Most-popular IPOs with DIY customers in 2021...

...and the ones they were locked out of.

interactive investor, the UK’s second-largest DIY investment platform, today publishes the IPOs that its retail customers had access to in 2021, ranked by popularity.

Sadly, it’s a shorter list than it should be, due to the sheer volume of IPOs that continue to exclude private investors. Without the investment trust industry rising to the occasion, and offering retail investors access to IPOs, it would have been a poor year for IPOs.

• Find out more about the latest IPOs here

Lee Wild, Head of Equity Strategy, interactive investor, says: “Renewable energy-focused investment trusts dominate the top of the list in terms of most popular IPOs this year, and there’s a sprinkle of stardust, too, with Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LSE:SSIT), the fourth most-popular IPO on interactive investor this year.

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“But the absence of some of the UK’s most high-profile listings of 2021 from the table hints at a more serious tale, and one that damages the integrity of public markets. From Dr. Martens (LSE:DOCS), Moonpig (LSE:MOON), and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LSE:ONT), through to the high-profile, troubled start of Deliveroo (LSE:ROO), all took a VIP approach to their IPO listings and left private investors out in the cold.

“This has to stop. After a year-long campaign by interactive investor calling for retail access to IPOs to be broadened, DIY investors continue to be left out. We have called for a quota system, where companies are compelled to involve ordinary investors when they float. There are growing numbers of retail investors in the UK and most of them manage their portfolios via investment platforms that can provide quick and easy access to IPOs. Shareholder democracy has to start with open access to IPOs for all.”

2021 IPOs – investment trusts lead the way for retail investors

In the meantime, it is investment trusts that continue to deliver the goods when it comes to retail access to IPOs. Investment trusts have been in high demand with private investors in 2021, with figures from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) showing it was a record-breaking year for fundraising. Overall, £14.8 billion of new money has been raised, which comfortably exceeds the previous record, when £10.2 billion was raised in 2014.

The lion’s share was money entering existing investment trusts through secondary fundraising, with £11.1 billion raised.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) also played their part. There have been 16 IPOs in 2021, with £3.8 billion raised.

Interactive investor ranks the retail IPO offerings of 2021 on its platform.

Kyle Caldwell, Collectives Specialist at interactive investor, says: “There were two particularly innovative investment ideas this year in the investment trust space – HydrogenOne Capital Growth (LSE:HGEN) and Seraphim Space. The former is the first London-listed investment trust dedicated to clean hydrogen, which has become an increasingly popular investment theme, as investors grow more concerned about climate change. The latter is the first ever space-themed investment trust. It invests in early and growth-stage space tech businesses.

“The emergence of these new themes show how the investment trust sector continues to evolve. The fixed pool of assets structure is ideal for alternative investments, which tend to be illiquid and cannot easily be swiftly bought or sold.

“In terms of sectors, sustainable and environmentally themed listings have proved popular in 2021. Four of the top 10 most-popular IPOs with our customers in 2021 are trusts in the Renewable Energy Infrastructure sector. Trusts in this sector are sustainable specialists, and clearly outline the specialist area they are focusing on.”

IPOs of 2021 available on interactive investor, ranked in order of popularity with ii customers