As the SEC continues to make progress with rulemaking to implement the mandate of the JOBS Act, perhaps attention will turn once again to addressing other factors that affect initial public offerings.  Academic studies have cited numerous different rationales (consolidation in the financial services sector; research analyst regulations and research coverage issues; market structure challenges; the increased importance of economies of scale; etc.—many of these are summarized here http://bear.warrington.ufl.edu/ritter/Reenergizing%20the%20IPO%20Market.pdf) to explain changes affecting U.S. IPOs.  It is clear that the JOBS Act alone cannot be expected to change the dynamic affecting IPOs.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be gathering a variety of thoughts on IPOs and sharing these on our blog.  Here we provide a link to a recent white paper discussing underwriter selection: http://www.mofo.com/files/Uploads/Images/White-Paper-The-Fatal-Flaw-in-Underwriter-Selection-August-2013.pdf.