Ten traps to avoid Buying too late shares can rally well in advance of the ex-dividend date. Not knowing the ex-date on which you have to hold the stock to receive the dividend. Blindly trusting consensus forecasts, which can be out of date. Not checking the sustainability of the underlying dividend. Not understanding the 45-day rule. Falsely expecting the market to provide price momentum. Not knowing what broking costs you're paying.View all announcements Buying purely on the strength of a big yield. Buying in a down trend. Buying poor-quality shares.