RJ, yes the SEC says something different, and specifically mentions spinoffs.

https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources...stock-cash

Here is the relevant paragraph:

Sometimes a company pays a dividend in the form of stock rather than cash. The stock dividend may be additional shares in the company or in a subsidiary being spun off . The procedures for stock dividends may be different from cash dividends. The ex-dividend date is set the first business day after the stock dividend is paid (and is also after the record date).

I discussed this with Todd Falls and sent him an email with the link. He said he would forward it on. But I don't think he thought that the SEC site could say something different.

Here on this board, I asked Joe outright why the FINRA and SEC rules were different, and he did not reply.