Bookrunner

The syndicate is the group of banks distributing an issue, and the bookrunner sits at the top of it. It collects and evaluates investor demand, advises on the price, and decides who receives stock.

Allocation is the reason the role is fought over. It is entirely discretionary, so the bookrunner decides which investors get the paper, and since long only institutions are more likely to hold than flip, that decision shapes how the shares trade afterwards.

On larger deals several banks are named bookrunners, with one designated to physically run the book, sometimes called lead left after where the name appears on the cover. Co-managers rank below, contributing distribution and research coverage but exercising little control.

League table credit follows the bookrunner line, which is why the titles are negotiated as hard as the fees.