Is City Index Regulated? Is it safe? - TU Expert review
License is the most important document you have to consider when choosing a broker. Many traders, who would like to start working with City Index try to check whether it is regulated. Traders Union experts have already done that. In this article, you will learn whether City Index is regulated, what regulatory authorities supervise the broker and whether it is safe to work with the company in general.
Short summary about the broker City Index
The City Index broker was founded in 1983 in London. This company allows its clients to engage in active trading and place bets on the spread. City Index is licensed and regulated by the UK’s FСA — UK Financial Services Authority (license number 113942). The broker has received tremendous awards numerous times, including "Best Loyalty Trading Program" (2019), "Best Trading Platform" (2019), and "Best CFD Provider" (2020) while providing financial services.
| 💰 Account currency: | EUR, USD, GBP |
|---|---|
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | 100$ |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | Depending on the trading instrument |
| 💱 Spread: | Floating and fixed |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Currency pairs, CFDs on stocks, indices, commodities, metals, cryptocurrencies |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | From 5% |
Pros and cons of City Index
👍 Advantages of trading with City Index:
•a vast array of trading instruments;
•both floating and fixed spreads are available to users;
•MetaTrader 4 terminal is provided for trading, as well as a web terminal and mobile applications.
👎 Disadvantages of City Index:
•the trading platform periodically malfunctions;
•shortage of deposit/withdrawal methods;
•a broker can reject an application regarding opening a trading account if the user does not have enough trading experience or his starting capital is not sufficient for trading.
Why is it important to work with a regulated broker?
License is a document that certifies that a broker operates legally and guarantees fulfillment of its obligations to the traders. A financial license is issued by a financial regulatory authority of a country (the National Bank) or a specialized authority (for example, Securities Commission, Futures Trading Commission, etc.). It is important to choose licensed brokers for the following reasons:
-
A license guarantees that the broker operates in compliance with the rules of the financial regulator that issued the document.
-
In order to obtain the license, a broker must comply with certain requirements, for example, the size of the authorized capital or personnel qualification. It is simply not lucrative for scammers to comply with such requirements.
-
A broker’s license provides access to real markets, and you can be sure that the quotes are real and up-to-date.
The best option is to work with a broker that holds the license of the jurisdiction, where the trader resides. You can also choose a company with a financial license of another reliable jurisdiction, for example, the U.S. or the European Union.
Is City Index Regulated? Broker’s license
Security (Protection for Investors)
The City Index broker is regulated by the British FCA — Financial Conduct Authority. The same authority issued the company license number 113942, which allows it to safely provide financial services internationally.
The FCA is a regulator that puts forward several requirements for a broker. In case of failure to fulfill obligations to the regulator, the company is deprived of its license. City Index also uses segregated accounts to securely store customer funds, and the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) guarantees traders up to £85,000 in compensation in the case of violations.
👍 Advantages
- Protecting client funds with segregated accounts
- Guaranteed compensation
- Availability of a license and a regulator
👎 Disadvantages
- Documents are not in the public domain
Brokerage fees
Broker’s regulation is the most important choice criterion. However, before you start working with the broker, it is also important to analyze its commissions and fees. TU analysts have studied the commissions and fees charged by City Index, which you can see below.
Traders Union specialists checked the trading conditions at City Index for trading and non-trading commissions. The broker has no hidden fees. No commission is charged for replenishing a trading account and withdrawing funds regardless of the payment system. Traders have access to both a floating spread and a fixed one, the size of which depends on the trading instrument.
| Account type | Spread (minimum value) | Withdrawal commission |
| Real | From $5 | None |
Brokers that are similar to City Index
Many brokers operate legally, obtaining relevant licenses and permissions. However, when choosing a broker, it is important to compare their trading conditions. TU experts have prepared a comparative analysis of City Index conditions with its closest competitors.
Comparison of City Index with other Brokers
| City Index | RoboForex | Pocket Option | Exness | XM Group | AMarkets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
MT4, MobileTrading, WebTrader |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
Pocket Option, MT5, MT4 |
Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader5, MetaTrader4 |
MT4, MT5, MobileTrading, XM App |
MT4, MT5, AMarkets App |
Min deposit |
$100 |
$10 |
$5 |
$10 |
$5 |
$100 |
Leverage |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Spread |
From 0.3 points |
From 0 points |
From 1.2 point |
From 1 point |
From 0.6 points |
From 0 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Cent accounts |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Broker City Index is aimed at cooperation with seasoned traders who prefer active trading in various markets.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
Pocket Option offers a wide range of trading instruments and copy trading services. It constantly improves its service quality and expands the list of assets and trading platforms. The broker is suitable even for novice traders without significant capital due to the low initial deposit. Experienced traders who work with CFDs and binary options can also use Pocket Option’s services.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
XM Broker is a broker for professional trading. Trading conditions correspond to the average market; there are technical advantages that distinguish XM Broker from its competitors.
AMarkets is a broker that is more suitable for professional trading. Everything here is designed to accommodate trading with EAs and that is the broker’s strength. The weakness of the broker is that it won’t be easy for traders without experience to work here.
Conclusions
City Index is a quite reliable broker for trading. City Index operates on the license of a reliable jurisdiction and its operation is regularly monitored. However, the company does not offer the best trading conditions compared to competitors. You can choose this broker and not worry about the safety of your funds, but there are better options in terms of trading conditions.
- Is Fortrade Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is FXCM Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is CapTrader Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is EGM Securities Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is ETX Capital Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Axi Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is BlackStone Futures Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is TeleTrade Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is GO Markets Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Alvexo Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is ClickTrades Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Veracity Markets Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is CMTrading Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is AAFX Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Trademax Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is iFOREX Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Self Bank Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Squared Financial Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is SmartFX Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is TopstepTrader Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Saxo Bank Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is AMarkets Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is IronFX Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Interactive Brokers Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is Tradeo Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is ForexTB Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is AMP Global Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is MultiBank Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is NS Broker Regulated? Is it safe?
- Is GAIN Capital Regulated? Is it safe?
FAQ
How difficult is it to obtain a brokerage license?
The procedure for obtaining a license differs depending on the jurisdiction, but it is very difficult and expensive to get the document in a reliable jurisdiction. This is why only reliable brokers obtain licenses.
Why is it not recommended to work with offshore brokers?
Offshore brokers have to meet minimum requirements for obtaining a license and reporting, which is why often scammers get such licenses.
Can an offshore broker be reliable?
Yes, although there are not many of such brokers. There are brokers with a good reputation, but with an offshore license. You still need to be very cautious when working with such companies.
How do I check a broker’s reputation?
In order to check a broker’s reputation, you need to read user reviews. However, it is recommended to only use independent websites for that.
Related Articles
Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.