Knowledge Base

The record date determines your eligibility for a corporate action and the timing of your purchase relative to it matters.

• If you buy before the ex-date — Your purchase settles in time for you to be on the shareholder register by the record date. You are eligible for the bonus, dividend, or any other corporate action announced.
• If you buy on or after the ex-date — Your purchase settles after the record date. You won’t be eligible for that corporate action even if the shares are sitting in your DEMAT when the bonus or dividend is processed.

On the ex-date, the stock price adjusts to reflect the corporate action. If you buy on or after the ex-date, you’re buying at the adjusted price, so you’re not losing out on value, just on that specific corporate action for that cycle.

If you sell your shares before the ex-date, you transfer eligibility to the buyer. You won’t receive the bonus or dividend even if you held the shares for months before that.