OPINION: Rather than encouraging Americans to invest for building long-term wealth, some SPACs promote a get-rich-quick mentality and could expose individual investors to unreasonable risks.
The dot-com bubble did not end well for stock markets or investors. Further, it precipitated a range of unethical and manipulative practices that stained Wall Street and financial analysts for years.
The SPAC Working Group at CFA Institute is examining a range of market-integrity issues as they relate to the SPAC structure for IPOs. Generally, IPOs are highly speculative for any investor, tend to proliferate at market highs, and have a spotty record of performance in the short and long terms regardless of structure.
The CFA Institute SPAC Working Group has empaneled a broad-based group including industry practitioners, stock exchanges, SPAC sponsors, academic experts and investor-protection advocates. The group is focused on: