best way to purchase IPO

[gekkoplus]

What is the best way to get into an IPO? I have accounts in Ameritrade, Sharebuilder, Etrade and Zecco. Are IPOs traded like usual stocks at the launch or do I have to "pre-order" them?

Also where can I get information about upcoming IPOs?

[Ima saver]

I have only ever bought one IPO and that was UPS. I got it thru my Edward Jones account, they were allowed to buy so much stock at the opening price.

[Slug]

You can use any of them. You won't get the IPO price. You'll get the market price when it opens. Very different. Unless there's some weird sort of auction like for GOOG. Still kicking myself over that one.

[Broken Arrow]

Brain very rusty on this one.

Basically, two different kinds of IPO. Each have its pros and cons.

In practice, you can mix a bit of the two, which is what I think Google did. I'm tempted to say it was some kind of modified Dutch Auction IPO.

In any case, this is largely academic. Most individual investors will have to get them at market price through major brokerages when it opens to the public. Probably the only way to get in pre-IPO is to be on the inside track somehow.

[tripods68]

Most investors pay the market price for an IPO. Unless you are part of the high worth investors of Undewriters, it's very difficult to buy at actual IPO price.