Five ways to protect your hard-earned money in an IPO-crazed world

It's easy to give in to your best judgment and join the IPO party that has been throwing up one winner after another. The super successes of recent IPOs make investing look easy, almost a no-brainer. Look up the grey market premium of an ongoing issue and invest. The only problem with this type of investing is that such parties do not last, and you can lose your savings when the music stops. You need to remember, flipping stocks, applying in an IPO and selling it for listing gains is not what will fund your long-term financial goals. It will not provide for your kids' education, marriage, or build a retirement nest egg for you. Yet lakhs of investors play this game with every issue. And many of them do lose their hard-earned money this way. We look at five ways you can protect your savings in an IPO-crazed world. 1. Do not succumb to the fear of mis