The shareholder register: who records owners and when

A shareholder's rights attach not to the fact of ownership in general but to being on the list on a particular date.

Who keeps the list

The registrar — a separate organisation maintaining the register of an issuer's security holders. For an investor holding through a broker the records are aggregated: the register shows a nominee holder while the ultimate owners are recorded down the chain of depositories.

The record date

For dividend payments and for participation in a meeting a date is set on which the list is compiled. Whoever is on it receives the right; whoever is not does not, regardless of how many years they held the security beforehand.

Why you have to buy earlier

The settlement cycle runs between the trade and appearing on the list.

Hence the last day to buy, which falls before the record date — How to receive a dividend, step by step.

The shareholders meeting

The same mechanics apply to voting rights, with their own date. An owner who bought after the record date cannot vote at that meeting.

What an investor can see

Record dates are published in advance in the issuer's disclosure and land in the events calendar. Related: How dividends work on the Russian market.