If you want to generate passive income, Canadian dividend stocks are usually the first place investors look, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially for beginners.
The catch is that most individual dividend stocks only pay quarterly. Unless you’re comfortable getting a “paycheque” once every three months, that can be frustrating if you’re trying to smooth out cash flow.
Monthly dividend stocks do exist, but focusing only on them shrinks your investable universe and hurts diversification. A simpler workaround is to skip stock picking altogether and use a dividend exchange-traded fund (ETF).
These funds bundle dozens of dividend payers into one vehicle, spread out risk, and many pay monthly. Here are two Canadian dividend ETFs I like that offer above-average yields and monthly income.
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The Vanguard option
My first pick is Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF (TSX:VDY). This is a passive index ETF, which means there’s no portfolio manager trying to outsmart the market. Instead, the fund simply tracks an FTSE index made up of Canadian stocks with higher-than-average dividend yields.
The ETF holds roughly 50 Canadian companies. In practice, that means heavy exposure to financials and energy, which are the backbone of dividend-paying stocks in Canada. In classic Vanguard fashion, costs are kept low. The management expense ratio (MER) is 0.22%, which works out to about $22 per year in fees on a $10,000 investment.
Income is what most investors care about here. On a 12-month trailing basis, this ETF delivered a 3.36% dividend yield, paid monthly. That’s solid for a diversified Canadian equity fund. Ideally, you would hold this ETF in a registered account, such as a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA).
But if you’re out of room, it’s still reasonably tax-efficient in a non-registered account since most of the distributions are eligible Canadian dividends, with some capital gains and return of capital mixed in.
The iShares option
Another strong option is iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF (TSX:XEI). Like the Vanguard ETF, this is a passive fund that mechanically tracks an index focused on higher-yielding Canadian stocks. There’s no stock picking involved, just rules-based exposure to dividend payers.
This ETF is broader than the Vanguard option, holding about 75 stocks. It’s also less top-heavy, although investors should still expect meaningful exposure to financials and energy. On a 12-month trailing basis, this ETF delivered a 4.79% dividend yield, again paid monthly.
Fees are competitive, with a MER of 0.22%. From a tax perspective, it’s generally efficient, as most of the distributions are eligible dividends. One nuance is that this ETF includes a small allocation to real estate investment trusts (REITs), about 4.3 of the portfolio. REIT distributions are usually taxed as ordinary income, which adds a bit of complexity in a non-registered account.
