10 Rules for Spin-off Success I've been investing in spin-offs for the past 15 years and have learned many lessons. How'd I learn them? Mainly, the hard way! But today I'm sharing those lessons so you don't have to make the same mistakes. #1. Forget that “spin-offs outperform” In aggregate, they generally will but [...]
Dividend As A Catalyst One of my favorite spin-off strategies is the "dividend as a catalyst" trade. Here's how it works: Identify a spin-off that will be indiscriminately sold, determine the expected dividend yield, wait to buy until 30% of shares out have traded and the stock is trading at attractive implied dividend yield, sell [...]
How to Short a Spin-off Before It Begins Trading I love spin-offs (shocker, I know). The main reason is that the indiscriminate selling pressure associated with spin-offs allows me to buy bargains. Why do spin-offs sell off when they begin trading? Seth Klarman of the Baupost Group explains why this dynamic exists in Margin [...]
Short KTB: Front-run ETF Selling Summary Recently, Kontoor Brands (disclosure: we are short KTB) suspended its dividend. As a result, a dividend focused ETF, SDY, will likely sell the 9.1 million shares of KTB that it owns by tomorrow end of day. Average daily trading volume for KTB is 1.4 million shares so 9.1 million [...]
How to Front Run the Index Printable PDF Version I had just finished my third cup of coffee as the market opened. I settled into my chair and watched the early price action of Kontoor Brands (KTB) on its first day of trading with eager anticipation. You see, one of my favorite things to do [...]