I have never been very good at remembering the dates of things like birthdays or anniversaries. If it weren’t for my MacBook Pro I would never remember any of it.  That is why I have never been very good at remembering the four dates that are relevant to dividend investors.[ad#tdg-embedded]

When you read the investing newspapers you will often see these four terms. Personally, I have never paid much attention to them because for a long-term investor the dates really have no impact. However, before you buy or sell a dividend growth stock it can be good idea to quickly think about these just to ensure you understand when dividends are being paid.

The Declaration Date

This is the date that the dividend is set by the board of directors and when exactly it will be paid. Usually it happens once a quarter, as most dividends are paid quarterly.

Record Date

Think of the record date as the date in which the investors on record are determined. It is these investors who show up on the “record” that will be paid the dividend.

Ex-Divided Date

The most important date to know, the ex-dividend is 2 – 3 days before the Record Date. Most stock transactions take 3 days to clear. The ex-dividend is kind of like the last date you can buy that stock to be eligible to receive the dividend. In other words, you need to own the stock before the ex-dividend date to get the next dividend.

Payment Date

This is the date the cheques are mailed, or nowadays the electronic payments are sent out to the various brokerages around the world. Sounds pretty complicated doesn’t it. All you really need to know is that to be eligible to receive the dividend for a company you need to own the stock before the ex-dividend date.