Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, would you please explain what split corps are and provide your opinion of M Split Corp. (XMF) shares?

Article Excerpt

A: M Split Corp is a split-share company that holds a substantial block of shares of Manulife Financial, a leading Canadian insurer. Manulife is a buy recommendation of our Canadian Wealth Advisor newsletter. “Split corps” are a type of investment product that financial institutions create to provide new investment opportunities for investors, and new revenue opportunities for themselves. A split-share company issues two classes (sometimes more) of shares. The capital shares get all or most of the capital gains and losses; the preferred shares get most of the dividend income. M Split has three share classes: M Split Capital $0.23 (Toronto symbol XMF.A), M Split Preferred Class I $5.26 (Toronto symbol XMF.PR.B) and M Split Preferred Class II $1.60 (Toronto symbol XMF.PR.C). M Split capital shares are volatile. A small move in the price of the underlying shares translates into a much larger move in an M Split capital share—up or down. The Class I preferred shares of M Split receive a fixed monthly dividend…