Business

What to know about investing in IPOs

Theres a great deal of jargon associated with the investing world, and one of the terms you may often hear is initial public offering, or IPO for short. This term is used to describe a private company offering stocks to the general public for the first time.

But what does an IPO mean for you as an investor? Though this process may seem like an opportunity to buy shares of a new stock issuance and make a great deal of money, there are also risks, including losing much of your investment.

What does IPO mean?

An IPO is the process of a private company becoming a publicly traded company. As part of this move, members of the public can buy shares of the company for the first time. This process is sometimes also referred to simply as going public. There are several steps a company must take in order to go public.

The company hires an underwritertypically an investment bankto help value the private company and gauge interest in the shares, says Andrew Crowell, financial advisor and vice chairman of wealth management for D.A. Davidson. The investment bank then sets the initial offering price for the shares. After the public offering, the shares trade on an exchange.

IPOs are often viewed as an opportunity for the general public to make a lot of money, but thats not always the way things turn out. There are a variety of reasons why buying an IPO may not pan out as you hoped.

Certainly, getting in on the ground floor of the next big thing has its allure, but thats not assured, continues Crowell. Typically, the financials for the company when it was private are not as transparent or readily available. Further, the initial share price set by the investment banker may overstate or understate the actual value of the underlying enterprise.

Why do companies go public?

There are many different reasons why a company decides to go public, and all different types of companies may opt to take this stepboth old and new. In many cases, IPOs typically take place when companies are seeking to raise money to help pay for continued growth or pay off debts. Going public may also provide liquidity for investors and employees.

Raising capital: When a company is private, it has fewer options to raise the capital needed for expansion or funding ongoing operations. But once a company goes public, it can start offering sales of stock to raise more capital.
Creating exit opportunities: Long before a company goes public, early investors have the opportunity to purchase shares in a private company. But reselling these private shares can be complicated and may result in lower valuations because the shares are less liquid than those of publicly traded companies. Going public can offer early investors a way to sell shares to the public. Think of venture capital firms or angel investors that may have invested a significant amount of capital early in a companys lifecycle that now want to reap the rewards of the risks they took with their investments, says Brian Walsh, certified financial planner and senior manager of financial planning at SoFi.
Enhancing liquidity for employees: Similar to early investors, employees at private companies that are compensated in equity or shares of the company have fewer and more complicated options to sell their shares. Going public, however, puts a market-driven price on the equity that companies provide employees, which can also enhance recruiting and retention.

How to invest in an IPO

Participating in an IPO involves buying a companys stock at the offering pricemeaning before it actually begins trading. Unfortunately, not everyone will have access to such purchases. At least historically, that was the case.

Typically, everyone does not have the ability to invest in an IPO at the IPO price, says Walsh. During the IPO process, the company will engage an underwriter who helps structure the process and generate investor interest. The underwriter has the ability to allocate shares of the IPO based on their preference and agreement with the company. For example, an underwriter may only offer access to institutional clients or clients with certain balances.

Over the past few years, however, the exclusivity of IPO purchases has eased somewhat. This is in large part because tech-oriented financial institutions, such as SoFi and Robinhood, have begun offering access to IPOs to everyday investors.

Here are some of the other ways to invest in an IPO.

Brokerage purchase

It may be possible to buy IPO stock through a brokerage investment account, but not all brokerages handle these types of purchases.

If your brokerage company has [IPO] shares that it can allocate, then you may be able to invest in shares, if they are allocated to you, after submitting your interest in the offering, continues Walsh. Different brokerage companies allocate their shares in different ways, so it is important to understand how your brokerage works.

Its also helpful to remember that, especially for headline-grabbing IPOs, even if you are able to obtain shares, you might not be able to get as many as you want. This is typically because the company only has a certain number of shares available to allocate.

Mutual funds and ETFs

It may also be possible to purchase IPOs via mutual funds, closed-end funds, and ETFs that focus on investing in these types of assets. However, to be clear, many of these funds purchase the IPO assets in the days immediately after the stock starts trading, not before.

These can offer another way to gain exposure to IPOs or recently listed companies in a more diversified manner than simply investing all of your money in one company thats going public, says Walsh.

Some of the assets in this area include:

Pros and cons of buying an IPO

If youre considering investing in an IPO, its important to carefully consider the risks involved. While there are some benefits to this type of asset, theres no guarantee your bet on an IPO will pay off, particularly, if the company is not well established.

Pros:

Potential for significant long-term gains: Yes, there is a potential to make a handsome profit, but remember, its not a sure thing. The performance of IPOs historically is all over the map, with some doing quite well and others fizzling out. If you choose the right IPO, it can offer an opportunity for large gains, but if you choose a majority of IPOs, data suggests that you may underperform the broader market, says Walsh.
Ability to help a company grow: For those with more altruistic goals, the cash you invest in an IPO allows a company to reach its goals for growth or expansion, or other needs. If you believe in a company and its offerings, buying IPO shares is one way to help support its success.

Cons:

Less transparency: There is usually far less data or research available for prospective investors regarding private companies and their financials. This often means when you buy an IPO, youre making a decision based on speculation. While companies will file documents during the process of going public, you will not have as much information about the company as another that has been public for years, says Walsh.
IPO price may be inflated: Initial share prices established by the investment banker may overstate or understate the true value of the company going public. Also, the company may be offering a very limited number of shares in the offering, thereby creating excess demand and further price discrepancies, says Crowell.
Equal potential to result in large losses: Finally, as already mentioned, IPOs may be exciting and inspire you to invest a great deal of money, and then the company may vastly underperform.

The takeaway

Purchasing IPO stocks can be exciting and appealing and may even provide the potential for significant gains over the long term. However, IPOs can be a very risky investment. Often, there is not a lot of research available about these previously private companies so youll need to make much of your investment decision based on speculation. IPO ETFs and mutual funds can provide a safer way to add some of these assets to your portfolio.

Woman ordered to pay back employer for time theft after computer software caught her slacking

A Canadian woman has been ordered to pay back her company thousands after being accused of time theft recorded by tracking software installed on her work computer.

Remote worker Karlee Besse had been an accountant for Reach CPA in British Columbia and had originally tried to sue the company herself for $5,000 compensation in both unpaid wages and severance, citing wrongful termination.

Instead she must pay $2,498.89 in returned wages after a civil tribunal ruled in support of the company.

It was revealed in court that Reach CPA had been using TimeCamp on Besses computer after finding that her work was over-budget and behind on time. The software tracks how employees spend their time including how long a document is open for and how they use it.

The company claimed that their tracking proved Besse had wasted 50 hours of non-work related tasks on company time and said they had identified irregularities between her [Besses] timesheets and the software usage logs.

Sophisticated Bossware on the increase

Besse defended herself saying that she had actually printed off hard copies of what she had been working on which is why the software had failed to take that into account. She also said she didnt disclose this to her employee because she knew they wouldnt want to hear that.

But the company said the software was also linked to the printer and monitored little printing activity. Additionally, they added that the work done on the print-outs would have to have been input into company software which did not happen.

Besse also expressed concern that the software wasnt able to distinguish between personal and work use, but the company demonstrated in the tribunal that the software does this automatically and separates time logs from activities such as streaming movies and TV.

Besse admitted some of her dishonesty when she was confronted according to a video meeting between her and Reach in which she reportedly said she had plugged time to files that I didnt touch and that wasnt right or appropriate in any way or fashionand so for that Im really sorry.

Following the rise in working from home during and after the pandemic, companies are increasingly monitoring their workers in ways that can go beyond the capabilities of software such as TimeCamp.
In 2021, a survey by Digital.com of 1,250 U.S. employers found that 60% with remote employees were using work-monitoring software. Almost nine out of 10 of those companies said they had fired employees following the use of the software.

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For new CFOs, these are the critical steps to take in the first six months

Toward the end of 2022, CFO turnover was on the rise. That means many execs are stepping into new finance chief roles this year. But it may take more than the standard 90 days to get your footing. It can take six months, according to an expert whos worked with thousands of execs.

Youre not hired to deliver the status quo, Ajit Kambil, global research director for Deloittes CFO program, tells me. Youre really hired to deliver some transformation.

There are three key resources you have to manage correctly from the starttime, talent, and relationships, Kambil says. And that takes about 180 days to do it right, he says.

Kambil is the creator and a leader of Deloittes Executive Transition Labs and Transition Accelerators which offers a personalized one-day workshop for executives in new roles, from a first-time CFO to a seasoned one, for example. The program has been going on for more than a decade, with Kambil and his team working with over 4,000 C-suite executives in the U.S. whove participated. And Ive even personally done this for over 300 CFOs, Kambil says.

In his new book, The Leadership Accelerator: The Playbook for Transitioning into Your New Executive Role, he details key findings from years of research and provides actionable tasks for execs. He further discussed with me what should take place in the first 180 days.

1) Prioritizing and managing time, Kambil says. That includes execs taking care of themselves, he says. When they start, theyre often working 70-80 hours a week, Kambil explains. I ask them about their work week, Monday to Friday. When do you get up? When do you get to the office? When do you get home? How much time is spent on emails after dinner? The goal is to get them into 50 to 60 hours of work a week because thats sustainable.

I asked him for an example of an exec struggling with work-life balance.

Weve had situations when someone suddenly realizes their childs wedding is planned for a certain date in the next six months, Kambil says. They look at all the different editions of the work plan, and theyre like, Wait a minute, I have to change this.

2) Talent is critical, he says. If you dont get your talent right, I kind of say its like giving up 20% of your tenure. Lets say you have five years to run the role, the opportunity cost of having the wrong team just goes higher and higher the longer you prolong things.

Some questions to ask yourself: How do I evaluate different functional talent? Kambil says. How do I build out FP&A capability tangibly in the next six months? How do I free up peoples time to get done the really important things? How do I create an ongoing learning organization?

3) To get key agendas executed with the least resistance, manage relationships to build social capital and influence other C-suite members, Kambil says. Another tip: Make sure you really connect with the audit chair early and set up a regular cadence of both informal and formal conversations, he says. Because they want to help you.

I asked him what CFOs shouldnt do in their first year.

Dont jump to conclusions too quickly, Kambil says. Take the time to really connect with different stakeholders, and really hear them and learn the business.

Dont make assumptions. For example, If youre promoted, dont assume that the team around you is up to the challenge.

I asked Kambil what his personal takeaways were from years of coaching CFOs. Theyve taught me to be a better leader, he says. And theyve helped him delve deeper into the ways in which you unlock value in a company, but also how you have to organize to really drive large-scale change, he says. So many CFOs today are not just focused on finance.

See you tomorrow.

Sheryl Estrada
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Quick note: In recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 16, the next CFO Daily will be in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Have a good weekend. Take care.

Big deal

"New Technology Changing the Future of Work" a new report released by WorkTech, a market analyst and advisory firm, found that companies still plan to spend on hiring this year. A survey of over 1,000 global HR and talent acquisition leaders in the U.S. and Europe found that companies plan to increase market for hiring technology or "work tech" budgets by about 47%, with 94% expecting to increase head counts. The work tech category includes workplace tools that help employees work together and collaborate more effectively across a range of focus areas. The report, underwritten by Greenhouse, a hiring software company, estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for hiring work tech is expected to reach $244 billion by 2026.

Going deeper

Here are a few weekend reads:

"Bill Gates dismisses the inflation and economic doom and gloom to insist now is dramatically the best time to be alive" by Tristan Bove

"The ax has fallen at Goldman Sachs as layoffs ripple through the firm" by Luisa Beltran

"Millennial founder who sold her fintech to JPMorgan for $175M is now being sued for allegedly inventing 4 million customers" by Christiaan Hetzner

"Hustle culture is a dangerous myth, burnout expert says. Here are 6 ways to beat it" by Alexa Mikhail

Leaderboard

Here's a list of some notable moves this week:

Jamie Miller was named global CFO at EY and CFO of the proposed new public entity. The selection of Miller is another step in EY's process to separate the organization into audit and consulting businesses, with its consulting arm set to list on the stock market. EY is "making strong progress on the path to partner votes," according to the company. Miller joined Cargill in June 2021 as corporate SVP and CFO. She was appointed head of corporate strategy in April 2022. Before joining Cargill, Miller served as SVP and CFO for GE. She began her tenure at GE in 2008 as VP, controller and chief accounting oficer, and went on to become GEs chief information officer. Miller also served as president and CEO of GE Transportation. Prior to joining GE, she was SVP and controller of WellPoint (now Anthem). Miller was also a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jean Hu was named EVP and CFO at Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(Nasdaq: AMD), a semiconductor company, effective Jan. 23. Devinder Kumar, currently CFO and treasurer, is retiring from the company. Kumar will remain at AMD through April 2023 for a transition period. Hu joins AMD from Marvell, where she served as CFO since 2016. She has over 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles in semiconductor companies, including Qlogic and Conexant.

Michael McLaughlin was named EVP and CFO at Informatica (NYSE: INFA), an enterprise cloud data management company, effective Jan. 16. McLaughlin succeeds Eric Brown, who is stepping down from his role to pursue other opportunities. McLaughlin joins Informatica from FICO, where he has served as EVP and CFO since August 2019.

Angela Floyd was named CFO at DPR Construction, effective Jan. 1. DPR is a general contractor and construction manager specializing in projects for advanced technology, life sciences, health care, higher education, and commercial markets. Floyd joined DPR in 2017 and has worked closely with Michele Leiva, who has served as DPR's CFO since 2010 and is planning to retire in Q1 2023. A tenured industry professional, Floyd held business roles at Balfour Beatty Construction, including VP of business improvement and director, before joining DPR.

Jason Meggs, CFO at Syneos Health (Nasdaq: SYNH), a biopharmaceutical solutions organization, is stepping down from his position to pursue other career opportunities, effective March 31. Meggs has agreed to serve as a consultant and support the companys ongoing transformation initiatives through the end of 2023. Syneos Health has retained an executive search firm and commenced a search for its next CFO.

Overheard

"When we think about crypto, aspects of that speculative market and investment have yet to prove themselves. So our investment philosophy says crypto is a little more likely to disappoint clients than it is to delight them."

Penny Pennington, managing partner at brokerage firm Edward Jones, spoke with Fortune about the recent meltdown in crypto and the firms long-time focus on proven investments.

Usain Bolts investment accounts are reportedly down millions with Jamaican authorities launching an investigation

Athletics superstar Usain Bolts finances are at the center of an investigation in his native Jamaica, after millions of dollars were reportedly discovered to be missing from his investment accounts.

Nugent Walker, the star athletes longstanding manager, told Jamaican news outlet The Gleaner on Thursday that an investigation was underway after Bolt discovered discrepancies in his accounts.

Local investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), which held the account, had alerted the police, Walker said, and authorities including Jamaicas Financial Services Commission had launched a probe into the missing funds.

Walker said Bolt had first noticed the discrepancies on Wednesday.

All the relevant steps have been taken to come to the bottom of this, he added, noting that he could not disclose how much money was involved in the case. The Gleaner reported that millions of dollars were missing from Bolts accounts.

However, Walker did tell The Gleaner that Bolt had held accounts with SSL for more than a decade, and that the sprinters entire portfolio is being reviewed.

Representatives for Usain Bolt, SSL and Jamaicas Financial Services Commission were not immediately available for comment on the investigation when contacted by Fortune.

The Gleaner reported on Thursday that it had learned a former employee at SSL had been implicated in a massive fraud case at the investment firmincluding the missing sums from Bolts accounts. Fortune was not able to independently verify this detail.

Bolt, who is widely regarded as the best sprinter of all time, has eight Olympic gold medals and broke several records throughout his career.

He retired from athletics in 2017 and said in 2019 that he was retiring from all sport, following a brief soccer career, to focus on his business ventureswhich include shaving company Champion Shave, electric scooter firm Bolt Mobility, and restaurant chain Tracks & Records.

The Jamaican superstar was earning $31 million a year by 2018, according to Forbes, thanks to big endorsement deals from the likes of sportswear giant Puma. His income made him one of the worlds highest paid athletes, the publication reported.

Last year, it was reported that Bolt had a net worth of around $90 million.

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FAA says computer failure that grounded thousands of flights was caused by 2 contractors who introduced data errors into NOTAM system

The computer failure that prompted a halt of all US flight departures was caused when a data file was damaged as a result of a failure to follow government procedures, the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday.

Unspecified personnel were responsible for corrupting the file, which led to the outage of an FAA computer system that sends safety notices to pilots, the agency said in a statement. That triggered the FAA to order a halt to all US departing flights, causing thousands of delays and cancellations Wednesday.

The system is functioning properly and cancellations today were below 1%, the agency said.

The preliminary indications are that two people working for a contractor introduced errors into the core data used on the system known as Notice to Air Missions, or Notam, according to a person familiar with the FAA review. The person asked not to be identified speaking about the sensitive, ongoing issue.

Notams are advisories to pilots on safety-critical conditions at airports and other areas aircraft might traverse, including everything from warnings about bird activity to runway construction.

Like other computer systems that are critical to operating flights, the FAA has imposed procedures to ensure data arent damaged by technicians working on them, said the person. The file or files were altered in spite of rules that prohibit those kind of changes on a live system.

Agency officials are attempting to determine whether the two people made the changes accidentally or intentionally, and if there was any malicious intent, the person said.

When the system began having problems Tuesday night, technicians switched to a backup. But because the backup was attempting to access the same damaged data, it also didnt work, the person said.

A complete shutdown was required to restore the system, leading the FAA to halt all flight departures for roughly 90 minutes Wednesday morning.

The agency is attempting to create new protections to prevent such a failure in the future, the person said. Portions of the Notam computer system are as old as 30 years.

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Delta has told staff they can no longer use their luxury Sky Clubs due to crowding

Staff at one of the U.S.s biggest airlines have been told they can no longer make use of its luxury airport lounges due to overcrowding.

Delta Air Lines has banned staff from using its Sky Clubs when employees are flying standby with company travel privileges even though they have to pay for access. Theyve also been booted out of Sky Clubs when traveling for company business, CNBC reported.

The clubs include a range of amenities such as bars, restaurants, showers and complimentary wi-fi.

A memo reportedly sent to staff on Wednesday said the airline understands staff may be disappointed.

It added: This decision was not made lightly. We are sure youll agree that delivering an elevated experience to our most loyal customers must be our priority.

When we put our customers first and ensure that they have the best experience, they will continue to prefer Deltas premium products and services which ultimately benefits all of us.

In a statement, the airline added: Delta people understand the role we all play in delivering an elevated customer experience. Thats why employees will refrain from accessing Delta Sky Clubs when using their standby travel privileges or traveling for company business.

Delta customers have already seen modifications to Sky Club memberships as the business looks to balance popularity with premium service.

In November, Delta announced a raft of changes to access as well as increased membership prices. Starting in January, the individual price increased from $545 or 54,500 miles to $695 or 69,000 miles. The executive membership went from $845 or 84,500 miles to $1,495 or 149,500 miles.

Effective from next month, the fee for companion guests will increase from $39 to $50, or from 3,900 to 5,000 miles for club members who wish to pay with miles.

Dwight James, senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, and CEO of Delta Vacations, said when he made the announcement: While were thrilled to see so many customers enjoy the fruits of our teams hard work, our goal now is to balance the popularity of the Clubs with the premium service and atmosphere for which they were designed and that our guests deserve.

Not all Delta employees are apparently convinced by the companys explanation. The solution to their own self-created crowding problem is to boot their own employees, one unnamed Delta pilot told CNBC.

Perks priority

In the current tight labor market, work perks are a priority for many of Americas biggest companies. A survey from corporate language trainer Preply found benefits that run from a 30% in-store discount at Starbucks to free Spotify premium subscriptions and 100% tuition coverage to earn a bachelors degree at Arizona State University.

Customer relationship management platform HubSpot which was voted second in Glassdoors best employers for 2022 has unlimited vacation and has a company-wide, week-long break in July.

Microsoft has on-campus restaurants and snack bars and boons like a $1,500 annual reimbursement for wellness expenses. For its part, Google is a dog-friendly workplace and also offers paid volunteer days.

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California sues insulin makers for scheming to illegally increase the price of the drug

California on Thursday announced it will sue the companies that make and promote most of the nations insulin, accusing them of scheming to illegally increase the price of the drug and demanding they return millions of dollars to some diabetics who state officials say were overcharged for the medicine they must have to survive.

The lawsuit, to be filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Attorney General Rob Bonta, is the latest in a parade of legal actions against these companies from states across the political spectrum all who have accused the corporate giants of abusing their power to quash competition and boost their profits by keeping the price of insulin high.

A 2021 study by the RAND Corporation comparing the insulin prices of nearly three dozen countries found prices in the United States were about 10 times higher than everywhere else. The average price of a vial of insulin in the United States was $98, while in nearby Canada it was $12.

Attorneys general in Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Minnesota and Kentucky have all filed similar lawsuits in recent years.

It is not a partisan issue, said Bonta, a Democrat who was elected to his first full term in November. Bonta said state attorneys general from both major political parties all say the same thing: That the status quo is unacceptable and problematic and awful.

Bonta sued three companies who make insulin Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi and three companies who manage prescription drug programs that provide insulin CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx.

Bonta said the manufacturers raise the price of insulin in lockstep with each other. The prescription drug managers then negotiate with the manufacturers to get a percentage of that price in exchange for prominently promoting their high-price insulin over cheaper alternatives.

People are losing their lives because they cant afford the drug, Bonta said.

Daphne Dorsey, associate director for media relations for Eli Lilly, said the company is disappointed by the California Attorney Generals false accusations. She said the average monthly-out-of-pocket cost for Lilly insulin is $21.80, a 44% decrease over the past five years. She urged anyone paying more than $35 a month for Lilly insulin to contact the company.

A representative for Novo Nordisk declined to comment on the lawsuit. But the company provided background information saying the net prices for its insulin products the list price minus rebates and discounts have fallen in each of the past five years in large part to the significant rebates and discounts manufacturers pay to ensure access for patients.

Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications for CVS Health, said the manufacturers alone set the list price for their products.

Nothing in our agreements prevents drug manufacturers from lowering the prices of their insulin products and we would welcome such action, he said. Allegations that we play any role in determining the prices charged by manufacturers are false. We plan to vigorously defend against this complaint.

A statement from Optum Rx said the company welcomes the opportunity to show the California Office of the Attorney General, just as it has with other States Attorneys General, how we work every day to provide people with access to affordable drugs, including insulin.

Insulin is made by the pancreas and is used by the human body to convert the food we eat into energy. People who have diabetes dont produce enough insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day to survive.

A team of Canadian scientists discovered insulin a century ago. They sold the patent to the University of Toronto for just $1, hoping to avoid a monopoly that could cause high prices. But eventually, the market came to be dominated by just three companies.

Kevin Wren, an activist associated with the California chapter of #Insulin4All, said he must take insulin every day to survive. Around 2009, Wren said he was working two jobs and did not have health insurance. He had to ration his insulin, taking less than the recommended dosage to make it last longer a dangerous practice that he said ended up putting him in the hospital with ketoacidosis, a serious complication of diabetes.

Today, Wren says he has good health insurance and doesnt have to ration his supply of insulin. He said he skirts the law each month by providing people insulin from someone elses prescription all so that they dont have to ration.

The big insulin manufacturing companies have assistance programs to help people purchase insulin. Novo Nordisk said in 2021 that more than a million people used some form of the companys assistance when purchasing its insulin.

Californias state government is considering making its own insulin and selling it at a much cheaper price. Last year, the state Legislature approved $100 million for the project, with $50 million set aside for developing three types of insulin and the rest going to a potential manufacturing facility.

State officials hope a California brand of generic insulin could disrupt the market and bring all insulin prices down. Bonta said he hopes his lawsuit does the same thing.

California can drive markets, Bonta said, citing the states size and economic power. Change emanates and starts here.

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