what they are telling you is just a load of crap. call them back and talk to someone other than a 5th grader answering the phone. that is the same script they use with calls on stocks that have restricted online trades... there may be a reason they have AANI restricted for online trading, but you are being fed a line of crap.
here's a discussion thread regarding what people are being told by their brokers re: different stocks. I'm not defending them on any level, because they frequently use blanket statements and old tapes in their heads when they don't know what to say and don't have a supervisor to pass a call along to...
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