If you ask most Australian investors what the 'normal' dividend yield for your average ASX 200 dividend stock might be, they might say 4%. It could also be 3% or 5%. But 13%? Now that's something most investors would certainly not consider normal. In fact, it would probably raise alarm bells for the veterans out there.
Getting a 13% return on your invested capital through dividends alone is a tantalising prospect. That's exactly what seems to be on offer today from the highest-yielding stock currently on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
That stock would be the investment company GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG).
GQG is a company that specialises in boutique asset management. It is based in the United States (hence the 'inc') but has a global presence managing investments ranging from high net-worth individuals and families to sovereign wealth funds and pensions.
But let's dig into that 13% yield and assess whether it's too good to be true.
Like most US-based stocks, GQG Partners pays out quarterly dividends, with shareholders receiving four passive income paycheques annually. That contrasts with most ASX shares, which typically follow a biannual schedule.
Over the past 12 months (including the latest payment due tomorrow), GQG shares have paid out a total of 14.82 US cents per share in dividends. That works out to be 23.12 cents per share in the local currency. At the current GQG share price of $1.73 (at the time of writing), that indeed gives us a trailing yield of 13.36%.
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Does this ASX dividend stock really have a 13.4% yield right now?
So that yield is legitimate, giving GQG Partners the largest dividend yield available on the entire ASX 200 Index as it currently stands.
However, as any dividend investor knows, an ASX dividend stock's yield reflects the past, not the future. So how likely is it that GQG will continue to fund dividends at 2025's levels, and by extension, investors to receive a 13.4% yield on any invested capital today?
Well, that's hard to say. It's worth noting that GQG employs a generous dividend policy, routinely paying out more than 90% of its earnings as dividends. That might be great for shareholders, but it does leave them exposed if GQG has a bad quarter or two. There's not much of a cushion to absorb any hits to the company's profits.
On the surface, many things seem to be going well for GQG as it currently stands. In its recent half-yearly earnings, the company reported an 11% rise in revenues to US$403 million over the six months to 30 June 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Net operating income also rose by 12.2% to US$306.8 million.
However, the company has also reported continuing fund outflows, which were arguably masked by rising stock markets in the numbers above.
Last week, GQG confirmed that it has seen net outflows of US$1.8 billion over 2025, as of 30 November. If this trend continues into 2026, that 13.4% yield might not be long for this world.
As always, we shall have to wait and see what the next GQG dividend looks like to know for sure what investors will receive in the future. But, as with any 13%-yielding share, this seems to be a high-risk, high-reward proposition for investors today.
