Navigating The IPO Mine Field By Tim Boreham, Editor, The New Criterion How to pick the winners from the duds amid the ongoing IPO mania Like climbers queuing below the Mt Everest summit before the next blizzard sets in, private vendors are continuing to join the initial public offering (IPO) conga line before the market turns foul. Or has the IPO ‘weather’ turned already? Frankly, it’s hard to tell. According to the esteemed website smallcaps.com.au, 84 companies have already executed an IPO in calendar 2021, compared with about 76 for the entire 2020 year. At least 24 more IPOs are in the offing, although this number is a moveable feast as vendors chop and change their plans and the regulators force delays because of prospectus wording and such.