City Index Review: All the Facts About This Company

City Index has a long history of operating, with its start in 1983. The company is owned by  StoneX Financial Ltd, which is a UK based company that is regulated by the FCA.

This broker offers great trading conditions and services, but in the year of 2011, they gained a fine form the FCA regarding the lies of transactions of their clients. Mainly, the FCA issued a fine to them because they didn’t report all of the transactions their clients made.

Because of that, we decided to make this City Index review, so we can bring you all the details regarding this investment company.

Is the City Index Safe? License and Safety of Funds

City Index is run by StoneX Financial Ltd from the UK. Actually, City Index is just one of the eight trading names of this company that we found out about on the website of the UK’s financial regulator, the FCA.

Before they were bought by StoneX Financial Ltd, the City Index was owned and operated by Gain Capital UK Limited,  which is a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed Gain Capital from the US. 

In the period where they were owned by the Gain Capital UK Limited, in the years between 2007 and 2009, the City Index has failed to report all of the transactions their clients made during that time. 

Because of that, in 2011, the main watchdog FCA, by whom they are regulated, fined them £490,000. After they have paid off the fine, the company StoneX Financial Ltd has taken over the City Index broker and started doing business the right way.

That’s why as of the year 2023, they are considered one of the main brokerages in the UK. Additionally, if you are interested in working with other Tier 1 regulated brokers, we recommend you to try out OctaFX.

Accounts Types Offered at City Index

On the City Index website, we saw that the broker offers four different types of accounts which include the following ones: 

• Standard
• MetaTrader4 account 
• Corporate account 
• Professional account 

As for the minimum deposit, the broker has stated there is no minimum amount required but they do advise clients to start with at least £100.

The only thing we didn’t like about this broker is that even though they are regulated by the FCA, they haven’t disclosed the leverage.

This leaves us in the dark and hoping that their leverage follows the rules set by ESMA and FCA, where the leverage caps at 1:30. The only mention we found of the leverage is in the FAQ’s section where they have stated that for the forex the leverage is 1:30 and 1:20 for the indices and metals. 

Trading Platforms Overview

City Index trading platforms include MetaTrader 4 and WebTrader. The former is also available for mobile while the latter is browser-based and  doesn’t require downloading.

We are happy to see that the broker did the needed digicene and opted for the industry standard MetaTrader4. This makes it very easy to use and makes it available on the go and at any time. Additionally, MetaTrader4 offers a wide range of features, including a variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.

Beasied the MetaTrader4, the broker also offers a very basic Web Trader that lacks all the features that you have with the MT4. This is not necessarily a bad thing but if you are new in the trading world, you do want to have a good trading platform such as MT4 and 5.

Trading Instrument at City Index

Here is the look of the trading instruments that the broker offers: 

• FX pairs – EUR/USD, AUD/CAD, CHF/GBP
• Indices – S&P 500, NIKKEI225, NASADQ100
• Commodities – gold, silver, crude oil
• Shares – Amazon, Samsung, Adidas
• Bonds – Euro Bund, UK Long Gilt, US T-Notes

City Index’s main offer includes FX pairs and CFDs on popular assets such as metals, indices, and shares. Also, the broker offers bonds which is a good thing as they are one of the most popular assets in the trading world.

Notably, cryptocurrencies are missing from the long list of trading assets. Overall, there aren’t any complaints regarding the asset available, although we would like to see them put cryptocurrencies in the near future. 

Deposits and Withdrawals Methods 

You can fund your account using the following: 

• Debit card: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Electron 
• Credit card: Visa, MasterCard 
• PayPal 
• Bank transfer

As we have noted, City Index does not have a minimum deposit requirement, but still they recommend you to invest at least £100 in order to have sufficient margin to sustain your positions.

For the withdrawals, the broker has stated there are no fees associated with any transaction and you can get the withdrawal the same way you have deposited. Also, the no fees goes the same for the deposit, as the broker will not charge you additionally.

Customer Support 

City Index has exceptional customer support to help their clients reach their financial goals. Their availability is 24/5. They provided this email address [email protected] and two phone numbers which are 0203 194 1801 and 0800 060 8609. Moreover there is a live chat function where you can leave your phone and they can reach out to you if that is something you would prefer. 

There is also a big FAQs section covering all the topics from opening an account to funds and withdrawals, platforms and security, to name just a few. And lastly there is also a whole client wellbeing page regarding big life changes and mental health.

This is impressive customer support to say the least and we always encourage you to invest with the companies that care this much about you and your health as well as your trading success. With that being said we advise you to read our Pepperstone review to learn about this great broker as well.

City Index Overall Summary

In conclusion, City Index is a UK-based broker firm that has been around since 1983. They have a license by Tier1 regulator FCA, and offer trading in forex, gold, silver, indices, commodities and many more assets. 

The broker offers three different account types which are standard, MT4 account and corporate account. As for the minimum deposit, they have not stated this on their website, but many reviews said that it is $0. The leverage is also unknown but we can assume that it is close to 1:30 because that is within the FCA guidelines.

In regards to the customer support, they offer a 24/5 availability and there is also FAQs section and live chat feature on their website. And their educational tab is just as impressive, and can really help you understand the whole process of trading and financial markets in general. This is great especially for total beginners how may be hesitant to start due to their lack of knowledge.

Lastly, we must note that the company was fined by FCA for hiding over 2 million transactions and they needed to pay close to 500,000 GBP.

FAQs About City Index Broker

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