CIRO publishes routine quarterly margin list, adding 145 securities and removing 62
CIRO's routine first-quarter 2026 List of Securities Eligible for Reduced Margin (LSERM), published May 7, adds 145 securities and removes 62 from the prior list.
The updated list takes effect May 29 — fifteen business days after the bulletin. Of the 1,592 securities on the list, the majority carried over unchanged from the previous LSERM.
Securities on the list qualify for reduced margin rates of 30 percent for client positions and 25 percent for dealer member inventory positions, down from standard rates under subsection 5310(1) of the IDPC Rules.
CIRO compiled the list using data for the quarter ended March 31; it supersedes all previously issued LSERMs.
Eligible securities must be Canada-listed equities or Canada-US inter-listed equities trading on an approved exchange.
In Canada, those include the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange (Tier 1 and 2), Canadian Securities Exchange, Cboe Canada, and Nasdaq CXC Limited.
In the US, eligible exchanges span the NYSE and its affiliates (Arca, American, National, Chicago), Nasdaq (Global Select, Global Market, Capital Market), Cboe BZX, and Investors Exchange.
SPACs qualify if listed on an SEC-recognized national exchange, the TSX, the Canadian Securities Exchange, or Cboe Canada. Capital Pool Companies and foreign-listed structured products — including foreign-listed debt-based structured products — do not qualify on any exchange.
Cryptocurrency funds remain ineligible for reduced margin until further notice, including those against which OCC options are traded.
Margin eligibility for those funds falls back on subsections 5310(1) and 5311(1) of the IDPC Rules.
The LSERM is available in Excel format on CIRO's website under Rules and Enforcement – Dealer Member Rules – Supporting Resources – Supporting Schedules. Dealer members that report debt transactions to CIRO receive automatic SFTP access via MTRS 2.0; others must set up a separate CIRO account.
Dealer Members that report debt transactions to CIRO receive automatic SFTP access via MTRS 2.0; others must set up a separate CIRO account.
Author's note: This article has been updated from its original version, published May 8, 2025. The original headline and lede overstated the scope of CIRO's action. The update clarifies that CIRO's May 7 bulletin reflects a routine quarterly update to the List of Securities Eligible for Reduced Margin (LSERM), not a broad new reduction in margin requirements. Of the 1,592 securities on the updated list, only 145 were newly added and 62 were removed; the remainder carried over unchanged from the prior LSERM. Wealth Professional regrets the error.
