As most ASX income investors would know, it's the norm here on the ASX for dividend shares to give investors a dividend paycheque every six months. Most ASX shares, including the vast majority of the blue chips that most investors would be familiar with, fit this mould.
That's everything from the big four banks and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) to Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and CSL Limited (ASX: CSL).
This is actually quite unusual compared to other economies. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, quarterly dividend payments are the norm.
This situation that faces ASX investors makes using dividend shares as a source of passive income rather tricky. It can be hard to budget if you finally get to retire off of dividend income, but you only get paid twice a year.
So are there any alternatives to this six-month paycheque schedule?
How to secure monthly dividends on the ASX
Well, investors can always choose a variety of ASX shares. Not all dividend shares pay out their dividends in the same month. For example, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX: CBA) typically pays out its bi-annual dividends in March and September.
But Woolworths often forks out its shareholder cash in April and October, while Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) typically schedules its dividends for June and December.
So you can pick a wide basket of ASX 200 blue chip dividend shares, and get something of a spread in dividend payments.
But otherwise, investors can utilise exchange-traded funds (ETFs) if they desire more frequent cash flow. Most ASX-based ETFs, such as the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), will usually pay out quarterly distributions. As do funds covering overseas markets like the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV). These normally occur in January, April, July and October.
So using a mixture of ASX dividend shares and ETFs will get you even more frequent payments.
The final option for those desperate for a monthly paycheque is to find a company, ETF, listed investment company (LIC) or managed fund that pays out dividends every month.
These are rare, but they are out there. One example is the Plato Income Maximiser Fund (ASX: PL8). This LIC prioritises consistently funding monthly dividend paycheques to its investors. These typically come fully franked as well.
Another monthly dividend-payer is the BetaShares Australian Dividend Harvester Fund (ASX: HVST). This ETF also pays out monthly dividend distributions but uses derivatives to boost its income payments as well.
So if you do wish to secure monthly dividend paycheques from your ASX shares, there are a few ways to go about it.
