Bells rung on recent high-profile initial public offerings (IPOs) have turned out to be a death knoll for investors’ hopes, with companies such as Aston Martin Lagoda (AML) and Funding Circle (FCH) seriously disappointing. Not all listings go badly, but too often it seems companies go public to create a windfall for existing stakeholders, rather than genuinely to raise money for expansion.
Overall, including successful IPOs, research by Merian Global Investors shows expected growth rates for the first two years after listing are typically around 50 per cent of those achieved in the two years pre-IPO. Such disparity raises concern investors in public markets are missing out, especially as companies in emerging industries such as fintech show a propensity to stay private for longer.