In my view, Future Generation Australia Ltd (ASX: FGX) is one of the most reliable ASX dividend stocks available to Aussies.

It may not be as famous as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) or BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), but I think it’s a better pick for both reliability and dividend yield.

Future Generation Australia is a listed investment company (LIC) with a big difference. Instead of a typical arrangement where investors pay management fees to a fund manager, this LIC charges no fees (including no performance fees). Instead, it donates 1% of net assets each year to youth-focused charities.

The LIC is invested in the funds of 16 different fund managers, giving it excellent diversification. Future Generation Australia gives exposure to more than 430 underlying shares across different sectors, meaning it’s significantly more diversified than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)

It also gives access to variety of companies across different market capitalisations – at the end of May, more than 19% of the portfolio came from outside the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).

Let’s get into what makes it such an appealing choice for dividends.

Reliability

Both CBA and BHP have given their shareholders dividend cuts this decade, so they haven’t been very reliable, despite having reputations as Australia’s biggest and bluest of ASX blue-chip shares.

As a LIC, Future Generation Australia is capable of smoothing out its dividends because it can build up its profit reserve with investment gains during positive years, allowing it to pay a rising dividend even in more difficult years.

It has increased its annual dividend per share each year since 2015 – that’s more than a decade of consistent dividend growth.

The ASX dividend stock has built up a profit reserve of 41.8 cents per share as of May 2026 – it could keep funding the same size dividend for more than five years.

Dividend yield

Future Generation Australia is attractive not just for its reliability but also for its strong dividend yield.

In 2025, the business paid an annual dividend per share of 7.2 cents. That translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6%, including franking credits.

But, I’m expecting the business to hike its payout in 2026 to 7.4 cents per share, which would equate to a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.8%, including franking credits.

It’s hard to find another ASX dividend stock that offers a good a dividend yield as that, and has increased the dividend for as many years in a row.

Is this a good time to invest?

We can already see that the business offers compelling dividend income.

The business is trading fairly closely to its net tangible assets (NTA) – I’d prefer to buy when it’s trading at a discount, but today’s price is still solid, in my view.

With $1,000, an investor could buy 735 shares of this appealing LIC. Plus, it’s providing a great philanthropic service.

The post $1,000 buys 735 shares in an incredibly reliable ASX dividend stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Future Generation Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

When it comes to copper, many investors will turn to Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares.

That makes sense, the mining giant owns Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, which is one of the largest known copper-gold deposits in the world.

But there’s another name that could be worth considering if you’re looking for copper exposure according to Bell Potter.

Which ASX copper share?

The share that Bell Potter is recommending to investors is AIC Mines Ltd (ASX: A1M).

It is a copper production and exploration company focused on the 100%-owned Eloise Copper Project (ECP) in Queensland.

Bell Potter is feeling positive following a site visit to the Eloise copper mine, which is undergoing an expansion to its production capacity. It said:

We attended a recent site visit to A1M’s 100%-owned Eloise copper mine in QLD. It is currently being expanded from nameplate of 725ktpa to nameplate of 1.1Mtpa. The expansion is targeting to lift Eloise’s copper production from ~12-13ktpa to ~20ktpa. The expansion commenced during the September quarter 2025, with a scheduled 18- month construction period targeting commissioning in the December quarter 2026, for which it remains on schedule.

The good news is that Bell Potter believes the expansion is on target. It explains:

Based on our observations at the site visit, we are comfortable with the view that the Eloise mine expansion is on schedule and mill commissioning will commence in the December quarter 2026. Major components of the process plant are on site, including the recent installation of the ball mill onto its foundations, marking a key critical path milestone. Structural steel erection is largely complete with the crushing circuit 95% mechanically complete and dry commissioning planned for July.

Integration of the new crushing and grinding circuit with the existing circuit is well progressed, with 8 of 9 tie-ins complete. Much of the plant is sized for 1.5Mtpa throughput, providing optionality for a low-cost staged expansion later in Eloise’s mine life.

Time to buy

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating on the ASX copper share with an improved price target of $1.00.

Based on its current share price of 70.5 cents, this implies potential upside of approximately 42% for investors over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its recommendation, the broker said:

EPS changes with this update are: FY26: -1%, FY27: +5% and FY28: +8%, on a less conservative ramp-up schedule. A1M represents leveraged copper exposure via its Eloise Copper Project with a clear, organic growth strategy being advanced. We retain our Buy recommendation and lift our NPV-based target price to $1.00/sh.

The post Forget Rio Tinto and buy this ASX copper share appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Owning Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares has been a pleasing choice for earnings growth over the last 30 years – it has been an excellent long-term performer.

The ASX bank has a closer connection with customers than many other banks, as shown by its high percentage of loans originated through proprietary channels. In other words, it doesn’t rely on brokers for most of its loan flow.

I think its ability to connect with customers, including winning many new customer transaction accounts each year, is key to the bank continuing to grow strongly while also achieving a good profit margin.

Let’s look at what’s expected of the ASX bank share in the coming years and how much it could grow earnings.

FY26

The 2026 financial year has nearly finished for Commonwealth Bank, but it’ll still be a month or so until we hear how the company has performed in the period to June 2026.

The projection on Commsec suggests that CBA’s earnings per share (EPS) could rise in FY26. The independent forecast implies that the business could generate $6.54 of EPS for the financial year. At the current CBA share price, it’s valued at close to 25x FY26’s estimated earnings.

The latest update from the bank was for three months to 31 March 2026. It reported statutory net profit of $2.6 billion, while cash net profit was $2.7 billion – this was up 4% year-over-year, but down 1% on the quarterly average of the FY26 first half.

Impressively, the bank reported excellent growth in both loans and deposits. Annual growth to March 2026, business lending grew 12.5% (1.2x the overall loan system), household deposits grew 9.1% (1.1x the banking system), and home lending increased 7.1% (1x the loan system).

One of the main negatives of that result was a $316 million loan impairment expense, with higher collective provisions reflecting “heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty”. Its underlying portfolio credit quality remained “sound”.

The higher RBA cash rate can help CBA earnings because it means it can lend out money from balances that CBA doesn’t pay interest on (namely transaction accounts) at a higher loan interest rate. However, the higher rates also come with a higher risk of loan defaults by borrowers.

Pleasingly, the bank’s lending growth has been strong enough to drive year-over-year earnings higher.

Can it continue to deliver good growth amid the Federal budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax?

Let’s look at the profit forecast for next year.

FY27

According to the projection on Commsec, the business could grow EPS by (just) 2.7% in FY27.

Earnings growth is essential to push the CBA share price higher over time, but 2.7% growth is not exactly exciting. Higher profit can also help fund larger dividend payments from the ASX bank share.

According to that forecast for FY27, the business is valued at 24x FY27’s estimated earnings.

It’s a great bank, but there are many other ASX shares that could grow earnings faster and trade at more attractive valuations.

The post Here’s the earnings forecast out to 2027 for CBA shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.