A deal signed this week between Germany's Direkt Anlage Bank (DAB) and Equinet, the online investment bank, should improve the chances of retail investors picking up shares in the choicest German share offerings.

Equinet has made DAB its exclusive syndicate partner for the retail portion of any initial public offering (IPO) it is involved in. DAB, with almost 300,000 customers, said the deal will make it easier for its retail customers to subscribe to new issues. It claims to be the market leader among Germany's discount brokers.