Record date
(a) Date by which a shareholder must officially own shares in order to be entitled to a dividend. For example, a firm might declare a dividend on Nov 1, payable Dec 1 to holders of record Nov 15. Once a trade is executed an investor becomes the "owner of record" on settlement, which currently takes 5 business days for securities, and one business day for mutual funds. Stocks trade ex-dividend the fourth day before the record date, since the seller will still be the owner of record and is thus entitled to the dividend. (b) The date that determines who is entitled to payment of principal and interest due to be paid on a security. The record date for most MBSs is the last day of the month, however the last day on which they may be presented for the transfer is the last business day of the month. The record date for CMOs and asset-backed securities vary with each issue. |
Similar financial terms
Expiry dateMaturity or expiration date of an option.
Announcement Date
The date on which a company makes it public that they will do a split.
Accounting reference date
The date to which accounts are made up for a company. When a company is incorporated, it will normally have an accounting reference date which is the last day of the month in which the anniversary of its incorporation falls. Directors can change the accounting reference date by filing an appropriate form with the Registrar of Companies.
Expiration date
The date on which an option expires, after which the option cannot be exercised.
Value date
In the market for eurodollar deposits and foreign exchange, value date refers to the delivery date of funds traded. Normally it is on spot transactions two days after a transaction is agreed upon and the future date in the case of a forward foreign exchange trade.
Trade date
In an interest rate swap, the date that the counterparties commit to the swap. Also, the date on which a trade occurs. Trades generally settle (are paid for) 1-5 business days after a trade date. With stocks, settlement is generally 3 business days after the trade.
Settlement date
The date on which payment is made to settle a trade. For stocks traded on US exchanges, settlement is currently 3 business days after the trade. For mutual funds, settlement usually occurs in the U.S.the day following the trade. In some regional markets, foreign shares may require months to settle.
Projected maturity date
With CMOs, final payment at the end of the estimated cash flow window.
Payment date
The date on which each shareholder of record will be sent a check for the declared dividend.
Notification date
The day the option is either exercised or expires.
Call date
A date before maturity, specified at issuance, when the issuer of a bond may retire part of the bond for a specified call price.
