WHAT IS IPO AND HOW DO WE INVEST IN IPO
Remember When you are browsing through the Internet, you see an announcement of an IPO offering by various companies. If you are among the people who are wondering what is IPO or how to invest in IPO? Here, we guide you through the basics of the term and concepts in very Practical Approach.
How Does a Company Offer an IPO?
A company before it becomes public hires an investment bank to handle the IPO. The investment bank and the company work out the financial details of the IPO in the underwriting agreement. Later, along with the underwriting agreement, they file the registration statement with SEC. SEC scrutinizes the disclosed information and if found right, it allows a date to announce the IPO.
Why Does a Company Offer an IPO?
1. Offering an IPO is a money-making exercise. Every company needs money, it may be to expand, to improve their business, to better the infrastructure, to repay loans, etc
2. Trading stocks in the open market mean increased liquidity. It opens door to employee stock ownership plans like stock options and other compensation plans, which attracts the talents in the cream layer
3. A company going public means that the brand has gained enough success to get its name flashed in the stock exchanges. It is a matter of credibility and pride to any company
4. In a demanding market, a public company can always issue more stocks. This will pave the way to acquisitions and mergers as the stocks can be issued as a part of the deal.
Types of IPOs
If you are a new investor, you may find all the jargon around an initial public offering a little baffling. To clear your confusion, there are two major categories of IPOs offered by companies.
Fixed Price Offering
Fixed price offering is pretty straightforward. The company announces the price of the initial public offering in advance. So, when you partake in a fixed price initial public offering, you agree to pay in full.
Book Building Offering
In book building offering, the stock price is offered in a 20 percent band, and interested investors place their bid. The lower level of the price band is called the floor price, and the upper limit, cap price. Investors bid for the number of shares and the price they want to pay. It allows the company to test interest for the initial public offering among investors before the final price is declared.
IPO definition
IPO means Initial Public Offering. It is a process by which a privately held company becomes a publicly-traded company by offering its shares to the public for the first time. A private company that has a handful of shareholders shares the ownership by going public by trading its shares. Through the IPO, the company gets its name listed on the stock exchange.
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How Does a Company Offer an IPO?
A company before it becomes public hires an investment bank to handle the IPO. The investment bank and the company work out the financial details of the IPO in the underwriting agreement. Later, along with the underwriting agreement, they file the registration statement with SEC. SEC scrutinizes the disclosed information and if found right, it allows a date to announce the IPO.
Why Does a Company Offer an IPO?
1. Offering an IPO is a money-making exercise. Every company needs money, it may be to expand, to improve their business, to better the infrastructure, to repay loans, etc
2. Trading stocks in the open market mean increased liquidity. It opens door to employee stock ownership plans like stock options and other compensation plans, which attracts the talents in the cream layer
3. A company going public means that the brand has gained enough success to get its name flashed in the stock exchanges. It is a matter of credibility and pride to any company
4. In a demanding market, a public company can always issue more stocks. This will pave the way to acquisitions and mergers as the stocks can be issued as a part of the deal.
Types of IPOs
If you are a new investor, you may find all the jargon around an initial public offering a little baffling. To clear your confusion, there are two major categories of IPOs offered by companies.
Fixed Price Offering
Fixed price offering is pretty straightforward. The company announces the price of the initial public offering in advance. So, when you partake in a fixed price initial public offering, you agree to pay in full.
Book Building Offering
In book building offering, the stock price is offered in a 20 percent band, and interested investors place their bid. The lower level of the price band is called the floor price, and the upper limit, cap price. Investors bid for the number of shares and the price they want to pay. It allows the company to test interest for the initial public offering among investors before the final price is declared.
Should You Invest in an IPO?
Deciding whether to put your money into an IPO of a relatively new company is indeed tricky. Being a skeptic is a positive attitude to have in the stock Market.
Background checks
The Company obviously does not have enough historical data to back your decision, because it is just going public now. The red herring is the data on the IPO details which is provided in the prospectus, you need to scrutinize it. Know about the fund management team and their plans for IPO generated fund utilization.
The process of underwriting is raising investments by issuing new securities. Be cagey of the underwriting of small investment banks. They may be willing to underwrite any company. Usually, an IPO with a success potential is backed by big brokerages that have the ability to endorse a new issue well.
Lock-up Periods
Often IPO takes a deep downtrend after the IPO goes public. The reason behind this fall of the share price is the lock-up period. A lock-up period is a contractual caveat which refers to a period of time the company’s executives and investors are not supposed to sell their shares. After the lock-up period ends, the share price experiences a drop in its price.
Flipping
People who buy stocks of the company going public and sell off on the secondary market in the view to get quick money are called flippers. Flipping initiates the trading activity.
Things you should know before investing
1. If you have bought an IPO for the company, you are exposed to the fortunes of that company. You bear a direct impact on its success and loss
2. It is this asset of your portfolio which has the highest potential to reward the returns. On the flip side, it can sink your investment without a sign. Remember stocks are subjected to the volatility of the markets
3. You should know that a company which offers its shares to the public is not indebted to reimburse the capital to the public investors
4. You should weigh up your potential risks and rewards before investing in an IPO. If you are a novice, read up an account from an expert or a wealth management firm. If still in doubt, talk to your personal financial advisor
How to apply for IPOs
Nowadays, it has become easier to apply for an initial public offering because of the online application process. However, if you are a new investor, you need to learn a few things before applying.
The first important thing is funding. Whether it is a fixed price or a book building IPO, you will have to make a payment in advance, and for that, you must have funding ready. Investors can use their savings or take a loan from a bank or NBFC for the purpose.
However, without a DEMAT account, you can’t invest in stocks. So, the next thing you need is to open a DEMAT account. Select a reputed broker with a track record to have a DEMAT.
You can use the DEMAT account not only for IPOs, but to receive all sorts of investment instruments like gold bonds, corporate bonds, shares, and more.
The online process is an easy way to apply. You can do it from the investor portal on the broker’s website or by downloading the ASBA form from your bank’s net-banking platform.
ASBA stands for Application Supported by Blocked Account (ASBA). It allows banks to block funds in the applicant’s account against your bidding for the IPO.
If you apply through the broker, you need to use UPI enabled payment gateways to make payment. In either case, cheques and demand draft payments are not accepted for bidding.
If You want to apply For the IPO, You need to Open a Demat Account. You Can open a Demat Account through UPSTOX by Clicking here. You all will get to enjoy 3x faster logins and order placements, and brokerage free Stock investing on Equity Delivery Orders.
Conclusion
Whether or not to invest in an initial public offering is a choice of an investor, but it is one way to accentuate the earning potential of your investment. Picking the right IPO offer to pose a bit of a challenge, but if you successfully overcome it, IPOs could be the most vital asset in your portfolio.
Whether or not to invest in an initial public offering is a choice of an investor, but it is one way to accentuate the earning potential of your investment. Picking the right IPO offer to pose a bit of a challenge, but if you successfully overcome it, IPOs could be the most vital asset in your portfolio.
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