When to apply, and the deadlines that catch people out

The window is short

Every listing has a fixed application period, and once it closes you cannot take part at all. However good the company, missing the window means missing the draw. Managing dates is the most basic skill in this.

The window is usually only a few days. Finding out afterwards that it has already closed is the most wasteful way to miss out, so start by knowing when it runs.

The sequence

Listing approval. The day it becomes public that a company is coming to market. This is when the listing exists as far as you are concerned.

The indicative price range is set. A range per share is announced, and now you know how much money you will need.

Book building — the application period. This is the part that lasts only a few days.

The draw. Winners and losers are announced.

The purchase step. Winners must complete a purchase within a deadline.

Listing. The shares trade and the first price is set.

Three habits that stop you missing it

Check the application window as soon as a listing interests you. Start and end dates differ for every company.

Prepare with time to spare. Applying early does not improve your odds — this is not first come, first served. But some brokers require the money to be in place before you apply, and scrambling to move funds on the last afternoon is how mistakes happen.

Check regularly. Several listings often run their windows at the same time, and a routine check is what stops one slipping past.

Winning is not the last step

The trap people fall into is the purchase step after winning. If you do not complete it within the deadline, the allocation simply disappears. People really do win and then fail to buy.

When a result notice arrives, check the purchase deadline immediately. Turning on email notifications from your broker is worth the two minutes it takes.

Reserve places are worth acting on

If your result is a reserve place rather than a win, do not write it off. When winners decline, the shares pass to people on the reserve list.

At some brokers a reserve place still requires you to confirm that you want to buy. Assuming it is hopeless and ignoring it is how people forfeit shares they would have received.

What to do now

Look at the calendar and see which application windows are closing soon.