When you trade share CFDs, dividends are not a tangible benefit.
This is because when a company pays out its dividends on the ex-date, the share price is adjusted to reflect the money paid out to shareholders.
At FOREX.com, we balance the positive effect of the dividend against this dip in the share price.
What happens is that a dividend adjustment occurs at the close of business before the ex-dividend date.
- Long positions are credited
- Short positions are debited
Then all things being equal, the market then opens lower on the ex-date by the dividend amount.
Therefore, the dividend has not impacted your trade or any profit/loss you may have made.
Five reasons to trade shares CFDs
Longer term trades
Compared to forex, shares can be less volatile on a day-to-day basis. As a result, they may favour traders who prefer to hold trades for longer periods of time.
However, be aware that share prices can still experience big shocks such as in the event of a merger, scandal or significant profit warnings.
Go long or short
At FOREX.com, shares are traded as CFDs. This enables you to speculate on the price of a share without ever actually owning it.
- You can go long, meaning that you buy the shares in the expectation that they will rise in price.
- Or you can go short, meaning that you ‘sell’ the shares in the expectation that the share price will fall.
Shorting a share enables you profit when the share price decreases in value. This is not possible in traditional share trading where you take real ownership of the share.
It is also worth noting that shorting can be used to hedge any stock exposure you have.
Dividends
Dividends are a financial sweetener for owning a stock.
If you own a share in a company, that company can reward you with a slice of its profits. They are literally giving you money because you own their shares.
Dividends are used by companies as an incentive for investors to buy and hold its stock.
For example, Microsoft announced in late 2020 that it would be paying shareholders a dividend of $0.56 per share. So, for every share you own, you get 56 cents as a thank you for owning Microsoft shares.
The more shares you own, the bigger the dividend will be.
However, the above applies to owning actual shares, not trading share CFDs which we provide.
How much will the dividend be?
The size of dividend differs on a company to company basis. Some companies do not offer dividends at all.
The dividend amount will be decided by the board of directors and will be based on the company’s financial performance and other industry factors.
When are dividends paid?
The timings of the dividends are decided by the board of directors.
However, some companies have no set dividend schedule. Companies can also issue one-off special dividends.
When you buy a share CFD, you should always be aware of the ex-dividend date (ex-date). If you buy the share after the ex-date, you will not be entitled to the dividend.
Focus on a specific company
Compared to forex, there are fewer factors that affect the price. This enables you to concentrate on the key fundamentals of a company such as profit margins.
Leverage
In November 2020, the cost of a single Amazon share was $3,124. This high price puts it out of reach for many retail share traders.
However, at FOREX.com you trade share CFDs which gives you access to leverage.
Leverage means you only have to put up a fraction of the deposit. At the time of writing, you’d only have to put up 20% of the $3,100 to trade it.
Please note that although leverage can magnify your profits, it can also magnify your losses. This is a critical trading concept to understand.