How retail investors can participate in the SpaceX IPO

Elon Musk has long courted retail investors, and he’s giving them a chance to buy SpaceX stock when the company issues shares for the initial public offering.

The rocket and satellite company plans to raise at least $75 billion in its IPO by selling over 555 million shares at $135 a piece, valuing the company at more than $1.75 trillion. If underwriters exercise options for additional allotments to meet high demand, proceeds could grow to $85.7 billion. 

The IPO is expected to price Thursday evening, with shares trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.

‌As much as 30% of the offering will be earmarked for retail investors, meaning they will scoop up more than $20 billion worth of shares, with institutional investors grabbing the rest.

That’s well above the 5%-10% that’s typical set aside for retail investors, who have emerged in recent years as a major force in the stock market, especially as they doggedly “buy the dip” whenever there’s a selloff.

SpaceX designated Robinhood Markets, SoFi, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab to distribute shares to retail investors who want to participate in the IPO.

Investors seeking to get in on the action must first meet the requirements for each brokerage. For example, Charles Schwab requires investors to have at least $100,000 in their accounts in order to be eligible for the SpaceX IPO.

Fidelity lowered its account minimum to $2,000 from $500,000, while Robinhood, SoFi,........

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