By |Published On: October 8th, 2014|Categories: Research Insights|

Strategic News Releases in Equity Vesting Months

Abstract:

We show that CEOs strategically time corporate news releases to coincide with months in which their equity vests. These vesting months are determined by equity grants made several years prior, and thus unlikely driven by the current information environment. CEOs reallocate news into vesting months, and away from prior and subsequent months. They release 5% more discretionary news in vesting months than prior months, but there is no difference for non-discretionary news. These news releases lead to favorable media coverage, suggesting they are positive in tone. They also generate a temporary run-up in stock prices and market liquidity, potentially resulting from increased investor attention or reduced information asymmetry. The CEO takes advantage of these effects by cashing out shortly after the news releases.

Alpha Highlight: 

Information impacts asset prices. CEOs have discretion to manage the timing of information to the marketplace. A natural hypothesis is that CEOs might use this discretion to release information for their own personal benefit.

To test this hypothesis, the authors investigates whether CEOs strategically change the timing of news release for personal gains. To be specific, the paper hypothesizes that a CEO will delay or accelerate news releases into the months in which their equity vests. For those who are unfamiliar with “vesting,” one can think of vesting as the trigger that allows the CEO to actually access the value of their shares. Once the CEO vests their equity, they can sell the shares.

Key Findings:

First, the paper hand-collects vesting data from 2006 to 2011 and performs a statistical analysis to test whether news releases are strategically coordinated with vesting periods. All else equal, a CEO might want to time good news at the same time their equity vests, so they can maximize the price at which they sell their equity in the marketplace.

  • The table below shows that firms release 4% more discretionary news in vesting months (divide the coefficient of 0.0615 by the average number of discretionary news releases of 1.48 per month to get 4%).
  • Discretionary disclosures are significantly higher in “vesting months” and significantly lower in the months before and after “vesting months”.

The paper also studies the effects of news releases on trading volume and stock returns.

  • In the table below, the disclosure of one discretionary news item in a “vesting month” generates a significant 16-day abnormal return of 28 bps (which equates to an average gain of $14,504).


The results are hypothetical results and are NOT an indicator of future results and do NOT represent returns that any investor actually attained. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect management or trading fees, and one cannot invest directly in an index. Additional information regarding the construction of these results is available upon request.

  • The graph below vividly shows the transient increase in trading volumes after a news release. To be specific, on the first day after a discretionary news release, abnormal trading volume rises by 0.32%, compared to the mean of 0.22%.


The results are hypothetical results and are NOT an indicator of future results and do NOT represent returns that any investor actually attained. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect management or trading fees, and one cannot invest directly in an index. Additional information regarding the construction of these results is available upon request.

The final step is to demonstrate that CEOs take advantage of the transient boosts in stock prices and trading volume.

  • The charts below illustrate that 50% of CEOs engage in their first equity sale within 5 to 6 days of the last discretionary news release. CEOs seem to be selling into the news release.


The results are hypothetical results and are NOT an indicator of future results and do NOT represent returns that any investor actually attained. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect management or trading fees, and one cannot invest directly in an index. Additional information regarding the construction of these results is available upon request.

The evidence seems to suggest that CEOs exploit their ability to “time news releases” such that they maximize the value on their vested shares.

About the Author: Wesley Gray, PhD

Wesley Gray, PhD
After serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Dr. Gray earned an MBA and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago where he studied under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama. Next, Wes took an academic job in his wife’s hometown of Philadelphia and worked as a finance professor at Drexel University. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books, including Embedded (Naval Institute Press, 2009), Quantitative Value (Wiley, 2012), DIY Financial Advisor (Wiley, 2015), and Quantitative Momentum (Wiley, 2016). Dr. Gray currently resides in Palmas Del Mar Puerto Rico with his wife and three children. He recently finished the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race and promises to make better life decisions in the future.

Important Disclosures

For informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Certain information is deemed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Third party information may become outdated or otherwise superseded without notice.  Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor any other federal or state agency has approved, determined the accuracy, or confirmed the adequacy of this article.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Alpha Architect, its affiliates or its employees. Our full disclosures are available here. Definitions of common statistics used in our analysis are available here (towards the bottom).

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