Strategies that investors use during this period on Reits:
1) Some investors take the opportunity to buy a Reit during this period to collect its dividend. It is standard practice for a Reit’s price to decrease on the ex-dividend date by an amount roughly equal to the dividend paid. This reflects the decrease in the company’s assets resulting from the declaration of the dividend, and prevents people from “gaming” the dividend system. The Reit does not take any explicit action to adjust its stock price; in an efficient market, buyers and sellers will automatically price this in. The investor would then hold this Reit past XD date, for a longer period of time until the buy-in price is achieved, ie. their profit is the dividend amount.
2) Some investors buy the Reit early, then await for the Reit to rise by the dividend amount. If the stock has risen by the dividend amount before XD date, they would exit and earn by an equivalent dividend amount, without having to wait till November or December to get the dividend.
*Do note that the above illustrations do not factor in commission and fees.
What is CD/XD/Payable Date?
Cum-Dividend (CD) - If you buy a Reit during the cum-dividend period, you will get the dividend. If you sell during the cum-dividend period, you will not get the dividend.
Ex-Dividend (XD) - If you buy a Reit during the ex-dividend period, the Reit trades without its dividend, ie. you will not get the dividend. The seller is entitled to receive the dividend. Conversely, if you want to sell a Reit and still receive a dividend that has been declared, you need to sell on (or after) the ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date is the most important date in dividend investing, since it determines who and who isn’t eligible to receive the dividend. You must own a Reit before the ex-dividend date to receive the dividend.
Payable Date – This is the date the Reit pays out the dividend to the holder on record.
These are some notable Reits that are trading CD and will go XD in the next few days:
| Name of Reit | XD Date | Payable Date | Dividend Amount Per Share |
| Mapletree Ind Trust | 26-Oct-2015 | 4-Dec-2015 | SGD 0.0279 |
| Mapletree Comm Trust | 27-Oct-2015 | 4-Dec-2015 | SGD 0.0202 |
| Cache Log Trust | 27-Oct-2015 | 27-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.0214 |
| Suntec Reit | 28-Oct-2015 | 24-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.02522 |
| Frasers Centrepoint Trust | 28-Oct-2015 | 27-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.02859 |
| Capitaland Mall Trust | 28-Oct-2015 | 27-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.0298 |
| Cambridge Industrial Trust | 28-Oct-2015 | 8-Dec-2015 | SGD 0.01204 |
| Ascendas Reit | 28-Oct-2015 | 27-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.08001 |
| Frasers Comm Trust | 29-Oct-2015 | 27-Nov-2015 | SGD 0.016069 |
