktop version can be a bit fiddly).
  • Customer Service: Lots of experienced dealers to help with any issues.
  • Research & Analysis: City Index excel here, lots of education, signals and analysis.

I’ve always liked City Index, it’s been a stalwart of the London CFD broker scene since it was founded by Chris Hales and Jonathan Sparke in 1983 as a way for institutions to hedge their exposure through spread betting and CFDs. But soon became popular with more retail traders. Always advertising on billboards in the City, always having a colourful client base, always being bought and sold at the whim of billionaires and bigger boys.   But in recent years, it had gone off a bit from its glory days. Back in the good ol’ days, you could open an account and put on a million-dollar trade over the phone with no ID, no deposit, and no idea. Well, you could if you happened to be on a yacht with Michael Spencer (the then City Index owner and City grandee), who was convinced he knew which way the Euro was headed and goaded one of his guests into putting the trade on, as the story goes away.

But those days are long gone and incumbent brokers have to fight hard to differentiate themselves against the fintechs nipping at their heels, as well as provide more trader tools to lure new customers back to traditional markets away from the wild west of Crypto.

City Index seems to have matured nicely though, it’s grown out of its lumbering adolescence under the ownership of Gain Capital and is now owned by US Behemoth StoneX (previously INTL FCStone). Since then, the platform has had a few upgrades and long-term investment products will hopefully be added shortly.

Trading Platform

The City Index platform used to have a slightly off-the-rack feel about it, instead, the business relied on word of mouth and friendly referrals from HNW clients who would use experienced dealers to work large orders over the phone. Whilst voice brokerage still forms part of City Index’s offering, they are, as with everyone else, doing the majority of their business online and working hard to make their platform stand out.

City Index Forex Spread Betting

Pricing & Spreads

City Index has always been competitive with it’s pricing. As City Index is an OTC broker they charge customers by widening the spread rather than adding commission after you trade. They are one of the cheapest around for trading UK stocks with the bid/offer being widened by only 0.08% (20% less than the industry standard of 0.1%) and for US stocks they only charge 1.8 cents per share (industry standard is 2 cents per share). Overnight financing rates are also inline with what you would expect 2.5% over/under SONIA rates.

Stocks, Forex, Indices and Commodities

You can buy over 4,700 stocks on City Index as a CFD or financial spread bet, however, you can’t trade equity options or invest in physical shares.

Obviously, they have access to more than the usual forex, index and commodity markets and add value with some nice thematic-themed indices (like ESG), and a good pool of sectors to speculate on. You can also trade options (CFD or spread bets thereof) on a good range of indices and commodities like Natural Gas or EU stocks. Plus, you can trade on synthetic markets. Everyone loves a bit of volatility speculation in choppy markets.

Spread Betting

Spread betting is City Index’s forte, and it’s the product that a lot of their high-net-worth customers use for trading stocks. As one of the original spread betting brokers City Index offers access to one of the widest selections of UK, US and European shares (as well as the major indices). The key advantage of spread betting of course is that profits are free of capital gains tax.

CFD Trading

Unlike spread betting CFD profits are subject to capital gains tax, so are less popular among UK traders. Historically, City Index would offer CFDs to more professional traders and spread betting to smaller clients. CFDs and spread betting are similarly priced with City Index, with the commission being included in the spread, which is slightly wider than the underlying market bid/offer. The main reason why both products are on offer is that spread betting is only available to UK residents, whereas City Index can offer CFD trading to its global client base.

Trading App

I actually prefer the City Index app to the desktop version of the trading platform. Sometimes I can find the desktop version to be a bit clunky, but the app is really slick, and clearly in our mobile-first world, where all the recent development has been focused. And why not, the desktop trading platform is brilliant for research, trading signals and post-trade analytics, but at the point of execution the app is a quick and simple stripped-down version with all the salient features front and centre.

MT4 (MetaQuotes)

You can trade on MT4 and MT5 with City Index, but functionality and market access is not as good as their main proprietary trading platform or some of their MT4 competitors. You can only trade around 84 markets on MT4 through City Index, but if you just want to trade the major markets, City Index is a good broker for MT4 based on their regulation, service and pricing.

Added Value & Research

One example of how they are populating their platform with new trader tools is SMART Signals. Of course, all, or at least most brokers have Trading Central or AutoChartists, (City has Trading Central) whose signals are used by so many platforms that they almost become self-fulfilling, or a barrel for larger traders to shoot down small fry, depending on which way you look at it.

Performance Analytics

Another acquisition from parent StoneX is Chasing Returns, now integrated into the platform as Performance Analytics. Which really drills down into where you are trading well and where you are losing money. Performance Analytics can break down your wins and losses and tell you what markets you trade best, what time of day you are most profitable, if you make money trading in quick succession or, if you do better if you take a break between trades. It’ll even tell you if your first trade of the day is often a winner or loser, or if you are a better bull or bear and also if you are as good at trading volatility as you pretend to enjoy doing, but letting you know if you trade better in calm or erratic markets.

Economic Calendar

One thing though that does let them down is City Index’s economic calendar, it’s terrible. In fact, most brokers, even IG just have a bog standard list of upcoming earnings and economic announcements. But I think you need more from a trading platform these days, especially as when logged into the desktop platform the format is all off. One broker that has absolutely nailed their economic calendar is ThinkMarkets. With TM when you’re logged in you get a really good visualisation of previous data, volatility and most importantly what impact it had on relevant institutions like EURUSD. It’s a great way to see how markets have moved against previous numbers. Honestly, City Index should embed this too as it’s available from Trading Central who they have a deal with anyway.

Extended Hours Trading

You can trade CFDs premarket and after the market closes on a range of US equities in the pre and post-market sessions which bookend regular share trading in New York that takes place between 9.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. Eastern time.

The list of 73 stocks available to trade in the pre and post-markets includes leading US shares such as Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia. Widely traded names such as the Ark Innovation ETF, Coinbase, Robinhood and Gamestop.

As well as established blue chips like Bank of America, Boeing, Procter and Gamble, and Walmart, alongside a selection of index-tracking and thematic ETFs.

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

City Index Awards

In our latest awards City Index won “best trader tools” 2023 and has in previous years won best trading platform, best trading app & best forex broker in 2022.

Giles Watts, Senior VP of UK & EU at City Index said after winning best trader tools in 2023: “We are delighted to have been recognized for the added value we provide our clients. Delivering actionable post trade insights direct to the platform, is just one of the reasons our clients stay with us over the long term.”

@good_money_guide Check out the top trader tools in the industry! Stay ahead of the game with these award-winning resources for trading, shares, and stocks. Don’t miss out on the latest tools to help you navigate the stock market like a pro. #goodmoneyguide #goodmoneyguideawards #trading #shares #stocks #stockmarket #toptraders #investment ♬ original sound – Good Money Guide

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Inside City Index

As part of our City Index review, we visited their offices in The City and spoke to some of the senior management to find out what makes City Index different.

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

City Index Video Review

In our City Index video review we test the platform with real money, put some trades on and highlight some of the broker’s unique features.

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

City Index Facts & Figures

City Index Total Markets
13,500
👉Forex Pairs183
👉Commodities19
👉Indices40
👉UK Stocks3500
👉US Stocks1200
👉ETFs✔️
City Index Key Info
👉Number Active ClientsOver 126000
💰Minimum Deposit100
💰 Inactivity FeeYes – £12 per month
📅 FoundedIn 1983
⬜ Public CompanyYes
🏢Head OfficeLondon, UK
📜Regulated?Yes – by the FCA
City Index Account Types
👉CFD Trading✔️
👉Forex Trading✔️
👉Spread Betting✔️
👉DMA (Direct Market Access)
👉Futures Trading
👉Options Trading
👉Investing Account
City Index Average Fees
👉FTSE 1001
👉DAX 301.2
👉DJIA3.5
👉NASDAQ1
👉S&P 5000.4
👉EURUSD0.5
👉GBPUSD0.9
👉USDJPY0.6
👉Gold0.8
👉Crude Oil0.3
👉UK Stocks0.08%
👉US Stocks$0.018 per share

Best Trading App - Good Money Guide Awards Winners 2024

City Index wins best trading app at Good Money Guide Awards 2024

City Index won Best Trading App this year due to its wide range of markets, from UK and US equities to indices, commodities, and foreign exchange. The app also provides users with trading signals, post-trade analytics, and extensive market research, making it a robust tool for traders. Warren Ruhomon from City Index said after winning

Read More »
US Election

City Index launches tradable US election indices

City Index has launched two indices that track 200 stocks that will be affected if either the Republicans or Democrats win the election. To find out more about them, I spoke with Alexander Ridgers, the Global Head of Dealing at City Index, about the new election indices introduced by City Index in light of the

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City Index Trading App

Is the City Index trading app any good?

Yes, trading on the City Index app is a safe way to trade as they are owned by NASDAQ-listed StoneX and are regulated in the UK by the FCA and in all the regions they operate in by the local regulator. However, it’s important to note that whilst financially secure, the City Index trading app

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City Index’s Trading Platform

Is City Index a good trading platform?

Yes, City Index has a very good trading platform. Based on it being developed in-house, and having proprietary trading tools like performance analytics, and SMART trading signals, plus it’s wide range of markets and advanced execution functionality we rank City Index’s trading platform as one of the best around. City Index won “best trading platform”

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City Index Options Trading

Can you trade options with City Index?

Yes, you can trade options with City Index, however, you are limited to trading them as a financial spread bet or a CFD. You can also only trade options on some of the most popular shares (like Tesla) and major indices (like the FTSE or DJIA). This should be enough for the majority of traders

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City Index Indices Trading

City Index boosts tradable indices with a Magnificent Seven basket

City Index, the UK-based margin trading and spread betting business owned by US-listed StoneX has launched a new index basket based on the Magnificent Seven stocks. The basket, which contains a “who’s who” of US tech and growth stocks, will allow City Index’s clients to get instant exposure to this influential grouping, in a single

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City Index Review 2024

Does City Index have a demo account?

Yes, City Index does have a demo account. We have tested the demo platform and reviewed how similar it is to the live trading platform below. You can also see a screenshot of the City Index demo account to give you an idea of the look and feel. Is pricing different on the City Index

Read More »
City Index Forex Trading

Is City Index a good forex trading platform?

Yes, for forex traders that want a bit of added value rather than just a click-and-trade account, they also offer free Forex trading signals through SMART Signals City Index also provides some insightful analysis of your previous forex trading with their Performance Analytics. City Index won “best forex broker” in our 2022 awards as they

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City Index Review

Is City Index Commodity Trading CFDs, Spot, DMA or Futures?

When you trade commodities with City Index you are either trading a CFD or financial spread bet as an OTC product. City Index are not a DMA commodities broker. You are not trading on exchange futures with DMA access. However, you can trade spot commodities against the USD, or quarterly contracts that mirror the futures

Read More »
City Index

Does City Index offer MT4 & MT5 (MetaQuotes)?

Yes, City Index does offer MT4, but functionality and market access is not as good as their main proprietary trading platform or some of their MT4 competitors like Pepperstone. You can only trade around 84 markets on MT4 through City Index and there are better brokers for trading on MT4. But if you just want

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City Index Review

Is City Index CFD Trading DMA (Direct Market Access)?

City Index is an OTC CFD Broker, which means it does not offer DMA CFD trading, you can only trade as an OTC CFD or as a financial spread bet. If you want direct market access to exchanges for equities trading you can compare DMA brokers here. However, City Index CFD pricing is tight enough

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AI Investing

City Index launches a dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Index

City Index has created and launched an index that tracks the performance of 11 stocks associated with “Generative AI”. The index is cap-weighted, so the larger members within the basket should, in theory, have a bigger influence on its pricing. The makeup of the index will be reviewed quarterly, on the third Friday of the

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Giles Watts City Index

Inside City Index with Giles Watts, Senior VP of UK & EU

In this episode of Good Money Guide TV we visit the offices of City Index in London, and talk to Giles Watts, Senior VP of UK & EU, Ann Hunt, Head of Client Performance and Warren Ruhomon, VP of Marketing of UK & EU about makes City Index different from all the other online trading

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City Index Trading Platform

City Index parent company StoneX unearths rock solid earnings

StoneX Group, the owner of Gain Capital and forex broker City Index, updated the market on its recent performance this week, with the release of its Q2 2022 results, a period which ended on March 31st. Quarterly operating revenues rose by +16.0% to $544.70 million whilst net income for the quarter came in at $64.0

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Is City Index up for sale again?

City Index owner Gain Capital has been approached about a takeover by a US rival according to the weekend press. The interested party is said to be INTL FCStone a US commodities broker and a member of the influential Fortune 500 list of major US corporations. INTL FCStone, which is a listed company trading on

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City Index adds PayPay as a deposit and withdrawal method

It’s now a little easier to send money to CIty Index as they add PayPal to their deposit and withdrawal methods. It’s probably cost them a load of money in fees to do so as you need extra regulation and PayPal will no doubt be charging City Index a premium for making it quicker for

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Charting Changes At City Index

Gain Capital’s spread betting and margin trading business City Index made an announcement earlier this week, concerning changes to the company’s charting packages. The changes that spread betting broker City Index are going to make may sound low key, but they may have some interesting ramifications and highlight the inflexibility inherent in some very popular

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City Index: One of UK’s largest CFD brokers tightens forex spreads

City Index, one of the world’s leading CFD brokers has reduced its spreads across a wide range of major foreign exchange pairs. City Index, the top CFD broker, has changed the spreads on some of the most popularly traded pairs, promising to offer traders better value than ever before. AUD/USD, EUR/USD and USD/JPY will now

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69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

City Index FAQs:

City Index offer spread betting and CFD trading on forex, indices, shares and fixed-income products. One of their unique selling points is their integrated trading signals on their app and trading platform.

Yes, based on our data matrix, testing, analysis and the fact they are regulated by the FCA City Index is a good broker. Your funds are also protected under the FSCS with City Index.

You can trade FX on Sunday nights with City Index when the forex markets open around 10 p.m. for UK traders. But you cannot trade indices, stocks or commodities on the weekend. If you want to trade more markets on the weekend you need a broker like IG that offers a wide range of financial markets on Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, City Index is a highly trusted broker as they are well established, well respected in the industry, have a sophisticated and high-net-worth client base and most importantly, are regulated in multiple jurisdictions.

City Index was founded in 1983 and is regulated by the FCA which means they have to keep client funds safe and segregated from their own money. Your money is also protected by the FSCS.

Retail clients trading with City Index get leverage of 5:1 for indices, 30:1 for FX, 10:1 for commodities and 5:1 for UK and international share trading. It is possible to increase your leverage rates if you apply for a professional trading account.

No, City Index is not available to US residents. However, City Index is owned by StoneX, which is a US broker that US citizens can trade through. City Index is also part of the group that own Forex.com which offers forex trading in America.

Yes, City Index does allow scalping for short-term high frequency trading. For more information see our guide to scalping.

Yes, City Index is a good platform for day trading as they have low spreads, access to a wide range of markets and intra-day trading signals provided by SMART Signals.

City Index has its own trading platform called Web Trader but also offers trading via their mobile app, TradingView and MT4

No, the FCA has banned retail derivatives brokers in the UK from offering welcome bonuses.

City Index makes money through charging commissions (either added to CFD trades or built into the spreads of financial spread bets). Other revenue streams include overnight financing charges, where City Index levies extra interest on top of what it lends you to trade on leverage.

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
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