I think there are some great ASX dividend shares that you should never sell.
If you are looking to invest for dividends then I don't think you should be trying to actively buy and sell them. The idea should be to buy and hold for the long-term, particularly during these COVID-19 times.
With that in mind, here are four ASX dividend shares I don't think you should ever sell:
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
I firmly believe that Soul Patts is one of the best ASX dividend shares out there. It has paid a dividend every year since it listed on the ASX in 1903. It has also increased its dividend every year since 2000, which is the best record on the ASX.
It's an investment house that owns a diversified portfolio. Some of its largest positions include telecommunications, property, building products, agriculture, pharmacies and listed investment companies (LICs).
I like that Soul Patts pays its dividend out of its net regular operating cashflows. In FY19 it retained around a fifth of its operating cashflows to re-invest for more opportunities. I like this conservative approach.
Soul Patts currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%.
Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)
Brickworks is a diversified property business with a number of attractive divisions. One of its divisions is 'investments' where it actually owns a large amount of Soul Patts shares, which provides Brickworks with a reliable and growing stream of dividends.
Brickworks itself is a great ASX dividend share. It hasn't cut its dividend for over 40 years. Indeed, it has paid a dividend every year since it listed in 1962.
Another division is the industrial property trust that it owns a 50% stake of. These industrial properties are in high demand, particularly with the increase of ecommerce since COVID-19 started.
The building products divisions in the US and Australia are expected to face hard times in the short-term as building activity slows down. However, once the worst of the economic impacts are over, Brickworks could see a return of demand for its bricks and other products.
Brickworks currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.4%.
WAM Microcap Limited (ASX: WMI)
Small caps are not known for being great ASX dividend shares. But the small end of the ASX could be a good hunting ground to generate strong returns .
I think WAM Microcap is one of the best listed investment companies (LICs) on the ASX. It targets shares with market caps under $300 million.
The LIC structure allows WAM Microcap to generate strong total returns and then steadily pass that through to shareholders in the form of reliable dividends.
WAM Microcap has been steadily increasing its ordinary dividend since it started. It has a large profit reserve so I think it should be able to keep maintaining the dividend over the next 12 months.
It currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 7%.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Rural Funds is an agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT). It aims to increase the distribution by 4% per annum, which is comfortably above inflation. I think that makes it a solid ASX dividend share.
The REIT has a diversified farm portfolio of almonds, macadamias, vineyards, cattle and cotton.
Farmland generally doesn't feel the same ups and downs of the economy, which is why its share price and earnings have held up well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its rental agreements are with high-quality tenants. Those contracts have built-in rental growth which means that Rural Funds can give shareholders a lot of income visibility.
Management have forecast a distribution of 11.28 cents per unit for FY21, which translates to a current yield of 5.5%.
