Why Pre-IPO Is the Most Attractive Asset Class to Own Today

I'm starting something new: a quarterly newsletter about pre-IPO investing. For each issue, I'll take a single question that actually matters to individual investors in the private markets and give you my honest assessment.

My aim is education first. I'll use this space to work through topics like:

• How private markets are actually priced
• What you really own when you invest
• How to think about diversification and time horizon
• How to tell a real opportunity from a story.

Here's the case I make in the first issue:

When ChatGPT arrived, millions of people had the same reaction at the same time: How do I get in on this? And then they ran into a wall. OpenAI was private. There was no ticker to buy.

That wall is the whole story. And I think it's the most important thing happening in investing today.

The public market used to be where you found the economy. Now it's a sample of it. 

The largest pool of wealth in the world is the least exposed to the fastest-growing asset class in the world. That gap is the opportunity.

For most of the last century, this table was reserved for insiders. That's changing. The companies defining the next decade are staying private longer, and that's the opportunity.

So the question isn't whether pre-IPO deserves a place in your portfolio. 

It's whether you'll build your position while the door is open, or wait until everyone can see through the glass, and the price already reflects it.

Click below to read more, and tell me what you think. This newsletter is meant to start a conversation.

Read the Newsletter »

Disclaimers

This article may contain forward-looking statements and projections. These are not guarantees; actual outcomes may differ materially.

Investing in private, pre-IPO companies is highly speculative and illiquid. Such investments are intended only for accredited investors who can bear the risk of total loss. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a financial advisor before investing.

Securities offered through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This is a general investment recommendation for accredited investors under Regulation Best Interest; it is not personalized investment advice. Review our Form CRS and Reg BI Disclosure to understand our services and conflicts.

StartEngine Private

The companies which StartEngine Private invests in are not involved in or endorsing investments in StartEngine Private, and have not approved StartEngine Private LLC or its affiliates.

When you invest through StartEngine Private, you are buying an interest in a separate Series of StartEngine Private LLC, not directly in the companies listed. References in this article to specific offerings are abbreviated names used to identify the applicable Series of StartEngine Private LLC and are not the full legal names of those Series. The Series may hold shares directly or through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV). Your interests may differ from the companies’ stock in both rights and value, and there may not be a one-to-one economic parity between the value of Series interests and the underlying shares. The Series also bears its own costs (such as transaction and administrative expenses), which may reduce investor returns. To the extent that SE Private holds the shares through a SPV, such SPV may separately charge fees or bear its own costs and that may further reduce investor returns.

The initial offerings were made under Regulation D, Rule 506(c), through StartEngine Primary LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), and were available only to accredited investors. These investments are speculative, illiquid, and high risk, and you should be prepared to hold them indefinitely and to bear the risk of losing your entire investment.

StartEngine and its affiliates do not provide financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. This update may include information from third party or public sources that has not been independently verified and may be incomplete or inaccurate. Before investing, review the full offering documents on the offering pages and consult your advisors.

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