City Index has changed it’s name to StoneX Trading as its parent company brings the long-established retail trading brand more closely under the wider StoneX Group identity.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed competing with City Index when I was a broker, but for the last ten updating my reviews over the years. It’s obviously sad to say good-bye to one of the brands that originally pioneered spread betting (a tax-free form of trading), but with all that US money behind them. I’m looking forward to my next review.
Here’s was my latest video review of City Index, from when I visited their offices in 2022. Or for a more historical look at City Index, here’s an even earlier review.
The rebrand means that the City Index name has been replaced by StoneX Trading, reflecting what the company describes as the greater scale, market expertise and global reach available through StoneX.
City Index has been part of StoneX since 2020, when StoneX acquired GAIN Capital Holdings, which owned both City Index and FOREX.com.
City Index itself dates back to 1983 and was one of the early pioneers of financial spread betting in the UK. It subsequently expanded into CFD and forex trading and today provides access to more than 13,500 markets through its own trading platforms and MetaTrader.
The move to StoneX Trading therefore represents a significant branding change for one of the better-known names in the UK trading industry.
StoneX said: “We’re pleased to announce that City Index will become StoneX Trading.
“This change reflects the greater scale, market expertise, and global reach of the wider StoneX Group. While our name is changing, our commitment to supporting you and your audience remains the same.”
Who is StoneX?
StoneX is a NASDAQ-listed global financial services group with a history stretching back more than 100 years. Its services extend well beyond retail trading into areas including securities, clearing and custody, foreign exchange, payments, commodities and risk management.
The group says its network now spans more than 70 offices across six continents, giving it considerably greater reach than the City Index brand alone.
Bringing City Index under the StoneX Trading name should allow the group to present its retail trading business as part of this broader global financial services operation.
For existing City Index customers, however, the most immediately noticeable difference is likely to be the new name and branding rather than a fundamental change to the trading service.
The rebrand also brings an end to more than four decades of the City Index name in the UK trading market. Having launched in 1983, City Index became one of the country’s most established spread betting and CFD providers before eventually becoming part of StoneX.
The new StoneX Trading brand will now carry that retail trading business forward under the identity of its parent group.
When is City Index closing down?
The relaunch officially goes live in the UK on 12 September 2026, when the City Index UK brand will be retired and all new accounts will be opened under StoneX Trading. Existing customers do not need to take any action, with StoneX confirming that trading platforms, accounts and customer support will continue as normal.
One of the more interesting aspects of the rebrand is StoneX’s intention to give retail traders greater access to the sort of market intelligence and insights traditionally associated with its institutional business. StoneX operates across institutional trading, clearing, custody, commodities, foreign exchange and payments, so there is potentially a much broader pool of market expertise for the retail trading business to draw on.
Giles Watts, Regional Business Director, EMEA, Self-Directed at StoneX, said the change was designed to build on City Index’s established reputation while giving the retail business the backing of a much larger global financial services group. He said: “The real change is in the brand behind the experience that reflects the additional scale, expertise and global capabilities of StoneX.”
StoneX is a Fortune 50 company listed on Nasdaq and employs more than 5,400 people across more than 80 offices on six continents. According to the company, it serves more than 80,000 commercial, institutional and payments clients alongside more than 260,000 retail accounts.
Alastair Hine, Global Head of Self-Directed at StoneX, described StoneX Trading as representing the group’s “ambition for the future of self-directed trading”, with the company planning continued investment in its products, technology and overall trading experience.
So, while the immediate impact for City Index customers is largely a change of name, the more significant development could be what happens next. Bringing the retail trading operation directly under StoneX gives the group an opportunity to combine City Index’s retail trading heritage with the research, infrastructure and market expertise of a much larger institutional financial services business.
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
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