While some ETFs pay dividends as soon as they are received from each company that is held in the fund, most distribute dividends quarterly. Some ETFs hold the individual dividends in cash until the ETF’s payout date. Others reinvest the dividends back into the fund as they are received, and then distribute them as cash on the ETF’s payout date.
ETFs may provide the option of forgoing receiving cash in exchange for the purchase of new shares with the dividends received. And certain brokers, including Fidelity, might allow you to reinvest dividends commission-free. You can find out if and how an ETF pays a dividend by examining its prospectus.