Private companies can often represent some of the most exciting growth stories, but the lack of transparency and liquidity has traditionally made participation difficult for the majority of investors. This is where The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES), a trading platform focused on unlisted companies, is changing the game.
PISCES is designed to bridge the gap between private companies and investors seeking exposure beyond public markets. By creating a structured, technology-driven marketplace for unlisted shares, the platform brings much-needed efficiency, trust and never-before-accessible access.
One of the biggest challenges in private companies is liquidity. The shareholders (early employees, angel investors, or founders) often hold valuable equity but have limited opportunities to monetise it before a public listing or acquisition. PISCES can address this by enabling secondary transactions, allowing sellers to find buyers in a regulated and organised environment. For investors, this means access to opportunities that were previously hard to discover or execute. Essentially, PISCES formalises listings and facilitates smoother transactions.
Pricing can also raise some concerns in unlisted markets. Valuations are often subjective, inconsistent, and difficult to verify. PISCES aims to improve transparency by standardising transaction processes, documentation, and disclosures wherever possible. While unlisted investments still carry higher risk and limited public information, a platform-led approach helps reduce uncertainty.
Trading unlisted shares involves legal, regulatory, and operational scrutiny. PISCES positions itself as a platform that can ensure structured deal execution, proper transfer mechanisms, and adherence to applicable regulations. Trading will take place during set trading windows (for example, monthly or quarterly) with disclosure required shortly before and during each trading window. Bespoke disclosure frameworks requiring ‘core information’ on the company and the shares to be traded, including financials, material risk factors and price parameters set for the trading event, will only be available to investors trading during these windows. For both buyers and sellers, this reduces concerns and builds confidence, especially for those entering the unlisted space for the first time.
As private companies stay unlisted for longer, value creation is increasingly happening before an IPO. Platforms like PISCES make it possible for investors to participate earlier in a company’s growth journey. Whilst, at the same time, offering companies the opportunity to broaden their shareholder base to include institutional and sophisticated shareholders, allowing the founding shareholders a way to unlock value without waiting for uncertain exit events. It can also be viewed as a way to help companies prepare to come publicly listed in the future.
The rise of platforms like PISCES signals a broader shift in capital markets. As technology reshapes how assets are traded, unlisted equity is gradually moving from informal networks to organised digital marketplaces. PISCES offers liquidity, transparency, and access in a space that needs all three.
For investors willing to take a long-term view and who understand the risks, PISCES represents a compelling gateway into the private markets of the future, it will be interesting to watch its development in the years ahead.