Top 5 reasons why investors should be wary of companies going public

Companies that trade on the stock exchange have the persona they've hit the big leagues. But there are reasons why companies become publicly traded and they don't all work for naive investors.

Let's look at how the stock market functions so we have context for public vs. private markets. Think of a stock exchange as a shopping mall where all possibilities can be found in one place. It's organized and convenient with the benefit of oversight through securities laws and exchange rules. Associated with the listing is a dist