Robinhood's IPO Access Product Allows Retail Investors To Buy IPO Shares

Robinhood, which rose to prominence with its attractive zero-commission trading, is planning another innovative offering that would benefit prospective investors in initial public offerings.

What Happened: Robinhood announced in a blog post that it is introducing a new product called IPO Access. This will provide an opportunity for its clients to buy shares of the companies at the IPO price before the shares begin trading on public exchanges.

"With IPO Access, you can now participate in upcoming IPOs with no account minimums," the company said in the post.

IPO shares, which go predominantly to institutions or wealthier investors, will now be available for retail investors at the IPO price, according to Robinhood. 

Related Link: How to Buy IPO Stock

Who Gets IPO Access: The IPO Access is now available for only certain investors selected on a random basis, Robinhood said. 

Robinhood said it will roll out IPO Access gradually to all customers in the coming weeks.

How IPO Access Works: When Robinhood users have access to IPOs, they will receive an email and also be notified in the app. They can request to buy shares at the initial listing price range, and when the final price is set for the IPOs, users can review, edit or cancel their request before shares are allotted to them.

There no added fees for using IPO Access.

How Robinhood Provides IPO Access: Robinhood said it will partner with investment bank that will allocate shares that will then be distributed to Robinhood clients. 

Robinhood decides the number of IPO shares allotted to a user, depending on customer demand and other factors.

If a user sells shares received through IPO Access within 30 days, it is considered flipping and they will be restricted from participating in IPOs for 60 days.