Key Highlights

  • WAM Active has a 3.2 cent fully franked final Dividend going ex-dividend on 17 November 2026.
  • The final dividend is payable on 30 November.
  • A 2.0 cent fully franked Special Dividend goes ex-dividend on 4 December.
  • The special dividend is payable on 17 December 2026.

WAM Active Limited (ASX:WAA) has two fully franked dividends falling due over the next five weeks. A final dividend of 3.2 cents per share goes ex-dividend on 17 November 2026 and is payable on 30 November, followed by a special dividend of 2.0 cents per share that goes ex-dividend on 4 December and is payable on 17 December 2026. Both payments were announced on 13 July 2026 with the listed Investment company's FY26 result. For readers tracking upcoming dividends ASX companies have scheduled before the end of the calendar year, WAM Active's timetable is unusual because the two payments run on separate dates only a few weeks apart.

Key Dates for the Final Dividend

The 3.2 cent final dividend is fully franked. According to the company's announcement, the shares go ex-dividend on Tuesday 17 November 2026, meaning shares must be held before that date to receive the payment. The Record Date is 18 November 2026 at 7:00pm Sydney time. The last date to elect to participate in the Dividend reinvestment plan is 20 November 2026, and the dividend is payable on 30 November 2026.

The FY26 full-year ordinary dividend is 6.4 cents per share, fully franked, an increase on the prior year. The final of 3.2 cents is half of that total, which means the interim ordinary dividend was also 3.2 cents per share.

Key Dates for the Special Dividend

The 2.0 cent special dividend is also fully franked but runs on its own timetable. The shares go ex-dividend on 4 December 2026, the record date is 7 December 2026, the last reinvestment plan election date is 9 December 2026 and payment is due on 17 December 2026.

This is the second special dividend linked to FY26. WAM Active paid a 1.0 cent fully franked special dividend on 30 June 2026, which was announced in January. Together, the two special dividends total 3.0 cents per share. Adding the 6.4 cents of Ordinary Dividends brings total fully franked dividends linked to FY26 to 9.4 cents per share.

Because the final and special dividends have different ex-dividend and record dates, a Shareholder needs to hold shares before each ex-dividend date to receive each payment. Someone who acquires shares on or after 17 November but before 4 December would not receive the 3.2 cent final but would be eligible for the 2.0 cent special.

The gap between each ex-dividend date and record date reflects how share trades settle on the ASX. Trades settle two Business days after they are made, so the ex-dividend date is set one business day before the record date. A purchase made on the ex-dividend date settles after the record date, which is why the buyer does not receive that dividend. For the special dividend, the ex-dividend date falls on Friday 4 December and the record date on Monday 7 December, with the weekend in between.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan Terms

The dividend reinvestment plan operates for both dividends, without a discount. New shares are issued at the Volume weighted average price over the four trading days starting on the relevant ex-dividend date. Because the two dividends have separate election deadlines, shareholders who want to reinvest need to have an election in place by 20 November for the final and by 9 December for the special.

Shareholders who do not participate in the plan receive cash on the payment dates. A standing election usually applies to future dividends until changed, so holders who have previously joined the plan should check their current instruction with the share registry before the deadlines.

For the final dividend, the four trading days used to set the reinvestment price begin on Tuesday 17 November and run to Friday 20 November, the same day as the election deadline. For the special dividend, the pricing period begins on Friday 4 December and runs over the following three trading days, ending on the special dividend's election deadline of Wednesday 9 December.

What Funded the Higher Payments

The decision to increase the ordinary dividend and add special dividends followed the portfolio's FY26 performance. WAM Active reported that its investment portfolio rose 75.5% in the 12 months to 30 June 2026, before fees, expenses and taxes, which it described as a record. That was 69.8 percentage points ahead of the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation index over the same period.

Longer-term annualised figures are lower than the one-year result. The company reported annualised portfolio performance of 40.8% over three years, 20.6% over five years and 15.7% over ten years, all before fees, expenses and taxes.

For a listed investment company, gains of this kind add to the profits reserve, which is the pool from which dividends are paid. A large one-year gain can support a special dividend while leaving room for the ordinary dividend in later years. The company did not state a profits reserve figure in the FY26 announcement.

Franking and Who Manages the Portfolio

At the 30% corporate tax rate, the 3.2 cent final dividend carries a franking Credit of about 1.37 cents, for a grossed-up value of about 4.57 cents. The 2.0 cent special carries a credit of about 0.86 cents, for a grossed-up value of about 2.86 cents. Australian resident shareholders include the grossed-up amount in their Taxable Income and can claim the credit against tax payable.

WAM Active is chaired by Geoff Wilson AO. Its portfolio is managed by Wilson Asset Management, with Oscar Oberg as Lead Portfolio Manager and Shaun Weick as Portfolio Manager.

Key Takeaways

WAM Active has two upcoming fully franked dividends. The 3.2 cent final goes ex-dividend on 17 November 2026, with a record date of 18 November and payment on 30 November. The 2.0 cent special goes ex-dividend on 4 December, with a record date of 7 December and payment on 17 December 2026.

Both payments can be reinvested through the dividend reinvestment plan with no discount, subject to separate election deadlines of 20 November and 9 December. The final and special dividends together round out FY26 payments of 9.4 cents per share, following a 75.5% portfolio gain in the year to 30 June 2026.