You need to take the long view

Article Excerpt

When a spinoff begins trading, it stands to reason that investors will put a low price on it. After all, the spinoff hits the market with a large number of neutral, if not reluctant shareholders who have limited expectations for it. Most are willing to sell their shares when they get around to it. Moreover, there is often little, if any, brokerage research available on the new company. As a general rule, for any upcoming spinoffs we like, it’s better to buy more of any shares you receive, rather than sell them. In fact, a number of studies have shown that after an initial adjustment period of a few months, spinoffs tend to outperform groups of comparable stocks for several years. For that matter, the parent companies that do the spinning-off tend to outperform comparable companies for several years after the split as well. That’s yet another key benefit for investors. investors. …