Facebook IPO seen deepening investor distrust of stocks

Facebook Inc’s initial public offering, plagued by trading errors and a 16 per cent drop in the share price, will push more individual investors out of a stock market they already distrust after the financial crisis. “This is clearly the latest in a long string of events that is eviscerating the confidence investors have in the market,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago attorney who represents retail investors. “The perception is Wall Street jiggered this IPO so the underwriters made money, Facebook executives made money and the small investor got left holding the bag.” Individual buyers’ willingness to venture into stocks was undercut by difficulties in executing trades on the first day of trading on May 18.