There are few ASX shares that can sustainably give investors a dividend yield above 8%.
Not every large yield is reliable, though. Extremely high dividend yields may be funded by an unsustainable dividend payout ratio, or by a significant decline in the share price (which pushes up the trailing yield) as the market expects a drop in earnings (and dividends).
While the dividend yields I'm about to talk about are not guaranteed, I think it's likely the ASX shares will continue to pay large dividends for the foreseeable future.
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Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF)
This is a very unloved real estate investment trust (REIT) right now – it owns office buildings across Australian metropolitan locations.
In the last six months alone, the Centuria Office REIT unit price has declined by 20%, making it much cheaper.
The work-from-home trend has certainly been a headwind for office demand in the last few years. Recently, AI growth and rising interest rates have also been potential headwinds for earnings, office property valuations, and market confidence.
However, the properties are still generating rental income for investors, the buildings still retain significant value, and the land the ASX share owns is rising in value over time.
In the FY26 first-half results, the business reported its portfolio valuation increased by $42.8 million, marking the second consecutive period of valuation gains. That shows the business was experiencing green shoots last year.
The business also said it continued to sign new rental leases, while the supply of new office buildings remains restrained because of high replacement costs (and lower demand).
In FY26, the business is expecting to generate rental profit (FFO – funds from operations) of between 11.1 and 11.5 cents per security. The guided FY26 distribution of 10.1 cents per unit translates into a forward distribution yield of 10.75%. Even a 10% cut of the distribution next financial year would still see it pay a distribution/dividend yield of well over 9%.
Hearts and Minds Investments Ltd (ASX: HM1)
The other high-yield ASX share I want to highlight is a unique listed investment company (LIC) on the ASX. It invests in shares across the world.
Instead of just one fund management team being in charge of the investment decisions, it's invested in stocks that have been chosen (for no management costs) by various fund managers.
Some of the portfolio is chosen by a core group of permanent fund managers, while picks in the portfolio are decided by an annual investment conference where experts pitch a stock they think could be a strong performer.
The reason why so many investment professionals are willing to contribute ideas for free is that the LIC donates 1.5% of net assets each year to medical research. I think that's a great initiative and one well worth supporting.
This ASX share has pleasing dividend characteristics – it hasn't given shareholders a dividend reduction since it started paying dividends in FY21. It has grown its annual payout every year in that time, aside from FY23 when it maintained its dividend.
The ASX share has provided guidance that it will grow its half-year dividend by 0.5 cents every six months for the foreseeable future, implying that the next two dividends will be 20.5 cents per share. That translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 10%, including franking credits.
