City Index

Why City Index Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words

Nothing beats the safety of trading with a brokerage first launched in 1983 and fully regulated by the British FCA. Over the years we’ve seen brokers without regulation, or brokers that lie about being regulated. Most of them have proved to be scams or simply poor choices for your trading. Don’t you think it’s time to move on to a company with a proven track record?

Why Does City Index Suck In 50 Words

Depending on your level of trading experience, you might find this brokerage a bit too complicated to use. If you come from a Binary Options background, where platforms are simple and straightforward, you will be overwhelmed (probably) by the huge suite of features offered by City Index. Anyway, in my view a more complex platform opens the door for more possibilities; you just have to be willing to put in a bit of work.

Is City Index a Scam?

No way! City Index was established in the UK in 1983 and was acquired by Gain Capital Holdings Inc in 2015. Gain Capital is a publicly traded company (NYSE: GCAP) with total assets worth billions of US Dollars. Let’s not forget they are regulated by the British FCA, which is one of the most respected financial authorities, so all this means in my book that City Index is not a scam. Sure, there will be complaints because every broker has at least a few unsatisfied customers, but there’s no scam suspicion.

Should I Open An Account With City Index?

City Index is a reputable CFD, FX and spread betting broker that offers trading on more than 12,000 markets. It is a trading name of GAIN Capital UK Limited, a company based in the UK and regulated by the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is one of the most respected watchdogs in the online trading environment. Their FCA register number is 113942. GAIN Capital UK Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of StoneX Group Inc

I guess it’s safe to say this is a reliable brokerage, with tons of experience and part of the huge Gain Capital Group (they also own Forex.com, which is one of the biggest FX brokers around). City Index offers Contracts For Difference (CFD) and Spread Betting.

City Index offers Contracts For Difference (CFD) and Spread Betting. The two ways of trading are fairly similar but the difference lays in the way your investment is made: with Spread Betting you decide how many Pounds (let’s use Pounds for this example) you want to stake per point movement. If you choose 2 Pounds per point, then you will win or lose 2 Pounds for each point the market falls or rises. With CFDs, things are a bit different: 1 CFD is the equivalent of 1 share in equity trades. When trading other products (commodities, indices, FX, etc), the value of 1 CFD varies depending on the instrument (look up the “tick value” in the instrument’s information sheets).

If all this seems a bit too much, don’t worry, City Index has an extensive Education section where they explain all these things in much more detail than I just did. Just take the time to understand them.

The trading platform of choice is the popular Meta Trader 4, which can be downloaded and installed but City Index also offers a web version (WebTrader) where no download is required. Advanced traders can use AT Pro Trading Platform, which is designed with more complex features in mind. Mobile platforms are also available for both Android and iOS.

To open an account, City Index doesn’t have any special requirements, meaning that the trader can deposit as low or as high as he wishes. They also offer a demo account, which won’t cost you anything.

Overall this is a very complex brokerage, with intricate features and a steep learning curve, so don’t expect to just jump in and start trading if you are a novice. I believe City Index is better suited for advanced traders who are familiar with Forex, CFD, and Spread Betting. If you are just switching from Binary Options, be prepared to put in some work or choose a simpler brokerage.

City Index has a registered office at Devon House 58 St. Katharines Way, London, E1W1JP,, United Kingdom and can be contacted at phone number 4402075508515 or email [email protected].

City Index Complaints

With such a long history, it’s only normal that City Index has a few unhappy customers. We could find some complaints about their execution times and disconnects during times of high volatility; also, one client said his commission increased without prior notice and another claimed he lost 12000 (he doesn’t mention the currency) but it is unclear if he lost it due to bad trading or another reason.

City Index Regulatory Warnings And Announcements

23/03/2005: The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined City Index 35,000 GBP for creating misleading promotional material.

20/01/2011: The FSA imposed a financial penalty of 490,000 GBP on City Index Limited in respect of breaches of FSA rules. More information on both fines can be found here.

The British FCA has warned that a clone firm is trying to lure clients using a similar name to the real Gain Capital UK Ltd. The details of the clone firm are Gain Capital Ltd, address Derby Trading Estate, Unit 5, Stores Road, Derby DE21 4BE. FCA Warning

City Index Bonus

City Index does not offer a Bonus or any other type of promotion.

City Index Withdrawals

The methods to withdraw are credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal. Card withdrawals take between 3 and 5 business days (domestic payments may take 1-2 days). The minimum amount is 100 Pounds or your entire account balance, whichever is lower; withdrawals are free of charge.

Trading Bitcoin With City Index

At City Index you can trade CFDs on Bitcoin, meaning that you won’t actually own Bitcoin but rather speculate on price movements. For the time being City Index offers CFD trading on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple (no other cryptocurrencies), with a maximum leverage of 2:1 for Retail clients and 20:1 for Professional clients.

City Index Overall Ratings

User Friendliness 14/20

The website is well structured but because the amount of information is huge, it can be difficult to use by a novice. The same goes for the platforms: they have a lot of features and you will need a certain experience level to understand how they all work. Demo accounts are available, as well as mobile versions of the platforms. US clients are not accepted.

Range Of Markets, Spreads And Leverage 17/20

City Index offers Spread Betting and CFDs on hundreds of indices, shares, Bitcoin, Forex, commodities, metals, bonds, interest rates and options. The selection is huge but pay attention that each market has its particularities, so spreads and required margin differ from market to market. Make sure you understand the trading costs and conditions by visiting their Pricing and Charges page. Leverage goes up to 30:1 for most major assets and 2:1 for cryptocurrencies. Professional clients benefit from higher leverage (up to 400:1).

Deposits And Withdrawals 17/20

Deposits can be made via credit/debit cards (Visa and Mastercard) and bank transfer. The recommended minimum is 100 Pounds but you can deposit lower if you want to. The minimum withdrawal is 100 Pounds or your entire account balance (whichever is lower) and the waiting time is between 3 and 5 working days or 1 – 2 days for domestic payments.

Fees And Support 17/20

Deposits and withdrawals are free. Apart from this, you will have to pay spreads, overnight fees, and other charges but all are normal for this type of brokerage. Live chat was easily accessible and helpful enough.

Extras 17/20

Tons of educational material, news, strategies, economic calendar, lots of platforms to choose from, Bitcoin (and altcoins) trading, fully regulated by the British FCA, and a vast experience – first launched in 1983. All of these make City Index a brokerage that really stands out.

City Index Overall Ratings: 82 + Regulated (+3) = 85/100

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