By Paul R. La Monica
Finally, SpaceX has launched its IPO filing. Here's how you can hitch a ride on Elon Musk's rocket company when it begins trading in June.
First, brokerage firms Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, and SoFi -- along with Morgan Stanley subsidiary E*Trade -- will offer shares at the same IPO price and at the same time that institutional investors can snap them up, SpaceX said in its Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork.
Schwab, SoFi, Fidelity, and Robinhood declined to comment; Morgan Stanley didn't respond to Barron's request for comment.
Just how many shares will be available for retail investors or when they can put in purchase orders wasn't laid out in the S-1 registration filing. Musk has talked about reserving as much as 30% of the shares for individual traders, according to Reuters, which cited people close to the matter.
Many IPOs allocate no more than 5% to 10% of shares for retail investors.
One investment firm, Buttonwood Funds, thinks getting in at the IPO price is important -- especially if the stock winds up soaring in the aftermarket on its debut day.
Traders searching for the next great growth stories could think they must buy shares at whatever price the market will bear.
"Investors are looking for the next Magnificent Seven. So a lot of capital may rotate into these giant IPOs," said Joseph Alagna, Buttonwood's managing member and a founding partner.
Buttonwood. which owns stakes in several private companies, has filed with the SEC to launch a closed-end fund that includes SpaceX as a top holding.
But Alagna is warning investors to be careful when buying shares in SpaceX or any mega unicorn.
"Companies are staying private for much longer. If you're not getting access in private rounds, you're missing a lot of the growth," he said. "By the time these companies go public, the law of large numbers kicks in."
You don't have to wait for SpaceX's IPO, though. There are several funds that already own the company's private shares.
Six with significant exposure were highlighted Thursday by The Seven Report's Tom Essaye in his daily newsletter.
Those funds: the Baron Partners Fund, Baron Focused Growth Fund, ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF, the Private Shares Fund, the Destiny Tech100, and Cathie Wood's ARK Venture Fund. Each has 14% to 30% of their assets invested in SpaceX.
A warning comes with these funds, too, because many -- and others with SpaceX exposure such as the relatively new Fundrise Growth Tech Fund and Tema Space Innovators ETF -- have already surged on the expectation of the company's IPO filing. Fundrise Growth, for example, rose 11% alone on Thursday; Destiny Tech 100 popped 22%.
Still, the stakes in the funds -- to varying degrees -- are valued below the $2 trillion market capitalization that SpaceX could fetch on Day One as a public company.
Another thing that could put the squeeze on retail investors: SpaceX joining the Nasdaq 100, the S&P 500, and the Russell 1000 much sooner than the typical 12- to 18-month waiting period for IPOs.
A shortened timeline brings the potential for "forced buying" from top index providers, which could add tens of billions of dollars in demand for SpaceX, points out Joel Shulman, CEO of ERShares.
"That would put incredible upward pressure on the stock right out of the gate," he told Barron's.
And if you don't get SpaceX shares, think about scooping up shares of two other high-profile private companies before they are public -- ChatGPT owner OpenAI and Claude parent company Anthropic.
Private exchanges like Hiive and Charles Schwab-owned Forge Global will let you buy pre-IPO shares directly from employees and other insiders.
But have your eyes wide open. The investing minimums can range from $25,000 to $100,000. And demand for this limited amount of stock is fierce.
"Without a doubt people are extremely excited about SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic," said Andrew Alden, vice president of quantitative research for Forge Global. "It will be interesting to see how investors absorb that."
Robinhood is playing the pre-IPO game, too. Its Robinhood Ventures Fund has stakes in start-ups such as OpenAI, Databricks, and Stripe.
Again, a red flag from an IPO analyst.
Mergermarket's Samuel Kerr thinks everyday folks need to be wary of buying pre-IPO shares this late in the game.
"The private market is still difficult for individual investors," said Kerr, Mergermarket's head of global ECM. "It's dangerous because of the lack of liquidity. Unless you are a very high net worth individual, this isn't the place for retail investors."
Maybe the best thing for you to do is to just sit tight until SpaceX has a trading history.
Over the next few months, you'll have earnings reports to chew on. And lockup periods that prohibit early investors and employees from selling shares will expire, probably flooding the market with shares.
OK, we've laid out the mountains and valleys. Now, you can chart your route.
Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com
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May 21, 2026 14:03 ET (18:03 GMT)
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