Well, this week was a fairly momentous one. It saw our own central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), lift interest rates for the first time in 11 years. This has understandably caused some navel gazing for many ASX investors, who may have gotten used to the successive interest rate cuts that the last decade has brought. Not to mention the record low cash rate of 0.1% that was in place for more than two years. Now the RBA has hiked rates from 0.1% to 0.35%.
But if what the RBA had to say on Tuesday proves prescient, it may not be the last interest rate rise we see in 2022. In fact, we are almost certainly going to see another hike soon, seeing as the RBA governor said, "the Board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time. This will require a further lift in interest rates over the period ahead".
Previously, the RBA has said that it sees interest rates at the "neutral" level of 2.5% in the future. So if that came to pass, could dividend shares still offer attractive yields?
If interest rates were to move to 2.5%, you could expect many 'safe' investments like savings accounts and term deposits to offer similar, if not slightly higher, rates of interest. That would be a big change from the present lay of the land, where it is still difficult to find a savings account with an interest rate above 1%.
So if rates did rise to 2.5%, would it still be worth chasing yield from ASX dividend shares?
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3 ASX dividend shares that beat the piggybank
Well, here are three such shares that would still be the piggybank if rates did climb to 2.5%.
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) is one such share. Coles has been ratcheting up its annual dividend for a few years now. 2019 saw this grocery giant fork out 35.5 cents per share in dividends. But last year had the company dole out 61 cents per share, fully franked of course. On current pricing, this gives Coles a trailing dividend yield of 3.31%. With the full franking, that grosses up to 4.73%.
WAM Research Ltd (ASX: WAX) is another share that has a good chance of being a piggybank-beater in the years ahead. This Listed Investment Company (LIC) has been increasing its annual dividend for more than 10 years now. Last year saw WAM Research pay out 9.9 cents per share, a pleasing rise from 2011's 6 cents per share. On current pricing, that gives this LIC a dividend yield of 6.12%, or 8.74% grossed up with the company's full franking.
Finally, there's Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) to consider as well. Telstra has had a reputation as a strong dividend payer for years. The telco has kept its 16 cents per share annual dividend payment steady for a while now. Even so, this gives Telstra shares a yield of 4% as it currently stands. Telstra also typically does out full franking credits with its dividends, so that payment grosses up to a current yield of 5.71%.
