The “vanishing FCM” has recently become a hot topic. CFTC Commissioner Giancarlo gave a speech to the Market Risk Advisory Committee in June 2015, where he pointed out the dwindling number of FCMs and the concentration of customer assets in the top 5 FCMs. Reuters followed up with an article and Walt Lukken of the FIA gave an interview to the Financial Times. The common theme being the cost of regulation and increased capital requirements. There were 142 FCMs before the financial crisis in October 2008 and as of May 2015 there were only 74. On its face this represents…