This page lists income securities whose distributions have been suspended. For an income investor this is the most consequential event that can happen to a holding short of outright default: the payment you bought the security for has stopped.
Suspension does not always mean the money is permanently gone. What happens next depends entirely on the security's structure — and that was determined at issue, not at the moment of suspension.
| Symbol / CUSIP | Security Description | Exchange | Distribution | Prospectus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAR 001765866 | AMR Corp., 7.875% Public Income NotES PINES due 7/13/2039 | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ABKFQ* 023139108 | Ambac Financial Group, Inc. | OTOTC | Suspended | |
| ABKOQ* 023139702 | Ambac Financial Group Inc., 9.50% Equity Units due 5/17/2011 | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ACPIQ* 037023108 | Anthracite Capital, Inc. | OTOTC | Suspended | |
| ACPOQ* 037023405 | Anthracite Capital Inc., 8.25% Series D Cumul Redeem Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ACPPQ* 037023306 | Anthracite Capital Inc., 9.375% Series C Cumul Redeem Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ACUSP* 00511R862 | Acusphere Inc., 6.5% Convertible Exchangeable Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ADLLQ* 006848303 | Adelphia Communications Corp., 13% Cumul Non-voting Exch Preferred B | OTOTC | Suspended | |
| ADLMQ* 006848600 | Adelphia Communications Corp., 7.50% DECS Series F Mand Conv Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ADLNQ* 006848501 | Adelphia Communications Corp., 8 1/8% Series C Conv Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | |
| ADLPQ* 006848402 | Adelphia Communications Corp., 5 1/2% Series D Convertible Preferred Stock | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AGLFP* 048556203 | Atlantic Gulf Communities Corp., 20% Redeem Convertible Preferred B | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AHMMQ* 02660R206 | American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., 9.75% Cumul Redeem Pfd Stock A | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AHMNQ* 02660R305 | American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., 9.25% Cumul Redeem Pfd Stock B | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AIA* 464288430 | American Insured Mortgage Investors, L.P. - Series 84 | AMEX | Suspended | |
| AICIP* 001338201 | AICI Capital Trust, 9.00% Preferred Securities | OTCBB | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AICPQ* 001338201 | AICI Capital Trust, 9.00% Preferred Securities | OTOTC | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AKF* 023139504 | Ambac Financial Group Inc., 5.95% Debentures due 2/28/2103 | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AKK* 042476606 | Armstrong World Industries, Inc. 7.45% Senior QUIBS | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AKKWQ* 042476606 | Armstrong World Industries, Inc. 7.45% Senior QUIBS due 10/15/2038 | OTCBB | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AKS-* 001547306 | AK Steel Holding Corp., $3.625 Series B Cumul Convertible Preferred Stock | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| AKT* 023139603 | Ambac Financial Group Inc., 5.875% Debentures due 3/24/2103 | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ALD** 01903Q108 | Allied Capital Corp. | NYSE | Suspended | |
| ALIN-A* Y8565J127 | Altera Infrastructure L.P., 7.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
| ALIN-B* Y8565J135 | Altera Infrastructure L.P., 8.50% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units | NYSE | Suspended | Prospectus |
The remaining 330 securities — plus sorting, filtering and Excel, PDF and CSV export — are available to registered users. Registration is free.
If a cumulative preferred suspends its dividend, the missed payments accrue as arrears. The issuer must pay every one of them in full before it can pay a single cent to common shareholders, and holders often eventually recover the whole amount.
If a non-cumulative preferred suspends, the missed payments are gone permanently. When the issuer resumes paying it simply starts again, with no obligation for the skipped periods. Bank preferreds are overwhelmingly non-cumulative, which is precisely why they carry higher coupons.
Two securities from the same issuer, suspended on the same day, can therefore have entirely different outcomes.
Trust preferreds typically permit the issuer to defer distributions for up to five years — usually 20 consecutive quarters — without triggering a default. Deferred amounts accrue and compound, and the issuer cannot pay common dividends while deferring.
A deferring trust preferred is technically current on its obligations even though no cash is arriving. Whether the accrued amount is ever paid depends on the issuer surviving the deferral period.
Issuers do not suspend lightly. Doing so closes off access to the capital markets and usually blocks common dividends and buybacks under the security's own terms, so a suspension almost always indicates serious financial stress or a regulatory directive.
Prices typically fall sharply and immediately. Whether the security is then a distressed opportunity or a value trap turns on the cumulative question above and on the issuer's ability to recover — which is a credit judgement, not an income one.
QuantumOnline has tracked exchange-traded income securities since 1997. Every security in this list is researched and maintained by hand from the issuer's prospectus and SEC filings, not scraped from a vendor feed. Where a figure is unavailable we show "n.a." rather than guessing.
Information is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell. Always confirm terms against the issuer's prospectus before investing.