There’s a familiar rhythm in investing. A company starts making noise. Interest builds. Suddenly everyone’s asking the same thing: “How do I get in before it lists?”

Right now, SpaceX is that company. But it won’t be the last... which makes this a good moment to unpack what’s possible, what isn’t (yet), and where access is opening up.

How US listings work on EasyEquities

EasyEquities gives you access to US-listed shares through your USD account. Once a company lists on Nasdaq or NYSE (like SpaceX, for example) and begins trading publicly, we work to make it available on the platform once it’s enabled through our US partner - but that timeline isn’t something we can guarantee upfront. It depends on how fast our US partner gets it live on their end. For high-profile listings where demand from our community is already high, it’s something we actively prioritise.

What we don’t currently offer is pre-listing access - buying shares before the company officially starts trading. That requires membership in a US underwriting syndicate, which our US partner doesn’t participate in for retail investors. No platform in our position can offer this legitimately, and if someone’s telling you they can, that’s worth treating with serious caution.

We’re actively exploring what expanded primary market access could look like for EasyEquities investors. When we have something real to announce, you’ll hear it from us directly.

Here’s something worth knowing: retail access to IPO allocations is limited globally. Most primary market allocations are distributed through underwriting syndicates, which typically prioritise institutional investors. That’s not unique to EasyEquities - it’s how most primary markets are structured. It’s also why access matters as much as it does.

Curious about a specific stock you’d like to see on the platform? You can submit a request - just visit our FAQ and fill in the form. Strong client demand helps guide what we prioritise next.

Now here’s the part that doesn’t get enough airtime

While the world waits for the next big IPO to ring the opening bell on Wall Street, something quietly remarkable has been happening right here at home - and it’s been going on for a while.

EasyEquities has been opening JSE IPO access to everyday South African investors. And that matters far more than it might sound.

For most of financial market history, IPOs have been an institutional game. The big banks, the asset managers, the funds - they got early allocations. By the time a new listing hit the secondary market and retail investors could finally buy in, the early gains had often already been made. Regular investors were perpetually last in line.

That’s where EasyEquities has quietly changed the game locally.

When a company lists on the JSE, EasyEquities fights for an allocation on behalf of its community - and then distributes it fairly across investors who’ve expressed interest through the platform. It’s not guaranteed (IPO demand is complex and supply is finite), but the principle is clear: our investors deserve a seat at the table - and we push for one, every time.

Think about what that’s meant in practice - opportunities like Boxer, Optasia, and Cell C - accessible through an app on your phone, to investors who would historically never have seen the inside of an institutional IPO roadshow.

What about global wallets?

The same spirit of access applies across EasyEquities’ full offering - your USD, GBP, EUR, and AUS accounts. While the instrument libraries in each wallet are built over time (and the US syndicate limitation is specific to primary IPO allocations), you can always submit a request for a stock you want to see added. Client demand is one of the clearest signals we have for where to focus next.

Why does any of this matter?

Because access is the whole point.

EasyEquities was built on the belief that investing shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for people who already have wealth, connections, or a Bloomberg terminal. Every product decision, every fight for a JSE IPO allocation, every instrument added to the platform - it all comes back to that.

US primary IPO access isn’t here yet - but it’s on the roadmap, and when we build it, we’ll build it right. In the meantime, the story worth telling isn’t what we can’t do yet.

It’s what we’ve already started to change.

Want to be first to know about the next JSE IPO or new instrument on EasyEquities? Keep an eye on the app and follow our official channels.

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