Record date
The date on which a company checks its register to decide which shareholders receive a dividend or other benefit.
Only shareholders on the register on the record date receive the benefit. Because bought shares take time to settle into a demat account, the exchange also sets an ex-date, and buyers must buy before the ex-date to be on the register in time.
Example
A company announces a dividend with a record date; investors who buy before the exchange's ex-date receive it.
Learn more in these lessons
- Dividends, splits, bonus shares and other corporate actionsWhat happens to my shares in a split, bonus issue or rights issue?
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