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Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System Definition

Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System: A system that enables underwriters to track purchases and sales of shares issued in an IPO, and identify flippers.

Investopedia / Jessica Olah

What Is the Deposito♚ry Trust Company IPO Tracking Systꦫem?

The Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System is a system administered by the Depository Trust Company that monitors the purchase and sale of securities that have recently been issued through an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:initial public offering (IPO).

One of the principal uses of the system is to identify instances where insiders have sold their shares shortly after the IPO. This practice, colloquially known as “flipping”, is often frowned upon by 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:underwriters.

Key Takeaways

How the Depository Trust Company IPO Trac💫ki𒐪ng System Works

Although underwriters rely on some insiders selling their shares in order to make those shares available to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:retail investors, they also wish to avoid a situation where 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:insider selling places downw🍒ard pressure on the market price of the newly issued security. 

To maintain this balance, underwriters will often obtain commitments from their clients, who will pledge to not sell their shares within a specified timeframe. Importantly, these insiders ꦿmay not be required to follow through on this pledge by any laws or regulations. Therefore, the underwriter may need to rely on their cl⛦ients’ promises not to flip their shares following the IPO.

Important

Some IPO participants—such as the company’s executives, early investors, and founders—may be subject to explicit 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:lock-up periods, during which they are prohibited by law from selling their shares. As a binding legal obligation, this restriction takes precedence over any informal pledges those investors may have made to their underwriters.


The Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System provides a means for underwriters to verify whether these promises have been kept. By monitoring all transactions of stock issued through a recent IPO, the tracking system allows underwriters to review reports of IPO-related share movements, thereby identifying which investors chose to flip their shares.

If an underwriter learns through the tracking system that a client broke their promise to not flip their shares, the underwriter may respond by not offering them an allotment to the next IPO. For this reason, clients who plan to flip their sha𒀰res will usually let the underwriter know ahead of time, in order to not jeopardize future business.

Example▨ of the Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System

Imagine that XYZ company has announced its intention to launch an IPO, selling its stock for the first time on public exchanges. Before the IPO, tౠhe shares were only available to a handful of▨ company executives, major investors, employees, and other insiders.

𝔍 During the IP♛O process, XYZ will look for a bank or other financial institution to underwrite the public offering: the underwriter buys shares at a certain price, which will then be sold on public markets. In order to prevent company insiders from flooding the market, the underwriter may require that company insiders agree not to sell their shares for a certain period after the IPO.

The Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System safeguards the IPO from early selling. Based ಌin New York City, the Depository Trust Company is one of the world’s largest securities depositories. Using the IPO tracking system, underwriters can check securities records to determine if XYZ insiders sell sold their shares before the agreed-upon date.

In addition to providing safekeeping through electronic recordkeeping of securities balances, the DTC also acts as a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:clearinghouse to process and settle trades in the corporate and municipal bond markets.

What Is the Difference Between DTC and DTCC?

The Depository Trust Company (DTC) is a trust company that act✤s as a subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearance Corporation (DTCC). The DTC tracks ownership and transactions of securities, while theಞ DTCC is responsible for clearance and settlement in the broader financial markets.

How Do You Know if a Company Is Going to IPO?

Before a company launches an IPO, they must first file a Form S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, This form discloses how much money the company wants to raise, and how many securities it will issue, as well as other key information like the company's revenues and profits. In addition, the company will typically launch a 12-18 month roadshow to find underwriters for their offering.

When Can You Sell an IPO?

If you own shares of a company before its public offering, you may be required to hold those shares for 90 to 180 days after the start of the public offering. This is intended to prevent major shareholders from flooding the market and driving the stock price down. This requirement, known as a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:lock-up period, may be a condition of buying the shares b🀅efore the stock is publicly tradeable.

The Bottom Line

The Depository Trust Company IPO Tracking System is used to monitor transactions in shares that have recently been released to the public. This is useful to determine if major shareholders have sold their shares shortly after a public offering, which could lower the value of a company. Securities underwriters may use this tracking system in order to prevent such a sell-off.

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  1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "."

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