Beware: spinoffs can mask flaws

As we’ve said many times before, spinoffs are the closest thing you can find to a sure thing. Studies show that both the parent and the spinoff ultimately do better than comparable companies for a number of years, if not decades. However, investors should avoid… Read More

E-commerce will offer gains even after COVID

The year 2020 was a strong one for e-commerce as the pandemic forced consumers and businesses to increase their use of online transactions. However, this was an acceleration of a trend that has been developing for the past decade—and while growth may slow down as… Read More

These ETFs aim to let you invest responsibly

Over the last few years, more and more ETF managers have launched funds focused on taking environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into account.
Sustainable investing offers some investors a lot of conceptual and emotional appeal. But does investing in these kind of stocks hurt your… Read More

Q: I would like your opinion on why it seems companies don’t seem to split their shares as much as they did in the past, when values exceed a threshold amount of, say, $100.00 a share. If they did, it would make it much easier for small investors, like myself, to afford good quality stocks that have become too expensive. Can you explain why it seems that stocks very rarely split these days?

A: When a company splits its shares, it is simply cutting itself up into a different number of pieces, without changing its fundamental value. It wants its stock to trade in a price-per-share range that seems reasonable to investors.

Mechanics of a split: If a stock’s… Read More