Wells Fargo OTC Stocks (Penny Stocks) in 2025

Wells Fargo Advisors (Wellstrade) penny stock fees: commission charged for buying pink sheets/OTCBB bulletin board/gray market/stocks priced under $1. Can I trade OTC stocks on Wells Fargo?

Penny and OTC Stocks at WellsTrade: Points to Remember

• Over-the-counter securities and penny stocks can be traded inside a brokerage account at WellsTrade or Wells Fargo Advisors.

• Transactions of penny and OTC securities are commission-free at WellsTrade but not at Wells Fargo Advisors.

• WellsTrade has a user-friendly search engine to find penny stocks.

Overview of Penny Stocks and OTC Instruments at Wells Fargo

Penny stocks are stocks priced below a certain level, such as $1 or $5. Over-the-counter (OTC) stocks, by comparison, are stocks that trade at any price level in the OTC marketplace and not on one of the major national exchanges, like the New York Stock Exchange.

Both Wells Fargo Advisors and WellsTrade offer access to OTC stocks and penny stocks. WellsTrade does not permit the purchase of OTC stocks priced below $1.00, although positions and sales are permitted in such assets.

Finding OTC/Penny Stocks at WellsTrade

It’s really easy to find penny stocks at WellsTrade. Simply log into the broker’s website and hover over the Research tab in the top menu. In the drop-down window that appears, select the link for screeners. On the next page, click on the button for the stock screener (and not for the ETF screener).

With the equity search wizard pulled up, it’s time to get down to business. Simply specify a maximum price in the last-price field, and it’s off to the races. We received thousands of results below $5. Unfortunately, there is no method to search specifically for OTC stocks at WellsTrade.

Wells Fargo brokerage account

Submitting an Order for a Penny or OTC Stock

At WellsTrade, penny stocks and OTC equities trade the same way as other securities. Simply enter the ticker symbol and specify the trade parameters, such as duration and order type. If a security is an over-the-counter instrument, the order form will show ‘OTC’ as the exchange.

Cost of Trading Penny and OTC Stocks at Wells

WellsTrade does not charge any commissions on trades of stocks or American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which are very common in the OTC marketplace. There are no surcharges for these special trades, either, so they cost nothing on the buy side. Sells will have small exchange and regulatory fees, which is normal in the industry.

Wells Fargo Advisors is a different story. Brokerage accounts there are full-service accounts, and trades in these accounts will have commissions that are disclosed at the point of account opening.

Firstrade as a Substitute

Although WellsTrade’s screener can’t scan the OTC marketplace, Firstrade’s search engine can. So if you’re looking specifically for over-the-counter securities, Firstrade is the better option.

To pull up Firstrade’s search wizard, log into the website and hover over the Research & Tools tab in the top menu. In the drop-down list of choices, look for the link for screeners. On the next page, click on the tab for the stock screener. Be sure to click on this tab and not the tab for the ETF or mutual-fund screener (during our testing, Google Chrome was not compatible with the stock screener).

wells fargo otc stocks

With the equity screener launched, put a tick in the box next to Exchange. You’ll be able to specify OTC PINK as the exchange. When we did this, we received 14,352 results. However, not all of these are tradable. Firstrade prohibits the trading of the following OTC securities:

- Stocks priced less than 10¢
- F-shares (foreign ordinary shares)
- Stocks with average daily volume under 50,000

The good news is that Firstrade charges nothing for purchases or sales of penny or OTC stocks.

Open Firstrade Account

Visit Firstrade Website

Updated on 12/22/2024.

About the Author

Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.