So what about investing in Williams? Williams goes ahead with stock IPO - Racer.com Are you better off with the ponies on the weekend
No thanks. This is better than the few drivers who've sold stock in themselves but still not going on my list. From what I've read they really expect most of the stock to be bought by fans who get a kick out of the idea of owning a piece of an F1 team...and bragging rights I suppose...rather than real investors.
Apparently there are a lot of folks ready to jump in. Williams Formula 1 team 2011 stock market share float is fully subscribed (f1sa.com)
Remember the IPO for CART in March 1998? Dec 2003: After exhausting it's IPO cash reserves to maintain the 2003 season, CART declares bankruptcy. Hopefully, Williams remains a strong team/corporation, but I won't be investing - too risky for someone with little capital to begin with.
Seemed like a wise decision then...now even more so... Williams share values drops by 27% (gpupdate.net)
Might be a buy there soon, if it drops low enough.....I think you'll have to buy these as ADR's tho. I bought all the Ford shares I could when they got down around $2.....it's currently at $15.50... I'm just sayin, if you pay attention there's no reason to be scared of the market - but I would not have bought Williams on the IPO either.
American Depository Receipts, that's how you used to buy foreign stocks, it's been so long since I've bought any tho I don't even know if they still use them. With the advent of internet trading, I'm not sure if they even need them now.... Here's a better explanation from Wikipedia.... An American Depositary Receipt (abbreviated ADR) represents ownership in the shares of a non-U.S. company that trades in U.S. financial markets. The stock of many non-US companies trade on US stock exchanges through the use of ADRs. ADRs enable U.S. investors to buy shares in foreign companies without the hazards or inconveniences of cross-border & cross-currency transactions. ADRs carry prices in US dollars, pay dividends in US dollars, and can be traded like the shares of US-based companies. Each ADR is issued by a U.S. depository bank and can represent a fraction of a share, a single share, or multiple shares of the foreign stock. An owner of an ADR has the right to obtain the foreign stock it represents, but US investors usually find it more convenient simply to own the ADR. The price of an ADR often tracks the price of the foreign stock in its home market, adjusted for the ratio of ADRs to foreign company shares. In the case of companies incorporated in the United Kingdom, creation of ADRs attracts a 1.5% stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) charge by the UK government. Depositary banks have various responsibilities to an ADR shareholder and to the non-US company the ADR represents. The first ADR was introduced by JPMorgan in 1927, for the British retailer Selfridges. There are currently four major commercial banks that provide depositary bank services - JPMorgan, Citibank, Deutsche Bank and the Bank of New York Mellon. Individual shares of a foreign corporation represented by an ADR are called American Depositary Shares (ADS).