One business day before the date of record; determines if you're an official shareholder of a firm and thus eligible to receive a declared dividend is known as which?

• A. Ex-Dividend Date
• B. Record Date
• C. Payment Date
• D. Dividend Date

Answer: (A)

Ex-dividend date is the cutoff that determines who will receive the upcoming dividend. It’s typically set one business day before the record date to allow the share transfer to settle in time. If you own the stock before the ex-dividend date, you’ll be on the books as a shareholder on the record date and receive the dividend. If you buy on or after the ex-dividend date, you won’t be the holder of record on the record date and thus won’t receive the dividend. The record date is the day the company checks its books to confirm holders, and the payment date is when the dividend is actually paid.