Under Armour Share Classes

Under Armour has three share classes. The B-class is held by the founding owner (Kevin Plank), giving him control of about 65% of the voting rights. The A-class and C-class shares are both publicly traded, with the C-class having no voting rights. While this should imply a lower valuation, the C-class shares are trading at a 25%+ discount, which is more than expected. So, some hedge funds are undertaking a long-short arbitrage, going long in the C-class and short in the A-class. See article here, WSJ.

Issuers Continue to Use Long Term Bonds

The government of Austria just issued a 70-year bond, locking in a low rate of 1.5%. Issuers are taking advantage of low borrowing costs, with some even going out 100 years (so-called century bonds). See article here, Bloomberg.

Passive Investing Continues to Gain Momentum

Actively managed mutual funds have lagged passively managed funds, particularly over longer investment periods. Much of this is likely due to the lower fees charged by passively managed funds. As investors have become more knowledgeable about this relationship, money has flowed at a faster rate into passively managed funds. See article here, WSJ.

What's in a Name? Does Ticker Symbol Matter?

A recent study reveals that companies with ticker symbols that are easier to pronounce (and remember) generally trade at higher values. See article here, WSJ.

Stock Splits Fade

In the past, most companies used stock splits to keep share prices within "acceptable" levels. This facilitated trading and made round lot transactions easier. However, with more efficient trading tools, such benefits no longer exist. Further, recognizing that splits are value neutral, many companies have shunned their use. See article here, WSJ.

Exchange Consolidation Continues

The CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) announced a deal to acquire upstart Bats Global Markets. The acquisition will combine an "old school" options exchange with a firm focused on high frequency and global stock trading. See article here, WSJ.

Restructured Trading Halts

In light of the "Flash Crash" in May 2010, exchanges implemented circuit breakers for individuals stocks. Using what has been learned from more recent events, the intent is to further restructure the responses to such trading halts. See article here, WSJ.