Should You Get a Piece of Facebook ? How Should You Should Go About Tt ?

SWARTHMORE, Penn. (MarketWatch) — In a very modern version of ancient Rome’s bread-and-circuses formula, Facebook is staging its roadshow for major institutional investors this week.

The company will toss some bits to the masses — or, at least, to the individual investors among the masses who want to get in on its initial public offering when it hits the market next week.

However, it won’t be easy picking up those crumbs. Companies going public routinely distribute most of their available shares to the big-bank underwriters, who resell most of them to their biggest institutional clients. According to the New York Times, when the Facebook IPO launches on May 17 “as much as” 20% to 25% of the 337 million available shares will be distributed through brokerage firms that cater to individual investors. The usual cut to retailers is about 15%.”

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