What are dividends and how do they work?
- A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings to its shareholders and is determined by a company's board of directors.
- Dividends are often distributed quarterly, but can also be scheduled for different time periods (e.g. annually).
Dividends apply to open positions at the end of the record date or the last trade date. The day after, the ex-dividend date, is the cut-off date. On the ex-dividend or cut-off date, market share prices drop by the dividend amount paid, creating a dividend gap.
For open buy positions, dividend gaps temporarily reduce floating profits but increase them for open sell positions. Prices then generally return to their previous values after a few days.
Open buy positions: dividend payments are credited to your investment account on the payout date specified by the exchange. JSE-listed shares generally payout a week after the record date, but can be a month or more. Here’s an example:
“Invest in the AEL share CFD until 31 May and receive dividends” means:
- You must execute a trade before the end of the 30 May trading day to qualify for the dividend
- A buy position is open and the loss gap will be on 1 June
- Dividends will be paid on 5 June
Open sell positions: if there’s an open sell position on the record closing date, the dividend amount will be debited from your investment account at the end of the trading day. Here’s an example:
“Invest in the MDI share CFD until 17 May and receive dividends” means:
- You must execute a trade before the end of the 16 May trading day to qualify for the dividend
- A sell position is open and the dividend write-off will happen at the end of the 16 May trading day
- The profit gap will be on 17 May
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The materials on this website (the “Site”) are intended for informational purposes only. Use of and access to the Site and the information, materials, services, and other content available on or through the Site (“Content”) are subject to the laws of South Africa.
Risk notice Margin trading in financial instruments carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all users. It is essential to understand that investing in financial instruments requires extensive knowledge and significant experience in the investment field, as well as an understanding of the nature and complexity of financial instruments, and the ability to determine the volume of investment and assess the associated risks. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd pays attention to the fact that quotes, charts and conversion rates, prices, analytic indicators and other data presented on this website may not correspond to quotes on trading platforms and are not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The delay of the data in relation to real-time is equal to 15 minutes but is not limited. This indicates that prices may differ from actual prices in the relevant market, and are not suitable for trading purposes. Before deciding to trade the products offered by BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd., a user should carefully consider his objectives, financial position, needs and level of experience. The Content is for informational purposes only and it should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this Site including data, quotes, conversion rates, etc.
Third party content BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd. may provide materials produced by third parties or links to other websites. Such materials and websites are provided by third parties and are not under BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd.'s direct control. In exchange for using the Site, the user agrees not to hold BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd., its affiliates or any third party service provider liable for any possible claim for damages arising from any decision user makes based on information or other Content made available to the user through the Site.
Limitation of liability The user’s exclusive remedy for dissatisfaction with the Site and Content is to discontinue using the Site and Content. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd. is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages. Working with BCS Markets SA you are trading share CFDs. When trading CFDs on shares you do not own the underlying asset. Share CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A high percentage of retail traders accounts lose money when trading CFDs with their provider. All rights reserved. Any use of Site materials without permission is prohibited.
BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd. is an authorized Financial Service Provider and is regulated by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSP No.51404). BCS Markets SA Proprietary Limited trading as BROKSTOCK.
The materials on this website (the “Site”) are intended for informational purposes only. Use of and access to the Site and the information, materials, services, and other content available on or through the Site (“Content”) are subject to the laws of South Africa.
Risk notice Margin trading in financial instruments carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all users. It is essential to understand that investing in financial instruments requires extensive knowledge and significant experience in the investment field, as well as an understanding of the nature and complexity of financial instruments, and the ability to determine the volume of investment and assess the associated risks. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd pays attention to the fact that quotes, charts and conversion rates, prices, analytic indicators and other data presented on this website may not correspond to quotes on trading platforms and are not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The delay of the data in relation to real-time is equal to 15 minutes but is not limited. This indicates that prices may differ from actual prices in the relevant market, and are not suitable for trading purposes. Before deciding to trade the products offered by BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd., a user should carefully consider his objectives, financial position, needs and level of experience. The Content is for informational purposes only and it should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this Site including data, quotes, conversion rates, etc.
Third party content BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd. may provide materials produced by third parties or links to other websites. Such materials and websites are provided by third parties and are not under BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd.'s direct control. In exchange for using the Site, the user agrees not to hold BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd., its affiliates or any third party service provider liable for any possible claim for damages arising from any decision user makes based on information or other Content made available to the user through the Site.
Limitation of liability The user’s exclusive remedy for dissatisfaction with the Site and Content is to discontinue using the Site and Content. BCS Markets SA (Pty) Ltd. is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages. Working with BCS Markets SA you are trading share CFDs. When trading CFDs on shares you do not own the underlying asset. Share CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A high percentage of retail traders accounts lose money when trading CFDs with their provider. All rights reserved. Any use of Site materials without permission is prohibited.