If I had $14,000 sitting in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and wanted monthly income, I wouldn’t ask how much cash I could squeeze out of it immediately. I’d ask how I could make that cash flow bigger 5, 10, or even 20 years from now. That changes the way I’d build my portfolio. Instead of reaching for the biggest yields I could find, I’d want investments where the monthly payout is supported by stable financials and a strong fundamental outlook.
In this article, I’ll highlight two top monthly dividend stocks I’d consider for a $14,000 TFSA built for long-term income.
Choice Properties stock
To start building that monthly TFSA income stream, Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CHP.UN) looks like a dependable option to consider on the TSX today.
It owns and manages retail, industrial, mixed-use, and residential properties across Canada. The real estate investment trust’s (REIT) portfolio includes more than 700 income-producing properties with roughly 60 million square feet of gross leasable area. More importantly, much of its retail portfolio is anchored by necessity-based tenants.
After gaining 5% over the last year, Choice stock currently trades at $15.34 per share with a market cap of $5 billion. At this market price, it offers a 5.1% annualized dividend yield, with monthly payouts.
In the second quarter, the REIT’s same-asset net operating income on a cash basis rose 2.8% year-over-year (YoY). Its total cash-basis net operating income (NOI) also inched up 2.8%. Meanwhile, funds from operations (FFO) climbed 0.7% YoY, while diluted FFO edged 0.8% higher to $0.27 per unit. Strong same-asset NOI growth helped its FFO, although higher interest expenses partially offset the improvement.
There were encouraging signs underneath those numbers as well. The REIT achieved long-term renewal leasing spreads of 19%, while period-end occupancy remained strong at 97.7%.
On top of that, if completed, its pending transaction involving First Capital REIT could expand its portfolio. Taken together, Choice Properties’ 5.1% yield, high occupancy, monthly payouts, and steady underlying cash-flow growth make it an attractive building block for a TFSA focused on lasting income.
SmartCentres stock
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:SRU.UN) would fill the higher-income side of this $14,000 TFSA strategy.
This REIT owns 201 strategically located properties across Canada. It has about 35.5 million square feet of income-producing retail and office properties and also has residential and self-storage assets. SmartCentres stock has risen 3% over the last year, currently trading at $27.75 per share with a market cap of roughly $4 billion. It offers a juicy 6.7% annualized dividend yield.
In the latest quarter ended in June, SmartCentres’ same-property NOI rose 2.6% YoY. Its in-place and committed occupancy improved by 0.5 percentage points sequentially to 98.1%. The REIT also achieved 12% rent growth on extended leases when anchors were excluded.
The company’s ongoing leasing and development activity enhances its investment appeal further. Last quarter, SmartCentres leased roughly 247,000 square feet of vacant space. Meanwhile, it is also advancing retail, residential, and self-storage developments, including new self-storage facilities and its ArtWalk projects in Vaughan.
Overall, SmartCentres’ 6.7% yield, 98.1% occupancy, strong leasing momentum, and development pipeline make it another attractive monthly income stock to hold in a TFSA for the long haul.
Turning $14,000 into monthly income
Now, here’s how I’d put the $14,000 to work. Splitting it equally would mean investing $7,000 in each REIT. Based on their current 5.1% and 6.7% annualized yields, Choice Properties would generate about $357 annually and SmartCentres about $469. Together, that works out to roughly $826 per year, or nearly $69 per month. If those distributions remain intact, reinvesting them could buy more units and gradually increase the monthly income stream over the years.
