Top IPO Scholar on Unprecedented IPO Wave & Why IPOs Underperform the Market | Jay Ritter
Other People's Money with Max WietheShow Notes
Leading IPO researcher Jay Ritter, widely known as "Mr. IPO" and the director of the IPO Initiative at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business breaks down the historic 2026 public market landscape. Ritter analyzes the unprecedented potential for a wave of mega-IPOs from tech giants like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic. He dives into the realities of staggering price-to-sales ratios, warning that while AI offers immense technological promise, eye-watering trillion-dollar valuations leave very little room for error. Ritter also cuts through the hype surrounding retail access to venture capital and private equity, explaining why extra layers of middlemen, "volatility washing," and an evaporating illiquidity premium mean average investors aren't actually missing out on a free lunch.
Professor Ritter’s IPO Data: https://site.warrington.ufl.edu/ritter/ipo-data/
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:58 Meet Mr IPO
01:40 2026 is Unprecedented
02:52 Do IPOs Signal Tops
04:27 How IPO Pricing Works
05:57 SpaceX Valuation Risks
09:26 TAM Hype and Cursor
13:27 2026 Versus Past Waves
16:17 Must Own AI Exposure
19:46 Regulation and Unintended Effects
27:29 Geopolitics and Dual Use
29:10 Will IPO Volume Boom?
32:40 VC/PE = No Free Lunch
35:36 Retail Access Fee Stacking
39:14 Volatility Washing and Perps
49:09 Sentiment and Final Takeaways
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This episode is brought to you by Sarmaya Partners. Learn more about Sarmaya’s LENS ETF, their full data and comparison, including performance here: https://sarmayaetf.com/
This episode is brought to you by Sarmaya Partners. Learn more about Sarmaya’s LENS ETF, their full data and comparison, including performance here: https://sarmayaetf.com/
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