CityIndex Review

Go back to Where Can I Spread Bet?

General Points (we will strive to keep this review up-to-date)

Access to more than 12,000 UK, European, US and Asian shares. City Index's trading platform is browser-based with no software to download to your pc, allowing you to access the account from anywhere.
It is interesting to note that Credit Betting has been discontinued and only Deposit Accounts are now accepted at CityIndex. City Index also offers limited risk accounts which come with linked guaranteed stop loss orders on all executed trades. There is also a telephone dealing desk for those who want it.
A trading simulator allows users to get the hand of spread bets without risking real money. This is decent enough to get used to their platform but remember it's nothing like spread betting using real money.
Newsflow and research are available (powered by Interactive Data). These include heatmaps which show a visual presentation of the market with the shares colour coded to indicate the top risers and fallers, support of watchlists, market reports, economic updates, press tips and broker upgrades.
Charting includes some of the 42 of the more popular technical indicators. The software includes the functionality to save a template and apply it to different assets.
City Index is unique in that it combines CFDs and spread betting on the same platform so both options are cross-margined and available at the same time which makes them easier to understand.
City Index recently changed all their daily cash bets to DFBs (Daily Funded Bets) which automatically rollover (for a charge) similar to forex markets.
Further, you may open multiple positions in the same underlying market at various times and subsequently varying prices. However you cannot go long and short in the same market. You may wish to hedge your position by placing a long in the futures and a short in the rolling as an alternative.
Stop and limit orders can be stipulated to be triggered either in terms of the spread betting quote or the underlying market.
Some years ago IFX has been bought by City Index Ltd and they have started streamlining certain back office and middle office divisions.
Debit or credit transactions are accepted. Payments can be made via Switch, Delta, Mastercard and Visa (although there is a 1.5 per cent commission charge on the latter pair).
Small trades by telephone are still permitted. Minimum stake varies according to the market but in general is £0.50.
Available companies on offer to trade need to have a minimum market cap of £200 Million. A USA stock requires a market capitalisation of USD1b for CityIndex to trade it.
City Index have also launched a specialised product for day traders; the product called 'Day Trades' has 50% lower margins and 20% tighter spreads than CityIndex's standard spread bets on its 20 leading UK listed shares. 'Day trades' are intended for clients who dip in and out of the markets on an intraday basis - they are available to trade throughout the day (trade from 08:00 to 16:28) with spreadbets closing out at market levels at 16:28pm without the option to roll positions over to the next day.
Mobile dealing services are freely provided. Note that the cost of getting a getting a data subscription can be expensive on some networks - but T-mobile, for example, offers unlimited data downloads for £7.50 a month.
City Index also offers a four-week 'Learn to Trade' programme (which is similar to IG Index's TradeSense Module) designed to help new clients build their confidence in a controlled environment where they aren't exposed to risking too much capital. During this period they can deal in smaller sizes starting at 25p per point while also benefiting from the reduced spreads.
Research tools include live streaming news from Dow Jones. The company also makes available summaries of the main stories throughout the day and produces a useful video presentation that notes possible trades in the week ahead.
Free seminars covering the basics of spread betting, technical analysis, and risk management are available throughout the year. The seminars are usually held at CityIndex's London office (in an auditorium with a big screen) in Finsbury Circus with one being held almost each week. Attend one and you'll get refreshments and a free £25 per point vodafone bet. The seminars are presented by Sandy Jadeja, who provides a three-hour session focused on technical analysis for starters; he covers such topics like setting up and reading charts corretly and how to devise an effective trading strategy. His market timing predictions are famous and often he speaks about the psychology required to be a good spread bettor. The 'Interactive Workshop' seminars – 'Introduction to spread betting' are held in the evening and last for 2 hours. These seminars are open for both account and non-account holders and are good for those who are just starting out - they provide an overview of the workings of spread betting and also offer a possibility to have a try without risking any real money by trading using a demo simulator. Sandy also hosts seminars about candlestick patterns as well as two-hour seminars that take place on Saturday analysing opportunities for the week ahead. All in all I think both beginners and advanced spread bettors are likely to learn something useful from these sessions, both of which are free to City Index clients.
City Index has also recently entered the world of social media. The company has launched City Wise, a blog where spread traders can keep abreast of financial news and happenings in real-time. There is also Twitter, through which City Index experts such as Joshua Raymond and Sandy Jadeja provide financial spread betting and CFD trading insights. Follow the @City_Wise Twitter feed for all the latest news from the City Index floor.