Spinoffs are quite the rage. But not for the reasons Joel Greenblatt told us about back in ‘97. Rather, we’ve seen a number of implosions in the spinoff universe of late. @y0ungmoneyblog has an exciting post on 25 spinoffs that blew up [link] We’re bringing the idea of spinoff blow ups to 2015. As part of the catalyst watchlist, here’s a look at how the major spinoffs [over the last twelve months] have done. First, Strategas found that the median spinoff has underperformed the S&P 500 by 2.6 percentage points over the last six years. The broad strategy of investing in all spinoffs just doesn’t work anymore. You know the selling point for spinning a company off, and the thesis for why they underperform in the near-term, so I won’t rehash that here. Instead, let’s assume that Joel had the right idea, here’s some of the worst performing spinoffs of 2015; and more importantly, a few names worth buying. Keys - avoid ridiculous levels of debt, those coming out with “high” valuations, and those spinoffs that are actually fundamentally broken business (read: parent is cutting the cord on its POS segment). Don't forget - sign up for our free daily newsletter to stay in the activist investing know. More on the catalyst watchlist here. Notable readings for certain spins: $CC - Devin Stearns $JMG - Horizon Kinetics $CSAL - J. Allen $SPNE - Marketfolly $HZN - Activist Stocks