Not necessarily. The real total value may be constant, and will simply be split between the branches. That, of course, would not happen instantly, so there's pr

Not necessarily. The real total value may be constant, and will simply be split between the branches. That, of course, would not happen instantly, so there's probably a way to time it perfectly. As in, buy right before the split, and sell right after. But don't forget there are fees involved, and also the spread between buy and sell.