Best Broker for OTC stocks - I need a recomendation

[KJP]

NoCalledStrikes, how's your experiment with TD AM going? I haven't had any problems with them for a few otc stocks that I own. (NJMC, ATGN, TSSI, QUES etc.)

 

Bumping this up to see how it's going with TD Ameritrade.  My existing broker has now largely locked me out of grey market, otc, etc.  TD Ameritrade's website claims it permits OTC trading and a TD rep I spoke to confirmed that.  Can anyone currently use TD Ameritrade confirm that they're currently able to trade grey market, pink sheet and "no information" stocks?  Thanks.

[muscleman]

NoCalledStrikes, how's your experiment with TD AM going? I haven't had any problems with them for a few otc stocks that I own. (NJMC, ATGN, TSSI, QUES etc.)

 

Bumping this up to see how it's going with TD Ameritrade.  My existing broker has now largely locked me out of grey market, otc, etc.  TD Ameritrade's website claims it permits OTC trading and a TD rep I spoke to confirmed that.  Can anyone currently use TD Ameritrade confirm that they're currently able to trade grey market, pink sheet and "no information" stocks?  Thanks.

 

I transferred from IB to TD last year and so far have been happy. What specific symbol would you like me to try to buy and experiment? I can send in a low priced buy limit order to see if they reject it.

[Spekulatius]

GCCO is  one that I am interested in. I can’t trade it on IB platform.

[KJP]

NoCalledStrikes, how's your experiment with TD AM going? I haven't had any problems with them for a few otc stocks that I own. (NJMC, ATGN, TSSI, QUES etc.)

 

Bumping this up to see how it's going with TD Ameritrade.  My existing broker has now largely locked me out of grey market, otc, etc.  TD Ameritrade's website claims it permits OTC trading and a TD rep I spoke to confirmed that.  Can anyone currently use TD Ameritrade confirm that they're currently able to trade grey market, pink sheet and "no information" stocks?  Thanks.

 

I transferred from IB to TD last year and so far have been happy. What specific symbol would you like me to try to buy and experiment? I can send in a low priced buy limit order to see if they reject it.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  ADVC (Advant-E) and PKTEF (Parkit) are two I've had problems with.

[bookie71]

I have had good luck with Schwab

[muscleman]

NoCalledStrikes, how's your experiment with TD AM going? I haven't had any problems with them for a few otc stocks that I own. (NJMC, ATGN, TSSI, QUES etc.)

 

Bumping this up to see how it's going with TD Ameritrade.  My existing broker has now largely locked me out of grey market, otc, etc.  TD Ameritrade's website claims it permits OTC trading and a TD rep I spoke to confirmed that.  Can anyone currently use TD Ameritrade confirm that they're currently able to trade grey market, pink sheet and "no information" stocks?  Thanks.

 

I transferred from IB to TD last year and so far have been happy. What specific symbol would you like me to try to buy and experiment? I can send in a low priced buy limit order to see if they reject it.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  ADVC (Advant-E) and PKTEF (Parkit) are two I've had problems with.

 

I just tried in TD and there are no problems with ADVC or PKTEF. My order for GCCO was instantly rejected. I've seen that kind of case with OTEL and GSUM before, but I can call in to place the order.

[KJP]

NoCalledStrikes, how's your experiment with TD AM going? I haven't had any problems with them for a few otc stocks that I own. (NJMC, ATGN, TSSI, QUES etc.)

 

Bumping this up to see how it's going with TD Ameritrade.  My existing broker has now largely locked me out of grey market, otc, etc.  TD Ameritrade's website claims it permits OTC trading and a TD rep I spoke to confirmed that.  Can anyone currently use TD Ameritrade confirm that they're currently able to trade grey market, pink sheet and "no information" stocks?  Thanks.

 

I transferred from IB to TD last year and so far have been happy. What specific symbol would you like me to try to buy and experiment? I can send in a low priced buy limit order to see if they reject it.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  ADVC (Advant-E) and PKTEF (Parkit) are two I've had problems with.

 

I just tried in TD and there are no problems with ADVC or PKTEF. My order for GCCO was instantly rejected. I've seen that kind of case with OTEL and GSUM before, but I can call in to place the order.

 

Thanks for checking!

[bookie71]

gcco and advc are on Schwab and I bought some pktef some time ago.

[Spekulatius]

Thanks all for checking. GCCO is fairly obscure, so that’s why I like it for a litmus test.

[DTEJD1997]

Hey all:

 

I used to be at Scottrade, and that was pretty good.

 

They got bought out by TDAmeritrade.  I do not like the level of service or competence at TDA.

 

For example, during the trading day, my account balances do not total up correctly in regards to gains/losses.  I've called on this many times to tech support and they either have NO idea what is going on OR they come up with screwball excuses.  I've been in to the local branch and the idiocy continues.  I was asked by an account rep, "Why do you need to be checking your account during the day?"

 

My reply was "why can't your servers do basic math?  Did they get programmed at Detroit Public Skools"?

 

So while I do not have a recommendation, definitely DO NOT consider TDAmeritrade!

[Hielko]

I disagree. I think TD Ameritrade is pretty good with regards to supporting OTC stocks and with good customer support. Haven't had an issue with my account values at TD Ameritrade, but who cares? You probably have some exotic positions that they cannot mark to market properly intraday. Have had this happen at IB previously, and never thought that was a big deal either. It's probably the least important thing I would judge a broker on.

[Spekulatius]

I disagree. I think TD Ameritrade is pretty good with regards to supporting OTC stocks and with good customer support. Haven't had an issue with my account values at TD Ameritrade, but who cares? You probably have some exotic positions that they cannot mark to market properly intraday. Have had this happen at IB previously, and never thought that was a big deal either. It's probably the least important thing I would judge a broker on.

I agree. I hold some OTC stocks and also get funny marks with Fidelity, IB and with Scottrade ( when I had them). It doesn’t concern me at all, but I can see this being a nuisance when you manage other people’s money and the funny mark gap owns to be at the end of the quarter. Of course, if you have a KT view, it shouldn’t matter.

[Jurgis]

OT? I'm gonna use this forum to complain about Fido return calculations for accounts that have positions in foreign markets (not ADRs, but full fledged foreign). Their return calculation is screwed up. When I sell foreign stock, they show it as cash deposit. And suddenly my return is negative since their return calculation says "hey your account value dropped by X. And hey, there's a deposit of X. Well your return is negative X/total %. Have a nice day". I complained, but no results so far.  >:(

[DTEJD1997]

I disagree. I think TD Ameritrade is pretty good with regards to supporting OTC stocks and with good customer support. Haven't had an issue with my account values at TD Ameritrade, but who cares? You probably have some exotic positions that they cannot mark to market properly intraday. Have had this happen at IB previously, and never thought that was a big deal either. It's probably the least important thing I would judge a broker on.

I agree. I hold some OTC stocks and also get funny marks with Fidelity, IB and with Scottrade ( when I had them). It doesn’t concern me at all, but I can see this being a nuisance when you manage other people’s money and the funny mark gap owns to be at the end of the quarter. Of course, if you have a KT view, it shouldn’t matter.

 

I've got to disagree...If TDA can't tally OTC correctly...what else are they F'king up?

 

I'm not talking about small amounts or percentages either...this is major goofs.  Even if you look at the spreads, and the likely trade price on the otc's, it still doesn't come close to the errors that TDA is making.

 

Scottrade had NO problem at all doing this.

[Spekulatius]

I disagree. I think TD Ameritrade is pretty good with regards to supporting OTC stocks and with good customer support. Haven't had an issue with my account values at TD Ameritrade, but who cares? You probably have some exotic positions that they cannot mark to market properly intraday. Have had this happen at IB previously, and never thought that was a big deal either. It's probably the least important thing I would judge a broker on.

I agree. I hold some OTC stocks and also get funny marks with Fidelity, IB and with Scottrade ( when I had them). It doesn’t concern me at all, but I can see this being a nuisance when you manage other people’s money and the funny mark gap owns to be at the end of the quarter. Of course, if you have a KT view, it shouldn’t matter.

 

I've got to disagree...If TDA can't tally OTC correctly...what else are they F'king up?

 

I'm not talking about small amounts or percentages either...this is major goofs.  Even if you look at the spreads, and the likely trade price on the otc's, it still doesn't come close to the errors that TDA is making.

 

Scottrade had NO problem at all doing this.

 

I think at least with IB and possibly with Fidelity, they don’t get the bid ask correct. I have seen them sometimes value OTC stocks based on the last trade, or based in thr last bid. the problem is that at least IB often does not show the bid ask correctly, so I can see how they mark the stock incorrectly (I have seen some obscure stocks I own being valued at close to zero, even though the last trade (which may have been days ago) was for $1000 +/ share. Personally, I

This does not bother me at all. The bigger problem is that I can’t rely on IB’s bid/ask spreads for trading, I need to log in Fidelity (which is usually correct, but ironically does not allow to buy this stock) to obtain the bid ask spread, before I put an order in IB.

[Spekulatius]

Another issue with Interactive Brokers. I bid on an stock (which I purchased before on IB) and the order remains in “blue” status, meaning that the exchange doesn’t accept the order. This has never before happened to me and seems to be only with one stock. I put in a ticket with and they first told me that there is no bid ask. However, I lok at the same stock with E*TRADE and Fidelity and there is an bid ask. After I put in a second ticket the answer was as follows:

 

IB does not trade against your order, sell your order to a third party or take the other side of the trade. IB is a direct access Broker that routes order electronically to Pink/OTC market centers. If they do not want to trade the symbol then they are not required to make any Bid/Ask markets. Your order will rest on IB's server until we can send it to an OTC Market Center that will trade the order.

 

This does not make sense, because I know that the stock has traded since I made a bid ask. It almost seems like IB is trading in a different exchange than these other bid ask or trades go though. Anyone understands what’s going on? Again, I have traded the same stock before using IB.

[Hielko]

How things trade on the pink sheets is always a bit of a mystery. Stocks on the pink sheets don't trade on any real exchange and the original pink sheets printed on the pink paper was obviously only a service to make a bid/ask public on certain stocks. 20/30 years ago it was replaced by an electronic quotation system, but it still was only a system to provide stock quotes, not a system to handle trades. OTC Markets has the OTC Link ATS (Alternative Trading System) that does include trading functionality, and there are probably some other platforms that can also handle OTC trades, but I think this mix of different systems, not all designed for trading itself, makes it possible that sometimes you see quotes but without the ability to trade them electronically.

[wabuffo]

Stocks on the pink sheets don't trade on any real exchange.

 

In fact, in certain cases, the stocks aren't supposed to trade at all yet buys and sells happen on paper?/electronic spreadsheets?

 

In the case of OTC stocks that are liquidating, the Company will often direct their transfer agent to cease trading in the stock.  Yet the OTC brokers will continue to record transactions in the stock well after the transfer agent has frozen the final shareholder list.  Thus, there are no shares transferring hands, just a bunch of brokers keeping records on their own.

 

This sometimes creates problems with liquidating distributions, record dates and ex-dividend dates since the Company and its transfer agent "send" the distributions to the shareholder of record as of the cease trading date.  The OTC brokers' back offices then have to redirect the liquidating distributions beyond the transfer agent's instructions based on the brokers' own understanding of who owned which shares on what date dependant on FINRA's interpretation of record dates and ex-dividend dates.

 

The confusion isn't about whether you owned a stock or not after the cease trading date, but instead, confusion over what the Company's instructions mean and how they are to be executed beyond the cease trading date.  Companies don't really understand the world beyond their transfer agent and this confusion can lead to people who shouldn't get a distribution to get it and vice versa.

 

It is a bit of the wild, wild west and there have been occasional flustercucks because of this kind of activity in OTC-land.

 

wabuffo

[KJP]

Based on some comments in this thread two years ago, I opened an account at Fidelity to keep open the option of buying non-reporting OTC securities.  I tried to place a few stink bids today via Fidelity on LICT and ADVC and couldn't do it.  For some reason I could place one on LAACZ after filling out a waiver form.  So, now I've had no luck at both Merrill and Fidelity with many OTC companies, even ones that publish audited financials on their websites like LICT.  I've previously had trouble buying them through Interactive Brokers as well.

 

So, anyone have current recommendations for a US resident on the best broker to buy this type of stuff through?

[Spekulatius]

Based on some comments in this thread two years ago, I opened an account at Fidelity to keep open the option of buying non-reporting OTC securities.  I tried to place a few stink bids today via Fidelity on LICT and ADVC and couldn't do it.  For some reason I could place one on LAACZ after filling out a waiver form.  So, now I've had no luck at both Merrill and Fidelity with many OTC companies, even ones that publish audited financials on their websites like LICT.  I've previously had trouble buying them through Interactive Brokers as well.

 

So, anyone have current recommendations for a US resident on the best broker to buy this type of stuff through?

 

Schwab aus better for OTC stock than Fidelity. Fidelity allows to buy some OTC stocks, but many are restricted.

[KJP]

Based on some comments in this thread two years ago, I opened an account at Fidelity to keep open the option of buying non-reporting OTC securities.  I tried to place a few stink bids today via Fidelity on LICT and ADVC and couldn't do it.  For some reason I could place one on LAACZ after filling out a waiver form.  So, now I've had no luck at both Merrill and Fidelity with many OTC companies, even ones that publish audited financials on their websites like LICT.  I've previously had trouble buying them through Interactive Brokers as well.

 

So, anyone have current recommendations for a US resident on the best broker to buy this type of stuff through?

 

Schwab aus better for OTC stock than Fidelity. Fidelity allows to buy some OTC stocks, but many are restricted.

 

Thanks.  I will give Schwab a try.