Passive income investors typically have to make a choice when it comes to picking their next ASX dividend share. They can go for the mature, blue-chip stocks that offer a high-yield dividend today, at the expense of strong dividend growth potential. Otherwise, they can opt for the stocks that offer low upfront yields, but have a strong history of growing their dividend payments at fast rates.
In practical terms, this might look like deciding between ANZ Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)'s 4.65% dividend yield and the 0.33% that WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) currently offers investors (at the time of writing).
Most ASX dividend shares fall into one of these two buckets. But there are rare exceptions to this would-be rule. And those exceptions often present the best passive income opportunities.
I think MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF) is one of those opportunities. MFF is a listed investment company (LIC). Like most LICs, MFF owns an underlying portfolio of assets that it manages on behalf of its shareholders. This portfolio consists mostly of high-quality US stocks that have been held for years and allowed to compound. Some of its top holdings include Google-owner Alphabet, Mastercard, Home Depot, and American Express.
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Dividend growth or high passive income? This ASX share might offer both
This Warren Buffett-like approach to investing has paid off well for MFF. We can see this impressive performance codified in MFF's dividend growth history. This passive income payer doled out 2 cents per share back in 2017. But by 2025, this had risen to 17 cents per share. As we discussed earlier today, dividends inherently weaken a company. Only the best stocks can afford to increase their payouts by a compounded average growth rate of 30% per annum, as MFF has over the past eight years.
That growth rate would handily qualify MFF as a low-yield, high-growth dividend stock. Yet, MFF's shares trade on a healthy trailing dividend yield of 3.3% today. That comes with full franking credits attached, too.
No, there's no guarantee that MFF will continue to grow its payouts as aggressively as it has in recent years going forward. However, I think past performance indicates that MFF's investing strategy is a sound one, and future dividend increases are likely. The company has already told investors to expect a 25% hike to 10 cents a share for its first dividend of 2026.
As such, I believe the current MFF share price presents a rare opportunity to secure a passive income share with a substantial starting dividend yield that could potentially grow its dividends at a rapid pace going forward.
