Do you let hope triumph over experience in your love life? Go for it. But in your investment portfolio? That's where you need to harden your heart. Nowhere is the conflict between hope and experience starker than the market for initial public offerings, or IPOs.
The possibility of getting in on the ground floor of a young company is enticing. And for some of the lucky few who are given allotments of shares at the official starting price, a first-day IPO "pop" in share prices can create instant profits.
