The various changes in the market since 1987 have led to a huge shift away from offers and towards placings. As a private investor, you can only participate in these if you are registered with a broker or other intermediary that has an allocation of shares they can parcel out to their clients.
Traditionally, the way to do this has been to open an advisory or discretionary broking account with a leading broker. This is not cheap. Many brokers stipulate minimum account sizes of £50,000 or more. Commissions and other charges tend to be considerably higher than for an execution-only service. But it may well be your best option if you are also looking for general investment advice, and not simply access to new issues.
Alternatively, you can sign up with a range of online services that has recently sprung up with the specific aim of helping private investors back into the new issues market. These 'electronic intermediaries' are trying to persuade companies and their advisors to offer shares to the public online, cutting out many of the costs that make traditional offers for sale so expensive. Instead of IPOs, they talk of DPOs (Direct Public Offerings) or EPOs (Electronic Public Offerings).
The movement is still in its infancy, and it will take time for its lobbying to make a real impact. But by registering with these intermediaries now, you will get
You can start by visiting the following websites:
| www.e-traderuk.com/newissues.html | Helpful list of links and books on IPOs |
| www.eo.net | A venture by the founders of internet incubator NewMedia SPARK, with news pages devoted to new issues |
Book offers!
|
|
The Snowball
Alice Schroeder |
| Our price: £16.25
Normally: £25.00 |
|
|
Project Finance in Theory and Practice
Stefano Gatti |
| Our price: £39.09
Normally: £45.99 |
|
|
New Day Trader Advantage
Jon Markman |
| Our price: £13.59
Normally: £15.99 |
