ASA Presses Court to Halt Stock Perpetuals, Putting Retail Risk at Center of Fight

The American Securities Association has asked a court to pause single-stock perpetuals, arguing that potential harm to retail investors justifies interim relief while the case proceeds. The products, which track individual equities without an expiry date, sit at the center of a dispute over how much risk retail traders should be allowed to take on. The ASA contends that without a halt, losses could mount before the court resolves the underlying legal questions. The outcome matters because a pause would freeze the rollout of a fast-growing derivatives category and shape how brokers offer them. What to watch next is whether the court grants interim relief and how the ruling affects the pace of new single-stock perpetual listings.