FXCM Japan announced today to its clients that the brokerage was set to shut down its support for Tradency’s Mirror Trader as well as cutting back on the number of currency pairs available for trading. Tradency’s Mirror Trader could be considered FXCM's main copy or social trading offering, as it was the only such platform featured on its websites, despite supporting others such as ZuluTrade.
Rakuten Securities Inc. took over FXCM Japan Securities Co. this March, in a deal worth $62 million, as the American firm needed the cash to help get back on its feet following its loss on Black Thursday (the CHF crisis). Rakuten Securities said at the time of the Acquisition that it would continue to support the FXCM trading system for legacy FXCM Japan clients but did not give any guarantees for other platforms. Now it seems the new owner is streamlining its platform offerings and getting rid of some FXCM favorites.
The discontinuation of Tradency’s Mirror Trader will take place in three steps. This Friday, May 29, 2015, FXCM Japan will no longer allow the opening of new accounts. On June 26, first deposits to Mirror Trader accounts will no longer be available as a second step. Finally, on July 24, 2015, the service will be completely terminated with all open positions liquidated. Rakuten Securities did not indicate if it planned to offer its clients any alternatives in the future.
The brokerage also announced today that it would discontinue support for fourteen "exotic" currency pairs on July 24, 2015. The main currencies to be removed include the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar and Turkish lira.
