Exchange-traded funds handle dividends like stocks

— -- Q: Do exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have ex-dividend and payable dividend dates like stocks?

A: Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are somewhat like stocks and somewhat like mutual funds.

Like mutual funds, ETFs own large baskets of stock. By buying shares of one ETF, you can spread your risk over a variety of stocks. However, you buy an ETF just as you'd buy any individual stock.

And, like stocks, ETFs do have ex-dividend and payable dividend dates. The date an ETF goes ex-dividend is the day the buyer is not entitled to the dividend. It's the same for stocks. The record date is the ownership date that the issuer uses to determine who is eligible for the dividend payment. The dividend is paid on the payable date.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Click here to see previous Ask Matt columns.