Rich investors lead IPO charge

Over the past three years, the mood in the primary market has improved, with a 45 issues hitting the market. The primary market hinges on participation from both institutional and individual investors.

This period has seen robust participation from high net worth individuals (HNIs). Nineteen of the 45 IPOs have seen the HNI quota getting subscribed 50 times. HNIs have mostly availed of loans to participate in recent offerings and can apply for a large number of shares.

Retail small investors, however, have been a bit reluctant. Fourteen of the 45 issues were subscribed more than five times by retail in the three years. Of the 45 firms, 70 per cent ended with positive returns on Day-1 and half of these clocked double-digit gains. "The recent IPOs are leaving enough money on the table for investors, which has created sizable demand," said Prasanth Prabhakaran, head of retail broking at IIFL