312 emerging growth companies (EGCs) that filed for an initial public offering (IPO) from
April 5, 2012 through April 30, 2015. We find no reduction in the direct costs of issuance,
accounting, legal, or underwriting fees for EGC IPOs. Underpricing, an indirect cost of
issuance that increases an issuer's cost of capital, is significantly higher for EGCs compared
to other IPOs. More importantly, greater underpricing is present only for larger firms that are …