Can you build a portfolio that pays you dividends every single month of the year?
You can.
And it’s easier than you’d expect.
The secret? Start with stocks that pay quarterly dividends.
Hold three or four of them – each paying in different months – and the calendar fills itself.
Why DBS comes first
DBS Group Holdings (SGX: D05) is a good place to start.
The bank typically pays dividends in April, May, August, and November – four months covered straight away.
But do the dividends hold up?
In 1Q2026, DBS delivered record total income of S$5.95 billion, up 1% year on year (YoY).
Net interest income did slip 5% YoY as its net interest margin narrowed 23 basis points to 1.89%.
That shortfall, however, was more than offset by non-interest income, which surged 10% year on year to S$2.45 billion.
The standouts: record wealth management fees of S$907 million and record treasury customer sales of S$592 million.
Net profit edged up 1% YoY to S$2.93 billion, with return on equity at 17.0%.
Asset quality improved too, with the non-performing loan ratio falling to 1.0% from 1.1% a year ago.
The board declared a 1Q2026 dividend of S$0.81 per share – S$0.66 in ordinary dividends plus S$0.15 from its Capital Return programme – up 8% from S$0.75 a year ago.
Worth noting: the ordinary dividend of S$0.66 is the figure to watch for long-term sustainability. The Capital Return component is an additional bonus that may or may not continue at this level.
Can MLT fill the next four months?
Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) is a useful addition.
The logistics REIT typically distributes in March, June, September, and December. Pair it with DBS and you cover eight out of 12 months – with zero overlap.
A word of caution, though. MLT’s headline numbers don’t look great.
For 4QFY2025/2026, distribution per unit (DPU) fell 7.0% YoY to S$0.018.
That looks bad — until you understand why. The decline was almost entirely due to the absence of divestment gains that had boosted the prior-year comparison.
Strip those out and operational DPU actually rose 0.9% YoY. That’s four consecutive quarters of steady operational growth.
The underlying fundamentals back this up. Portfolio occupancy improved 50 basis points quarter on quarter to 96.9%. Rental reversions strengthened to positive 3.3%, or positive 4.2% excluding China. Even China improved – rental reversions there narrowed to negative 2.0% from negative 9.4% a year ago.
MLT is also actively recycling its portfolio, divesting six older properties at an average premium of around 20% to valuation while acquiring a logistics park in Mumbai, India, for S$53.2 million.
The headline DPU is noisy. The operational performance is not.
What about the remaining gaps?
Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) fills two more.
The bourse operator typically pays dividends in February, May, October, and November. May and November overlap with DBS, but the key additions are February and October.
With all three holdings, you now cover 10 out of 12 months.
SGX’s dividend case rests on a simple fact: it is Singapore’s sole stock exchange operator.
For 1HFY2026, net revenue climbed 7.6% YoY to S$695.4 million, driven by a 16.2% surge in its Equities – Cash division as securities daily average traded value jumped 19.5%.
Adjusted net profit rose 11.6% to S$357.1 million, while the group generated net operating cash flow of S$363.7 million.
Headline net profit was flat at S$342.7 million, partly weighed down by a S$15.0 million goodwill impairment related to Scientific Beta – a one-off item.
Management has also committed to a quarterly dividend increase of 0.25 cents through the end of FY2028. That kind of forward guidance is rare among SGX-listed stocks.
What about January and July?
That leaves two stubborn gaps.
One practical option is the Phillip SGX APAC Dividend Leaders REIT ETF, which distributes in January and July.
Adding it to the trio would complete your 12-month calendar.
Get Smart: It’s Not Just About the Calendar
Covering all 12 months is satisfying.
But the more important question is whether each dividend can be sustained.
DBS’s record fee income shows its earnings are diversifying beyond interest rates.
SGX’s monopoly position and committed dividend growth give investors visibility.
MLT’s steady operational DPU shows resilience beneath a noisy headline.
Monthly income is great. Monthly income you can depend on is better.
We’ve found 5 SGX-listed dividend stocks with strong track records in turbulent markets. If you want consistency in an uncertain world, start here.
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Disclosure: The Smart Investor owns shares of DBS, MLT and SGX.
