Thank you for your email. I attempted to reach you at the numbers listed on your account, but have been unable to get through.
The reason you, and other investors, are unable to trade Smokefree Inotec Inc. (SFIO) in your Schwab account is due to a Global Lock placed on this security by the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
DTC is the organization that is used to settle trades of stock between brokerage firms. Since stock trading is done electronically, it is necessary to have a company like this that can settle buys and sells going between different brokerage firms and financial institutions.
A Global Lock indicates that we are unable to keep track of SFIO shares and security numbers when they are traded between brokerage firms. When this happens, it becomes very difficult to receive payment for a company that one of our clients sells from their account. Because of this difficulty in receiving payment, it becomes increasingly risky to allow trading, as payment for shares is not certain.
Due to this increased risk, Schwab and any other financial institutions that use DTC for settlement disallow further trading in the security. This is done to protect our clients from potential exposure to fraud by companies that are not subject to the same regulations and standards as those traded on national exchanges, such as the NYSE.
While you cannot trade these shares within your Schwab account, you do have the ability to transfer them to another brokerage firm that will trade the stock. To do this, it would be necessary for you to contact the firm to where you would like to send the shares and complete their Transfer of Account paperwork. Once you have completed the necessary forms, they will return these documents to Schwab to initiate the transfer.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to reply to this email. We greatly appreciate your business.
This is the reply from the e-mail I sent today.
