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For stocks that
pay dividends or
bonds that pay
coupons, the record date is the date,
prior to such a payment, on which the list of owners is determined for the
purpose of making the payment. Whoever owns the stock or bond at the close
of trading on the record date will receive the upcoming payment.
A stock is said to trade
ex-dividend if the transaction will not
settle by the record date. This
means that the upcoming dividend will be payable to the seller of the
stock and not the buyer. The ex-dividend
date is the date on which the stock starts to trade ex-dividend.
Specific rules are set by the exchanges or market convention. On its ex-dividend date, the price of a stock usually falls
by an amount approximately equal to the value of the upcoming dividend.
If a stock trades before the ex-dividend date, but for
some reason it fails to settle by the record date, the buyer still
deserves the dividend. Arrangements must be made to ensure she receives
it.
The same concepts apply for bond trading, only the words
ex-coupon and
ex-coupon date apply.
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