BRLM means book running lead manager. In a book-built issue the lead manager, or each of the lead managers, acts as a book running lead manager. That is the ICDR definition. The job is to run the book of bids and to carry the offer document through SEBI, the exchanges and the Registrar of Companies. A fixed-price issue has lead managers too. The “book running” title belongs to the book-built process.
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Open calculatorThe company files the draft offer document with SEBI through these managers, before the IPO. The same draft goes to the stock exchanges. During the public-comment period the draft has to be on the lead managers’ websites as well as on the company’s, SEBI’s and the exchanges’. Comments can be sent to the lead managers, to the company, or to SEBI. The lead managers then file the comments and the changes that follow.
When the red herring prospectus, or the prospectus, has been filed with the Registrar of Companies, the lead managers promptly file copies with SEBI and the exchanges. If you cannot find a document on a news site, the lead manager’s name in the draft is the next place to look, after SEBI’s filings page and the exchange pages. There is no single website that holds every lead manager’s files. The name changes with the issue. This site does not pick a favourite.
What they are not
The lead manager is not the registrar. The registrar handles the applications, the rejections and the basis of allotment. The lead manager is not your broker. Your broker takes your bid. The lead manager is not SEBI. SEBI can comment on the draft. The lead manager answers, through the company, and changes the document. A glossy section written by the lead manager is still the company’s disclosure. Read the risk factors as disclosure, not as a recommendation.
Anchor allocation is run with the lead managers, and it is discretionary within the 60% of the institutional portion that the regulations allow for anchors. That role does not make the lead manager an anchor investor. The offer-document guide shows where the names are printed. The application guide is the bid you actually send. Checked on 2 November 2026 against the ICDR Regulations as amended up to 21 March 2026, and the May 2025 primary-market FAQ.
Mistakes
- Emailing a lead manager to ask whether you were allotted. That question goes to the registrar.
- Assuming the first bank in a headline is the only lead manager. Read the list.
- Treating the lead manager’s name as a reason to skip the risk factors.
Questions
Who appoints the book running lead manager?
The company does. There can be more than one. Their names, and the parts of the work each one handles, are in the draft offer document and the red herring prospectus. SEBI does not appoint a house lead manager for every IPO.
What does the lead manager file?
The issuer files the draft offer document with SEBI through the lead managers, and files it with the exchanges. After the red herring prospectus or the prospectus is filed with the Registrar of Companies, the lead managers file copies with SEBI and the exchanges. They also host the draft on their website for the 21-day comment period.
Can a lead manager bid as an anchor investor?
Generally no. The lead managers, and persons related to the promoters, are not eligible to apply as anchor investors, aside from narrow exceptions the regulations spell out. Anchor demand is not the lead manager buying the issue for itself.
Sources
Figures checked 2 Nov 2026.