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They just keep coming; week, after week, after week! As if we didn't have
enough stocks to choose from the opportunities just keep on growing. Initial
Public Offerings or IPO's as they are so commonly called are virgin territory
for the eager investor hoping for the next big hit.

We've seen some unbelievable run ups this year with stocks like K-Tel and now
Broadcast.com but who will be next and how do we know which ones to buy? You
could try buying every new stock offered. That would certainly increase your
odds for success and offers some tempting possibilities. Sadly few of us have
the resources for such a daring proposition, not to mention the confusion it
would create keeping up with the multitude of Broker Houses you would be
dealing with. No doubt it could prove profitable for those willing and able
to follow such an aggressive path. For the rest of us we need a more
realistic approach.

IPO's can be exciting. Imagine owning Microsoft from the day it went public.
You would be feeling pretty proud of yourself about now. So where do you
start and how do you find out about them much less know which ones to invest
in?

There are a lot of sources that offer a current list of IPO's. Obvious ones
would be source such as USA Today and Wall Street Journal. Yahoo's Home page
offers an IPO link as is true with most financial sites. Another excellent
source of information is IPOmonitor.com. For $29.00 a month you will be kept
informed on new offerings, who's watching them, analyst opinions and company
profiles. It's a great way to get detailed information without all the leg
work. However if your dabbling in the IPO's with little intention of going
beyond that level, save your money and do the research yourself.
Uncomfortable doing the research and not wanting a monthly fee, your full
service broker is there to help.

Be a wise investor. When you find an IPO that interest you take the time to
learn everything about it. You don't have to get greedy. Sure your going to
miss a few but if you take the time to thoroughly investigate each offering
chances are the ones you do pick will be worth the wait. There are a lot of
facts that should be pertinent to your decision. Among the top should be who
else is investing in it? Are the Big Boys like Microsoft and Intel sinking
money into the company? That's usually a fairly good sign that the company is
a worthwhile risk. How long has the company been around? What do their
financials look like? Are they carrying heavy debt? What are their future
goals and why are they going public now? There are a variety of issues that
could and should be important to you.

When speaking with Bruce Hawthorne at PaineWebber, he said "IPO's are a high
risk market that often bounce back quickly. Brokers make money to bring them
to market." What this means to you the consumer is that the only person that
stands to lose is you the consumer. Just because a reputable broker is
offering an IPO doesn't mean they are endorsing it. They are doing their job.
Should you avoid them all together then? According to Bruce "Sales charges
are built into the price so it makes sense to get in on a good one." What
companies did he like? He replied "When Lucent went public I told everyone.
They had a good history." Not bad advice. You don't have to run from them
nor should you run to them!

IPO's can be fun. In many cases they could offer a tremendous return and
sadly in some you could lose it all. IPO's like all stocks come with risk.
Even more so since many companies have little history. Many of those that do
have yet to turn a profit. Are they worth it? That depends on you. Remember
they are not all overnight successes and some may never make it off the
ground. Best rule of thumb as with all investing, never invest more then you
are willing to lose! Accept the fact that they won't all win. You will have
some failures and you'll miss your share of successes. If you missed it let
it go there will be plenty of more opportunities. Hopefully your next
investment will far exceed any loss you incur. You never know, your next IPO
could bring you an Increased Portfolio Opportunity!

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