hi all am new to the investment scene and only have rudimentary knowledge on shares, so yes, i am taking the advice of many forumites who advise "read, read, read". can anyone tell me how the dividend policy works ? my understanding is that unless stated expressly to the contrary, shares are always sold "cum div", ie if i buy shares on the 27 feb and on 28 feb divs are declared, i am entitled to the entire dividend ? also, as a longterm investment i bought some STX40's when they were low. a dividend already got paid out, but how does that particular one (being basically an index) get calculated ? thanks in advance for help.