I’m 64 and thought I was ready to retire, but the 4% rule says I’m way short—could I really run out of money?

by Jesse Singer

I’m a retirement expert and this is why you don’t need to panic if your pension slumps© Getty Images

When we think of investing money long term, for example in a pension, we talk about interest rates and compound growth, with the expectation that our money will increase over time.

This isn’t always the case though. As the caveat on financial articles often says: “The value of your investment can rise or fall.” This is a simple concept to grasp in abstract, but what happens when you face this situation in reality? When you check your pension account and find, to your horror, that the value has dropped? 

Hannah Martin is a pensions expert and the founder of Rich Retiree

In fact, long-term investors often benefit from slumps like these, as they are able to buy more investments for the same cost. So if you are investing for your future, you may find that dips in the market actually help your money to grow. 

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Here’s another thing to remember: until you ‘crystallise’ your money (take it out of your pension), any losses are just on paper. 

Which brings us to the three scenarios you could be in regarding your pension, and how they may influence the impact of a stock market slump on your finances, and what action you may decide to take – or not. 

Scenario one: You are saving into your pension for your future

If you are a few years away from taking money from your pension, a stock market slump shouldn’t unduly worry you. In fact, as described above, it may even help you in the long term. 

If you are regularly paying into your pension, or planning on investing a lump sum, and can afford to do so, there’s no indication why a market drop right now should put you off. 

Don’t be tempted to keep checking the value of your pension. You aren’t taking the money out now, and seeing numbers fall will only worry you – you’re human after all! Your investment should have plenty of time to recover and hopefully grow as the markets rebound. 

Scenario two: You want to take your 25% tax-free lump sum

Once you have reached the age of 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) you can withdraw up to 25% of your pension tax-free. This can either be taken as a lump sum, or over time. 

If you had planned to take out a lump sum from your pension right now, a slump in the markets will impact you as the value of your investment could be lower. If you can wait a few weeks or months, you may find that your 25% is worth more. 

Scenario three: You are already drawing on your pension

If you are already taking money from your pension to live on, a slump in the market right now will be more frustrating. However, there are still actions you can take to protect yourself as much as you can. 

If you have cash savings, such as ISAs or Premium Bonds, you might choose to switch to them and take less from your stocks and shares investments. You can always top them up later once the markets recover and you are happy to withdraw more from your pension again.

If you don’t have savings to fall back on, you might decide to tighten your belt for the moment and avoid any big purchases until the market bounces back and the value of your investments hopefully grows again. 

If only you had invested your pension in a dividend re-investment plan.

Are we in a market bubble? It depends on what you’re reading or whom you ask.

Some valuation measures suggest the US market is more expensive than at almost any other point in history, perhaps beginning to match levels seen during the dotcom boom or before the 1929 crash.

Yet ask a technologist and they may tell you we are on the foothills of a once-in-a-generation investment boom, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) through to the frontier of space commercialisation. This time it is different, they say.

As the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a veteran of nearly eight decades of boom and bust, once said: ‘As bandwagon investors join any party, they create their own truth – for a while.’

For the average individual investor, the response to these versions of the truth can see-saw in our heads daily: ‘I should be reducing my exposure to all this froth. But I have a terrible fear of missing out.’

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Are we in a market bubble? It depends on what you’re reading or whom you ask

I have been battling my FOMO – a nagging trait we investors must constantly fend off – and have taken steps that felt sensible for my portfolio and my aims. 

They may not be right for you, and a financial adviser will be best placed to judge your specific situation. 

For me, it is part of how an engaged DIY investor tweaks a portfolio to retain balance and improve outcomes – by being constantly aware of valuation.

1. Adjust geographically from expensive to cheap

I closely watch valuations and nudge my portfolio away from expensive stock markets and toward cheaper ones. 

One measure is a comparison of current prices to average inflation-adjusted earnings over the past ten years. 

Known as CAPE – cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings – it is a more sophisticated twist on the more commonly used price-to-earnings ratio. As with p/e ratios, a lower number suggests better value.

Historically, lower CAPE valuations have tended to be associated with stronger returns over the following decade or more. That is not a forecast of the future, but an observation. 

As the table below shows, published by Taunus Trust, a German investment company, real returns from the US stock market have been around 12 per cent or 13 per cent for investments made when CAPE was below 15, but -0.2 per cent on the rare occasions it has been above 30. It is currently at 40, according to data from Research Affiliates.

Bear in mind that these annual returns factor in inflation making the 4.9 per cent figure for the UK, when CAPE was 15-20, pretty decent. 

The UK market is currently on a CAPE of 17.5, according to Research Affiliates. I have angled my own portfolio toward the UK but also toward Europe, on a CAPE of 21.5, and emerging markets, which are on 22.2 but were much cheaper last year (more on this below).

CAPE vs subsequent 10-to-15-year annual average stock market returns: 1979 to 2026

Country	0-10	10-15	15-20	20-25	25-30	30+
UK	12.1%	6.8%	4.9%	1.3%	0.7%	n/a
US	11.6%	12.7%	9.1%	6.4%	4.2%	– 0.2%
World	11.5%	8.2%	6.6%	5.1%	4%	1%

2. Trim your winners

 It is difficult to sell investments that have served you well. One compromise is to slice away some of the hotter areas of your portfolio, locking in profits and restoring some balance. 

Andrew Oxlade has taken steps to taken steps to adjust his portfolio

A large proportion of the portfolio backs private companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude. 

Edinburgh Worldwide, another investment trust run by Baillie Gifford, is also heavily invested in technological innovators.

I have trimmed my Scottish Mortgage exposure, taking it from 9 per cent to 6 per cent of my pension, and sold Edinburgh Worldwide. 

I also plan to reduce the modest amount I have in the VanEck Space Innovators exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has handed me a 76 per cent return this year.

These decisions alone have left me feeling more relaxed about what might happen next.

3. Check your emerging markets funds for AI exposure 

Emerging markets were regarded as cheap up until this year. A recent surge in prices has narrowed much of that valuation gap. 

Much of the rally has been driven by three AI-related stock: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), plus Samsung and SK Hynix of South Korea. The chipmaker stocks represent 14 per cent, 8 per cent and 7 per cent of the EM index, respectively.

You may be deliberately investing in emerging markets for exposure to these stocks, but I suspect most people are not. 

I wasn’t and so have sold down some of the general EM funds I hold and reinvested some of the money into the BlackRock Latin American investment trust. The region remains cheap. Brazil, for example, is on a CAPE of 11, according to Research Affiliates.

Andrew Oxlade 

Andrew Oxlade is a director at Fidelity Personal Investing, a former This is Money editor, and writes a regular column for This is Money on investment and financial planning.

4. Consider active over passive 

Index-tracking funds have rightly surged in popularity due to their low cost and simplicity. 

However, during times of fervour, you may find your future fortunes overly beholden to a handful of oversized stocks. 

The so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ in the US account for over a fifth of the MSCI World Index, which is commonly the basis for global tracker funds.

Nvidia is the top holding in the Legal & General Global Equity Index Fund, making up more than 5 per cent of the portfolio. 

To labour the point, a £100,000 investment gives you about £5,000 of exposure to Nvidia. Would you choose to invest that much after the extraordinary rally it has enjoyed?

Funds that seek out undervalued stocks, known as value funds, could serve as a counterweight. 

Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock, which makes our Fidelity Select 50 list of favoured funds, only holds two of the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks in its top 10, for example.

There is another, slightly more sledgehammer-like, approach to reducing your exposure to the concentration of stocks at the top end of the market – by putting some of your tracker money in so-called ‘equal-weighted’ index trackers. 

They spread your money evenly across all stocks within a given index rather than reflecting company valuations, as traditional trackers do. 

Examples include the Legal & General S&P 500 US Equal Weight Index Fund or the Invesco MSCI World Equal Weight ETF.

5. Increase your alternatives 

Diversification is important at any time, but especially during periods of froth. 

You might consider modest allocations to real estate or infrastructure investment trusts. 

They may perform differently to stock market funds if a bubble were to burst. They also tend to pay relatively high levels of income. 

The International Public Partnerships investment trust is one example that I hold. It offers a yield of 5.7 per cent, which isn’t guaranteed.

Gold remains the classic diversifier, especially during times of strife. I hold a small amount of my pension in the iShares Physical Gold ETC.

You could also consider funds and investment trusts that aim at wealth preservation rather than the best returns. The Personal Assets investment trust, which I hold, has just over a third of its portfolio in shares and 44 per cent in bonds.  

6. Increase your cash holdings 

For the very nervous investor, there is wisdom in moving some of the frothy profits you have realised into cash. 

You could park your profits in money market funds, also known as cash funds. These now mostly yield less than 4 per cent, which is not guaranteed, and returns will change as interest-rate expectations shift.

The key problem with going to cash is that you may not hold your nerve if the market continues to inflate and you find yourself buying back in at a higher price. Or you may hold the cash indefinitely waiting for a crash that never comes. 

Our Fidelity Be Invested survey found UK investors aiming for annual returns of 9.2 per cent a year over the next five years, yet they hold an average 17 per cent of their portfolio in cash.

These are all conundrums we face as we wrestle with our investment biases and shifting perceptions of value. 

Most importantly, any revaluation of your portfolio is an opportunity to think about your actual aims – to consider the returns you need rather than those you want – and to make sure your investments still allow you to sleep at night.

Ultimately, I don’t think this time is different.

Hire the Bond King’s Heir for 15.8%, Paid Monthly

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 10, 2026

Remember Bill Gross? The financial media still quotes him here and there. Otherwise, he’s kicking around on X, tweeting a bit, looking (and flailing) to stay relevant.

A far cry from his previous life! Bill Gross was the man who built PIMCO into the biggest bond shop on planet Earth. He’s kind of a quirky guy—hung out near the beach in Southern California, practiced yoga in his office. A little prickly to work with, but definitely a great mind in the fixed-income space. He built PIMCO by himself, and he got all the best bond deals.

But as the years went by and the company grew, Bill started to weigh on the people he worked with. (He was a lot, by many reports—Mary Childs’ The Bond King documents just how much.) Such a handful that, eventually, in 2014, PIMCO ousted the king. He was gone. He was shown the door at the firm he created himself.

PIMCO could send Bill off to an early retirement because they had his successor waiting in the wings. Dan “the Beast” Ivascyn is not as flashy as Bill, but he’s equally good—maybe even better. The Beast has run PIMCO quietly ever since. He’s the best bond investor most people have never heard of. (And he’s reported to be low maintenance!)

The beauty of the Beast is that we don’t need millions to put him to work. For the price of literally a single share—less than 20 bucks!—we can “hire” Ivascyn! And he’ll send us a double-digit dividend paycheck every single month. (How’s that for a deal? He works for us—and pays us!)

These are retirement makers we’re talking about. A $100,000 position dishes $11,750 to $15,800 per year.

Let’s start with the biggest of the dividend beasts: PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI), which dishes a fantastic 15.8% per year in dividends. On a $100,000 stake, that’s the $15,800 I mentioned at 22 cents a share.

PDI raised its payout in its early, formative years, locked it in around 22 cents a month and has never cut it. So, for over a decade that included the COVID crash and 2022 bond bloodbath, this dividend was rock solid. Which is exactly what we income investors want. The steady, unrelenting payout. And even better when it appears monthly!

Now, is the 15.8% risk-free? Not quite—but it doesn’t require outsized heroics from the Beast. Here’s where PDI stands from an income standpoint.

Net investment income (NII) covers about 90% of the payout over the last fiscal year, or 90 cents on the dollar. In the latest single month, though, it slipped to 71%, so we’ll keep an eye on it. It also carries a growing return-of-capital slice: 29% in the latest month versus 9% over the prior year—the fund handing back some of your own principal. It hasn’t overdone it lately. And here’s the catch: it’s worth it—even at 90% coverage, that’s not bad.

PDI levers up some to pump its payout, borrowing about 32% of its portfolio. When the Fed is cutting rates, this is a tailwind to income because PDI’s lending costs become cheaper. High oil prices have derailed this party for a bit, but I expect oil to come back down eventually. At which point the Fed will resume cutting (because AI is deflationary!) and PDI’s margins will happily grow.

The fund invests in mortgage bonds, high-yield debt, and emerging-market debt. It comes with lots of volatility—a bit of a “cardiac kid.” When there’s a scare in high-yield, PDI sells off. Which is why it’s as cheap as it has been in the last year, and the main reason the yield is so high. Others are scared, but we salivate.

Yes, PDI still trades at a premium to net asset value—about 5.9%—but that’s actually cheap by PDI’s lofty standards.

Granted, it’s the richest premium of PIMCO’s four big taxable-bond CEFs. Everybody wants the biggest yield. So, let’s also talk about its quieter, cheaper sibling…

PIMCO Dynamic Income Opportunities Fund (PDO) trades at just a 2.6% premium to net asset value, versus PDI’s 5.9%. PDO is also trading below its usual premium.

PDO covers 93% of its dividend with investment income. Its portfolio is a bit steadier than PDI’s (its bonds are less volatile) but with security comes a pay cut. It’s not drastic—11.7% is still elite by any measure!

So, choose your PIMCO payout weapon! (Hint: there is no wrong answer here.)

Think you could find a place for double-digit monthly payers in your retirement portfolio ?

DYOR, Indicative only, as Annual Reports aren’t released on a Saturday.

A list of current — and potential future — Dividend Kings and learn how to leverage these strong companies to build wealth.

By Matthew DiLallo – Updated Jun 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM EST | Fact-checked by Parker Hicks

Key Points

• Dividend Kings have raised their dividends for 50+ years, indicating stable, mature companies.
• Key traits of Dividend Kings include durable moats, EPS growth, and a profit-return focus.
• 57 stocks were Dividend Kings in 2026, with sectors like industrial and consumer goods dominating the list.

A Dividend King is a company that’s grown its dividend payment for at least 50 consecutive years. Many Dividend Kings have delivered market-crushing wealth gains over the very long term, but not all continue to deliver above-average total returns to shareholders.

Companies that pay — and then increase — their dividends every year generally have several important characteristics investors should look for:

• Durable competitive moats that help them generate steady profits year after year
• The ability to grow earnings per share over the long term
• Prudent board members and management who prioritize returning excess profits — those not needed to support the long-term growth of the business — to shareholders

What is a Dividend King?

There’s a single qualification for becoming a member of the Dividend Kings. A stock must record at least 50 consecutive years of dividend raises.

These dividend stocks are usually mature businesses with stable cash flow and rising earnings. Management will typically protect the dividend and ensure it can continue to raise its payout every year. That can be good in most cases, but it can cause some irrational management decisions in others.

Dividend Kings vs. Dividend Aristocrats®

Many investors are familiar with the Dividend Aristocrats®. (The term Dividend Aristocrats® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC.) These stocks are members of the S&P 500 that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.

Dividend Kings don’t have to be members of the S&P 500, but they’ve all increased their dividends for 50 years, at least twice as long as the Aristocrat threshold.

2026 Dividend Kings

These 57 stocks qualified as Dividend Kings as of June 3, 2026, including two that qualify depending on how you interpret dividend growth.

Dividend King	Sector	Dividend Increase Streak
American States Water (NYSE:AWR)	Utilities	71
Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV)	Industrials	70
Northwest Natural Holdings (NYSE:NWN)	Utilities	70
Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)	Consumer Goods	70
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)	Consumer Goods	70
Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH)	Industrials	70
Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR)	Industrials	69
Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF)	Financials	66
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)	Consumer Goods	64
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)	Healthcare	64
Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE)	Consumer Goods	63*
Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI)	Consumer Goods	63
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)	Consumer Goods	63
Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN)	Industrials	62
Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW)	Industrials	62
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTC:FMCB)	Financials	61
Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL)	Consumer Goods	60
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)	Utilities	60
Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT)	Real Estate	58
Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR)	Consumer Goods	58**
Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK)	Industrials	58
ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM)	Industrials	58
Stepan (NYSE:SCL)	Industrials	58
Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH)	Financials	58
H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO)	Utilities	58
H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)	Materials	57
Altria Group (NYSE:MO)	Consumer Goods	56
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE:BKH)	Utilities	56
MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA)	Industrials	56
Sysco (NYSE:SYY)	Consumer Goods	56
Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)	Consumer Goods	56
National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)	Energy	55
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)	Industrials	55
Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW)	Consumer Goods	54
Target (NYSE:TGT)	Consumer Goods	54
Abbott (NYSE:ABT)	Healthcare	54
BD (NYSE:BDX)	Healthcare	54
Tennant (NYSE:TNC)	Industrials	54
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)	Healthcare	54****
Canadian Utilities (OTC:CDUAF)	Utilities	54***
Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB)	Consumer Goods	54
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG)	Industrials	54
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)	Consumer Goods	54
ADM (NYSE:ADM)	Industrials	53
Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)	Utilities	53
The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC)	Industrials	53
Nucor (NYSE:NUE)	Industrials	53
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)	Consumer Goods	53
S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI)	Financials	53
Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED)	Utilities	52
RPM International (NYSE:RPM)	Industrials	52
United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI)	Financials	52
Fortis (NYSE:FTS)	Utilities	51
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)	Technology	51
RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)	Financials	51
MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE)	Utilities	50
Pentair (NYSE:PNR)	Industrials	50

The industrial and consumer goods sectors make up more than half of the 2026 Dividend Kings list. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Companies in these sectors tend to pay dividends and raise their prices with inflation, and many have also been in operation for a long time. The list breaks down as follows:

There aren’t any exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus exclusively on Dividend Kings. However, the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats® ETF (NOBL +1.79%) owns shares of all Dividend Aristocrats®.

Dividend King changes in 2026

Companies that make this list don’t often lose their status; the qualities that make a company strong enough to last 50 years with annual dividend increases are usually very durable. Plus, there’s tremendous pressure on companies that have increased their dividends for 50-plus years to keep the streak going. No CEO wants to be known as the leader who messed up such an impressive dividend track record.

Industrial water treatment solutions and equipment maker Pentair (PNR +2.56%) joined the club after making its 50th consecutive annual dividend increase in February 2026.

A note on two unofficial Dividend Kings

Canadian Utilities (CDUAF +0.91%) and Tootsie Roll (TR +1.66%) are on this list, but for slightly different reasons. Some investors may argue that they make the cut on a technicality or two.

Canadian Utilities is certainly a King if you’re a Canadian investor; however, changes in foreign exchange rates have at times reduced the effective dividend paid to U.S. investors. We don’t want to shortchange the company or our Canadian investor friends because of this. The dividends per share — in Canadian dollars — have indeed increased for 54 years in a row.

Tootsie Roll is a little more complex. To start, the company has a long history of paying dividends, but the $0.09 quarterly cash portion has remained unchanged for years.

Its payout has grown via the 3% stock dividend it has also paid every year for the past six decades. So, as long as the stock price increases, the total dividends paid grow. We thought this quirk was worth explaining in detail. It can be argued that maybe it isn’t a King but is worthy of consideration as a sweet treat for dividend investors.

Future Dividend Kings

Several large, well-known companies are on track to join the Dividend Kings list in the next year. Carlisle Companies (CSL +2.84%) announced its 49th year of consecutive dividend hikes in August 2025, and McDonald’s (MCD +1.61%) also marked its 49th consecutive hike in October 2025. Medtronic (MDT +1.60%) just raised its dividend for the 49th consecutive year in June 2026. It appears poised to join the group in 2027.

Pros and cons of investing in Dividend Kings

Here are some of the reasons investors should consider Dividend Kings:

• Proven businesses across many economic cycles.
• History of adapting to disruption and new markets.
• Track record of earnings growth that funds higher dividends.
• Often lower volatility, making it easier to hold through market downturns.

There are also reasons to be cautious:

• Like other dividend stocks, future dividend growth is not guaranteed.
• Many Dividend Kings have underperformed the total returns of the stock market despite dividend growth.
• Sometimes, management may fail to fix (or just ignore) ongoing issues and keep raising payouts, resulting in big losses and forced dividend cuts, as seen with 3M (MMM +1.65%) and Walgreens in recent years.

Factors to consider when choosing Dividend Kings

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Dividend King to buy is its financial health.

Be sure the dividend is supported by strong free cash flow that exceeds the total dividend payment. Steady, growing earnings per share and a solid balance sheet are also important factors that help ensure management can continue to raise its dividend.

Beyond the current earnings profile, does the business have competitive advantages that will protect it in economic downturns? Is the industry it operates in growing or declining?

On top of that, investors will want to assess a Dividend King just as they would any other stock. Most Dividend Kings are slow growers; like value stocks, it makes sense to ensure the stock trades for an attractive valuation.

How to invest in Dividend Kings

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock’s trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you’re willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Why invest in Dividend Kings?

Dividend Kings may not be a good fit for every investor, but their long records of growing payouts are often underpinned by good businesses worth owning. A few key reasons:

• Dividend Kings can be a great part of retirement portfolios or for investors looking for reliable income.
• Most offer higher dividend yields than the average yield of S&P 500 members.
• Their consistency in paying and increasing dividend payouts can also provide a measure of confidence for people living on the income generated by the dividend stocks they own.

My 2 Favourite Stocks for Monthly Passive Income

These two monthly dividend stocks could help investors build a steadier stream of passive income.

Posted by Jitendra Parashar

Published June 9

CAR.UN PEY

_{You’re reading a Fool.ca free article. Go to your Premium Motley Fool experience to see member-only content.}Key Points

• Monthly dividend stocks could help investors turn a portfolio into a steadier passive-income source.
• Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CAR.UN) offers monthly income backed by a large rental-housing portfolio.
• Peyto Exploration & Development (TSX:PEY) pairs a 5.6% yield with strong production growth and disciplined hedging.

Monthly dividend stocks could be really useful for Foolish investors who want their portfolios to feel more like a steady income source than a long-term savings bucket. More frequent cash distributions increase their appeal, making it easier to plan, reinvest, or gradually build a more reliable passive-income stream, instead of waiting for quarterly payouts.

However, that does not mean you can jump on any monthly payer without paying attention to its business fundamentals. They still need to have durable business models, manageable payout profiles, and enough growth potential to support income in the long haul.

Let me highlight two of my favourite TSX stocks I like for investors seeking monthly passive income.

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT stock

For investors who want monthly income tied to an essential real estate niche, Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CAR.UN) could be a natural place to start. This real estate investment trust (REIT) owns and manages roughly 45,500 residential apartment suites and townhomes across Canada and the Netherlands, giving it a large rental-housing platform with geographic diversification.

The company focuses on maximizing occupancy and responsibly growing occupied average monthly rent (AMR), which has helped support its operating performance. In the March 2026 quarter, Canadian Apartment Properties REIT’s operating revenues were $247.9 million, while its net operating income (NOI) came in at $155 million, down 1.9% year-over-year (YoY). Even so, its same-property NOI rose 2% YoY to $146.3 million, pointing to stable underlying demand across its portfolio.

The REIT also completed the privatization of European Residential REIT (ERES) for $98.7 million, acquiring the publicly held units it did not already own. That move gives it more control over its European assets and the timing of future portfolio decisions.

Moreover, Canadian Apartment Properties REIT remains focused on upgrading the quality and diversification of its property portfolio through repositioning and capital recycling. With a 4.5% dividend yield and monthly distributions, Canadian Apartment Properties REIT offers investors a practical mix of recurring income and long-term rental-housing exposure.Zoom1M3M6MYTD1Y5Y10YALL

Peyto Exploration & Development stock

The second stock brings a very different kind of monthly income stream to investors. Peyto Exploration & Development (TSX:PEY) gives investors exposure to Alberta natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids production, along with a dividend yield that is notably higher than that of many large-cap income stocks.

At the time of writing, PEY stock traded at $25.22 per share with a market cap of $5.2 billion. The stock has climbed 31% over the last year while offering a 5.6% dividend yield, making it an appealing option for income investors comfortable with the natural volatility of the energy sector.

Peyto recently posted record first-quarter results, with its production averaging 147,513 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up 10% YoY. Similarly, its funds from operations jumped 20% sequentially to $293 million.

The company’s hedging strategy remains an important part of its plan. Peyto’s mechanistic hedging program secured $715 million in revenue for April–December 2026 and $510 million for 2027, helping reduce some of the uncertainty that could come with commodity price volatility.

More importantly, Peyto plans to invest $450–$500 million in 2026 to add 43,000–48,000 boe/d of new production by year-end. It also expects to operate four to five rigs for the remainder of the year, with a focus on liquid-rich opportunities in the Cardium and Falher formations.

Foolish takeaway

Together, Canadian Apartment Properties REIT and Peyto offer two very different paths to monthly passive income. One is backed by rental housing and recurring real estate cash flow, while the other offers higher income potential from a disciplined energy producer. For investors building a TSX portfolio focused on consistent cash flow, both monthly dividend stocks deserve a closer look today.

Mike Toney-Hoffman: I’m definitely an investor. I’m both for sure. I think I would actually say more of my money is in investing because I’ve always been in or more of my money is just sitting in long-term investments.

I have a lot of ETFs, just invest in the S&P. I’m still a dividend investor. I still invest in dividend growth ETFs. And those are just sitting there. And then my trading portfolio, the goal of that is just to beat those essentially and just diversify to an extent.

I’ve always been big on diversity to an extent. And so that’s why I’m a big ETF guy. It does the diversity for you and generally goes up over time. And then you gotta take it a step, I take it a step further and diversify even away from just passive investing, which may or may not be doing good every year and try to build out my own strategies that, ideally I’ll perform, I track, I have a trading journal that I track everything in and I compare myself to the SPY, the S&P 500, the (QQQ) and not only is the goal to of course beat the index, but it’s to diversify away from the index as well. Cause all the time, I think my ETF portfolios will be down, my trading portfolio is up and vice versa. So you gotta hedge your bets every way and just build out your system.

ai cost aicost.orgx jtpr2e@outlook.com 23.158.72.51

Interesting to see someone making active adjustments to their passive income strategy. I’ve been debating whether to rebalance my own dividend portfolio lately, especially with the current market volatility. Do you find that switching positions frequently affects your long-term yield?

When I switch a position, hopefully the position has made a profit and the capital and the profit can be re-invested into the SNOWBALL. If the price rises the yield falls but unless it’s for portfolio diversification the SNOWBALL only re-invests in a higher yielder.

The recent purchase of AIRE was at a lower yield but still above the required 7% yield, why 7% ? Because by doing nothing your can double your income in ten years, better if you have longer. Also with AIRE there is a chance of corporate action, if not the SNOWBALL will keep re-investing the dividends, also AIRE has real assets. REIT’s are liable to lose money when interest rates rise, so the ‘safe’ yield is very important.

I sometimes buy just before the xd date because, you can either flip the share or hold and receive 5 dividends in just over one calendar year.

The SNOWBALL has 12k invested in XSTR, ready cash if the market falls, it only yields 4% but as the SNOWBALL is ahead of target for this year, I can afford the hit to income. If the market doesn’t fall I will have to re-invest in a higher yielder before xmas as I need the higher income to achieve next year’s target, which hasn’t been set yet.

Remember a profit is not a profit until the underlying share has been sold and the cash is sitting in your account.

GL

The last 4 dividends = 42p.

Current price 457p = yield of 9%

If you had bought at the April 2025 low, there was plenty of chances to buy at 360p

Price 360p = yield of 11.5%, which hopefully you should receive as long as you hold the share. Remember you are not buying the price, because without hindsight, at the time you had now way of knowing if the price was going to keep falling but you say thank you to Mr. Market as you are only buying the yield.

Higher risk to buy at the moment but the market could continue up before if falls.