It’s not something that South African investors are accustomed to, but globally there is a proliferation of instruments — real estate investment trusts (Reits), specialist investment entities and ETFs — that offer a monthly dividend.
Dividends are dividends, some may argue, and it’s the annual yield that’s the key number rather than the frequency of payments. But monthly dividend income, rather than a large distribution once a quarter or twice a year, more closely reflects the cash flow cadence that people get used to in their working lives.
No stock, unit trust or ETF in South Africa pays out monthly. If you want monthly income, you’ll need to put cash on deposit with a bank or invest in South African retail bonds or an annuity. The closest local investors can get to a monthly dividend is with the Satrix Capped All Share ETF, which forks out dividends every alternate month. Multinationals such as British American Tobacco and a few ETFs pay quarterly.
The FM looks at some international options that pay out dividends monthly and are easily available to South African retail investors through the EasyEquities platform.
Realty Income Corporation is an S&P 500 company that’s been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since 1994 under the ticker symbol O. Its market cap is $58bn, so it would be in the top 10 stocks on the JSE if it were listed locally. The Reit has paid a monthly dividend since 1969. August’s was the 674th consecutive monthly dividend. Realty Income has raised its dividend annually for the past 32 years, at a compound annual growth rate of just over 4% since IPO, though it has been closer to 3% in more recent years. The dividend yield is 5.32%, which might look low by JSE-listed Reit standards, but remember this is in dollars. Realty Income has properties across the US and Western Europe. The focus is mostly on retail grocery and convenience, but the portfolio also spans restaurants, automotive and other industries; its client base is highly diversified with no major concentration in any one customer. In terms of stability, track record and commitment to payments, Realty Income is one of the OGs of monthly dividends.
A second US stock that’s worth a look is Main Street Capital Corporation, listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MAIN. The internal business development company provides debt and equity capital to private lower middle-market companies, generally those getting taken over or backed by private equity funds. It had its IPO in 2007 and now has $9bn in funds under management. In its nearly 20-year listed history, it has never dropped its monthly dividend, and its dividend has increased by 141% since the first declaration. The dividend yield is about 5.5%, and its dividend growth rate over the past five years has been around 4.5%. Again, this income is in dollars. Given the machinations in global debt markets at the moment, Main Street might carry a higher risk premium than other counters. But given that it cut its teeth in the early years of its listed life through the global financial crisis and has navigated numerous other market downturns, there’s something to be said about the management and quality of the business.
For investors preferring to avoid the risk of single-stock concentration, ETFs offer diversification.
The Global X SuperDividend ETF trades on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker SDIV. The monthly dividend is, again, paid in dollars. The 12-month trailing yield is 8.63%, which is quite attractive even compared with local alternatives. The expense ratio is also highly competitive at 0.58%. Listed since 2011, this ETF has a 15-year track record of paying monthly dividends, and with $1.2bn in assets under management, it has reasonable scale. The underlying investments include the 100 highest dividend-paying equities globally, including Reits, financial services companies and energy companies. Globally diversified, it holds positions in the US, Brazil, Norway, the UK, and Australia, among others. The single biggest stock holding represents less than 2% of total assets, so the portfolio is highly diversified at the individual holding level.
The Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol QYLD and employs a more complex strategy than just holding the top 100 shares. It writes call options on the underlying holdings, allowing it to generate additional income from the premiums it gets from selling the call options. The downside is that it caps upside potential, as stocks must be sold if the strike price is hit, but in down markets the extra income helps cushion some of the fall. For an income-generation strategy, the option premium from writing and selling covered calls helps provide more regular income for distribution, apart from dividends received from the underlying holdings. As a result, the ETF provider offers a steady stream of income. It’s been around since 2013 and thus has a 13-year track record of paying monthly distributions and managing the covered call strategy within various equity market environments. It has a trailing 12-month yield of 12.34%, which is quite high; it used to be around 10%–11%. The ETF has $8bn in funds under management and an expense ratio of 0.60%.
Switching currencies and countries, another option is the BetaShares Australian Top20 Equities Yield Maximiser Complex ETF, which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the ticker symbol YMAX. Listed since 2012, this ETF also uses a covered call strategy to generate additional income for distribution to investors. It switched from quarterly to monthly distributions in January 2026. One attraction is the currency diversification to your monthly income stream, since it pays in Australian dollars. You also get additional geographic diversification, since this ETF invests only in the top 20 stocks listed on the ASX. The downside is that with only 20 stocks, you are less diversified. Given the structure and concentration of the Australian top 20 universe, which is dominated by banks and major mining companies, it holds 19% in BHP and 15% in Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Because of Australia’s franking regime (the tax treatment of dividends for Australian tax residents), the ASX index and the market tend to pay higher dividends than other markets, and companies are loath to cut dividends once they have a track record of regular payouts. This ETF has assets under management of just under A$700m, so it’s a reasonable size. It yields just under 9%. The management fee is 0.64%, which is also reasonable.
One thing to bear in mind is that the total returns of these offerings tend to lag broader index returns over the long term. However, for some investors, the immediacy and regularity of a monthly income may outweigh the potential for higher long-term total returns, especially when they need a cash flow solution today.
When considering the options above, investors must look not only at current yield but also at the track record of paying dividends and the growth of that yield over time. Investors must consider their long-term view on the rand vs other currencies, and how comfortable they are with exchange rate movements affecting the total they get back in rand.
