Friday, January 21, 2011

Here's How You Buy Facebook Stock Before The IPO

mark zuckerberg facebook

Want to get buy a piece of Facebook?

SecondMarket, the service that lets you buy private company stock, is your way in.

But first you must qualify as an "accredited investor."

By SEC definition, an accredited investor earns more than $200,000 per year or holds at least $1 million in assets.

If you meet those qualifications and you pass SecondMarket's criminal background check, the chances of you getting a chunk of Facebook are still slim.

Second Market rep Mark Murphy tells us the average transaction on the service is a whopping $2 million.

In addition, most investors are not individuals. They're institutions like hedge funds and VC firms that the private companies choose to let invest in them.

If you meet all the requirements to begin trading, the process is relatively simple. You can either purchase stock on SecondMarket's website or through one of their market specialists. 

Since Facebook makes up 45% of SecondMarket's business, there's a special process for trading its stock.

Here's how it works:

  • SecondMarket evaluates seller interest before starting an auction.
  • Next, SecondMarket checks potential buyer interest.
  • Once both parties are set and a share price has been established, the bidding begins. The auction remains open for nine days.
  • At the end of the auction, the highest bidders take the available shares.
  • SecondMarket takes a cut between three and five percent of each transaction. The cost is split evenly between the buyer and seller.
  • The stock is yours. These Facebook auctions take place somewhat regularly, so there's plenty of opportunity.

And that's it. If you can afford it, you can own stock in the hottest company everyone wants a piece of.

Here's the SecondMarket home page. Click "Log In Or Sign Up" to get started




Select whether you are a buyer, seller, partner, or private company.





Now a window pops up that will ask you some basic questions. You'll have to select whether you're a buyer, seller, etc. again.





View more at Business Insider

See Also:





Here's How You Buy Facebook Stock Before The IPO


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