when when must i own a stock to get its dividend
You see, stock trades actually settle three days after the fact, even if you're a frequent trader who buys and sells the same stock several times a day. That means that you need to buy a stock three days before the record date in order to qualify for the dividend. Further complicating matters, the ex-date falls two trading days before the date by which you need to be a shareholder of record. We've established that the must-own date falls three days before the record date, so simple subtraction means that you must buy a stock one day before it goes ex-dividend.