Pre-IPO Investing Has an Infrastructure Problem, Not an Access Problem

Getting into a pre-IPO deal is easy. Getting into one the right way is harder and that gap is what KPC Private Funds CEO Dean Rubino addressed in a new feature from InvestmentNews.

Why it matters: Companies are staying private longer, and value creation is shifting earlier  well before any IPO. Rubino points to SpaceX, still private after two decades, and notes the same dynamic is now drawing attention to Anthropic and OpenAI as they approach eventual public listings.

"People forget that SpaceX has been around for 20 years, I remember seeing a valuation for it in the secondary market back in 2021, and that company was still 15-plus years old. It's since doubled."

The real issue: With so many SPVs now marketing pre-IPO shares directly to accredited investors, access no longer separates a good deal from a bad one. Rubino says advisors should vet the infrastructure before the deal:

• Will it show up on a client's custodian statement?
• Is the pricing institutional, or marked up?
• Has it passed professional diligence and independent valuation?
• Is there a defined liquidity window?
• What does the investor actually own — common stock, or preferred shares with terms that change the risk?

That last question isn't academic: Rubino cited Anthropic's move to void unauthorized stock transfers as proof ownership can be murkier than it looks.

On advisors' role: As tokenized platforms pitch cutting advisors out, Rubino argues the opposite. Advisors don't need a venture background, just the infrastructure to vet a deal responsibly for clients who may look sophisticated on paper but aren't.