Common Stock
A stock has a record date of Wednesday, March 12. When is the ex-dividend date?
The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date. With a Wednesday record date, the ex-dividend date is Tuesday. This allows trades made before the ex-date to settle by the record date under T+1 settlement
Complete Analysis & Legal Rationale
The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date. With a Wednesday record date, the ex-dividend date is Tuesday. This allows trades made before the ex-date to settle by the record date under T+1 settlement rules.
Distractor Autopsy (Why Other Options Are Traps)
FINRA exam writers design incorrect distractors using specific calculation mistakes and regulatory misconceptions. Review why each option succeeds or fails:
Does not match the governing securities rule described in the explanation.
Matches the verified teaching point in the explanation.
Does not match the governing securities rule described in the explanation.
Does not match the governing securities rule described in the explanation.
Official Standard: Outline-level citation: item maps to Series 7 topic coverage. Prefer a specific FINRA/SEC/MSRB rule citation in a later author pass.