Temporary BUY Restrictions on Illiquid OTC Penny Stocks

We understand your point of view. The main contributing factor for the suspension of the stock is not its status or liquidity, rather the excessive trading volume coming from us as a broker as a result of traders buying these stocks through the Trading 212 platform. The buy restrictions are imposed by our intermediary and if we do not comply, we risk suspension from the respective market makers and liquidity providers to which our intermediary routes the orders.

We are not able to provide an ETA of when the restrictions will be lifted. You can be confident that we are communicating with our intermediary with the request of this happening as soon as possible. Further updates will be posted in this thread.

Wouldn’t be possibile to at least put them in sell-only mode?

The stocks in question are put in sell-only mode and if you hold them in your portfolio, you should be able to place a sell order if you wish.

Mea culpa. I mixed the posts I was reading. I meant to ask for COUV.

$COUV’s case is different. It got suspended for public trading by the SEC. After the 10-day suspension period ended end of Feb, and after they filed audited financials for 2019 & 2020, they returned, but to Grey Market only. T212 and most major brokers won’t process buy and sell orders for such stock.
If COUV finally gets their sh*t in order and one day returns to OTC Pink Sheets (if ever), we might be able to resume trading. Most probably in close-only mode, but it’s still better than just watching your money locked away for who knows how long.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I won’t lie it is a huge disappointment that 2 months after the restrictions were placed, there is still no light enough to see the horizon we’re heading at.
Even more so having in mind that IBKR themselves currently do not restrict buy and sell on most of these stocks for their own retail customers.

Fair point, but I still value freedom higher. It is not like trading212 is luring you in like Robinhood. If people want to buy garbage let them buy garbage I say.

Have there been any proposal? Like to allow us to buy these stocks but with a temporary restrictions to sell. I am happy to buy some of them that are already in my portfolio and hold it for long. In fact when I bough CLWD it was with the idea of long term investment and also to buy more from time to time. I know that I could go to another broker and keep buying it, but I use only T212 for my non ISA portfolio.

There cannot be any restrictions on selling stock, as it means stopping you from realizing your profit or limiting your loss, also stopping you from accessing your money.

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Legally there are provisions that allows the restriction of the access of the investor’s money. For example, consumer protection matters, liquidity concerns (e.g. events similar to bank runs on funds/trusts), market manipulation (including inside information/trading, pump & dump), information announcements, etc.
E.g. OEIC, Mutual/Investment Funds, Investment Trusts, Stocks.

Besides debts collection, investigations or suspect transactions (AML/CFT).

True, but these are all apply to individual investors and in specific circumstances.

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Looks like Buy restrictions are becoming more common.

TD Ameritrade restricted list

Does anyone know if this matches T212’s list of restricted stock?

So they tell brokers not to let people buy a stock because they suspect market manipulation, but that itself is a blatant act of market manipulation. :laughing:

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So far I couldn’t find any of my holdings there CLWD, BANT, DTST, DSG, REZZF nor SRNA. I think this list is targeting OTC stock that aren’t pink stock exempt…

I didn’t take a long look at the list to be honest so it may be irrelevant to those using just T212. I’d checked it for some of my holdings (past and present) that I thought could be included but they weren’t there.

Any updates on the restrictions ?

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Unable to buy OTC stock for last 4 months

Can you please provide an update as this has gone on way too long since February to now.

How can it take this long to:

  1. communicate with your intermediary and to obtain a date to lift the restrictions
  2. update us (If there is communication, what has been communicated? what was their response?)

We are getting shafted over for months and I don’t think enough is being done to rectify this situation.

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Nothing has changed actually, hence why the reply below is still relevant:

Please remove restrictions from the OTC stocks

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