What will happen to CWSFF on USA OTC markets by sept 28Effective September 28, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amendments to Rule 15c2-11 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 will prohibit broker-dealers from publishing quotations of certain Over-the-Counter (OTC) securities when issuer information is not current and publicly available.
Which securities are affected by these new amendments? The OTC securities that will be impacted by these new amendments fall within certain OTC Market categories including “Pink – No Information”, “Pink – Limited” and “Expert Market”. You can find more information on the rule changes and on which securities may be impacted by the rule changes by visiting the OTC Markets 15c2-11 Resource Center available at
otcmarkets.com.
Note that the number of impacted securities is changing on an ongoing basis as some companies provide the required issuer information and move into different OTC market categories.
Will any of my investments be impacted by the amendments? Please be advised that RBC Direct Investing depends on U.S. executing broker-dealers in order to transact in U.S. OTC securities and some of these broker-dealers may restrict trading of impacted securities as a result of these rule changes. Accordingly, the purchase and sale of impacted U.S. OTC securities may become much more difficult on or after September 28, 2021 as quotes and market liquidity may be limited. For example:
· Open orders that you have or new orders that you place to buy or sell impacted U.S. OTC securities in US markets may be cancelled or rejected without prior notice
· There may be a lack of market data information and/or liquidity in respect of impacted U.S. OTC securities
· In some circumstances, RBC Direct Investing may request additional client information required by U.S. executing broker-dealers before an order may be accepted
Should I take any action? Clients should review their positions in U.S. OTC securities and identify if any may be subject to these impacts. Please visit the
OTC Markets quotes lookup tool on the OTC Markets homepage and
OTC Markets Stock Screener to check if any securities you hold may be impacted by the rule changes.
Note that certain impacted OTC Securities may be quoted on multiple markets, and so trade both in Canada and in the U.S. OTC markets. Clients holding these securities may want to review both markets to find the best possible price and source of liquidity.