By Donna Fuscaldo Published May 30, Lifestyle and Budget FOXBusiness.

Getting In On An Initial Public Offering

Google, Facebook and Twitter all have something in common: The Internet has leveled the playing field in many aspects of life, but for the little investor, getting in on a hot IPO is still largely a pipe dream. The company looking to list its shares on an exchange hires an investment firm or multiple firms to sell those shares to investors ahead of the IPO.

Often, particularly with sought- after IPOs, the firms will take their allotment of shares and give them to their institutional or high-net worth clients. That pre-public excitement can vanish, along with the stock price.

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While it may not be as easy as calling up a broker to get in on an IPO, there are ways to do it. Yahoo and Softbank have stakes in the Chinese internet company so investing in one of those publicly-traded companies provides a conduit to Alibaba.

Meanwhile, the First Trust U.

IPO Index fund measures the performance of U. Similar to investing in an IPO fund after the fact, investors can stay on the sidelines after the IPO starts trading and buy shares when the price declines.

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How You Yes, You Can Get Into IPOs. How You Yes, You Can Get Into IPOs By Donna Fuscaldo Published May 30, Lifestyle and Budget FOXBusiness. Facebook Twitter Comments Print. Click the button below to comment on this article.