MFs buy hot stocks like Snap ahead of IPOs

Some mutual funds already have stakes as companies go public

Snap acquired loads of new investors when it went public last month, including people who own mutual funds that bought shares. But while the stock had just been listed for trading, those new owners were not the first fund investors with a stake in the image messaging service.

They were beaten to it by shareholders of about two dozen mutual funds, including several run by Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, that held pieces of Snap going back at least to last June, according to Morningstar. The practice of purchasing privately traded equities is fairly common among large fund companies, albeit usually