In Q1 2026, securities with a primary listing on SIX Swiss Exchange generated $20.8 billion in dollar volume on OTC Markets, the largest U.S. market for non-U.S. equities. Switzerland ranks third among all European exchanges by OTC trading volume, behind London Stock Exchange at $28.7 billion and Euronext Paris at $23.8 billion. Across all European exchanges, cross-traded securities generated $118.6 billion in the quarter, representing 56% of international OTC trading volume.
The scale reflects a structural shift that has been building for years. International securities account for 93% of all dollar volume on OTC Markets, a pool that grew 33% year over year in Q1 2026, outpacing the overall market’s 27.1% growth rate.
The landscape Swiss IR teams are navigating
Passive ownership has grown steadily, reshaping how IR teams engage: governance quality, ESG alignment, and disclosure depth now carry weight alongside financial performance. U.S. tariff uncertainty has added a further layer of complexity to investor conversations.
Against that backdrop, U.S. investors, the world’s largest and most active equity capital allocators, have been buying Swiss equities at record pace. That capital base is already present in many Swiss shareholder registers, already trading daily, and expanding.
You stay champion in your home market
The instinctive association many IR professionals make with U.S. market access is the full exchange route: SEC registration, Sarbanes-Oxley obligations, Form 20-F filings, and the overhead of managing a second primary listing. OTC Markets works differently, and at a fraction of the cost.
Because OTC Markets operates as a secondary market, the mechanism is additive by design. U.S. investors trade Swiss shares during U.S. market hours, in U.S. dollars, through the brokerage platforms they already use. The company’s primary listing and settlement remain on SIX. U.S. investor activity on OTC Markets flows back as reported volume to SIX, adding to home market liquidity and preserving domestic price discovery. For investors on both sides, the friction is removed. The result is a broader shareholder base and deeper participation from U.S. investors who can engage on informed terms.
The regulatory framework reinforces this. Under SEC Rule 12g3-2(b), eligible foreign private issuers can establish a formal OTC Markets presence without SEC registration. A SIX-listed company producing annual reports, interim results, and ad hoc disclosures under Swiss law satisfies the disclosure requirement with those same materials. Primary obligations stay in Switzerland. Making existing disclosure accessible to U.S. investors is the step.
This is what our “List Local, Trade Global” means in practice.
Where your shares trade in the U.S. reflects IR choices
Many Swiss-listed companies land on Pink Limited by default, the starting market for foreign securities that trade in the U.S. without issuer involvement. Pink Limited carries a yield sign cautionary indicator visible to U.S. investors, and with no certified disclosure attached, offers limited basis for informed engagement.
Moving up from Pink Limited reflects increasing issuer engagement with the U.S. investor base. OTCID Basic Market, launched July 2025, provides companies with a U.S. disclosure baseline through management certifications and published financial information.
OTCQX Best Market is the premium market for internationally listed companies, and where U.S. investor engagement runs deepest. Companies on OTCQX certify annual compliance with home-market disclosure standards and commit to providing current public information to U.S. investors. In 2025, OTCQX generated $107 billion in annual dollar volume across 574 companies, including Roche and Zurich Insurance Group. OTCQX is where active U.S. IR compounds.
The $20.8 billion in Q1 2026 is the measure of U.S. investor demand that is already here. OTC Markets provides the infrastructure to engage it, using disclosure Swiss companies already produce, without altering what makes the home market strong. For Swiss IR teams, it is access without compromise.
Contact
OTC Markets Group
Jonathan Dickson
VP & Head of EMEA
jonathan@otcmarkets.com
