Investing
A Traditional Wall Street Advantage Is Suddenly Being Threatened
It has been close to impossible for regular people to buy shares at IPO pricing. Now that is changing.
Photographer: Thana Prasongsin/Moment/Getty Images
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It’s getting easier for regular people to invest in what was once one of Wall Street’s most exclusive domains: an initial public offering.
Trading startups Robinhood Markets and Social Finance are looking to offer clients the chance to buy IPO shares early, instead of after they hit the market. Companies planning to go public — like London-based delivery app Deliveroo, which debuted Wednesday — are giving customers access to pre-IPO stock. And fast-growing blank-check firms known as SPACs are a back-door way for some individual investors to get in on an IPO.