Losses can exceed deposits
For investors looking to trade the world’s financial markets, one option is City Index (they offer both spread betting and CFDs).

City Index Review
Here we will focus mostly on the City Index spread betting account, which allows investors to take advantage of the many benefits that financial spread betting has to offer:- You can buy or sell stock markets indices, shares, forex, commodities, bitcoin, interest rates and bonds
- No commission fees
- No brokers fees
- Tax-free investing, i.e. no capital gains, no income tax and no stamp duty (there are capital gains on CFDs)
- A wide range of markets – eg see below – City Index markets
City Index Highlights
They highlight the following as key features of their spread betting service:- “An innovative trading platform that offers a comprehensive research centre with the latest market news, company announcements and economic data“
- 12,000+ global markets
- Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
- Risk management tools to help limit your downside e.g. Guaranteed Stop Loss orders
And the “could do better” areas:
- They say, “Competitive spreads and margins“
- We say, “Semi-competitive spreads, the spreads are OK. They are variable and so sometimes they get wide. On average, you can get better spreads with Financial Spreads, Core Spreads and a few other brokers. At the same time, the difference will be pretty immaterial to most investors“
- As of 2017, their platform is still “flash” based (not html5). Fine if you have flash… not so good if you’ve moved with the times
City Index Award Winning Mobile Trading App
The ‘City Trading’ mobile trading app has won a number of awards since it was launched in October 2009.Of the more recent awards, the City Index mobile trading app was voted by Shares Magazine readers as ‘the industry’s best mobile/tablet trading app’ (November 2013).
The City Index mobile trading app is available for the iPhone as well as Android and BlackBerry devices.
The live charting package gives traders access to multiple technical indicators and live financial news from the Dow Jones Newswires.
The mobile app gives City Index clients full and secure access to their trading accounts. With an iPhone trading app, investors can:
- Check the latest prices and market moves
- Open and close trades
- Access live charts
- Set Stop and Limit orders as well as ‘If Done’ and ‘OCO’ orders
- Amend existing orders
- Look at their trade history and pending orders
- Review and amend their Watchlists
- Get the latest financial news from Dow Jones
City Index iPad App

This means City Index account holders can trade live prices, access charts, use the deal through charts, add and update trading orders, view and amend Watchlists, review their trading history etc.
City Index Awards
The City Index platform has won numerous awards over the years including:- 2014 – 2017 – sorry, City have won more awards, we really need to update this list
- 2013 Shares Magazine award for Best Mobile/Tablet Trading Application
- 2011 Shares Magazine award for Best Online Trading Application
- 2011 Money AM award for Best Mobile Trading Platform
- 2011 Money AM award for Best Online Spread Betting Service
- 2010 Money AM award for Best Online CFD Provider
- 2010 Money AM award for Best Mobile Trading Platform
- 2010 Financial Times and Investors Chronicle award for Innovation of the Year (Mobile)
- 2009 Money AM award for Best Online CFD Provider
User Ratings & Comments on City Index
Add Your View – if you have any comments or questions on City Index, feel free to add them here.Readers can leave comments by logging in securely to their Facebook, Twitter or Intense Debate accounts (CleanFinancial does not see, or keep a record of, your login details).
MT4 with City Index
City Index offer a MetaTrader 4 Forex Trading Account which is separate to their spread betting, CFD and forex account options.Many investors consider the MT4 platform to be the benchmark retail FX platform. MT4 lets you:
- Access Expert Advisors (EAs) i.e. automated trading strategies which you can apply to your own trades
- Create your own Automated Trading System
- Generate custom indicators which will analyse market movement & trends and then produce real-time trading signals
- One-click dealing and a powerful charting package
- Customisable Leverage: Up to 400:1
- Price Tolerance: This feature controls slippage in volatile markets. You simply state how many points you are prepared to accept if the market slips. If you don’t want any slippage, just set the ‘Price Tolerance’ tool to zero
- Access via other City Index Platforms: City Index MetaTrader 4 account holders can access their account through the other City Index platforms including the desktop, mobile and tablet platforms
City Index Account
Here we take a quick look at the City Index account.City Index Services | ![]() |
Average User Rating | 6.6 |
New Account Offer | ![]() |
24 Hour Trading | ![]() |
Live Charts | ![]() |
iPhone App | ![]() |
iPad App | ![]() |
Android Apps | ![]() |
Web Platform | ![]() |
Stop Loss Available | ![]() |
Automatic Stop Loss | ![]() |
Credit Account | ![]() |
Deposit Account | ![]() |
FCA Authorised and Regulated | ![]() |
City Index CFDs

- Risk management tools which help investors limit their downside
- Competitive spreads and margins
- Low margins to help ensure cost effective trading – this frees up your capital so you can use it elsewhere
- A groundbreaking platform that includes a comprehensive research centre with the latest trading news, economic data and company announcements
- A simple and intuitive trading platform that lets you buy and sell CFDs the instant you want to
- The ability to speculate on the share price performance of thousands of European, North American and Far Eastern equities
- You can also trade the price movements of the world’s leading indices, currencies, commodities and interest rates
- A CFD account with instant access, 24 hours a day, seven days a week
City Index and Price Transparency
One key feature for many spread bettors is City Index’s “commitment to price transparency that gives you a level of price and execution certainty that is invaluable in trading financial markets”. Put another way, City Index:- Stream tradeable prices through their online and mobile platforms. This lets you act on the latest price movements in real-time
- Offer firm quotes up to “Our Size”. This provides certainty that for every spread betting and CFD market that City Index trade, they will deal at the quoted prices for any trade within that size
- Accurately base their prices on the underlying financial instruments. This helps to ensure that your trades will result in the profit (or loss) that you would expect
City Index ‘All the Trading Tools You Need’
According to their website, City Index say they offer, “around-the-clock access to equity, index, currency and commodity markets all over the world through our innovative trading platform.“Whatever and wherever you want to trade, our trading platform provides all the tools you need.
“Online and mobile trading services ensure that you are never more than a click or two away from your next trade, and a team of expert dealers and customer service specialists are constantly available to provide personal support”.
Markets on the City Index Platform
Below – you will find a sample of the markets offered by City Index along with their typical in-hours spread size and the minimum stake for that market. See City Index for full details.Typical In-Hours Forex Spread Sizes with City Index | ![]() |
EUR / USD Daily | 1 |
GBP / USD Daily | 1.5 |
EUR / GBP Daily | 1.3 |
USD / JPY Daily | 1 |
Forex minimum stake | £1 |
Bitcoin / Cryptocurrency Markets
As of December 2017, City started to offer Bitcoin, although like most firms, the spreads are very wide and margins are small.If in doubt, don’t trade Bitcoin markets with any spread betting firm, Bitcoin looks designed to hurt investors.
Typical In-Hours Interest Rate Spread Sizes with City Index | ![]() |
Euribor | 2 |
Euroswiss | – |
Short Sterling | 2 |
Treasuries minimum stake | £0.5 |
Typical In-Hours Bonds Spread Sizes with City Index | ![]() |
BOBL | 2 |
Bund | 2 |
Gilt | 3 |
Schatz | 2 |
US T Bond 10 Year | 4 |
US T Bond 30 Year | 2 |
Treasuries minimum stake | £0.5 |
More City Markets
City Index also provides trading on other markets including UK equities sectors.About City Index

City Index transacts over 2 million trades every month across +50 countries.
According to the City Index website, they say:
We provide access to a wide range of instruments including financial spread betting and CFDs.
We constantly look to expand our range of services and improve the performance of the trading platforms.
The result is that our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with competitive spreads, transparent pricing and a high level of customer support.
In volatile markets we continue to offer fair prices. We continue to do everything we can to provide the market access you need to open / close positions when you want to.”
City Index Stability and UK Regulation
Losses can exceed deposits
City Index is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FSA Register Number: 113942.
City Index Limited is a company registered in England and Wales, number: 1761813. Registered office: Park House, 16 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7EB.
Spread betting and CFD trading carry a high level of risk to your capital and you may lose more than your initial investment. Spread betting and CFD trading may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.