OTC Markets Group: Raising the Bar on Transparency

Last week’s Canadian Investor Conference included a panel featuring Jason Paltrowitz, OTC Markets Group’s (OTCQX:OTCM) executive vice president, corporate services; John McCoach, president of the TSX Venture Exchange; Richard Carleton, CEO of CNSX Markets; and Marcus New, CEO and chief entrepreneur at InvestX Capital. During their half-hour time slot, they discussed investing in the private and public markets, sharing their thoughts on the pros and cons of both.

After the talk, the Investing News Network had the chance to hear more from Paltrowitz about OTC Markets Group. He explained that one of the company’s goals over the past year or so has been to improve the OTCQX marketplace, commenting, “we’ve done a lot of things this year actually, from helping companies access investors [to] helping companies raise their profile.” Moving forward, Paltrowitz said that the OTCQB marketplace will come into focus.

Paltrowitz also took the time to go over the breakdown of companies listed on OTC exchanges, a pertinent topic considering this year’s Canadian Investor Conference featured companies outside the metals space for the second year in a row. “If you look across our QX and QB marketplaces, certainly from Canada specifically, we are starting to see an increase in the number of tech companies looking to access US capital,” he said, adding, “I think we’ll continue to see that grow … we continue to not only be a great place for companies to go to access US capital, but as they grow their story and want to uplist in the US, a great place for them to come and in essence learn how to be US public companies.”

In closing, Paltrowitz touched on algorithmic trading, which has made some investors wonder if they’re operating on a truly level playing field, and on the misconception that public companies are transparent and private companies are not. In terms of the latter, he commented that OTC Markets Group is doing its best to help investors identify trustworthy companies. “Simply registering with the SEC is not enough for an investor to know if a company is investable, if they’re doing the right things, if they’re open and transparent. We require [an] added level of disclosure to help investors,” he said.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

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