Why SpaceX changed Korea’s Anthropic IPO playbook

Mirae Asset Securities’ unexpected zero allocation in SpaceX’s June initial public offering is shaping how Korean financial firms approach the next major US listing: artificial intelligence vanguard Anthropic.

As the US company moves toward an IPO, Korean asset managers and brokerages are taking a cautious approach, industry sources said Thursday. Rather than trying to secure shares before the listing, most plan to buy the stock on the open market afterward.

At least six Korean asset managers are preparing to add Anthropic to their portfolios once trading begins.

NH-Amundi Asset Management is taking the most proactive approach, developing an exchange-traded fund focused on the agentic AI value chain. The fund will initially invest mainly in technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon, but will be structured to add Anthropic after its listing.

Samsung Asset Management is considering a Kodex US AI Agent Active ETF, while Mirae Asset Global Investments and Korea Investment Management are exploring new exchange-traded funds or adding Anthropic to existing active products. KB Asset Management and Shinhan Asset Management plan to consider including the stock when rebalancing existing funds.

Anthropic is expected to list before the US midterm elections in early November. Its valuation could reach $2 trillion, with the offering potentially raising more than $100 billion.

Despite the IPO’s expected scale, Korean firms see buying Anthropic shares after the listing as more practical than seeking a prelisting allocation.

“Once Anthropic lists, it could be added to many ETFs, including AI, global equity and technology funds,” an asset management official said.

“But we are unlikely to repeat what was attempted with SpaceX — participating in the IPO and planning to add allocated shares to a product immediately upon listing,” the official said. “Receiving no shares again would create too much uncertainty for product management and marketing.”

Korean investors are likely to have limited direct access to Anthropic’s IPO because no domestic brokerage is expected to join its underwriting syndicate. The same constraint applies to rival American AI firm OpenAI’s anticipated offering.

Unlike Korean IPOs, US offerings do not distribute shares according to subscription deposits or fixed competition ratios. Issuers and lead underwriters determine final allocations, generally favoring institutional investors with established relationships.

Even joining an underwriting syndicate does not guarantee shares, as the SpaceX listing demonstrated.

Mirae Asset Securities participated in the SpaceX IPO in June as a Korean underwriter and accepted subscriptions from retail and institutional investors. It had initially expected to receive about 2.31 million shares.

Goldman Sachs, the lead US underwriter, ultimately allocated no shares to Mirae Asset. The Korean brokerage refunded all subscription deposits, leaving its customers without access to the offering.

SpaceX shares subsequently fell sharply after their market debut, meaning the lack of an allocation spared Korean subscribers from immediate losses. The episode nevertheless exposed uncertainty surrounding Korean brokerages’ access to high-profile overseas IPOs and raised questions about how confidently such access should be marketed.

Some investors accused Mirae Asset Securities of false or exaggerated advertising. The Financial Supervisory Service launched an on-site inspection, while several investors filed complaints with police.

Mirae Asset Securities had gained entry to the underwriting syndicate through its early investment in SpaceX while the company was still private. No Korean brokerage has made a comparable equity investment in OpenAI or Anthropic, leaving domestic firms with even less leverage in negotiations over their IPOs.

Even if a Korean brokerage joins one of the syndicates, its allocation could still be reduced or withdrawn at the lead underwriter’s discretion. Goldman Sachs, which eliminated Mirae Asset’s expected SpaceX allocation, is reportedly involved in the underwriting syndicates for both OpenAI and Anthropic.

“If the lead underwriter withdraws an allocation immediately before listing, as happened with SpaceX, there is little a Korean brokerage can do,” a brokerage industry official said.

“After that precedent, even attempting to secure Anthropic shares will be viewed as carrying substantial execution risk.”

The SpaceX controversy has also prompted Korean financial authorities to overhaul advertising procedures for investment products, particularly ETFs linked to high-profile overseas listings.

On Sept. 1, the FSS and the Korea Financial Investment Association briefed representatives from more than 70 financial firms on proposed changes. Regulators cited the SpaceX case as an example of marketing that could give investors a misleading impression about access to IPO shares.

The authorities emphasized stronger oversight by chief consumer protection officers and internal reporting centers. Revised advertising guidelines are expected to take effect in 2027.

The Korea Financial Investment Association said the measures were still being finalized, but that it had already stepped up monitoring of financial advertising. It plans to scrutinize products linked to future large-scale IPOs in light of the SpaceX case.