The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition the headlines tell you that 2015 has been a banner year for Canadian initial public offerings. The Globe's David Milstead writes in the first six months, 10 companies have made their debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange versus nine in all 12 months of 2014. Shopify and a handful of other companies produced handsome first-day pops for those lucky enough to get in on the offering. What this means for the average retail investor, however, is decidedly more mixed. Shopify soared 51 per cent on its first day, Swiss Chalet parent Cara Operations added 43 per cent, Stingray Digital Group added nearly 18 per cent and janitorial company GDI Integrated Facility Services gained 16 per cent. In a number of cases, however, comparing their advances from that first-day closing price to the index reveals less-rewarding returns. The best performer is one that generated little heat on its launch: Fairfax India Holdings, an offshoot of giant Fairfax Financial, which fell 2 per cent from its $10 offering price on its first day of trading in January. It closed June 29 at $11.50, meaning it has beaten the composite by more than seven percentage points.