A dividend aristocrat is a very special thing. It is typically defined as a dividend share that has increased its annual dividend payouts to investors every year for at least 25 years.
Such a long and steady track record shows that a company is financially stable and strong enough to fork out such a large volume of cash consistently.
Over on the US markets, there are many dividend aristocrats. Some you might have heard of include Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM), and McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD).
What's more, is that the US markets also boast quite a few dividend kings. These fabled royals of the share market have a 50-year streak of annually raising their dividends. This list is a lot smaller but includes Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL), and Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO).
Does the ASX offer any dividend aristocrats?
Unfortunately, here on the ASX, we have no dividend aristocrats by the US definition. Let alone dividend kings.
But we do have a couple of ASX dividend heavyweights that come close. And they are two shares that I think any investor could comfortably buy and hold for the long term.
The first is Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW). Brickworks is a building and construction materials company. But it also has a few other earning streams, including from its lucrative property business.
Brickworks has a strong dividend track record. It hasn't raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years, so we can't call it an official dividend aristocrat.
But what it does have is a 45-year history of not cutting its dividends. In other words, Brickworks has either maintained or increased its annual dividends every year since 1976. Definity heavyweight material.
Soul Patts: 3 years to go
The second is Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL).
Soul Patts is the closest thing to a dividend aristocrat the ASX has. No, Soul Patts hasn't quite got to 25 years of annual dividend raises. But it has upped its annual dividend every year since 2000. That means it's only three years away from becoming the ASX's first dividend aristocrat.
Soul Patts is a rather interesting company. It functions more as a listed investment company (LIC) than a traditional ASX business, owning large chunks of other ASX shares in a massive investment portfolio.
This it runs for the benefit of its shareholders. Soul Patts' largest holdings include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), and Brickworks itself.
But Soul Patts also owns a large and diversified portfolio of ASX 200 shares, thanks to the acquisition of ASX LIC Milton Corporation last year. These include your typical ASX holdings like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
Both of these would-be ASX dividend aristocrats have a long history of delivering meaningful returns to their shareholders. And both boast unrivalled dividend records on the ASX, if not yet long enough to qualify for the 'dividend aristocrat' tag.
As such, Soul Pattss and Brickworks are two ASX dividend heavyweights that I would happily buy and hold until retirement and beyond.
