Adam Torres and Cromwell Coulson discuss the Microcap Conference.
Subscribe: iTunes / Spotify
Apply to be a guest on our podcast here
Show Notes:
Listen to the Microcap Conference coverage. In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Cromwell Coulson, President, CEO & Director at OTC Markets Group. Explore OTC Markets Group and the Microcap Conference.
Watch Full Interview:
About Cromwell Coulson
Cromwell Coulson serves as the President, CEO, and Director of OTC Markets Group, overseeing the company’s overall growth and strategic direction. Since acquiring the predecessor business of OTC Markets in 1997, he has led the transformation of the company from a privately-held publisher of broker-dealer quotations into a publicly-traded enterprise that operates three public markets, facilitating trading for 12,000 securities with an annual dollar volume of nearly $713 billion. Coulson is a dedicated advocate for enhancing capital access for small companies, fostering a diverse broker-dealer ecosystem, and equipping investors with vital information. His expertise has been recognized through testimony before Congress and speaking engagements at numerous industry conferences. Additionally, he served as Chair of the FINRA Market Regulation Committee from 2017 to 2018, providing guidance on rulemaking and trading matters. Before joining OTC Markets, Coulson worked as an institutional trader and portfolio manager at Carr Securities Corporation. He holds an OPM from Harvard Business School and earned a BBA from Southern Methodist University.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest on the show, just head on over to missionmatters.com and click on ‘Be Our Guest’ to apply.
All right, so today I am in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and I’m at the MicroCap Conference. Let me tell you, we’ve been covering this conference for a couple of years now, but this is the first time I’ve been able to come in person, and what an event it was and is! They put on quite, quite, quite a show. I mean, from the pre-party all the way to—we’re recording this on the last day of the conference.
I just now had the privilege of seeing a panel, which Cromwell, my guest, was on, and I was able to snag him for a quick interview. First thing, Cromwell, welcome to the show.
Thank you, Adam.
All right, so first off, have you ever been to a MicroCap Conference? Just curious if you’ve been to one of these events.
Yes, I’ve been in the past.
So, what do you think makes these things so successful? Like, I’m seeing the energy, the people… what’s been your experience?
Well, you know, anytime you bring together people—companies, investors, advisors—into one place, it becomes a very efficient workspace for people to collaborate, meet, and plan future ideas. So, you know, there’s a good buzz here.
Amazing. So, I know I just now caught the panel that you were speaking on. I want to talk about that a little bit. But before we do, maybe talk a little bit more about what you’re doing over at the OTC Markets Group.
At OTC Markets, we operate a regulated stock market for 12,000 securities. We have multiple markets. We’ve got our OTCQX Best Market for companies that can meet financial requirements and governance standards. We have our OTCQB Venture Market for entrepreneurial companies. And then we have our Pink Markets, which are for companies that, for the most part, we’re not providing per se a listing market. Instead, it’s for companies for which brokers are able to trade on behalf of investors, with limited to no involvement of the issuer.
Now, the panel that you were just sitting on… maybe for those at home who weren’t able to attend, give us a little bit of insight into the conversation.
Well, the conversation was about capital formation. Right now, with the switch of administration, it’s on everybody’s mind. I don’t think you can walk through this conference hall without hearing something about it.
Go ahead, please.
So, the last administration was a Democratic administration, very much of the mindset that risk is not good. Now, we’ve got a new administration coming through, which is hopefully going to focus more on capital formation and looking at how we go through the securities regulatory rulebook and streamline access to capital, while still keeping America’s world-leading disclosure framework.
I know some of the things that you were talking about… there were different panelists represented. I believe there was someone from a Canadian exchange, right?
Yes, there was a panelist from the Canadian Stock Exchange, a panelist from the New York Stock Exchange, and an attorney who represents public companies and investors.
From the OTC Markets standpoint, or even just your own, any comments on how they’re planning or what might happen next? I know there’s no crystal ball, but what kind of conversations are being had?
Well, I think the conversations are about what we can do to have more positive outcomes and identifying parts of the regulatory framework that are restricting lawful activities. Are there parts of the securities framework that are adding economic drag or unnecessary burdens?
At the end of the day, public markets and public companies that are transparent with their disclosures, and where anyone can buy shares, go hand in hand with democracy and capitalism.
Absolutely.
We want to incentivize companies to go public and make capital more easily available if they are public. That’s the goal. It sounds good, but we need to have conversations with regulators about how to start unlocking that.
And in terms of here, specifically, I know there are a lot of companies having conversations about how to raise and access capital, whether it’s through the public markets, like you’re mentioning, or other ways. Can you speak at a high level about some of the benefits of going public versus other methods?
If you’re a public company, you are playing in a lit stadium. We really have to look at public markets from two sides. One: companies that want to be public but don’t need to raise capital because they produce their own and want to take care of their shareholders. Our markets work fantastically for capital creators, and we’re a lower-cost way to be public than the exchanges.
Then there’s the second group of companies that are looking to raise capital. A lot of burdens have been put on public companies, making it hard to do so. Small public companies, whether listed on NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, or OTC Markets, for the most part, still raise their money privately, which is ludicrous. We want to make it possible for companies that are public and transparent to raise money publicly without having to return to the private market.
Well, Cromwell, I just have to say, it’s been great having you on today. I know you have a lot more to get to at the conference. We appreciate you making time for us.
Last thing: if you can look into the camera and tell people how they can learn more about OTC Markets Group, that would be great.
Visit www.otcmarkets.com. If you want to learn about our company and what we do—whether it’s in the trading business, helping broker-dealers trade electronically across our regulated alternative trading systems, our market data business, or our corporate services business—we’re traded on our own market on our OTCQX Best Market under the symbol OTCM. You can look up and read our financials, check out our disclosures, and find out how we work.
Amazing. For everybody listening, just so you know, we’ll definitely put the links in the show notes so you can click on them and head right over.
And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done so yet, hit that subscribe or follow button. This is a daily show. Every day, we’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along your journey.
So again, hit that subscribe or follow button. Cromwell, thank you so much for coming.
Well, thank you, Adam, for having me.