Market Structure

Cromwell Coulson’s Fireside Chat with Bob Pisani

Cromwell Coulson’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Dedication to STANY

April 19, 2018

The Security Traders Association of New York (STANY) honored OTC Markets Group CEO Cromwell Coulson with its 5th Annual Award for Lifetime Achievement and Dedication to STANY at its 82nd annual conference. Cromwell joined CNBC’s Bob Pisani for a Fireside Chat to talk about the evolution of OTC Markets Group and the contributions of industry professionals that have leveraged their knowledge for the benefit of both the trading community and investors.

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May 23, 2018 0

Understanding Blue Sky Laws

The OTC equity market operates within a unique, often complex regulatory environment. While much of the securities industry focuses solely on federal laws and regulation, the companies, broker-dealers, investors and others comprising the OTC market must understand the impact of state “Blue Sky” laws as well. Continue reading “Understanding Blue Sky Laws” →

February 12, 2018 1

Set out on a journey and make your mark… OTCQX Blue Sky Recognition Expands to 25 States

The Recognition Continues to Grow

Utah recently became the 25th state to recognize the OTCQX Best Market under its “Blue Sky Manual Exemption” for secondary trading. Just one year after Vermont first recognized OTCQX, reaching half of the 50 states marks a pivotal milestone in our quest to achieve national Blue Sky recognition. The addition of Utah followed recent recognitions from Delaware, West Virginia, Indiana and Maine. Continue reading “Set out on a journey and make your mark… OTCQX Blue Sky Recognition Expands to 25 States” →

July 12, 2017 0

Leveraging the High Demand of Community Bank Stocks

The OTCQX Banks Index, a benchmark for community banks traded on the OTCQX market, gained 30 percent in the past 12 months, compared to 15 percent for the S&P 500. How can community banks leverage this positive trend and deliver greater value to their shareholders? Continue reading “Leveraging the High Demand of Community Bank Stocks” →

June 6, 2017 0

How Can We Take the Pain Out of Being Public? Part II

In a previous blog post, I talked about some of the “pains” associated with a being an exchange-listed company today. Not only does it cost $2.5 million to do an IPO onto a U.S. exchange, it costs on average $1.5 million per year in legal, accounting, advisory and compliance costs to maintain an exchange listing, according to a 2011 study by the IPO Task Force. Continue reading “How Can We Take the Pain Out of Being Public? Part II” →

April 11, 2017 1

Let Public Companies Sell Shares in the Public Markets

If we want growing companies to go public, we need our public markets to be a competitive source of growth capital. One easy solution is to let public companies sell their shares in the same way they can now buy them back: through brokers directly into their established public markets. Removing the outdated restrictions on selling shares publicly will lower the cost of capital and attract more growth companies to our markets.

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April 3, 2017 0

Addressing the SEC White Paper on OTC Equities

The SEC recently published a paper on OTC equity securities on their website. While I am always happy to see more research around OTC equities, I am surprised by the paper’s overly negative and misinformed conclusions about the growth in OTC dollar volumes. Continue reading “Addressing the SEC White Paper on OTC Equities” →

March 13, 2017 2

How Can We Take the Pain Out of Being Public?

A key driver of the American economy is the capital formation process that fosters innovation and new enterprises. Entrepreneurs raise capital to grow their business, innovate and create jobs. For many smaller companies, the expectation is to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and list on a stock exchange – hoping to build liquidity and visibility, and ultimately, long term shareholder value. Continue reading “How Can We Take the Pain Out of Being Public?” →

January 4, 2017 2

Don’t Be Pound Foolish

Which US Equity Market has the largest number of securities NOT considered Penny Stocks according to SEC Rule 3a51-1? Based on the location of this post, you should be able to guess…. but that should make it no less surprising. The numbers speak for themselves: Continue reading “Don’t Be Pound Foolish” →

October 17, 2016 0