Benchmark’s Bill Gurley Takes Aim at Latest IPO Gains (1)

Bill Gurley, one of Silicon Valley’s most famous venture capitalists, has long been a critic of traditional initial public offerings, in part because the big gains in first-day stock price mean some categories of investor benefit at the expense of the company. Now, he says those price jumps could signal a breach of fiduciary duty.

“Those companies could theoretically be held accountable,” Gurley, a general partner at Benchmark, said on Bloomberg Technology on Friday. “The problem is getting ginormously worse.”

Gurley has long advocated direct listings, yet another way private companies can enter public markets, over IPOs. He said IPO pops had become more ...