There are three normal ways in. You can ask your broker for shares before trading starts, buy the shares on the market once they list, or hold a fund that owns newly listed companies. Asking for shares is not getting them: you may receive all, some or none of what you requested.
One recent example shows how the first route works in Europe. Anthropic's official page, updated on 3 November 2026, lists BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, eToro, flatexDEGIRO, Interactive Brokers, Nordnet, Revolut, Saxo Bank, Trade Republic and UBS as expected EEA and/or Swiss retail-offer participants. The same page describes the listing as proposed, with the European prospectus and offer provided only if and when approved, so no price or subscription window exists yet.
Key takeaways
- You can request shares before listing, buy after listing, or hold a fund.
- Your broker decides access, and allocation can be partial or zero.
- Anthropic's proposed listing has no approved European prospectus yet, so no price exists.
What an IPO is, in plain words
An initial public offering is the first time a company offers its shares to the general public. In the US, the company usually files a Form S-1 registration statement containing a prospectus about the company and the offer. Investment banks called underwriters manage and sell the offering.
The company picks a ticker symbol with its listing venue. On the listing date the exchange opens the share for trading, and from then on buyers and sellers trade with each other rather than buying new shares from the company.
The three ways to invest, side by side
Each route has a different entry point and a different trade-off. Availability depends on your broker, on the offer and on where you live.
| Route | When you can invest | What you need | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask for shares in the offering | Before trading starts | A broker that distributes that offer | You may get some shares or none |
| Buy after the listing | From the listing date | A standard brokerage account | The first-day price can differ substantially from the offering price |
| A fund holding newly listed companies | Whenever the fund trades | A standard brokerage account | Fees, and you don't choose the holdings |
For a fuller walkthrough of one specific case, read our piece on what the Anthropic IPO filing means.
Step by step: asking for shares before the listing
1. Check whether your broker distributes the offer
Access is set deal by deal. Nordnet Sweden lets logged-in customers apply through its website or app for the IPOs it distributes, with the permitted account type and any minimum depending on that issue, and says an application does not guarantee an allocation. Avanza customers can apply for offers the broker lists, with eligible account types and the funding deadline stated for each offer.
2. Note the cost and the funding deadline
At Nordnet, the money must be in the chosen account by the response deadline. Trade Republic's launch terms dated 6 June 2026 offer European retail customers in-app subscriptions to selected IPOs, with a published participation charge of €1 per order and allocations made pro rata from the shares it receives.
3. Read the prospectus, not the headlines
In the EU, the Prospectus Regulation requires a competent authority to approve the prospectus before publication. For an initial share offer admitted to a regulated market for the first time, the prospectus must be public at least three working days before the offer ends. In the US, Part I of Form S-1 is the prospectus, and Part II holds extra information and exhibits. A "red herring" is US wording for a preliminary prospectus that warns the information is incomplete.
4. Submit your indication of interest
Before the final price is set, investors can state how many shares they want. This is called an indication of interest. An indication is not an assurance that you will receive shares, and broker instructions vary by offering.
5. Confirm after the final price is set
Once demand has been assessed, the issuer and underwriters set the final offering price. Underwriters then allocate shares and notify applicants. What happens next depends on your broker. Fidelity says a customer must reconfirm after pricing to stay eligible for an allocation, and failing to confirm makes the customer ineligible. Scotia iTRADE treats its indication as a firm order and says customers may reduce or cancel within two business days, subject to applicable rules.
Why you may get fewer shares than you asked for
An IPO is oversubscribed when demand exceeds the shares offered. That limited supply can leave retail customers with a partial allocation or no shares at all.
- The issuer and underwriters have wide latitude over allocations, and syndicate members need not receive equal shares.
- The split between large institutions and individuals is set deal by deal, not by a universal rule.
- Applying early creates no universal priority: Fidelity describes customer assets and relationship revenue as factors, while Scotia iTRADE says its IPO indications are first-come, first-served.
FINRA requires the book-running lead manager to report institutional indications of interest and aggregate retail demand to the issuer's pricing committee or board.
Buying the shares once trading starts
A new share may first trade after the normal 9:30 a.m. New York open, because the exchange and the underwriter may need more time for an orderly opening. NYSE says a share can open later than 9:30 when more time is needed for an orderly opening. Nasdaq's opening process can take longer when it needs more price discovery.
Two order types matter here.
- A market order seeks the best available price, but the execution price isn't guaranteed and may differ from the last traded price, which matters when a new share is volatile. FINRA bars brokers from accepting a buy market order for a new issue before secondary-market trading begins.
- A limit order sets the maximum price you will pay, but it may not execute if the share never reaches that price or there aren't enough shares.
Ordinary US stock-market trades generally settle T+1, the next business day, while IPO-share delivery and payment follow the deal's terms. The mechanics of placing an order are the same as for any listed share, as in our guide to buying Nvidia stock in Europe.
Risks
- You may receive none of the shares you ask for, because demand can exceed supply.
- The first-day market price can differ substantially from the negotiated offering price.
- A market order on a volatile new listing can fill at a price you did not expect.
- SEC effectiveness of a registration statement is not an endorsement of the investment.
- A proposed listing may never happen: Anthropic's European offer will be provided only if and when the prospectus is approved.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone ask for IPO shares before the listing?
No. You need a broker that distributes that particular offer, and the conditions are offer-specific.
What is an underwriting syndicate?
It's a group of underwriters that distributes the offering together. The issuer ultimately determines the offering price with the underwriters, and allocations are made before public trading starts.
Can I cancel my indication of interest?
It depends entirely on the broker's terms. Scotia iTRADE says customers may reduce or cancel within two business days, subject to applicable rules, while Fidelity requires a reconfirmation after pricing to stay eligible.
Where do I find the official document for a European listing?
In the EU, the prospectus must be approved by a competent authority before publication, and for a first admission to a regulated market it must be public at least three working days before the offer ends.
Does an early application get me to the front of the queue?
Not as a rule. Allocation criteria vary by broker, and the institutional-versus-retail split is decided deal by deal.
Sources
- Nordnet: How do I subscribe to shares in an IPO? (2026)
- Trade Republic: IPO Feature press release (6 June 2026)
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 on prospectuses (2026)
- Investor.gov: Understanding order types
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Investing in an IPO
- Nasdaq: IPO listings
- Fidelity: IPO FAQs
- FINRA: Rule 5131: New issue allocations and distributions
Cover photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash.
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