DMA trading support FAQs

1. How do I access DMA trading?
2. What are the advantages of trading under a DMA model compared to a market maker?
3. What are the benefits of DMA trading?
4. Are there any account or trading restrictions with a DMA account?
5. How do I transfer funds between my current account and new DMA account?
6. What time do "Day" orders expire in my DMA account?
7. What trading platforms are available to me with a DMA account?
8. Are City Index's prices available in the DMA model?
9. What is top of book pricing?
10. How do orders get filled in a DMA account?
11. What is the difference between the DMA and ECN models?
12. Can I list my own bids and offers?
13. Can I place orders within the spread?
14. Do DMA accounts have access to greater click and deal sizes?
15. What recourse do I have if my order is not filled?
16. How many liquidity providers do DMA accounts have access to? Will they be listed?
17. Are stop loss orders in DMA accounts guaranteed?
18. Can DMA accounts qualify for the cash rebates program?

How do I access DMA trading?

You will need to be an existing City Index account holder in order to add a DMA account. Simply log in to My Account and navigate to the 'add account' section, and then choose DMA from the list of account types shown.

If you are new to City Index, you'll need to open a standard CFD trading account using our online form first. 

What are the advantages of trading under a DMA model compared to a market maker?

The DMA account is ideal for experienced traders looking for maximum transparency and control. Full market depth exposes traders to multiple levels of liquidity that allows them greater insights into the market and control to trade on the best bids and offers sourced directly from our liquidity providers.

What are the benefits of DMA trading?

Increased visibility into multiple levels of real time pricing: trade on the best bids and offers from global banks and top tier liquidity providers.

Discounted commissions based on trading volume: reduce your commissions each month – the more volume you trade, the deeper the discount.

No additional mark up: you will pay no City Index spread.

Are there any account or trading restrictions with a DMA account?

There are no minimum account or trade requirements for a DMA account, however this type of account is best suited for high volume traders with minimum trade size of $100,000 and recommended account balance of min $25,000.

How do I transfer funds between my current account and new DMA account?

You may request a funds transfer across your accounts in MyAccount. Keep in mind that transfers from a standard City Index account to a DMA account can take up to 48 hours.

What time do "Day" orders expire in my DMA account?

Day orders placed in the majority of currency pairs will expire at 5 pm EST in your DMA account. However, day orders placed in currency pairs containing the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) will expire at 3 pm EST. Examples of currency pairs with 3 pm EST daily order expiry include NZD/USD, NZD/JPY, NZD/CAD, NZD/CHF, GBP, NZD, EUR/NZD, and AUD/NZD.

What trading platforms are available to me with a DMA account?

You may access your DMA account from the full suite of our trading platforms that includes web, desktop or mobile. However, we recommend our web trading platform for the best experience.

Web: Web trader platform

Simply log into the platform and click a buy or sell button to open the DMA trade ticket with full depth of market. 

Mobile apps

Trading on mobile apps will be limited to top of book pricing.

Are City Index's prices available in the DMA model?

No, our prices are not available in a DMA account.

What is top of book pricing?

Top of book represents the best available bid and offer at that time and typically available up to. Top of book pricing is typically available up to 1M. Actual execution prices may vary to pricing displayed on the platform.

How do orders get filled in a DMA account?

Limit orders placed via the DMA trade ticket will be immediately passed to the execution venue where they effectively become bids/offers for other participants in the liquidity pool to interact with. Please note that customers must have sufficient margin for a limit order at the time of entry and when stop or limit price is triggered.

City Index may cancel a limit order if the customer available margin falls below the required margin for the limit order. Stop Loss orders placed via the DMA trade ticket are held at the execution venue and are contingent upon a price trigger before being exposed to the liquidity pool.

Non-market orders placed via the standard trade ticket (no DOM) on the Advanced Trading Platform, as well as the mobile platforms will be rejected.

What is the difference between the DMA and ECN models?

There are many similarities between the two models in terms of pricing. Both provide clients with access to the interbank market which creates tight pricing with depth of book transparency. In a typical anonymous ECN model, the individual client must have secured their own credit line from a traditional Prime Broker or Prime of Prime provider in order to participate in the ECN. With City Index’s DMA model, we leverage our existing Prime Brokerage relationships to provide customers with access to trade on prices sourced directly from our liquidity providers.

Can I list my own bids and offers?

Yes, you can place your own limit orders as bids/offers on the platform. Keep in mind that these orders are sent to the market in City Index’s name.

Can I place orders within the spread?

Yes.

Do DMA accounts have access to greater click and deal sizes?

Yes. It’s important that you keep in mind, as this is interbank liquidity, you should be aware that a large ‘click and deal’ market order (10M+ for example) would sweep through the first few levels of market depth and will likely cause the spread to widen as the deal is executed. Liquidity providers typically stream bids/offers in 1M increments so a 10M could sweep as many as 10 liquidity provers bids/offers down the stack.

What recourse do I have if my order is not filled?

Our ability to fill your trade is contingent on the order being executed with our liquidity provider(s). When you trade on our DMA service, your limit orders are passed directly to our liquidity providers with City Index acting as counterparty to your trade. A lack of available liquidity from our liquidity providers may result in your order not being filled at any price.

We will display currently available pricing for the contracts offered under the DMA Service. The actual execution price achieved in the market with our liquidity provider is passed on to you at the same price with us acting as counterparty to your trade. There may be instances when the execution price may differ from the pricing displayed which can result in price improvement or slippage.

How many liquidity providers do DMA accounts have access to? Will they be listed?

The prices are sourced from a wide number of top tier LPs and banks, however the LP names are not listed. All DMA trades are centrally cleared. All liquidity providers are anonymous on the platform.

Are stop loss orders in DMA accounts guaranteed?

When you place orders using our DMA service, your orders are passed directly to our liquidity providers. Our ability to fill your trade is contingent on the order being executed with our liquidity providers and therefore cannot be guaranteed.

Can DMA accounts qualify for the cash rebates program?

No, the DMA account cannot qualify for the cash rebates program. However, DMA offers you the opportunity to benefit from reduced commissions based on volume traded. Volume discounts are calculated based on a three-month rolling average, allowing you to benefit from deep discounts month over month.

An example of how we would determine your commissions would be:

1. If you trade $350M volume in Month 1, your commission for trades in Month 2 will be $35 per million.
2. If you trade $550M volume in Month 2, your commission for trades in Month 3 will still be $35 per million traded, since it is based on your 3-month rolling average of volume traded.
3. If you trade $600M volume in Month 3, your commission for trades in Month 4 will be $30 per million traded (based on 3-month rolling average of volume traded).