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Stock Market Services

Initial Public Offering (IPO) Advisory

IPO advisory covering prospectus review, subscription analysis, allotment guidance, listing strategy, anchor investors, and pre-IPO funding.

Initial Public Offering (IPO) Advisory
Estimate Cost
₹1,00,000 – ₹10,00,000
Typical duration
60 days

Service overview

  • Professional advisory and analytical support relating to Initial Public Offerings, covering evaluation of the proposed issue, offer documents, subscription trends, investor categories, allotment considerations, listing-related strategy, and post-listing matters
  • The service covers grey market premium analysis, Red Herring Prospectus evaluation, QIB/HNI/retail allotment guidance, listing-day price strategies, anchor investor coordination, post-listing support, lock-up period planning, IPO grading interpretation, subscription trend analysis, and pre-IPO funding advisory
  • SEBI maintains a public-issues framework containing draft offer documents filed with SEBI, Red Herring Documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, and final offer documents, making review of the relevant issue documents an important component of IPO analysis

Who needs it? / When is it needed?

  • Retail investors, HNI or NII investors, QIBs, promoters, companies preparing for an IPO, pre-IPO investors, existing shareholders, and other eligible market participants who require assistance in understanding or evaluating a public issue
  • The service may be relevant before applying for an IPO, while evaluating an offer document, when assessing subscription levels and issue structure, during allotment and listing preparation, or when analysing post-listing implications and lock-in requirements

What to expect from the WCP Professionals

WCP professionals support you with:

  • Review of the DRHP, RHP, prospectus and other available issue documents
  • Analysis of the company's business model, financial information, risk factors, objects of the issue, valuation and issue structure
  • Assessment of subscription data and investor-category participation
  • Explanation of retail, HNI/NII and QIB application considerations
  • Review of anchor-investor information where applicable
  • Analysis of listing-related considerations
  • Preparation of an IPO advisory or research report.
  • Where personalised investment advice is provided as a regulated activity, the applicable SEBI regulatory framework must be followed.
  • SEBI's investor portal specifically provides investor resources on applying in IPOs through ASBA and conducting due diligence.

Key deliverables

Deliverables cover:

  • IPO evaluation report
  • DRHP/RHP/prospectus review
  • Business and industry overview
  • Financial and valuation analysis
  • Issue-size and pricing analysis
  • Objects-of-issue assessment
  • Risk-factor review
  • Promoter and shareholder analysis
  • Subscription-trend analysis
  • Investor-category allocation guidance
  • Anchor-investor analysis where applicable
  • Grey-market information analysis where legally and commercially appropriate
  • Listing-related scenario analysis
  • Lock-in and post-listing considerations
  • Pre-IPO funding analysis
  • Post-listing monitoring support where included in the engagement.

Standard turnaround time

  • Initial IPO analysis may generally be completed within an agreed professional timeline after the relevant offer documents and client requirements are received.
  • The timeline depends on the size and complexity of the issue, availability of the DRHP or RHP, amount of financial and market information requiring review, subscription period, investor category, and whether the engagement requires continuing monitoring through allotment and listing.
  • Time-sensitive components such as subscription analysis and listing-related assessment may require updates as new information becomes available.

Government fees, timelines & key outcomes

  • No standard government fee is ordinarily payable merely for professional IPO analysis or advisory, although IPO applicants may incur brokerage, statutory levies, taxes, and other transaction-related charges depending on the application and intermediary.
  • IPO applications are processed through prescribed mechanisms, including ASBA, and SEBI has issued circulars governing the processing of ASBA applications and UPI-based IPO applications.
  • The relevant issue timetable, including opening and closing dates, allotment, refund or unblocking, and listing, is determined by the particular public issue and applicable regulatory requirements.
  • Key outcomes include a structured assessment of the IPO, clearer understanding of the offer documents and risks, informed evaluation of the issue structure, and documented analysis of relevant investment considerations.

Forms & filings involved

  • For investors, IPO participation generally involves the prescribed IPO application process through ASBA or another permitted application mechanism, together with valid Demat, PAN, bank, KYC, and application details.
  • For companies undertaking an IPO, extensive regulatory and corporate documentation is involved, including the DRHP, RHP, prospectus, relevant stock-exchange and SEBI filings, corporate approvals, due-diligence documentation, and other issue-related filings.
  • SEBI's public-issues portal identifies draft offer documents, Red Herring Documents, and final offer documents as part of the public-issue filing framework.

Documents required

  • For investor-side advisory, PAN, Demat account details, bank-account information, KYC details, investor category, application size, UPI or ASBA information where applicable, and details of any existing holdings may be required.
  • For company-side IPO advisory, incorporation and constitutional documents, audited financial statements, capitalisation and shareholding information, promoter and director details, material contracts, litigation and regulatory information, business and industry information, valuation information, and draft offer documents may be required.
  • The precise documentation depends on whether the engagement concerns investor-side IPO participation, issuer-side preparation, or pre-IPO funding.

What we need from you

  • For investor-side advisory, your investment objective, risk profile, available funds, investor category, intended application size, investment horizon, and relevant IPO documents or application details should be provided.
  • For issuer-side advisory, complete company information, proposed issue structure, financial information, capitalisation table, promoter details, business plan, objects of the issue, existing funding arrangements, regulatory history, material litigation, proposed issue timeline, and available DRHP or RHP should be provided.

Important conditions

  • IPO investments carry market, business, valuation, liquidity, regulatory, and listing risks, and no allotment, listing gain, minimum return, or profit can be guaranteed.
  • Grey market premium is an unofficial market indicator and should not be treated as an assured indication of listing performance.
  • IPO allotment is subject to the applicable allocation framework and demand within the relevant investor category.
  • Lock-in requirements may apply to specified categories of shareholders and securities under the SEBI ICDR framework.
  • Recent SEBI-filed RHPs demonstrate that anchor-investor shares can be subject to prescribed lock-in periods, with the applicable requirements depending on the issue and prevailing regulations.
  • Investors should review the official offer documents and risk factors rather than relying solely on subscription figures, informal market sentiment, or grey-market indications.

Additional information

  • IPO Advisory may cover both investor-side evaluation and issuer-side transaction support, but these are materially different engagements and should be scoped separately.
  • For investors, the analysis should focus on the company's fundamentals, valuation, issue structure, risks, subscription information, investor category, and suitability.
  • For issuers, the work may involve coordination with merchant bankers, legal advisers, auditors, registrars, stock exchanges, SEBI, and other transaction participants.
  • SEBI continues to publish current IPO-related filings, including DRHPs, RHPs, abridged prospectuses, and final offer documents, making the latest official issue documents the appropriate primary source for transaction-specific information.
  • Any advisory involving securities recommendations must also be provided in accordance with the applicable SEBI registration and regulatory requirements.

The estimated cost covers indicative professional fees only. Government fees, stamp duty and taxes are payable at actuals.

How it works

  1. 1. Raise a service enquiry describing your requirement.
  2. 2. A Relationship Manager reviews it and opens it for bidding.
  3. 3. Pay into escrow and assign the professional you select.
  4. 4. Track progress to completion, then accept and release payment.
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Frequently asked questions

What is IPO readiness?

Getting financials, governance, compliance and structure in shape to meet SEBI and exchange requirements before filing.

What is an SME IPO?

A listing on the SME platforms of the BSE or NSE, with lighter requirements for smaller companies.

What is a DRHP?

The Draft Red Herring Prospectus filed with SEBI and the exchanges, describing the company and the offer.

Who manages an IPO?

SEBI-registered merchant bankers, supported by legal, audit and other advisers.

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