If you're trying to generate an income from traditional income-bearing assets such as term deposits, bond yields, or savings accounts, you'll do well to generate anything that comfortably beats inflation.
And with the cash rate tipped to continue going lower in the near term, there's a good chance that these assets will soon be beaten by inflation. This essentially means the value of your funds will actually diminish in real terms.
The good news is that you don't have to settle for the paltry interest rates on offer with term deposits and bond yields. Instead, you can look a little higher up on the risk scale at the countless dividend shares that the ASX has to offer.
Three dividend shares that I think would be great alternatives are listed below:
Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)
This footwear-focused retailer could be a good option for income investors due to its generous yield and positive growth outlook. In FY 2019 Accent posted a 22.2% jump in statutory net profit after tax to a record of $53.9 million. Pleasingly, the company has started the new financial year strongly and appears well-positioned to grow its dividend further in FY 2020. At present its shares offer a trailing fully franked 5% dividend yield.
Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP)
Stockland is a diversified Australian property company which reported a 4% increase in funds from operations (FFO) in FY 2019. Although the new financial year is expected to be weaker due to low wage growth and challenging economic conditions, the market continues to forecast a full year distribution of 27.8 cents per unit. This works out to be a forward 6.25% distribution yield.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
I think this telco company would be a good option for income options, especially now it has cut its dividend down to a sustainable level. Another bonus is that with the end of the nbn pain finally in sight and rational competition returning to the telco industry, I don't believe it will be too long until Telstra returns to growth. At present Telstra's shares offer investors a fully franked 4.4% dividend yield.
