what is an initial public offering ipo 
an initial public offering ipo refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors companies must meet requirements set by exchanges and the sec to hold an ipo companies hire investment banks to underwrite their ipos the underwriters are involved in every aspect of the ipo due diligence document preparation filing marketing and issuance the bottom linethe names of investment banks like goldman sachs and morgan stanley come up frequently in discussions about the financial market highlighting the importance of these institutions in the financial world in general investment banks assist clients with large and complex financial transactions this includes underwriting new debt and equity securities aiding in the sale of securities and helping to facilitate mergers and acquisitions reorganizations and broker trades investment banks may help other organizations raise capital by underwriting initial public offerings ipos and creating the documentation required for a company to go public 