Direct investment plans (commonly known as DRIPs) let investors bypass traditional investment channels and avoid problems such as high transactions costs and the relatively large dollar amounts necessary to purchase certain assets. While no one expects these plans to answer all of the modern investor's needs, DRIPs probably appeal to the buy-and-hold clientele seeking the lowest possible transactions costs. ; This article discusses DRIPs, describing how the financial services industry has evolved to meet the needs of the small investor. The author identifies the remaining limitations on this sort of investment, noting that mutual funds continue to offer convenience and unmatched diversification for small accounts. He then presents reasons why companies might offer DRIPs. For example, companies that face political or regulatory scrutiny may want a broad, stable ownership base. Such shareholders also tend to vote with management, offering potential as a takeover defense. Finally, a broad ownership base provides opportunities for cross-selling. ; The article also identifies empirical differences between companies that offer DRIPs and those that do not. The analysis shows that large companies, more mature companies, and companies in industries that are subject to relatively high levels of regulation are more likely to offer the plans. ; Finally, the discussion speculates about the future of direct investments. One obvious tool for DRIP investors is the Internet. Broker-run DRIPs provide another evolutionary direction.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in its journal Economic Review.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: