ASX dividend shares can be a great source of passive income. Companies have the ability to both grow profit and pay pleasing dividends while they do it. Term deposits just generate interest but can't deliver growth.
I only want to consider investments for income where I believe that future dividend payments are likely to be larger.
If I had $5,000 to invest in ASX dividend shares, a few names would spring to mind because of the dividend yields and value on offer.
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GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)
GQG is a fund manager that offers investment strategies across US shares, global shares, non-US global shares, and emerging market shares.
Fund managers normally trade on a fairly low price-earnings (P/E) ratio, which gives them a relatively high dividend yield compared to other sectors.
The broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) forecasts that GQG could pay an annual dividend per share of US 16.7 cents in FY26. That would translate into a forward dividend yield of approximately 11.25% from GQG shares.
The key driver of the company's earnings and dividend is the growth of its funds under management (FUM). At June 2025, its FUM reached US$172.4 billion, thanks to US$8 billion of net inflows over the previous six months and positive investment performance with its funds.
The GQG share price is trading at less than 10x FY26's estimated earnings, which is a very appealing valuation for a growing business.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Rural Funds is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns farmland across a number of sectors, including cattle, almonds, macadamias, and vineyards. The business generates a pleasing level of rental income from blue-chip tenants.
It's trading at a pleasing valuation – at 31 December 2024, it had an adjusted (for the water entitlement valuation) net asset value (NAV) of $3.10 per unit. That means the current Rural Funds unit price is trading at a discount of roughly 40%.
At this large discount, this business is able to provide a large distribution yield. The ASX dividend share has guided that it will pay a distribution per unit of 11.73 cents in FY26. That translates into a forward distribution yield of 6.3%.
Recent RBA rate cuts could be helpful by reducing interest costs and boosting property values. But, I'm also confident on rental income growth because the business is experiencing contracted annual rental growth at most of its farms which are either linked to inflation or they are fixed annual increases.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
Earlier this week, I outlined why I recently invested in this ASX dividend share. The investment business has a large portfolio of leading US shares, which I expect to perform (at least) adequately in the coming years.
The company has the investment flexibility to invest wherever it sees opportunities in the global share market. It's looking for long-term leaders who could continue to stay ahead of competitors thanks to their economic moats, which can help them grow profits.
The business has hiked its annual ordinary dividend each year since 2018, and it has the profit reserve to continue growing the payout for years.
The company has guided that it will grow its annual dividend per share to 16 cents in FY25, translating into a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.1%, including franking credits.
In the latest weekly update, it reported a pre-tax net tangible assets (NTA) of $4.98 on 11 July 2025, representing an appealing discount of approximately 10%.
