Can You Hold Pre-IPO Shares in a Brokerage Account?
Erik James Roberts — Founder & CIO, Infinitus Wealth Management. Purple Heart recipient, Wharton MBA.
Updated October 8, 2026
You can hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account at a growing number of custodians, and for accredited investors that is a meaningful shift in how private-company investing works. The position lives in the same account as your public stocks and bonds, appears on the same statement, and is managed by the same advisor. Infinitus clients who qualify can do this through Altruist, the custodian that holds our client accounts, subject to account eligibility.
That one sentence answers the question. The rest of this article explains what you actually own when you hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account, why this setup is new, how the process works at Infinitus, who is eligible, what changes once a private position sits next to your public ones, and what to check before you subscribe. Nothing here is an offer to sell any security. Specific companies, prices, and availability are shared only with existing clients, after a conversation, and through the official offering documents.
Pre-IPO Investing Is Available to Infinitus Clients
Infinitus clients have access to pre-IPO investing in select late-stage private companies. These are businesses that have not yet listed on a public exchange, the stage where much of a company's growth now happens before everyday investors can buy a share. Availability rotates, is limited to accredited investors, and is never guaranteed, and securities regulations limit what we can say publicly about specific offerings, including which companies are available at any given time. If you are an accredited investor with a company in mind, contact us. We will talk through whether a position like this fits your overall portfolio, and if it does, we can check whether that company is currently available.
The practical side is simple. There is no separate platform, no outside login, and no standalone paperwork firm. Eligible clients subscribe through our custodian, Altruist, with digital signatures, fund the investment from cash in their account, and once the subscription settles the position appears on the same statements as their other holdings.
What Does It Mean to Hold Pre-IPO Shares in a Brokerage Account?
It means a single-company private investment is custodied inside your existing brokerage account rather than at a separate platform. In most cases you do not hold the private company's stock certificate directly. You hold units of a special purpose vehicle, or SPV, which is a legal entity created to buy shares of one private company and hold them on behalf of its investors. Your brokerage account records your SPV units the same way it records your shares of a public company.
The distinction matters for two reasons. First, the private company does not have to approve dozens of individual shareholders. It deals with one entity, the SPV, which is why this structure is the standard way late-stage private shares reach individual investors. Second, because the SPV is a security that can be custodied, it can be held, reported, and valued inside a brokerage account like other alternative assets.
For the full background on what pre-IPO investing is and how the different access paths compare, start with our guide on how to invest in pre-IPO companies. This article picks up where that one leaves off: the account itself.
Why Did Pre-IPO Investments Used to Live Outside Your Brokerage Account?
Because the plumbing did not exist. For years, a private-company investment meant opening an account at a specialty marketplace, completing paperwork there, wiring funds from your bank, and then tracking that position separately from everything your advisor managed. Your custodian never saw it. Your advisor's performance reports did not include it. Your quarterly statement did not mention it.
That arrangement worked for people who were comfortable with three logins and a spreadsheet. It worked less well for anyone who wanted a complete picture of their wealth in one place, and it made the advisor's job harder, because a held-away asset is easy to lose track of and difficult to size against the rest of the portfolio.
The shift is driven by a real change in the market. Companies are staying private far longer than they used to. Citing Nasdaq research, Altruist noted that only 2% of companies that first raised venture funding in 2009 had gone public within seven years, compared with 26% of the 1994 cohort. More of a company's growth now happens before it ever reaches a public exchange, and custodians have responded by building the infrastructure to hold these positions alongside everything else.
How Does It Work at Infinitus?
At Infinitus, eligible clients hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account at Altruist through its alternatives marketplace, which added single-company pre-IPO SPVs in late September 2026. The offerings are sourced and sponsored by a third-party sponsor and processed through Altruist's broker-dealer. Infinitus does not sponsor, structure, or sell the vehicles. Our role is the one we already have: advisor to your whole portfolio.
In practice, the process looks like this:
A conversation first. We discuss whether private-company exposure fits your goals, your time horizon, and your liquidity needs. Pre-IPO capital should be money you will not need for at least five years.
Eligibility is confirmed. Pre-IPO vehicles are offered under Regulation D, the federal rule that governs private placements. Participation is limited to accredited investors. Both the client and the advisor attest to accredited status, and we keep a short note in your file documenting the basis for it.
You review the offering documents. The subscription agreement, the SPV's terms, fees, and risk factors are provided through Altruist. These documents govern the investment. Nothing on our website or in a conversation replaces them.
Signatures are digital, inside Altruist. The subscription is completed in the platform rather than by mailing paperwork to a separate firm.
Funding comes from your account. The subscription is funded from cash in your Altruist account, whether that is cash already on hand or an additional deposit you make for this purpose.
The position appears alongside your other holdings. Once the subscription settles, your SPV units show in the same account as your stocks and bonds and on the same statements.
Account eligibility rules apply and depend on the account type. We confirm that your specific account can hold the vehicle before anything is signed. You can read more about this capability on our pre-IPO investing page.
Who Is Eligible to Hold Pre-IPO Shares in a Brokerage Account?
Accredited investors. Under current SEC rules, an individual generally qualifies with income above $200,000 in each of the two most recent years ($300,000 jointly with a spouse or partner) and a reasonable expectation of the same this year, or with a net worth above $1 million excluding the primary residence, or by holding certain professional securities licenses such as the Series 7, 65, or 82. Entities and trusts have their own tests. Our guide to accredited investor requirements in 2026 walks through each path.
Accreditation is about eligibility, not suitability. Qualifying on paper does not by itself mean a pre-IPO position belongs in your portfolio. That judgment depends on your full picture, which is why the first step at Infinitus is always a conversation rather than a form.
One more point for clarity. The accreditation thresholds above are federal standards that can change. Confirm current requirements with us or your CPA when you are ready to move forward.
What Changes Once Pre-IPO Shares Sit in Your Account?
Four things change and three things stay the same.
What changes
Pricing. Public stocks have a market price every trading day. A pre-IPO SPV does not. The value shown on your statement is an estimate based on the vehicle's terms, recent funding rounds, and secondary-market activity. It is not a price you can transact at, and it can move substantially when new information arrives.
Liquidity. You cannot sell SPV units with a click. Your position is designed to be held until the underlying company completes an IPO or is acquired, and a lock-up period commonly follows a public listing, often around 180 days. Some companies stay private longer than anyone expects.
Trading. The position is not part of the active management we apply to your public holdings. We cannot trim it on strength or add on weakness. It sits until a liquidity event.
Fees. Pre-IPO vehicles carry sponsor-level costs that public stocks do not. More on those below.
What stays the same
Your account. Same custodian, same login, same client portal.
Your reporting. The position appears on your statements and in your performance reporting, with its estimated value clearly identified as such.
Your advisor. Infinitus sees the position, sizes it against the rest of your portfolio, and factors it into every review.
That last point is the quiet advantage of holding pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account. A private position that your advisor can see is a position that gets managed in context. A private position held away is one more thing you have to remember to mention.
What Are the Fees?
Three layers are possible, and the offering documents will spell out which apply to a given vehicle.
Sponsor fees. The SPV sponsor typically charges a placement or structuring fee at subscription, which is often expressed as a percentage of the amount invested, and may charge an annual administrative fee. Some vehicles also include carried interest, a share of any gain paid to the sponsor at the liquidity event.
Custody and platform fees. These depend on the custodian and the vehicle. Altruist's fee schedule and the offering documents disclose them.
Your advisory fee. At Infinitus, pre-IPO positions held in a managed account fall under our standard advisory fee. We receive no commission, placement fee, or other compensation from the custodian or the sponsor on pre-IPO offerings. The number is zero. We are a fee-only fiduciary, and that does not change when a private company enters the picture.
Read every fee in the subscription agreement before signing, and ask us to walk through them line by line. When you hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account with a fee-only fiduciary, fee clarity is part of the service rather than something you have to ask for.
How Does This Fit a Portfolio of Individual Stocks and Bonds?
As an extension, not a replacement. Infinitus builds every client portfolio from individual securities, and our Private Companies strategy already focuses on the economics of businesses that compound value over long periods. For accredited clients, that strategy now reaches companies that have not yet gone public.
Sizing is the discipline that makes it work. Because a single-company SPV is concentrated, illiquid, and valued by estimate, it belongs in the satellite portion of a portfolio, funded with capital you can leave alone for years. The right allocation depends on your net worth, your income needs, your existing concentration (especially if your career already ties you to one company or sector), and your temperament. Those are the things we work through in the introductory conversation and in your financial plan.
Our public-market strategies keep doing the heavy lifting. When you hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account next to them, the private position adds exposure to a stage of company growth that public markets no longer capture, and it does so inside a framework where every holding is visible and every decision is made with the whole portfolio in view.
What Should You Check Before You Subscribe?
Six questions worth asking before you hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account, whether that account is with us or anywhere else:
What exactly am I buying? Units of an SPV, direct shares, or something else? What class of stock does the SPV hold, and does it carry the same rights as the shares that institutions own?
How was the price set, and is it fixed? Understand whether the subscription price is locked at signing and how it compares to the company's most recent funding round.
What are the total fees, and when are they paid? Placement, administrative, carried interest, and any custody charges.
How will the position be valued, and how often? Who provides the estimate, and what inputs do they use?
What happens at the liquidity event? Will you receive shares, cash, or both? What lock-up applies? What if the company is acquired instead of listing?
Who is sponsoring the vehicle, and who regulates them? Confirm that the sponsor and the broker-dealer processing the subscription are registered, and that the offering has been filed appropriately. Reputable infrastructure is the foundation of everything else.
We walk through every one of these with clients before a subscription is submitted, and we bring in your CPA or attorney when a question touches tax or estate planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account?
Yes, at custodians that support it. Infinitus clients who qualify as accredited investors can hold single-company pre-IPO vehicles in their Altruist brokerage account, subject to account eligibility. The position appears on the same statement as your public investments.
Do I own the company's stock directly?
Typically no. You own units of a special purpose vehicle that holds the shares. The SPV structure is what allows the position to be custodied in a brokerage account and lets the private company deal with one shareholder of record rather than many.
Do I need to be an accredited investor?
Yes. Pre-IPO vehicles are private placements under Regulation D and are limited to accredited investors. Both you and your advisor attest to your status, and we document the basis in your file.
Can I sell my pre-IPO position whenever I want?
No. These positions are illiquid by design and are generally held until the company completes an IPO or is acquired. A lock-up period, commonly around 180 days, often follows a public listing. Plan on a hold of at least five years.
How is a pre-IPO position valued on my statement?
By estimate, not market price. The value reflects the vehicle's terms, recent funding rounds, and secondary-market activity. It can change materially and is clearly identified as an estimate in your reporting.
Does Infinitus earn a commission on pre-IPO investments?
No. Infinitus receives no commission or other compensation from the custodian or the sponsor on pre-IPO offerings. When you hold pre-IPO shares in a brokerage account we manage, the position falls under our standard advisory fee.
Add Private Companies to a Portfolio Built Around You. If you are an accredited investor interested in owning select late-stage private companies inside the same account as your stocks and bonds, start with an introductory conversation. We will look at your full picture, explain how single-company access works inside your account, and help you decide whether and how it fits.
Disclosure. This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Any offer of interests in a private investment vehicle will be made only to accredited investors, only by means of the vehicle's official offering documents, and only in jurisdictions where such an offer is permitted. Pre-IPO and other private investments are speculative, illiquid, involve a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment, and are suitable only for investors who can bear that risk and who have no need for liquidity in the invested capital. There is no assurance that any private company will complete an initial public offering or be acquired, and no assurance as to the timing or terms of any liquidity event. Values shown for private positions are estimates, are not market prices, and may differ materially from the amount ultimately realized. Infinitus Wealth Management is a registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Infinitus receives no commission or other compensation from any custodian or sponsor in connection with pre-IPO offerings; positions held in managed accounts are subject to our standard advisory fee as disclosed in our Form ADV. Infinitus does not sponsor, structure, or distribute any private investment vehicle. Accredited-investor standards are set by the SEC and are subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This content does not consider the specific objectives, financial situation, or needs of any individual and should not be relied upon as personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult your own professional advisers before making any investment decision.
