If you think you need to win the lottery to have a shot at an early retirement, think again. I think ASX blue chip dividend shares are a far better bet for any investors at any age. And that's not just because winning the lotto is a one-in-a-million shot.
Investing in quality dividend shares allows investors to both compound their wealth over time and access a source of secondary passive income. So today, let's discuss a few ASX blue-chip shares that I'm hoping will help get me to an early retirement.
The blue chip ASX shares that I hope will lead me to an early retirement
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
NAB is an ASX blue-chip share that needs little introduction as one of the ASX big four banks. NAB shares are in my portfolio for two reasons.
Firstly, I think it is one of the better-run ASX banks. NAB's focus on business lending rather than the bloated Australian mortgage market is compelling in my eyes. Additionally, I have full confidence that NAB's management team led by Ross McEwan will continue to ensure that NAB remains one of the best-managed banks on the ASX.
Secondly, NAB is a lucrative source of dividend income. Recent share price falls have pushed this bank's dividend yield to over 5.6% today. This naturally comes fully franked as well.
I fully intend to hold NAB shares until I can use this hefty dividend yield to help fund my early retirement.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Long-time readers of the Fool may be familiar with my love of Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or Soul Patts for short.
This is hands-down one of the highest-quality shares on the market, in my view. Soul Patts runs a vast portfolio of diversified assets on behalf of its shareholders. These include other ASX blue chips, as well as private credit investments and other unlisted assets.
It has been able to deliver market-crushing performances over long periods of time doing this. In addition, its long track record of success has allowed Soul Patts to increase its dividend every single year for the past 23 years and counting. That's a feat that no other ASX blue chip can boast of accomplishing.
For these reasons, ASX blue chip Soul Patts is and will be an essential component of my early retirement strategy.
iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (ASX: IXI)
This exchange-traded fund (ETF) isn't a blue-chip share in its own right, of course. But it does house an underlying portfolio of some of the world's best blue chip stocks. The ASX is great and all, but it simply lacks companies of the global scale and quality that some other markets can bring to the table.
That's where this iShares Consumer Staples ETF comes in. I love investing in consumer staples stocks for early retirement. This sector is one of the most resilient and defensive corners of any stock market, thanks to the fact that its companies make products we simply can't live without. Think food, drinks, cleaning supplies, laundry and bathroom essentials, personal hygiene products and other goods of this nature.
As such, you'll find global blue-chip names like Procter & Gamble Co, Kraft-Heinz and Nestle in this ETF. That's in addition to companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald's, Campbell Soup, Colgate-Palmolive, Diageo, Philip Morris International and Unilever.
This powerful portfolio of global blue-chip shares makes this ETF another valued cog in my early retirement wheel.
