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A Direct Consolidation Loan combines federal student loans into a single loan with one monthly payment. If you have multiple federal student loans, this could be one way to simplify the repayment process and more easily stay on top of student loan payments. With a Direct Consolidation Loan, you are also eligible for student loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment programs.

A Direct Consolidation Loan, however, doesn’t typically lower your interest rate. Instead, this type of loan is geared toward borrowers who want to streamline their monthly payments or qualify for loan forgiveness, as opposed to borrowers who want to save money on interest.

While consolidation of student loans can lower your monthly payment by extending your repayment timeline, you typically end up paying more overall due to the additional interest you pay when lengthening your loan term. Before you commit, make sure to run the numbers and consider the pros and cons of a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Is a Direct Consolidation Loan a Good Idea?

Deciding if student loan consolidation is right for you depends on whether your desire to simplify your payments outweighs the potential loss of some benefits.

Pros of Direct Consolidation Loans

Can simplify repayment: The first thing to consider is if you currently have multiple federal student loans with different servicers, meaning you have to log in to two or more separate accounts to pay your student loan bills each month. In this instance, consolidation can make life a little easier because the process will give you a single loan with a single bill each month.

Can lower your monthly payments: Consolidation can also lower your monthly payment amount by giving you up to 30 years to repay your loan or by giving you access to income-driven repayment plans. Keep in mind, though, that by extending your loan term and reducing your monthly payment, you will end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan.

Can allow you to switch from a variable to a fixed rate: If you have any variable-rate loans, consolidation will make it so you can switch to a fixed interest rate.

Can make loans eligible for forgiveness: If you consolidate loans other than Direct Loans, such as Perkins Loans (drawn before the program was discontinued), those loans may become eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) once consolidated.

Recommended: Fixed vs. Variable Rate Loans

Cons of Direct Consolidation Loans

Can lead you to make more payments and pay more in interest: When you consolidate your federal loans, your repayment period will be extended between 10 and 30 years. This means you will make more payments and pay more in interest, unless you switch to a different student loan repayment plan.

Can make you lose some benefits: Consolidation can also cost you some benefits that only non-consolidated loans are eligible for, such as access to some loan cancellation options. It’s a good idea to check in with your loan program before opting for a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Can cause you to lose credit for payments toward loan forgiveness: One of the most important things to consider before consolidating student loans is that if you are currently paying your loans using an income-driven repayment plan or have already made qualifying payments toward PSLF, consolidating your loans will result in the loss of credit for payments already made toward loan forgiveness. However, there is now a one-time income-driven repayment account adjustment that allows borrowers to not lose credit from past payments if they choose to consolidate their loans.

How to Apply for a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan

The Direct Consolidation Loan application process is available through StudentLoans.gov and comes with no fees. You simply fill out the online application or you can print out a paper version and mail it. The entire online application process takes less than 30 minutes, on average.

Almost all federal student loans are eligible for consolidation. If you have private education loans, you cannot consolidate them with your federal loans. Also note that you can’t consolidate your loans while in school and must graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment in order to pursue consolidation. Parent PLUS Loans cannot be consolidated with loans in the student’s name.

You can also select which loans you do and do not want to consolidate on your loan application. For instance, if you have a loan that will be paid off in a short amount of time, you might consider leaving it out of the consolidation.

Remember to keep making payments on your loans during the application process until you are notified that they have been paid off by your new Direct Consolidation Loan. Your first new payment will be due within 60 days of when your Direct Consolidation Loan is paid out.

Repayment Plans for Consolidation Loans

A Direct Consolidation Loan will have a fixed interest rate that is the weighted average of all of the interest rates for the loans you are consolidating, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent. This means that the interest rate on your largest loan will have the most impact on your consolidation interest rate, whether that interest rate is high or low.

When you apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan, you must also be prepared to select a repayment plan. Many repayment plans are available for Direct Consolidation Loans, including:

•   Standard Repayment Plan

•   Graduated Repayment Plan

•   Extended Repayment Plan

•   Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE)

•   Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE)

•   Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)

•   Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)

Recommended: What Student Loan Repayment Plan Should You Choose? Take the Quiz

Consolidation for Defaulted Student Loans

Consolidation can also help student loans that are currently in default. Student loans will go into default after 270 days without payment, which can result in consequences and loss of benefits, such as damaging your credit score or possible wage garnishment.

Since loans in default are accelerated and the entire unpaid balance becomes due when you enter default, consolidation is worth considering since it allows you to pay off one or more federal student loans with the new Direct Consolidation Loan.

Once your consolidated loan is out of default, you can repay the Direct Consolidation Loan under an income-driven repayment plan or make three consecutive payments. Direct Consolidation Loans are eligible for benefits such as student loan deferment, forbearance, and loan forgiveness.

Refinancing vs Consolidation for Student Loans

For those interested in a better interest rate or more favorable loan terms, you could consider refinancing your student loans instead of consolidating them. Unlike consolidation, refinancing can combine both federal student loans and private student loans into one new loan with one monthly payment.

Keep in mind that refinancing can result in the loss of federal benefits since you’re working with a private company and not the government. If you plan on using income-driven repayment plans or student loan forgiveness, for example, it is not recommended to refinance with a private lender. However, for someone looking for lower interest rates or lower monthly payments, refinancing is an option to consider.

The Takeaway

A Direct Consolidation Loan combines your federal loans into one new loan with one monthly payment. Pros may include lowering your monthly payments, allowing you to switch from a variable to a fixed interest rate, and making certain loans eligible for forgiveness. The major con of Direct Consolidation Loans is possibly paying more in interest over the life of the loan due to the extension of your loan term.

If the idea of consolidation appeals to you but the weighted consolidation interest rate won’t save you much over the life of your loan, you could consider applying for student loan refinancing with SoFi. SoFi offers an easy online application, competitive rates, and flexible terms. But remember, refinancing makes it so you’re no longer eligible for federal benefits.

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
SoFi Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). SoFi Student Loan Refinance Loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers, or may become available, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, PAYE or SAVE. Additional terms and conditions apply. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal.

A SPAC warrant is a contract that gives a purchaser a right to purchase additional shares in the future at a set price. SPACs, or “special purpose acquisition companies,” have emerged as an alternate way for private companies to go public on the stock market. But before a company can evaluate whether or not it makes sense to go public via SPAC, the SPAC itself must “go public” and list on an exchange.

Generally, a group of individuals form a shell company and nominate a board of directors, with the hopes that investors have enough faith in their ability to source an attractive deal. They can then sell shares in this new “blank check” company. As an additional incentive for being an early investor when the SPAC debuts on an exchange, the shares, or “units,” may be comprised not only of common stock in the company, but also a warrant (whole or partial) to go along with each unit.

This benefit is only offered to early investors who buy the SPAC generally within its first 52 trading days. After the first 52 days¹, units will usually split into the common shares and the warrants, with the two trading separately under different tickers.

How to Evaluate SPACs

When evaluating whether or not to invest in a SPAC IPO, potential investors often look at the qualitative aspects previously mentioned: Who is the sponsor? Have they launched other SPACs before? Have those SPACs found targets and completed a successful company merger? Do the board members have the experience and track records that you would expect to evaluate investment opportunities?

However, it’s just as important for investors to understand the quantitative terms, or “structure,” of a SPAC deal. All SPACs are typically priced at $10 per unit, but the makeup of the units can be vastly different.

Warrants and their inclusion, or absence, in a SPAC unit can affect investor profits. A SPAC unit can have the following compositions:

•   One share + one full warrant

•   One share + no warrant

•   One share + partial warrant

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SPAC Warrants 101

SPAC warrants are similar to stock warrants. Stock warrants are financial contracts that give holders the right to buy shares at a later date. Compared with stocks, warrants can be a relatively inexpensive way for investors to wager on an underlying asset, usually a stock, because they offer leverage — putting up a small investment for a potentially bigger payout.

Just like in options trading, warrants have an expiration date, so investors will need to pay attention if they want to exercise them. Another nuance worth noting is that when warrants get exercised, the action can be dilutive to shareholders, since a flood of new shares can enter the market.

But warrants have the potential to be incredibly lucrative for these early SPAC investors. This is because, as explained, essentially they’re buying for $10 one share plus the right to buy additional shares at a set level — what’s known as the strike or exercise price. Also importantly, even if an early investor decides to redeem their shares in the SPAC before a merger is completed, they get to keep the warrants that were a part of the SPAC units.

If the company doesn’t want to issue additional shares, they may not include warrants in their SPAC units. Market conditions may also dictate whether warrants are unnecessary.

Remember: Warrants are meant to entice investors to put in their money early. If demand for the SPAC is strong enough, the company may not feel the need to issue units with warrants.

Can You Trade SPAC Warrants?

Generally, an investor can only trade stock warrants if there is a whole number of warrants. If partial warrants are issued, that fraction could not be sold. In order to sell, the investor would need to purchase additional units in order to make up a whole warrant.

Here’s an example: Let’s say a SPAC unit consists of one share and a partial warrant that’s one-fourth of a warrant. This means that to own a whole warrant, the investor would need to purchase four units. If they were to do this, then they could trade the whole warrant, either on a stock exchange or in the over-the-counter market.

Converting SPACs Into Shares

Another thing likely on investors’ minds: How do SPAC units actually get converted into shares? Depending on the specifics of the SPAC, the process happens more or less automatically, and there’s no action needed on the part of the investor. That’s assuming that the SPAC does end up merging and going public.

Converting SPAC warrants into shares is a bit more involved, however. In the case an investor wants to convert SPAC warrants to shares, investors should get in touch with their broker to discuss their options.

SPAC Warrants: Merger vs No Merger

SPAC warrants can be traded after a merger — for years, in some cases. That’s somewhat theoretical, though, as there may be redemption clauses in contracts that require investors to redeem their warrants under certain conditions. It really all depends on the specific SPAC, and the guidelines outlined within the contracts governing them.

If there is no merger, however, SPACs typically liquidate. Investors get their money back, and warrants are more or less worthless.

Examples of SPAC Investments With Different Warrant Compositions

It’s important for investors to examine the deal structure of each SPAC closely, and they can do this by reading the initial public offering (IPO) prospectus. The information around the composition of the shares or units being offered is usually on one of the first few pages, but reading the entire prospectus is essential for investors to make the right investment decision for them.

In general, here are some other pertinent pieces of information relating to warrants that potential investors should be looking for when reading through the prospectus:

•   The strike price

•   Exercise window

•   Expiration date

•   Whether there are any specific conditions that can trigger an early redemption

Investors should also inspect the exact composition of a SPAC unit. Does it offer one whole warrant, no warrant, one-quarter, one-third, or one-half?

The strike price, or exercise price, of SPAC warrants is often $11.50 a share. Investors sometimes have until five years after the merger before the warrant expires. However, the terms of different SPAC deals can vary vastly. It’s possible that the deal terms call for an early redemption period, and if investors miss exercising their contracts in that period, the warrants could expire worthless.

SPAC Unit With Whole Warrant

Let’s say an investor buys 1,000 units of a SPAC. In this case, each SPAC unit is composed of one whole share, plus one whole warrant. That means the investor now owns 1,000 shares of the merged company stock, plus 1,000 warrants to buy shares at $11.50 each.

If the SPAC completes its merger and the shares jump to $20, our investor can buy additional shares for just $11.50 each. This would be a significant discount compared to where the existing shares are trading.

Here’s a hypothetical step-by-step example of how an investor could profit from exercising their whole warrants:

1.    Investor buys 1,000 units at $10 each, spending a total of $10,000.

2.    SPAC shares jump to $20 each.

3.    Investor exercises warrants, purchasing 1,000 shares for $11.50 each and spending an additional total of $11,500.

4.    Investor sells all 2,000 shares immediately for the market price of $20 each, for $40,000 total.

5.    Our investor pockets the difference (so $40,000 minus $21,500 = $18,500).

SPAC Unit With No Warrant

Now, imagine that same investor bought into a SPAC where the units had no warrants. That means, while the investor’s 1,000 shares doubled in value, they didn’t have the right to buy an additional 1,000 shares. Here’s an example of this scenario:

1.    Investor buys 1,000 units at $10 each, spending a total of $10,000.

2.    SPAC shares jump to $20 each.

3.    Investor sells the 1,000 shares immediately for the market price of $20 each, for $20,000 total.

4.    Our investor pockets the difference (so $20,000 minus $10,000 = $10,000).

SPAC Unit With Partial Warrant

Let’s say our hypothetical SPAC has units with partial warrants. So in each unit, there’s one share attached to one-half warrant. Here’s how this would look:

1.    Investor buys 1,000 units at $10 each, spending a total of $10,000.

2.    SPAC shares jump to $20 each.

3.    Investor exercises warrants. Every two warrants converts to one share, so the investor buys 500 shares for $11.50 each, spending an additional total of $5,750.

4.    Investor sells all 1,500 shares immediately on the market for $20 each, for $30,000 total.

5.    Our investor pockets the difference (so $30,000 minus $15,750 = $14,250).

Here’s a hypothetical table that lays out different profit scenarios depending on the warrant composition, assuming once again that an investor has bought 1,000 units, that the exercise price of the warrants is $11.50, and the underlying shares hit $20 each.

Finding SPAC Warrants

Investors may be surprised to learn that finding SPAC warrants is relatively easy. In fact, since SPAC warrants trade like shares of stocks or ETFs on exchanges, and are listed by many brokerages, investors can often look them up and execute a trade like they would many other securities.

One tricky thing to watch out for, though, is that SPAC warrants may trade under different ticker symbols on different brokerages or exchanges. So, you’ll want to make sure you’re looking for the SPAC warrant you want before executing a trade, to be certain you’re not purchasing the wrong thing.

💡 Quick Tip: How to manage potential risk factors in a self directed trading account? Doing your research and employing strategies like dollar-cost averaging and diversification may help mitigate financial risk when trading stocks.

Using SPAC Warrants

SPAC warrants’ main utility is that they can be traded or executed – meaning they can be converted into shares. So, for investors, using a SPAC warrant typically comes down to one of the two in an attempt to generate a return. There may be times when a SPAC doesn’t merge and investors get their money back, but the true utility of warrants is that they can be executed or traded.

The Takeaway

With SPAC investments, whether units come with full warrants, no warrants, or partial warrants is a quantitative consideration. All else being equal, SPACs that provide full or partial warrants offer more potential profit than SPACs that offer no warrants.

SoFi Invest allows eligible investors to buy into companies before they begin trading on a stock exchange through the IPO Investing service. Investors need to first set up an Active Investing account, which allows them to access IPO deals, company stocks, ETFs, and more — all in one app.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

FAQ

How do you evaluate SPACs?

Investors can evaluate SPACs by looking at qualitative aspects, including who the sponsors are, their backgrounds, whether the SPAC has found a target, and what types of experiences the board members have.

What is an example of a SPAC with a whole warrant?

An example of a SPAC with a whole warrant could include an investor buying 1,000 units for $10,000, seeing shares increase in value to $20 each, then the investor exercising the warrants for $11.50 each, and then selling the shares and pocketing the difference.

What is an example of a SPAC with a partial warrant?

An example of a SPAC with a partial warrant could include an investor buying 1,000 units for a total of $10,000, seeing shares increase to $20 each, and exercising the warrants. Each two warrants convert to one share, so the investor then buys 500 shares for $11.50 each, selling them, and pocketing the difference.

Photo credit: iStock/FatCamera

¹Investors should read all documents related to an offering as the terms of each SPAC can differ vastly.
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