Why OTCQX?

As the premium listing venue of OTC Markets, OTCQX connects global companies with U.S. investors through a local stock market for foreign shares that can be accessed by every investor in America.

OTCQX offers benefits to both investors and issuers through a high-access, low-cost alternative to traditional US listing venues.

OTC Markets: key features:

  • $26 trillion in listed market capitalisation

  • Over $500 billion annual trading volume

  • Access to 12,000+ listed securities from over 50 global exchanges

Issuer benefits

Drawing on rules that allow foreign securities to trade over-the-counter in the U.S., OTCQX-listed companies enjoy the diversification and liquidity benefits of a growing U.S. shareholder base without the SEC reporting and disclosure requirements of traditional U.S. trading venues.

This eliminates the need for expensive in-house legal and compliance infrastructure that for many companies serves as an impediment to a U.S. stock exchange listing.

OTC orders trade and settle in each company’s home stock exchange, boosting liquidity for its local listing.

OTCQX confers Blue Sky compliance on the issuer, enabling the company to promote its shares freely in all but a small number of U.S. States to the family offices, high-net worth investors and smaller institutions that rely on OTCQX to invest internationally.

U.S. trading on OTC Markets drives
liquidity to a company’s local market listing

Investor benefits

The United States is home to the world’s largest pool of investing capital. From large asset managers to small family offices, U.S. investors are collectively the largest holders of listed securities across capital markets.

Not all of these investors have the ability to access overseas stock markets enjoyed by institutional money managers. OTC’s markets benefits those smaller institutions, family offices and high net-worth investors by providing access to a U.S. stock market through which to buy and sell shares listed on exchanges worldwide during U.S. trading hours.

Active market-making ensures tight spreads. Local custody arrangements enable U.S. investors to hold their shares without the need for additional account openings.

No additional charges or fees are levied on the holder, ensuring U.S. investors receive dividends and the other financial benefits of foreign share ownership in full.

The highest standards of governance and compliance

OTCQX is fully-regulated and maintains the highest corporate governance standards, meeting the same Federal and State compliance obligations as NYSE and NASDAQ. No amendments are required to a company’s home market disclosures, nor is reconciliation of its financial statements with US GAAP required.

An OTCQX listing confers compliance with State-based Blue Sky rules that govern the solicitation of securities to retail and non-accredited investors in U.S. States. This means the company can engage freely with U.S. investors without the need for additional regulation.