According to CNBC, hedge fund manager Philippe Laffont declared the U.S. IPO market “completely broken beyond repair” during the Delivering Alpha conference on November 13, 2025. The founder of Coatue Management, which manages roughly $70 billion in assets, said today’s market bears little resemblance to the vibrant IPO pipeline of 20-30 years ago. Laffont noted there are “very few IPOs… almost none” compared to previous decades, creating what he calls an unfair situation for retail investors who get shut out of high-growth companies until valuations are already steep. Despite 191 U.S. IPOs priced this year representing a 48% increase from 2024, the numbers remain significantly lower than the 2018-2021 period. General Atlantic’s Bill Ford offered a more optimistic counterpoint, though both acknowledge market volatility, higher interest rates, and regulatory scrutiny have chilled risk appetite.
The real problem with today’s IPO market
Here’s the thing – Laffont isn’t just complaining about numbers. He’s pointing to a fundamental shift in how companies grow and who gets to participate in that growth. Companies are staying private longer than ever, which means all the explosive growth happens behind closed doors. By the time these companies finally go public, the easy money has already been made by venture capitalists and private equity firms. So what’s left for retail investors? Basically, they’re buying into companies that have already matured, with much of the risk already priced out and most of the upside already captured.
Why this hurts everyday investors
Laffont’s point about fairness actually hits pretty hard. Think about it – when was the last time you, as an individual investor, got meaningful access to a hot tech company’s IPO? Probably never. The system has evolved to keep retail on the sidelines until after the institutional players have taken their positions. And let’s be honest – by then, you’re often buying at peak hype. It creates this weird dynamic where regular investors are essentially providing exit liquidity for the early backers rather than participating in genuine growth stories.
What this means for the market ecosystem
The decline in IPOs isn’t just about missing out on investment opportunities. It actually changes how companies operate and how innovation gets funded. When companies stay private indefinitely, they face less public scrutiny and different kinds of pressure. There’s also the question of whether this concentration of wealth creation in private markets is healthy for the broader economy. I mean, if all the action happens before companies go public, does the public market even matter anymore for growth investing? That’s a pretty radical question that Laffont’s comments raise.
Not everyone agrees the sky is falling
Now, it’s worth noting that Bill Ford from General Atlantic offered a more optimistic take. And the data shows some recovery – 191 IPOs this year versus last year’s depressed numbers suggests things might be turning around. But here’s the catch: we’re still nowhere near the levels we saw just a few years ago. The market has fundamentally changed, and whether you call that “broken” or just “evolved” depends on your perspective. What’s clear is that the relationship between private growth and public markets has been permanently altered, and investors of all sizes need to adapt to this new reality.
