Ex-dividend shares

[Shatnerfan]

What does ex dividend on shares mean? The finance pages in my newspaper mark Alliance & L as ex dividend but they still paid me for my shares.

[Miss Zippy]

An ex dividend share is one that is sold without the right to the recently declared dividend. The price you, therefore, pay for a share quoted ex dividend has the amount of the dividend which is about to be paid deducted from the price. The company will declare the ex dividend date so any shares bought after that date will not receive the declared dividend for that particular period. A&L have probably just declared their ex div date, hence the note in the newspaper you saw, so anyone who purchases their shares between now and the date the divs are paid, will not receive that particular dividend payment.

[Miss Zippy]

That was a roundabout way of saying you don't appear to have ex div shares :-)