An Analysis of Sec Guidelines for Executing Open Market Repurchases
50 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2001
There are 2 versions of this paper
An Analysis of Sec Guidelines for Executing Open Market Repurchases
Date Written: April 9, 2001
Abstract
Rule 10b-18 is the only guidance the SEC provides for open market stock repurchases. Fashioned as a safe harbor without disclosure, 10b-18 conformity is unverifiable with public data. We use privately disclosed data to document claimed and actual compliance. While the level of compliance is relatively high, only 2 of 54 firms in our sample consistently comply for all repurchases. Even firms that publicly declared compliance violate the safe harbor's bounds. We document that violations of the safe harbor are more likely to occur following price declines. Our investigation questions the regulatory effectiveness of safe harbors without mandatory disclosure.
Keywords: Repurchases, Safe Harbors, Disclosure
JEL Classification: G00, G38, G35
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Disappearing Dividends: Changing Firm Characteristics or Lower Propensity to Pay?
By Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French
-
Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis
By Gustavo Grullon and Roni Michaely
-
Payout Policy in the 21st Century
By Alon Brav, John R. Graham, ...
-
Payout Policy in the 21st Century
By Alon Brav, Campbell R. Harvey, ...
-
Financial Flexibility and the Choice between Dividends and Stock Repurchases
By Clifford P. Stephens, Murali Jagannathan, ...
-
By Roni Michaely and Franklin Allen
-
By Joan Farre-mensa, Roni Michaely, ...
-
Payout Policy in the 21th Century: The Data
By Alon Brav, Campbell R. Harvey, ...
-
A Catering Theory of Dividends
By Malcolm P. Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler
-
A Catering Theory of Dividends
By Malcolm P. Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler