When these funds pay.

The schedule these funds keep

They share an ex-date and split on the pay date. Every fund here went ex on the same day at the last month-end; the cash then follows between 6 and 10 days later, and which day depends on the issuer rather than the fund — Hamilton's land together, and Harvest's a few days earlier.

That rhythm is convenient and it is also a trap if you are living on the income: 19 monthly funds paying on the same day is not twelve payments a year spread evenly — it is one deposit a month, and nothing in between. A cash buffer matters more than the schedule looks like it should.

Buying before the cutoff

You must own the units before the ex-date. Buy on the ex-date itself, or any day after, and the payment goes to whoever sold to you. Own them the day before and you are paid in full, whether you had held for ten years or one afternoon.

The price also opens lower on the ex-date, by roughly the distribution — the fund is about to hand out cash it currently holds. That is not a loss. Receiving your first dividend works through both, along with why the amount is rarely the one you calculated.

What arrives is not what is taxed

The per-unit figures above are gross. What you keep depends on the character of the distribution and the account it lands in — most of what these funds pay is return of capital, which is not taxed on receipt but reduces your cost base. How dividend income is taxed in Canada covers it.