Pilot Fishing

What Does it Mean?
A type of pre-marketing of an initial public offering (IPO) that involves testing investor sentiment to receive feedback on how the market may respond to an issue. Pilot fishing has led to much controversy because it could undermine the role of investment bankers by providing advice to clients about the price the IPO is launched at.

Investopedia Says...
Pilot fishing is practiced in Europe. However, SEC regulations about what can and cannot occur during the SEC's IPO approval process prevent this from happening in the US