The Role of Reverse Stock Splits in Building Optimal Portfolios: An Empirical Study on a Sample of Iraqi Banks Listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange

Abstract

Given the great importance of financial stocks and their significant role as one of the financial assets used in building the optimal investment portfolio, they are exposed to many risks, the most important of which is the decline in their market value. Therefore, our study addressed the reverse split method as a financial method used to raise the prices of financial stocks with low prices. A sample of Iraqi banks that suffer from A decrease in the level of share prices of (14) Iraqi banks for the period from 6/2014 to 6/2024, as the research aims to know the extent of the ability of the reverse segmentation method in building optimal investment portfolios when implementing the reverse segmentation, and two sides of the reverse segmentation were taken, which are the positive side represented by the rise in prices, as well as the negative side represented by the decrease Stock prices when implementing the reverse split, and the research aims to know the effect of this method on the returns and risks of stocks after its implementation, especially the returns and risks of portfolios that were built based on the cut rate as well as the performance of these portfolios, as it was found that the effect of the reverse split of stocks was found whether at a rise in the price level or at a fall in stock prices after its implementation, and that the returns The risk levels increased more when prices rose after the reverse split than when prices fell. The research results also showed that the optimal portfolio’s return when prices rose after the reverse split was higher than the portfolio’s return after the price decline. However, the risk of the optimal investment portfolio when prices fell after the reverse split was higher, the risk of the investment portfolio is higher when prices rise after implementation. The reverse split did not play any role in improving the performance of the investment portfolio whether prices rose or fell. Therefore, investment portfolio managers who seek to achieve high levels of returns regardless of the level of risk associated with those returns should buy shares of banks that implemented the split decision. Reverse, and this requires the management of the Iraq Stock Exchange to include the reverse split within the procedures in effect in the Iraq Stock Exchange.