Glossary: Pre-IPO Glossar
Securitization
Structuring a holding into a tradable security. Turns a complex participation agreement into a product that can sit in a securities account.
Unicorn
A private company valued at over one billion US dollars. Cometum focuses on the strongest performers among them.
Trophy Asset
An exceptionally coveted, usually private company almost everyone wants to invest in but hardly anyone can access. SpaceX, OpenAI and Stripe are typical examples.
Tokenization
Converting an asset into a digital security based on the Stellar blockchain. Makes shares divisible, transferable and far easier to trade.
Secondary Market
The market where already-issued shares trade between investors. For Cometum One, it plays a double role: it’s where investors like Cometum acquire company shares and the route through which investors should one day be able to sell their stake before a listing. Liquid trading for tokenized pre-IPO securities, comparable to a public exchange, doesn’t exist yet. We’re working on a more transparent secondary market, with the goal of making Cometum One tradable there.
Private Markets
The umbrella term for investments in non-listed assets, including private equity, growth equity and pre-IPOs. Historically reserved for institutional investors.
Pre-IPO
A company that isn’t yet listed, often ahead of a possible IPO. 85% of the world’s most successful companies fall into this category.
MiFID II
The EU framework for investment services, governing investor protection and transparency. Cometum One products are structured to be MiFID II-compliant.
Liquidity
How quickly and easily a holding can be turned into capital. The classic weakness of the private markets. Tokenization and secondary markets shorten the capital lock-up considerably.
Later-Stage Secondary
The purchase of existing shares in a mature, still-private company from earlier investors or employees, rather than new shares from a funding round. A common route into trophy assets.
ISIN
The International Securities Identification Number that uniquely identifies a security. A German ISIN makes a Cometum One product tradable and custodial in your usual securities account.
IPO (Initial Public Offering)
A company’s stock market debut. Historically the first moment the public could invest, often only after much of the value gain had already happened.
Growth Equity
Capital for established, fast-growing companies that aren’t yet listed. Lower-risk than early-stage venture capital, with still-high growth potential.
Exit
The moment an investor realizes a holding, for example through an IPO, a trade sale or an acquisition. In pre-IPO investing, the exit is where much of the value becomes visible.
Due Diligence
The careful review of a company before an investment: legal, financial and tax. Traditionally costly and lengthy; with a structured security like Cometum One, largely taken off the investor’s hands.
Cap Table
An overview of who holds what stake in a company, in what form and at what level. Crucial in pre-IPO investing to understand which share class you hold indirectly.
Blind Pool
A fund structure in which investors commit capital without knowing the specific target companies. Offers diversification, but no selection of your own and no say. The counter-model to a direct, single-company investment.
Accredited Investor
An investor who meets regulatory requirements according to MiFID II Annex II and thereby gains access to products not open to the general public.
