Abschnittsübersicht

  • We conclude the module with a discussion of alternative ways to tap into public equity markets. We start with Direct Listings, where firms "simply" list their existing shares without raising any additional capital. Next, we discuss Direct Public Offerings, where firms issue shares to public investors without subsequently listing them on a stock exchange.

    We also discuss how the ongoing technological disruption might reshape financial markets. At its heart, digitalization is all about removing intermediaries and converting existing markets into platforms or ecosystems, on which demand and supply meet.

    Clearly, these technological innovation have great potential to make public capital accessible to many more firms and investors. Thereby, they can make an important contribution towards the democratization of investments.

    We discuss recent trends in Crowd Financing and how these platforms attempt to dismantle information asymmetry and bring firms and investors together. We also take a look at the potential benefits that the emerging blockchain technology and the associated Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) might bring. It takes no crystal ball to see that, once established, this technology has the potential to fundamentally reshape existing financial markets.