New attempts arise at bringing IPOs to the average investor

— -- Q: Is there a way for individual investors who don't belong to three country clubs to get in on initial public offerings?

A: If you're a regular investor, the rule of thumb on initial public offerings is simple: If you can get in, you don't want to.

For decades, you would have to be a high-net worth individual to get access to the best IPOs. If a company is taken public by a certain investment bank, for instance, that bank will likely offer the lucrative shares to its best customers. Investment banks know full well which IPOs will do the best, and they make sure to treat their best customers with shares of potentially well-performing IPOs.

There have long been attempts to give investors of ordinary financial means access to IPOs. Companies, fed up with high fees charged by Wall Street investment banks, have long tested selling shares directly to the public. Some brokerage firms, too, have experimented with ways to let regular investors buy into IPOs.

Many times, though, despite the lofty intentions of these plans, individual investors have been pretty disappointed. More times than not, the IPO shares offered by brokerage firms for individuals are the shares there wasn't strong demand for.

Results of companies offering shares themselves to typical investors are even more mixed. For every good story, such as Google, there have been situations where investors have lost on their investments. The decline in the value of shares of voice telecommunication Vonage was a brutal loss for many individuals who bought into the IPO.

There are new attempts in the works, though, at bringing IPOs to everyone. Fidelity Investments, a large brokerage firm and mutual fund company, has struck deals with private equity firm KKR to offer shares of companies it is taking public. Fidelity is also working with investment bank, Deutsche Bank, to offer some IPOs to Fidelity clients.

Investors will need to check with their typical Fidelity advisor or website to see if they're eligible for the program. Mark Haggerty, president of Fidelity Capital Markets, is hopeful this latest plan will work. He say demand for the IPOs has been strong so far.